Ukraine's Foreign Policy under Yushchenko

Almost a decade has passed since the events of the Orange Revolution dramatically changed the political environment in Ukraine. Many researchers supposed it would be a turning point from autocracy to consolidated democracy.1 The revolution brought to power a new generation of politicians with an updated agenda for the country's domestic and foreign policies. The enthusiasm with which politicians proclaimed a course for the political and economic renewal of Ukraine, as well as rapprochement with Euro-Atlantic structures, made Ukrainians believe that Europe was not as far away as previously thought. In addition, the outcome of the Orange Revolution was inspirational to the West. Many European leaders welcomed Ukraine's commitment to democratic reforms and offered help and assistance. This gave rise to speculation about a steadily improving climate for relations between Kiev and the more developed democratic states. At that time, it seemed Ukraine was just about to see the doors of many influential international organisations be opened.2Indeed, the new Ukrainian leaders declared the need for a substantial and comprehensive transformation. The newly elected president, Viktor Yushchenko, had declared he was determined to carry out his political programme, 10 Steps towards the People, to bring Ukrainians closer to European standards of living.3 In February 2005, Yushchenko's programme was laid out and approved by the Council of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament), and transformed into the government's official political programme called Towards People.4 While presenting it to parliament, Ukraine's then-prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, claimed that the newly-formed government's agenda was completely based on Yushchenko's electoral programme. Its final chapter dealt with foreign policy issues facing the new Ukrainian government and gave the impression that Ukraine's route to Europe would be short and successful. According to the document, the foreign policy priorities were identified as follows: first, closer integration with the European Union; second, NATO membership; third, closer cooperation with Russia; and fourth, WTO accession. This paper examines the level of success of the implementation of these priorities and related key objectives, and summarises the achievements and failures of Ukraine's foreign policy during 2005-2010.Ukraine's EU Membership ProspectsImmediately after his inauguration, President Yushchenko stated that Ukraine had to make changes to the list of its foreign policy priorities. He implied a rejection of multi-vector foreign policy and called for the implementation of a single strategic goal-membership in the EU. In this direction, Yushchenko outlined several ambitious goals: to create the conditions for Ukraine's accession to the EU; to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with the acquis communautaire; to develop a common strategy for EU-Ukraine relations that would envision a clear prospect of membership for Ukraine; to obtain market economy status from the EU; and to start negotiations with the EU on a free trade area.Since the EU had supported the Orange Revolution and the new Ukrainian government, many of these tasks seemed achievable in the medium term. This was confirmed by the European Parliament's declaration of 13 January 2005, which gave approval to Ukraine's aspirations and, most importantly, made reference to the natural right of Ukraine to join the EU.5There were other reasons to hope that, after the Orange Revolution, Ukraine's relations with the EU would change for the better. For the first time in Ukrainian history the inauguration of the president was attended by a number of top European officials, such as EU High Representative for Common Foreign Policy Javier Solana, Vice President of the European Parliament Jacek Saryusz- Wolski, and European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner. …