LOCATION Kyiv, Ukraine

SPEAKER Sir Stewart Eldon, UK Permanent Representative to NATO

EVENT NATO Ukraine round table

DATE 08/10/2009

I am extremely pleased to be in Kyiv for the 2nd time during my current spell at NATO.  Many thanks, too, to the NATO Liaison Office for arranging this event, and for inviting me to speak on NATO- Ukraine relations.  I’d like to concentrate today on Ukraine’s future relationship with the Alliance, and on how NATO-Ukraine co-operation should evolve to assist Ukraine to achieve its desired goals.
Let me begin by stressing the UK fully supports Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Ukraine has made great progress since the Orange Revolution in establishing its democratic credentials; this is a matter of great credit.  It is precisely this sort of reform that is transforming Ukraine into a state guided by democracy and the rule of law.  It is self-evident that these principles hold the key to a stable and prosperous future.

At the outset I also want to stress that NATO remains firmly committed to its open door policy.  The Strasbourg/Kehl summit declaration stated that “NATO’s door will remain open to all European democracies which share the values of our Alliance, which are willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership, and whose inclusion can contribute to common security and stability.” All Allies agree strongly that a sovereign state is entitled to choose its own security arrangements.  That statement is aimed at nobody; it is simply a matter of fundamental principle.

As you are all no doubt aware, the NATO Bucharest summit of April 2008 has placed Ukraine in a very special position with the Alliance. The Bucharest summit gave Ukraine, along with Georgia, the guarantee of becoming a member of the Alliance. Since then the NATO – Ukraine relationship has evolved significantly.

At the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in December 2008, a new process was put in place to help Ukraine along its path toward membership. This involved adjusting the role of the existing NATO Ukraine Commission which had been established following the signing of the NATO Ukraine Charter in 1997, with the introduction of ‘Annual National Programmes’

Since then Ukraine has been working on developing its Annual National Programme.  This was finalised and signed by President Yushchenko on 7 August this year.  On 21 August a Declaration was signed giving a central role to the NATO-Ukraine Commission for deepening political dialogue and cooperation, and in underpinning Ukraine’s reform efforts.

Taken together these developments have given Ukraine a very privileged position with respect to NATO. Anyone who argues that the concept is somehow second-best is talking nonsense.  The NATO-Ukraine Commission gives Ukraine frequent and high level access to NATO. And the Annual National Programme provides a mechanism for delivering the reforms necessary for membership. In essence, the debate over a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine has become academic.

There may well be some new debates on MAP for some Balkan countries ahead of the next NATO ministerial in December.  But whatever the outcome of that debate, it is important to remember that Ukraine already has the mechanisms, in many ways superior to MAP, that will help bring you along the road to membership.   There is, however, no such thing as a free lunch.  Delivery is down to Ukraine.  It is imperative to maintain progress in implementing the necessary reforms; the key to doing that is engaging with the Annual National Programme (ANP) process.

The Annual National Programme is a performance-based process, that will help provide for Ukraine’s needs on its journey towards membership.  For it to be truly effective, it is vital that there is a thorough two-way process of engagement by Ukraine and NATO through political dialogue, consultations and practical cooperation.

Ukraine’s first ANP is divided into 5 areas; political and economic; defence and military; resources; security issues; and legal issues. The fact the ANP focuses on much more than just defence and military issues may come as a surprise to some. In fact it shouldn’t. NATO is much more than just a military organisation, and its members have a set of shared values. This is why it is right that the first chapter of the ANP is devoted to political and economic reforms. Whatever your views on Ukraine joining NATO, I hope you can agree that the reforms identified in the ANP are worthwhile in their own right.

Let me give you an example.  The opening words of the ANP section on politics and economics read as follows. “Ukraine will continue to conduct policy aimed at strengthening democracy, rule of law, guaranteeing human rights and freedoms, follow the principle of state governance based on division of state power into legislative, executive and judicial, principle of judges’ independence, respect of national minority’s rights, non-discrimination of personality by political, religious and ethnic criteria.” 

These types of fundamental reforms should not be seen through the prism of whether Ukraine should be associating itself with NATO or with Russia.  Rather, they should be taken forward on their own merit. The question is ‘what type of country do you want Ukraine to be?’ I hope you can all agree that a Ukraine underpinned by democracy, the rule of law and division of powers, is a Ukraine that will prosper and thrive in the modern world. It is for this reason the ANP process is so crucial for Ukraine and also why I hope, whoever wins the Presidential election early next year, the process will continue to be vigorously implemented.

So Ukraine itself holds the key to one of the questions proposed by the organisers of this event. “Is Ukraine likely to become a NATO member in the foreseeable future? “. The answer is entirely up to Ukraine.  The process of reform is not always easy, but it is necessary.

The UK is providing a good deal of assistance to Ukraine to help with the reform process. This comes bi-laterally through our Embassy, but also through a special Defence Adviser; a Professional Development programme; assistance with Intelligence Sector reform; and a Building Integrity programme. I hope this gives you a sense of how committed the UK is to the reform process.  But we can only help: it is up to Ukraine to drive through the reforms that are needed. 

Self-evidently, the views of the Ukrainian people are fundamental in all this.  So there must be a debate, led by the political leaderships, on what NATO is and what it stands for.

In January Ukraine will be measured against the benchmarks it set for itself in the ANP and will have to devise and implement a new ANP for 2010. This presents an exciting opportunity. Ukraine will by then have a new administration; the experience of writing and implementing your first ANP; as well as the background of the Ukrainian strategic defence review. The factors should all help the production of an even better ANP for next year. I hope they will.  As Churchill said, “attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”.

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