April 17, 2025

Ukrainians and the EU: Integration, Divisions and Scepticism

43 minutes

With Kostiantyn Fedorenko, Valeria Lazarenko and Maryna Rabinovych

This episode is about Ukrainians - in Ukraine and abroad - their experiences of war and European integration, and what these might mean for the future of Ukrainian and European politics. Marina Rabinovych talks to Valeria Lazarenko, who has studied governance regimes for Ukrainian refugees in Germany, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic, and Kostiantyn Fedorenko, who has researched the risks of Euroscepticism in Ukraine - an issue of growing relevance as the war enters its fourth year and the stakes rise for potential negotiations and Europe's role in them.

President Zelenskiy signed Ukraine's official application for EU membership on 28 February 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion began. Although the application was approved and Ukraine gained EU candidate status with unprecedented speed, the road remains challenging and does not promise to get any easier as the war continues and around 20% of Ukraine's territory is occupied by Russia.

With the full-scale invasion, relations with the EU have suddenly become very concrete for Ukrainian citizens. Many have been displaced, living in various EU countries under temporary protection status –some want to stay there. And while EU countries were seen as important in providing military aid, key member states such as Germany were heavily criticised for their perceived slow delivery.

Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

With

Kostiantyn Fedorenko (ZOiS): https://www.zois-berlin.de/en/about-us/staff/kostiantyn-fedorenko

Valeria Lazarenko: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeria-Lazarenko

Moderation: Maryna Rabinovych (UiT – the Arctic University of Norway/UNET) : https://www.zois-berlin.de/en/about-us/staff/dr-maryna-rabinovych

The episode is based on a recent book, Ukraine’s Thorny Path to the EU: From “Integration without Membership” to “Integration through War”, co-edited by Dr. Anne Pintsch from the University of Agder in Norway and Marina Rabinovych. The volume seeks to unpack the complexity of political, legal and economic issues surrounding Ukraine’s European integration in the war context: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-69154-6

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