Ukraine on the way to EU membership

27 October 2022

12:30–12:45       Welcome word and opening speech 

• Welcome word - Recording

        Liliia Oprysk & Halvard Haukeland Fredriksen, University of Bergen

• Opening speech - Recording 

       Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of Office of the President of Ukraine

27 October 2022

12:45–14.15       Perspectives on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Chair: Yuliya Chernykh, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

• From the 2014 Annexation of Crimea to the 2022 Russian war on Ukraine: Path-Dependence and Socialization in the EU-Ukraine Relations between the Critical Junctures. Anne Pintsch & Maryna Rabinovych, University of Agder Presentation Recording
• The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement: still fit for purpose? Guillaume Van der Loo, Ghent University Presentation
• Evolution of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement: further steps due to the candidate status. Kseniia Smyrnova, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Presentation
• Interaction of the main institutional elements of the Ukrainian system of approximation of legislation and preparation for EU membership. Bohdan Veselovskyi, Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) Presentation
• EU-Ukraine DCFTA: Challenges and Opportunities. Nataliya Haletska, Ukrainian Catholic University Presentation

14:15–14.30      Discussion

27 October 2022

15:00–16:30      Approximation of laws and reforms on the way to European integration

Chair: Jørn Jacobsen, University of Bergen

• Introduction to Ukrainian Legal Culture: Desovietisation and Europeanisation. Yuliya Chernykh, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Presentation
• Rule of Law challenges for Ukraine’s EU membership: A view from the Venice Commission. Eirik Holmøyvik, University of Bergen
• Respect for Human Rights as the basic Copenhagen criteria: the ability of the Ukrainian judicial system on the way of further European integration. Tetyana Antsupova, Supreme Court of Ukraine Presentation
• Europeanization of Ukrainian Criminal Law on way to European integration. Svitlana Khyliuk, Ukrainian Catholic University 
• Compliance Negotiations and the EU Association Relations with Third Countries. The Case of Ukraine. Anne Pintsch & Maryna Rabinovych, University of Agder Presentation

16:30­–16:50      Discussion

28 October 2022

09:00–10:10       EU's Eastern Enlargement and lessons for Ukraine

Chair: Halvard Haukeland Fredriksen, University of Bergen

• Legal Reform and the EU Accession Process: Some Baltic Experience. Lauri Mälksoo, University of Tartu Recording
• The challenge of achieving EU membership - Latvian experience for Ukraine's benefit. Solvita Harbacevica, Supreme Court in Latvia Presentation Recording
• Lessons from Poland. Łukasz Bojarski, University of Oslo Presentation Recording
• EU enlargement and the experience of the Baltic States: lessons for Ukraine. Peter van Elsuwege, Ghent University Recording

10:10–10.30      Discussion Recording

28 October 2022

11:00–12:10       From the candidate status to Ukraine’s EU membership: perspectives

Chair: Liliia Oprysk, University of Bergen

• EU Accession of Ukraine. Is "classical accession" possible in time of War? Roman Petrov, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Presentation Recording
• EU pre-accession policy at the time of war: where do we go from here? Adam Lazowski, University of Westminster Recording
• EU Accession of Ukraine: Constitutional Dimension. Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva, Augsburg University, Ivan Franko Lviv University, National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" Recording
• Towards an effective model for approximation of Ukrainian legislation to EU legislation in preparation for EU accession. Yuriy Kapitsa, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Presentation Recording

12:10–12:30    Discussion Recording

28 October 2022

12:30–13:00    Closing speech - Recording

                          Liliia Honcharevych, Chargés d'Affaires of Ukraine in Norway

                         Continuing the European path: closing remarks - Recording

                          Liliia Oprysk, University of Bergen

Tetyana Antsupova - Doctor of Law, Professor. Judge of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine (since 2019). Judge of the Supreme Court of Ukraine (since 2017). Before 2017 – Head of the Department of International and Comparative Law of International Humanitarian University (Odesa); professor of the European Union Law and Comparative Law Department of National University “Odesa Law Academy” and the Department of International Law of National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Visiting professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland). Member of: European Society of International Law (ESIL); International Association of Women Judges; Ukrainian European Studies Association. Board member of the Ukrainian Association of International Law.

