 issues, both at the EU level and at the member state level.
Finally, the desire of Ukrainians to be a full member of the European Union requires further united support by European states. The recent European Parliament`s resolution on the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Versailles Declaration of the Heads of State or Government are significant steps toward Ukraine’s aspirations. It is obvious that Ukraine’s full EU membership requires compliance with the conditions of membership set out in the Copenhagen criteria and depends foremost on Ukraine. At the same time, without joint genuine support within the European Union itself, and above all by a key actor such as Germany, the practical implementation of these declarations will remain illusory.
Ukraine’s current military situation, future development and constitutional challenges
The actual state of the military situation in Ukraine confirms the failure of Russia’s plans for the rapid and complete seizure of the Ukrainian territory and its power. Russia’s strategy has shifted from the declared goals of destroying military facilities and so-called “demilitarization” to destroying peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. This shift is not accidental, and it is aimed at encouraging and involving the Ukrainian authorities in the negotiation process in order to avoid further mass casualties of civilians. The central demand of the Russian regime remains that Ukraine renounces Euro-Atlantic integration.
And here important constitutional and legal challenges arise since the Ukrainian people confirmed and constitutionally enshrined their willingness to achieve European integration during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 as well as through supplements to the Constitution of Ukraine: In 2018, Part 5 of its preamble was supplemented with the words “confirming the European identity of the Ukrainian people and the irreversibility of the European and Euro-Atlantic course of Ukraine”.
Despite the martial law currently imposed on Ukrainian society, a debate is beginning on the possibility and admissibility of a refusal of this aspiration, to save lives and to end the war. And although there are currently no relevant surveys on the current attitude of the people in this regard, the possible abandonment of further Euro-Atlantic integration will be widely perceived as capitulation by the Ukrainian government to the Russian aggression. Furthermore, according to its Article 157, the Ukrainian Constitution shall not be amended in conditions of martial law. The Ukrainian authorities could of course invent and implement “procedural tricks” to solve the issue, in particular: suspend temporarily martial law and amend the Constitution – but the legitimacy of such changes would remain questionable. Political compromises could save the lives of Ukrainians, and the infrastructure of their cities – yet they would run counter the aspirations of the Ukrainian people.
In the case of an induced decision to abandon the course of Euro-Atlantic integration, Ukraine will not be able to give up on demanding guarantees for its national security, and it will actively seek support from strong European actors. Germany is the most important candidate to become a guarantor of vital security interests of Ukraine under such changed conditions. This may require German authorities to rethink its security policy and reshape the normative framework significantly. Regulatory barriers to such changes should not prevent the formation of a new system of regional security in which Ukraine’s territorial integrity is guaranteed.
I would like to conclude this post with a popular Ukrainian proverb that has proven true time and again throughout history: “If people have a choice between bread and freedom, and they choose bread, they will eventually lose everything, including bread. If these people choose freedom, they will have homemade bread that no one can take away from them.” – and I want to reformulate it into a question to Europe: Will Europe continue to be tempted by cheap bread in its relations with Russia? Or 