Publications
Op-eds, columns, analysis, policy briefs and reports on Ukraine's European integration and EU enlargement.
EPIK
Commentary on the European Commission's package "Preparing for a wider Union". It is the EU's first systemic answer to the question of its own readiness for enlargement: solid, but unfinished in places. One issue is conspicuous by its absence: reconstruction.
EPIK, policy brief
Proposes a permanent Verkhovna Rada representation in Brussels, starting as a two-MP pilot, so that Ukraine's parliament can track EU legislation early, explain implementation constraints to MEPs and close the oversight gap in the accession process.
Hospodářské noviny
NV
Explains what opening the External Relations cluster means: Ukraine will phase out its own free-trade agreements and join the EU's common commercial policy, gaining access to the Union's global trade network and negotiating weight in return.
Der Tagesspiegel
The Kyiv Independent
After the opening of the Fundamentals cluster, the burden of proof shifts to Kyiv to show it can implement thousands of legal changes while at war, while Brussels must open the remaining clusters quickly and tie financial incentives to concrete progress.
EPIK, policy brief
Argues for merit-based, staged access for Ukraine to the EU Single Market through an 'EEA+' style arrangement as an interim step that delivers tangible benefits, derisks investment and reduces the political uncertainty of the ratification timeline before full membership.
NV
Reads Chancellor Merz's letter on 'associate membership': some elements are useful, but instead of another half-status Ukraine should prepare to sign an Accession Treaty under Article 49.
EPIK, commentary
Rejects proposals for 'associate membership' or other intermediate statuses as an indefinite waiting room, insisting that only full membership under Article 49 TEU secures Ukraine's sovereignty, and proposes a reformed accession track with open clusters, parallel conditionality, sectoral integration and structured institutional participation.
NV
Hybrid statuses floated by Germany and France would require EU treaty change and give Ukraine no real influence; the alternative is to sign an Accession Treaty in 2027 followed by active observer status in EU institutions.
EPIK, policy brief
Makes the case for accelerating Ukraine's sectoral integration into EU customs, energy, digital and industrial frameworks as a faster route to accession, arguing that procedures built for gradual convergence do not fit wartime Ukraine and that a special protocol with clear timelines is needed to deliver visible economic benefits.
Foreign Policy
Argues that the classic enlargement method does not fit Ukraine's wartime circumstances and sets out three 'membership lite' options, concluding that the real choice is between clear, meaningful phased integration and superficial compromises that would breed disillusionment.
European Pravda
The 2025 Enlargement Report was a success for Ukraine (a recommendation to open three clusters), but the July crisis around NABU and SAPO and slow law-making show the need to sharply accelerate integration reforms.
Centre of Policy and Legal Reform
Sets out six steps to restore partners' trust and advance Ukraine's accession negotiations after the summer of 2025.
European Pravda
Explains how the law of 22 July 2025 undermined partners' trust and proposes concrete steps to rebuild it before negotiating clusters open: honouring earlier commitments, civil-service reform and demonstrating readiness for change.
EasyBusiness, report
Assesses Ukraine's acquis-alignment progress chapter by chapter across all 35 negotiating chapters and six clusters on the basis of the Commission's 2024 Enlargement Package, and sets reform priorities. Prepared by the EasyBusiness expert team with his participation.
The Loop (ECPR)
Staged integration, giving candidates phased access to EU benefits before accession, can revive enlargement without lowering standards, provided it is merit-based, transparent and explicitly designed to lead to full membership rather than a permanent second tier.
European Pravda
A reading of the Commission's screening report for the Fundamentals cluster: which judicial, public-administration and anti-corruption reforms Ukraine needs, and why implementation matters more than adopting laws.
European Pravda
Assessment of the 2024 Enlargement Report: Ukraine shows steady progress without sharp jumps, keeps parity with Moldova and should focus on implementing recommendations and syncing with the Ukraine Facility before the Fundamentals cluster opens.
European Pravda
Drawing on the Draghi-era competitiveness debate, argues that Ukraine's accession (resources, IT, agricultural and energy potential) can help the EU close its innovation gap and strengthen strategic autonomy.