Łukasz Bojarski is doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo, working on the project Judges Under Stress. Lukasz most of his professional life worked for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and legal Think Tanks on judiciary, ‘judicial resistance’ against authoritarian measures, judiciary communication strategy and interaction with CSOs, selection of judges, trial observation, legal profession, human rights, non-discrimination, access to justice, clinical education. Lukasz has over 25 years of experience in research, consultancy, advocacy, and training in over 20 countries including Balkans, Central Asia, Caucasus, CEE and CIS countries. Lukasz worked as an expert for Council of Europe, European Commission, OSCE/ODIHR, Polish Universities. In 2018-19 Lukasz was an expert in the Pravo-Justice EU project in Ukraine, focusing on the judicial reform.

Yuliya Chernykh is Associate Professor at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Oslo. She researches questions related to the interpretation of legal texts and the intersections between national law and international law in international adjudication. Yuliya has received her PhD from the University of Oslo, LLM in international commercial arbitration from Stockholm University and LLB together with specialist and bachelor degree from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She has acted as arbitrator, expert and counsel in numerous international arbitration proceedings and is admitted to the Ukrainian Bar. On 2013, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) awarded her the qualification of a Chartered Arbitrator.

Nataliya Haletska is an attorney at law in Ukraine and teaches international trade law and EU law at the School of Law (Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv). Nataliya holds Master of Laws degree from Ivan Franko Lviv National University and Master of International Law and Economics from the University of Bern, Switzerland, specializing in international trade law. In 2016 Mrs. Haletska has defended her PhD thesis related to the implementation of international treaties. She has been involved in trade investigations and trade disputes between Ukraine and other WTO Members. She has a number of publications related to matters of international trade and EU law and has been invited as guest lecturer at the universities in Netherlands and Poland. As a Member of Lviv Regional Council Nataliya has initiated an improvement of cross-border infrastructure in order to increase exports from Ukraine. Nataliya is an active member of Ukrainian Bar Association and Society of International Economic Law.

Solvita Harbaceviča currently holds the position of president's advisor in the Supreme Court in Latvia. She has LLM degree in EU law from University of Amsterdam and is currently doctoral student in University of Latvia. Starting her professional career in mid 1990s, she worked as director of Law approximation department, in charge of planning and methodology of incorporating acquis communautaire into Latvian legal system. Later she held position of Deputy State Secretary of Ministry of Justice and was a member of EU accession negotiations delegation. Parallel to her work administration, she lectured EU law in Riga Graduate School of Law. Before joining Supreme Court, she worked as a référendaire in General Court, Luxembourg, dealing primarily with state aids and structural funds litigations.

Christophe Hillion is Professor of European Law at the University of Oslo and research professor at the Norwegian Institute of International studies (NUPI). He has published on the external action and constitutional law of the European Union, and has advised various European governments (including the Ukrainian MFA) and institutions (Commission, European External Action Service, European Parliament, and Council of Europe) on those topics. He is co-editor of the Common Market Law Review, and member of the Advisory/editorial boards of the Oslo Law Review, Państwo i Prawo, and Anti-Discrimination Law Review.

Eirik Holmøyvik is a professor of law at the University of Bergen, working with constitutional law and human rights law. Since 2016, he has been the Norwegian member and substitute member to the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s expert body on constitutional law. He has been rapporteur on more than 20 Venice Commission opinions, including two on Ukraine, on constitutional, electoral, and judicial reforms and rule of law issues in the member states. A recent academic publication is «The Right to an Effective (and Judicial) Examination of Election Complaints» in European Yearbook of Human Rights 2021.

Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva is currently a guest professor at the University of Augsburg. Oksana is the head of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence “Western Ukrainian Research Center for European Studies” at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv since 2018. She is the associate professor at the Lviv University and at the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”. Oksana has a degree of the candidate of the juridical sciences, her PhD dissertation was devoted to the social policy of the European Union. In 2017-2019 Oksana acted as the legal research fellow in the EU-funded project “Association4you” advising Ukrainian authorities on the approximation of the Ukrainian legislation to the EU rules and standards. Since 2019 Oksana is the President of the Ukrainian European Studies Association. The most resent teaching expertise of Mrs. Oksana Holovko-Havrysheva covers the EU Law, EU Economic Law, Comparative Legal Systems and International Institutional Law. Her current research areas cover the EU consumer protection law&policy, the cooperation between the EU and Ukraine, the legal dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the resilience issues.

