4th Germany Breakfast Debate in Kyiv: “What is the state of German-Ukrainian relations? Voices from the German Bundestag and the Verkhovna Rada”.
Bilateral cooperation between Germany and Ukraine has steadily intensified since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and the subsequent military aggression by the Russian Federation. This is reflected, among other things, in the establishment of new institutions, such as the Ukraine Task Force AA or the appointment of Georg Milbradt, former governor of Saxony, as Special Advisor on the Ukrainian reform agenda, who is particularly committed to the decentralisation process. Despite the successes of recent years and some very positive signals at the last EU-Ukraine summit in October 2020, it would be wrong to say that there is not also cause for concern. If the Ukrainian government does not manage to implement effective measures against the still widespread corruption and to strengthen the rule of law, the Ukrainian government’s commitment to the reform agenda will suffer a loss of credibility.
The guests of the 4th Germany Breakfast Debate on October 29, 2020, discussed perspectives on the current development of German-Ukrainian cooperation with Galyna Yanchenko (Sluha Narodu), the Co-Chair of the Ukrainian-German Parliamentary Group in the Verkhovna Rada, and Omid Nouripour (Bündnis 10/DIE GRÜNEN), the Chairman of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Group in the German Bundestag.
We were particularly happy about the participation of the German Ambassador in Kyiv, Anka Feldhusen, under whose patronage the Germany Breakfast Debates are held. In a short speech at the beginning of the event she stressed the importance of exchange formats such as the Breakfast Debates for bilateral relations. Just one day before, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court had declared a number of anti-corruption laws invalid – another sign that the exchange between German and Ukrainian parliamentarians should definitely be continued via online events like this one to increase mutual knowledge and understanding.
After a brief overview of the current situation by Katrin Böttger, director at the IEP, and the welcome address by Sergiy Solodkyy from the partner organisation New Europe Center (NEC), the discussion began with an insight into the priorities of parliamentary cooperation. The central topic remains Russia’s aggression in Eastern Ukraine. What is asked of Germany is not only solidarity and engagement in the Normandy format, but also an active discussion about the status of Crimea – silence is only helping to normalise the situation. On the other hand, Germany could learn a lot from the Ukrainian experience in terms of the dissemination of fake news and hybrid warfare. Not only in terms of the relations with Russia, but also in its interaction with Belarus.
Germany is currently one of Ukraine’s most important trading partners. However, the nucleus of the need for reform is and remains corruption in the country. In order to expand economic cooperation and persuade German companies to relocate their production capacities to Ukraine, the investment climate must be sustainably improved. The recently passed verdict of the Constitutional Court, which among other things prevents the criminal prosecution of tax evasion by civil servants was not only a false signal to the outside world, but also the reversal of six years of work in the fight against corruption.
Questions from the audience mainly concerned sanctions against Russia and the extent to which the Navalny case could potentially impact the North Stream 2 project. The further the construction progresses, the less likely it is that the pipeline, which has become a real political issue, will be stopped. Other points of discussion were Germany’s historical responsibility and the associated moral and financial obligations towards Ukraine as well as the role of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission, for which the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recently withdrew its support. At the end of the debate, not only the results of the Ukrainian local elections were discussed, but also the potential consequences of the outcome of the US elections for Ukraine.
The Germany Breakfast Debates are part of the project “German Ukrainian Researchers Network” (GURN). GURN aims at establishing a German-Ukrainian research network for junior and senior researchers and their organisations, strengthening country expertise and promoting joint cooperation projects. GURN is conducted in close cooperation with the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF, Kyiv), the think tank development and research initiative think twice UA (Kyiv), the New Europe Center (NEC, Kyiv) and is kindly supported by the Federal Foreign Office.