“Previously when we said to the European interlocutors that Ukraine is a European country, there was no talk about EU membership, but only about certain relations. And at a meeting in early October, we were assured that there is no doubt that we are a European country.”
“After what’s happening now in Ukraine, it will be much harder for Europe to say ‘no.’ Even 10 years ago the idea of signing an association agreement made some European diplomats smile. Now the situation is quite different. When the agreement was being written, one of the points said that Ukraine is a country with a European identity. Although a few years ago, one of the key polemical elements of Ukrainian-European relations was whether the Association Agreement offers an opportunity to join the EU. European politicians have tried every possible way to emphasize that the association agreement is the limit. They did not want to write that Ukraine has European roots,” said the archbishop, who from September 30 to October 2 was at a meeting in Brussels, where Ukrainian religious leaders gathered for a dialogue on the European integration prospects of Ukraine.
Within six months, there have been major changes in Europe’s views of Ukraine. “We have seen a serious difference,” said the archbishop. “Previously when we said to the European interlocutors that Ukraine is a European country, there was no talk about EU membership, but only about certain relations. And at a meeting in early October, we were assured that there is no doubt that we are a European country.”
According to the archbishop, the purpose of his visit to Brussels by the members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, which represents 95% of religious organizations in the Ukraine, was to reassure the European colleagues that we’re going to Europe not as petitioners, but with a certain mission.
“Ukraine already experienced in the 20s and 30s that aggressive secularization that swept Europe. Ukraine with healthy forces can support the deep religious roots in Europe. This will be its contribution, because we are not beggars on Europe's doorstep,” said Archbishop Yevstratiy.
The spokesperson commented on the position of those who now stand on the EuroMaidans: “I think those people who now actively support the association of Ukraine with the EU are not fighting so much for the economic standards of living, for welfare, for the euro as a currency, but for their civil rights, the right to influence the life of the state, for the right to be heard.”