Liliia Honcharevych – Dr, Chargés d'Affaires of Ukraine in Norway. Diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine since 2007. Previously has been volunteering in NGOs, Head of Committee in the Volyn Youth Parliament, Deputy Head in the Volyn Association of Creative Youth “Lessyn Kadoub” etc. Liliia has received her PhD from the National Academy of Science, Institute of the World Economy and International Relations, Master of international relations from Eichstätt-Ingolstadt University (Germany), Master of Public Administration, Specialization: European Integration (National academy of public administration, Office of the President of Ukraine), Master of Roman-Germanic philology (Lessya Ukrainka Volyn State University), has been studying in Stockholm University. Liliia has published 2 her own books, has numerous conference publications and participated in scientific research related to the European integration, international relations etc.

Svitlana Khyliuk is Professor of Law and the head of Head of the Law School at Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine). Svitlana obtained her Master degree in Law and PhD degree from Ivan Franko National University in Lviv. She has been teaching Criminal Law and Human Rights since 2004 at Ukrainian universities and as a guest lecturer at Annual International School on topical issues of human rights (organized by OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine) universities of the Netherlands, Poland, Spain etc. She was a legal expert of the Council of Europe Project “Supporting Institutions to Combat Ill-Treatment in Ukraine”, USAID New Justice program. Currently, prof. Khyliuk runs the Law School at Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine). Also, she is a legal expert of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, US Department of Justice. Svitlana Khyliuk is a member of the of Academic-Advisory Board of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Academic-Advisory Board of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Academic-Methodical Council of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.

Yuriy Kapitsa is Dr. of Laws, J.S.D., Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Studies and Technology Transfer of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He is a Member of the Working Group on Intellectual Property of the European Federation of National Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA). His research activities focus on approximation of Ukrainian IP legislation to EU acts, comparative studies of IP law of the EU and Ukraine, Moldova and other NIS. He was a head of the National Programme of Approximation project on approximation of Ukrainian IP legislation to EU legislation. He also has been working as an expert in a number of EU projects on approximation of third countries legislation to EU acquis.  He is the author of a number of books on EU and Ukraine intellectual property law and academic articles on EU - third countries legislation approximation, in particularly Association Agreements and Problems Approximating Intellectual Property Legislation of Third Countries with the EU Acquis: The Case of Ukraine, 2022; European Union Intellectual Property Law: Formation, Institutes, Directions of Development, 2020 etc.

Adam Lazowski is Professor of EU law at University of Westminster, London as well as Visiting Professor at College of Europe (Natolin) and at Ivan Franko State University in Lviv. His research focuses on EU pre-accession policy, EU External Relations, Internal Market, EU Criminal Law as well as withdrawal from the European Union. On the latter topic Prof. Łazowski has published extensively in academic journals (European Law Review, Public Law, Journal of European Public Policy) and edited volumes (Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press). His monograph on legal parameters of EU exit is forthcoming in 2023 (Edward Elgar Publishing). He is also a co-editor (with Graham Butler) of 'Shaping EU Law the British Way: UK Advocates General at the Court of Justice of the European Union’ (Hart Publishing, 2022) and a co-editor (with Adam Cygan) of ‘Research Handbook on Legal Aspects of Brexit (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022).

Lauri Mälksoo is Professor of International Law at the University of Tartu in Estonia. He is member of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Institut de Droit International and the Estonian Academy of Sciences. He has published extensively on the history and theory of international law, particularly concerning East European historical contexts, e.g. monographs 'Illegal Annexation and State Continuity' (Brill, 2nd ed. 2022) and 'Russian Approaches to International Law' (OUP, 2015). As exchange professor, he has taught international law at universities in Kyiv and Lviv.

