On March 5, 2026, within the framework of the project "EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid" (EU_LEAD) with the support of the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Programme, a public lecture was held by Jochen Richter - an expert with 30 years of experience in high positions in the European Commission and the European Parliament, Chairman of the Global Security Forum at the Diplomatic Council (UN), lecturer at the universities of Luxembourg, Düsseldorf, Lviv, and freelancer at the Robert Schuman Institute on the topic: "Ukraine-EU: Readiness without Illusions".
At the beginning of the lecture, Jochen Richter shared information about his professional experience and books of his own authorship/co-authorship: "Europe and the New Global Order in Formation", "The Last Train to the West", "Brexit and Its Consequences", as well as "Space Security".
During the lecture, Jochen Richter spoke about the factors influencing Ukraine's integration into the European community. He notes that geopolitical aggression has accelerated the process of Ukraine's integration into the EU, turning enlargement into a strategic decision, but the status of the future sixth largest country in the union forces Brussels to be wary of large-scale consequences.
The speaker noted that Ukraine should go through a difficult path of economic reforms, for example, in the agricultural sector, in order to withstand competition on the EU market in the future. The transition stage will be especially difficult for Ukraine, the expert emphasized, during which the country will need to adapt to changes and overcome a number of problems. Among them, in particular, the fight against corruption and the establishment of the rule of law still remain.
Jochen Richter also noted that government communication and a clear national strategy play an important role in accession negotiations. The speaker emphasized that the EU is afraid of the so-called "backsliding" of reforms after Ukraine has already received membership and the direct levers of influence on it disappear. In this context, the role of Ukrainian civil society is important: it acts as an independent factor of stability that does not allow the democratization process to stop.
In addition, he emphasized the impact of recent events on the process of Ukraine's integration into the EU, for example, the course of peace negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine mediated by the United States, as well as the attack by Israel and the United States on Iran. The speaker also spoke about the results of the Munich Security Conference in the context of Ukraine. The invited guest focuses on the fact that the situation is complicated by global changes: the attention of the world media is gradually shifting to the conflicts around Iran, which may weaken support for Ukraine. Therefore, the idea of "phased accession", which is currently being discussed by the European Commission, is an attempt to find a real path for Ukraine in conditions when the old rules of enlargement no longer meet the requirements of the time.
The lecture was attended by international students, students from the Ukrainian Economic and Social Committee, teachers of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, and members of the EU_LEAD team, a total of 70 participants.
At the end, Jochen answered the questions of the lecture participants, of which there were many, in particular about the outflow of personnel from Ukraine in the event of accession to the EU, the coverage of Ukraine in the media of the European Union countries, Donald Trump's rhetoric regarding Ukraine's integration into the EU, the role of Ukrainian refugees in the social structure of the EU and their reintegration in Ukraine, as well as ways to maintain long-term support from the EU.
We thank Jochen Richter for the informative presentation and all participants for the active discussion!
