Anthony J. Constantini
Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the beleaguered country formally applied to join the European Union. The application was a fulfillment of a long-held desire, going back years. In 2014, President Viktor Yanukovych was forced out via likely unconstitutional means over a desire to stay more aligned with Russia rather than the European Union. His successor, President Petro Poroshenko, once declared that he hoped to see Ukraine ensconced in the EU by 2020. That obviously did not happen. But the current administration, under President Volodymyr Zelensky, is optimistically hoping to enter around 2030.
The problem is that this is all easier said than done. Entering the European Union is a fraught process requiring each applying state to match a series of benchmarks. But even when they do so, they still need the approval of every member state. And here is where things get tricky for Ukraine.
Ukraine, and much of Eastern Europe, has borders which are, in a civilisational context, relatively “new.” What belongs to one country today belonged to another as recently as the last century. Look at a map of Poland today and a map of Poland from 100 years ago, for example, and you could be excused for thinking you are looking at two different countries.
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