Fundacja im. Stefana Batorego
This commentary analyzes the current EU enlargement policy, which was originally designed for the Western Balkans and now artificially slows down Ukraine's integration through "technical pauses" used by member states. The author calls for a reform of these negotiating frameworks and the inclusion of Ukraine in European "nearshoring" and defense initiatives to mutually reinforce the EU's strategic autonomy.
European Pravda
Takeaways from the first civil-society EuroSummit: moving from the 'sprint' (questionnaire, candidate status) to the 'marathon' of negotiations requires institutionalised civil-society participation, including through the EuroHub platform.
ZN.ua
Explains the Commission's March 2024 communication on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews: enlargement as a strategic interest, gradual integration of candidates through Single Market access, and four blocks of change (values, policies, finance, decision-making).
European Pravda
Analysis of the draft negotiating framework for Ukraine under the revised 2020 enlargement methodology: the system of incentives and sanctions, the special weight of rule of law and anti-corruption, and the own-merits principle.
SD Platform
The stages ahead after the European Council's December 2023 decision: screening, a negotiating framework in March 2024, implementing more than 27,000 EU legal acts and the critical role of rule-of-law reforms.
European Pravda
What candidate status changes in practice: access to new financial instruments and formats of cooperation, and the need for Ukraine to push for a revised integration agenda, tariff removal and entry into the EU internal market.
SD Platform
Explains the purpose of the Commission's questionnaire, the pace at which the Government is completing it, and what candidate status will give Ukraine as a green light for accession.
SD Platform
An overview of the S&D group's progressive initiatives in the European Parliament (Green Deal, digital advertising rules, fair taxation, the European Pillar of Social Rights) and how Ukraine can work with Europe's progressive forces.
IPG Journal (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung)
Assesses EU-Ukraine relations after the October 2020 summit and argues for ambitious rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms despite the systemic crisis of the Neighbourhood Policy.
SD Platform
What the von der Leyen Commission means for Ukraine: two scenarios, an 'association lite' with sectoral integration or a more ambitious 'Trio 2030' strategy for the associated partners.
European Pravda
A review of the Eastern Partnership's post-2020 relaunch ('20 deliverables for 2020', sectoral integration for associated partners) and a call for Ukraine to shape the new agenda rather than wait for Brussels.
VoxUkraine
The EU External Investment Plan opens access to guarantees and private capital conditional on reforms, but Ukraine lacks the capacity to prepare bankable projects.
European Pravda
2018 as the last chance to institutionalise implementation of the Association Agreement: with 144 tasks and only 11 to 15 percent completed, mechanical box-ticking must give way to political decisions on transforming the state.
New Eastern Europe
Analyses the July 2017 EU-Ukraine summit dispute over recognising Ukraine's 'European aspirations' and proposes ways to improve bilateral relations.
NV
After the 2017 EU-Ukraine summit, a call to replace romantic expectations of quick membership with pragmatic use of existing tools: transforming the Eastern Partnership, economic support for associated countries and participation in EU decision-making.
VoxUkraine
An analysis of the five scenarios in the Commission's White Paper on the future of the EU to 2025 and how each would affect Ukraine's place in the European system.
Ekonomichna Pravda
An overview of China's political and economic reforms and the lessons of its difficult transition from a planned to a market model.
Visegrad Insight
How Central and Eastern European countries, and by extension Ukraine, can become more attractive to investment than competing emerging markets by leveraging regional unity through the Visegrad Group.
Ekonomichna Pravda
Where the interests of Russia and China converge and diverge in their regional projects, and whether an equal partnership is possible between economically unequal partners.
Ukrainska Pravda
Why Brussels took up the Energy Union project after the gas crises, and what it means for European and Ukrainian energy security, including Ukraine's gas-storage capacity.
Ekonomichna Pravda
The Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as opportunities for a Ukraine at war that must define its role in global projects without retreating from European integration.
VoxUkraine
The Riga summit revealed the partners' diverging ambitions; for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia the results (macro-financial assistance, visa-free prospects in 2016) were the most that was realistically achievable.
VoxUkraine
Ahead of the Riga summit, proposes differentiating the reform leaders (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia) from the laggards and strengthening support through visa liberalisation and energy projects.
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