Focus on Ukraine – Ukraine and the EU: A Family Portrait

In 2009 surveys showed a drop in popular support among Ukrainians for integration with the European Union. The incoherence of the EU's approach to Ukraine had pushed Ukraine to believe the European Union had lost interest in the country. Ukraine's leadership blamed the EU for closing the door. The European Union, in turn, blamed Ukrainian leaders for their lack of political will to reform and to act on promises made after the Orange Revolution.

Both parties needed to work harder on their relationship. If the EU properly filled its role as a responsible actor in the Black Sea region, and if Ukraine's new leadership stabilized its economic and political situation, the EU-Ukraine relationship might finally be based on mutual trust and attraction.