EU-Ukraine relations after the orange revolution: The role of the new member states

Abstract

The peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian election crisis in late 2004 appeared to open a window of opportunity for upgrading EU-Ukraine relations. Kiev's attempts to extract a clear membership prospect from the Union, however, failed despite considerable support from several old and, in particular, new EU member states. This paper draws on a broadly understood Foreign Policy Analysis approach to provide an empirically rich case study of the role of the new member states in the decision-making process regarding the EU's response to Kiev's membership aspirations. The paper reviews the policy lines advocated by the new member states and their interaction with other players, the nature of the decision-making process and the impact of contextual factors on the ability of the new members to shape the EU's response. The paper concludes that the new member states contributed to the emergence of a consensus on the need to recognise the developments in Ukraine and to a certain upgrading of the EU's position. However, the new member states were unable to exert a strong influence over the specific form of the EU's response due to the nature of the decision-making process and several contextual factors relating to domestic concerns of the old member states. The paper finishes by drawing some broader conclusions on the role of the new member states in EU policy towards Ukraine.