NEWS AND VIEWS
Ukraine's transformation on the European model:
how the United States can assist the process
by Dr. Bohdan Hawrylyshyn
I will deal with the subject of Ukraine's transformation under five headings that pose the following questions.
Why should Ukraine transform itself on the European model?
The first reason is geography: Ukraine belongs to Europe geographically; it is close to its geographic heart.
History also provides a reason. Already in the 11th century there were family links between the rulers of Rus'-Ukraine and European royal courts. Four children of Prince Yaroslav the Wise were married with royal families of western Europe. One of them, Anna Yaroslavna, became the queen of France, known as Anne de Kiev. She rose to such prominence not because of her looks, but because she was the only truly literate person in the court and her wisdom was admired.
Further for transformation based on the European model are found in both the present and the future.
In terms of economics, the brik of Ukraine's trade will be with European Union countries. Much of the investment had come and also may continued from those countries.
As for the political sphere, harmonization of legislation with European Union standards will pull Ukraine towards full-fledged contemporary democracy. Yet the fact that western European countries range in their political systems from constitutional monarchies through presidential regimes to more parliamentary types would allow Ukraine to develop its own political architecture best suited to its traditions and current particularities. Since Switzerland is likely to join the European Union, Ukraine will be able to draw on that experience, which is of particular use for multi-ethnic countries.
As regards security, membership in the EU would provide military security and, even more importantly, permit Ukraine to safeguard its cultural, linguistic and political autonomy in the interdependent political constellation in which the EU now finds itself.
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What are the special attractions of the European model?
It offers a vision called the "idea of societal order". The experience of some member-countries of the European Union shows that it is possible to reconcile the objectives of contemporary societies with the aspirations of people.
These objectives/aspirations include: political freedom (true democracy); economic effectiveness through innovation, competitiveness, which assures a high level of GDP; social justice (there is room in such societies for very wealthy people but there are no really poor people); co-existence with nature (ecological health, sustainability).
For Ukraine, the development of such a societal order is almost imperative in order to maintain political and social cohesion. At present there are some very wealthy oligarchs and millions of poor people in Ukraine . This is not tenable over a long period.
While communism has not delivered equality, the aspiration for a more equitable distribution of wealth is deeply rooted in society. There is even much nostalgia now for the "good old days" among the majority of the older population which did not experienced the mass terror of Stalinist days and led predictable lives, had assured retirement pensions, free medical care etc.
The second attraction of the European model is a so-called "social contract." This essentially means extending democratic rights to the work place and not just keeping it in the political arena, i.e., in various kinds of elections. The experience of countries as different as Sweden and Switzerland starting in 1937 and lasting over half a century shows that it is possible to have a broad consensus type of agreement between labor management and government on how to assure profitability of enterprises and yet achieve good working conditions, protection against actions by owners, managers.
Having work representatives on the boards of directors adds to stability both at enterprise and national levels rather than incapacitating the companies. Even co-determination law providing for even representation of owners and labor on the boards of directors, on the supervisory boards imposed on Germany by the United States to prevent the re-emergence of huge companies assured their good development, the international competitiveness of the German economy, and the country's high prosperity. Other countries, like Austria and Holland, that have additional legislation testify to the positive aspects of such social contracts.
A key policy instrument of the European Union is the Structural Fund. Currently there is about $100 billion in that fund, which is available for distribution over the next five years to poorer members and particularly new candidate countries to enable them to go through necessary structural reforms and develop their economies in keeping with higher Western/North European standards.
Richer countries contribute to this fund and poor countries draw on it. This is how Greece, Spain and Portugal made rapid economic advances. Ireland is an outstanding example of a country that moved from economic backwardness to being in the avant-garde of developed countries.
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Is such a transformation of Ukraine feasible?
One can rephrase the question by posing it in a more direct manner: is ultimate accession to the European Union possible? The European Union did not seem to want Ukraine in its midst until now. The EU did not even want Ukraine to call itself a potential candidate country. But things seem to be changing.
Ukraine's economic performance over the last few years reduces the worry that Ukraine, due to its low GDP per capita coupled with its size, would be a great drain on the structural funds.
Ukraine is gradually fulfilling the preconditions - both legislative and political - for future accession to the EU. The privatization of land, adaptation of some codes and the abolition of the death penalty are among the examples of such moves.
Attitudes in some member-countries and the European Commission towards Ukraine are changing. On April 24, 2001, of this year I chaired a conference in the European Parliament building in Brussels on "Ukraine and the European Union." Several members of the European Parliament and even the head of the mission of the European Commission in Ukraine stated forcefully:
"If Ukraine is so much behind some Central European countries on the road to the European Union, it is as much a fault of the European Union as it is of Ukraine. Had the EU given the same signals to Ukraine as it did to Czecho-Slovakia (as it was then), Hungary, Poland - i.e., we want you - and had it given the same assistance to Ukraine as it gave to those countries, Ukraine would be much closer to the accession to the EU which is in the interest of the EU."
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How can the U.S. help in this process?
The first question we could ask is: Should it help? I believe the answer is "yes" for the following reasons.
Ukraine once anchored in the EU would be by definition more democratic, more prosperous, more pro-Western, and thus a better economic and political partner for the United States.
Membership in the EU would preclude Ukraine from joining Russia. If Ukraine were to join Russia, Russia would cross the psychological threshold and strive openly for superpower status and dominance over neighboring countries and in the process it would likely become anti-Western. This would not be in the interest of Ukraine, or Russia, the EU, or the U.S.
Ukraine's accession to EU would not involve a financial burden for the U.S. since it does not contribute to its Structural Fund. It would just require an intensified U.S. diplomatic effort, i.e., using its influence to persuade members of the European Union to be more open to Ukraine's accession.
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How can the United States help?
In various ways: through direct influence on some of the EU member-states and on the EU Commission; and through international financial institutions.
Pointing to NATO, a good example is how the U.S. is pressing hard for the admission of Turkey to the EU because of its NATO status, even though the current position of the EU is that Turkey falls short on many of the admissions criteria, such as minority and general human rights.
The United States sees Ukraine from a greater distance. It can judge better how beneficial it would be for the EU to have Ukraine as an example of a multi-ethnic country with very liberal policies and practices towards national minorities, as compared to the Balkans or even some present member states of the EU.
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Will the U.S. help?
Perhaps the answer to this question can best be given by recalling a fable. There was an old wise man in a village that always answered when questions were put to him. A mischievous youngster thought that he would trick the old man. One day he came up to him, holding a live bird in his hands behind his back, and asked: "Wise man, can you tell me if the bird I hold is live or dead?" He thought that if the man said the bird is a live he would just quickly twist its neck and the bird would be dead; and if the man said the bird is dead he would let it fly. The wise man looked at the youngster and said: "The fate of that bird is in your hands, young man."
It is, of course, Ukraine that has to transform itself on the European model. Its destiny is mainly in its own hands. Whether U.S. aid will help Ukraine take the ultimate steps is, of course, up to you, the Americans.
Dr. Bohdan Hawrylyshyn is chairman of the International Center for Policy Studies, International Management Institute, Kyiv; and advisor to the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and the prime minister of Ukraine. The article above is based on the keynote address he delivered on November 1, 2001, at the conference "Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood" held in Washington.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 3, 2002, No. 5, Vol. LXX
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