Ukraine: What next?

The war in eastern Ukraine is in its fourth year. More than 10,000 have been killed and many more wounded. Despite Western efforts to resolve the conflict, the fighting in the Donbas continues, costing lives and hampering Ukraine’s development. But even so, Ukraine has managed to move forward on its reform agenda and closer to the EU. The DCFTA is now in force and so is the visa-free regime.

Europe has played a central role on these developments. The EU has imposed sanctions on Russia and provided support for reforms in Ukraine. But the EU has been virtually absent from diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict or to stabilise the situation on the ground. Is there an opportunity for the EU to become more involved in conflict resolution? Equally importantly, what can the EU offer to further stimulate reforms in Ukraine? What can we realistically expect from the Eastern Partnership summit in November?#

Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) is a Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations. He formerly served as Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

Hanna Hopko (@HopkoHanna) is a Member of Parliament of Ukraine and the Chairwoman of Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Verkhovna Rada. Previously actively involved in civil society organisations.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) is the founder and Chairman of Rasmussen Global. He previously served as NATO Secretary General and Prime Minister of Denmark.

Fredrik Wesslau (@FWesslau) is the Director of the Wider Europe Programme at ECFR. He has spent the past decade working for the EU, OSCE, and UN on conflicts and crisis management.

This event is organised with support from Rasmussen Global.