On February 15-17 ICDS researchers were among the featured panelists and moderators at the 8th Europe-Ukraine Forum in Łódź, Poland, organized by the Institute for Eastern Studies Foundation.
Research fellow Emmet Tuohy spoke on a panel entitled Domestic and Foreign Determinants of Ukraine’s Security. Delivering his remarks in the Ukrainian language, Tuohy argued that Ukraine should temporarily accept the loss of Crimea and parts of the Donbas region. Drawing on the historical examples of Cyprus and Ireland, he concluded that such an approach would enable Ukraine to to increase its security, build on its domestic reforms, and maximise the burden on the occupying forces in the short- to medium-term–while in the long run providing it with a stable basis on which to reintegrate the country.
Anna Bulakh moderated the Ukraine and its Neighbours – New Dimensions of Economic Cooperation panel. The panelists discussed how the recent events in Ukraine – from Crimea’s annexation by Russia to the war in the Donbas and the association agreement with the European Union–have dramatically affected the dynamics of Ukraine’s economic cooperation, especially with its neighbors.
On a panel entitled Ukraine in the European Security System, Maksym Bugriy characterized the evolving understanding of Ukraine as a contributor to European security as a positive development. With NATO reasserting its key role in the European security system, “readiness” has once again become a key focus–especially as Russia has continued its short-term militarization program. Bugriy argued that Russia is likely to challenge the cohesion of both NATO and the EU in the Black and Baltic Sea regions alike. Among Moscow’s key objectives, he concluded, is to secure a better position for itself in regional economic competition, including a greater share of maritime trade.