Tetiana Antsupova Delivered a Report on the Capacity of Ukrainian Judiciary in Further European Integration

The European choice was the beginning of Ukraine's conscious struggle for independence, and we are paying a heavy price for it. Europe is our reliable partner in the fight against the cynical and aggressive Russian invasion, and Ukraine is defending not only its borders, independence and territorial integrity, but the entire civilized democratic world.

In June 1993, at a meeting in Copenhagen, the European Council determined the scope and content of the political criteria for membership in the European Union. Among them is the achievement of institutional stability as a guarantee of democratic order and the rule of law and ensuring respect for human rights, as well as respect for and protection of minorities. It is clear that these criteria are the main values of the Europeans, they are shared and now defended on the front line by the Ukrainians.

This was stated by the Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court Tetiana Antsupova during a symposium “Ukraine on the way to EU membership. From Association Agreement to candidate status”. The event was organised on October 27-28, 2022 by the Faculty of Law of the University of Bergen (Norway). The following key topics were discussed during the symposium: implementation and the future of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, perspectives on Ukraine’s EU membership application, approximation of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation, experience of the EU integration in the context of Eastern enlargement. The speakers included experts on European integration, EU external relations, scientists, representatives of state institutions of the EU and Ukraine.

Tetiana Antsupova delivered a report on the topic "Respect for human rights as a basic Copenhagen criterion: the capacity of Ukrainian judiciary on the way to further European integration."

The speaker highlighted the current situation and the challenges faced by the judiciary of Ukraine in the context of war. She noted that assessing the country's progress on the European integration path the European Parliament attached great importance to such issues as the ratification and implementation of human rights legal standards, the legal responsibility of the police, military and special services, respect for the rights of minorities, the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the media, torture and abuse, etc.

The Judge of the SC Grand Chamber said that at the moment Ukraine was closer than ever to membership in the EU. The European Commission plans to conduct its first assessment of progress in meeting the Copenhagen Criteria as early as December this year. “There is a lot of work ahead,” Tetiana Antsupova is convinced.