Roman Petrov - Prof. Dr., Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy since 2010, Head of Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in EU Studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy since 2011. Director of German Law Institute at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy since 2016. Lectured the very first Jean Monnet Module in EU law in Ukraine at the Donetsk National University in 2001. Prof. Dr. Roman Petrov obtained his PhD at the Queen Mary University of London (UK) under supervision of Prof. Marise Cremona. He conducted post-doctoral research as Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute (Italy) and awarded research visiting fellowships at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) (Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship), the University of Oxford (UK), Ghent University (Belgium), Uppsala University (Sweden) and other international universities. He was a visiting professor at the University of Latvia in Riga (Latvia) and at Augsburg University (Germany), Foreign Chair at Ghent University (Belgium) and European Visiting Professor at Saarland University (Germany). He is the author of one of the first Ukrainian textbooks on EU Law. Prof. Dr. Petrov is active in publishing and international research. He is the founder and first elected President of the Ukrainian European Studies Association. Areas of Prof. Dr. Petrov’s research and teaching are: EU Law, EU External Relations Law; Approximation and Harmonisation of Legislation of Third Countries with the EU acquis; Legal Aspects of Regional Integration in the Post-Soviet Area, Non-Recognised Entities in EU Law and International Law. Prof. Dr. Petrov frequently provides consultancy to state institutions in Ukraine, including the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and Ministry of Justice. He is expert in EU Law at the European Parliament and Secretariat of the Energy Community.

Anne Pintsch is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Management, University of Agder. She is also the coordinator of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of Agder and leader of a research project on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, funded by the Norwegian Research Council. Anne holds a PhD from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Previous positions include interim professor for empirical democracy research at the University of Mannheim, project director at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) and a post-doc at Ghent University, Belgium. Anne's research interests are about external democracy promotion, international organizations, the European Union, and political transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, with a special focus on Ukraine.

Maryna Rabinovych is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Political Science and Management, University of Agder. She works on a research project “Lowering the Bar? Compliance Negotiations and the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement”, funded by the Research Council of Norway. Her previous affiliations include Kyiv School of Economics, National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” and University of Hamburg. Her research interests include EU external relations, EU Neighbourhood Policy, EU trade and development policies, as well as internal political and legal developments in the post-Soviet space. Her most recent book is “EU Regional Trade Agreements. An Instrument of Promoting the Rule of Law to Third States” (Routledge, 2021).

Kseniia Smyrnova, Doctor of Jur. Sciences (Dr hab.), Vice-rector for International Cooperation, Professor, Chair of Comparative and European Law, Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Professor Smyrnova is the head of the Section of the EU Law at the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence and the expert in Jean Monnet Network. She was working as expert in EU funding projects on EU-Ukraine AA implementation. She has authored about 200 academic publications, supervised 4 Candidates of Sciences and PhDs. Sphere of scientific interests: Comparative Law, EU Law, EU-Ukraine AA & its implementation process, EU acquis transposition, Competition Law, Legal Regulation of State Aid in the EU.

Guillaume Van der Loo is a senior research fellow at the European Policy Centre (Brussels) and Egmont – the Royal Institute for International Relations and is Visiting Professor (EU Trade Law) at Ghent University. He obtained a PhD in Law (2014, Ghent University) on the EU’s new generation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas concluded with the EU’s neighbouring countries. He was also a researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) (2015-2020) and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (2018-2019). His research and publications focus on the law and policy of the EU’s external and trade relations, with a particular focus on the new generation of EU trade and investment agreements, EU trade policy, EU external competences and EU neighbourhood relations. Guillaume has contributed to several international research projects funded by different EU institutions and member states. He has also advised several governments and national and EU institutions on EU trade affairs and has commentated widely on these topics in the media.

Peter Van Elsuwege is professor of EU law and Jean Monnet Chair at Ghent University, where he is co-director of the Ghent European Law Institute (GELI). He is also visiting professor at the College of Europe (Natolin Campus) and board member of the Centre for the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) at the Asser Institute in The Hague. His research activities essentially focus on the law of EU external relations and EU citizenship. Specific attention is devoted to the legal framework of the relations between the European Union and its East European neighbours. He is, amongst others, the author of From Soviet Republics to EU Member States. A Legal and Political Assessment of the Baltic States’ Accession to the EU (Brill, 2008) and the editor (together with R. Petrov) of the books Legislative Approximation and Application of EU Law in the Eastern Neighbourhood of the European Union: Towards a Common Regulatory Space? (Routledge, 2014) and Post-Soviet Constitutions and Challenges of Regional Integration (Routledge, 2018). In addition, he published extensively in leading law journals such as Common Market Law Review, European Law Review, European Constitutional Law Review and others.

Bohdan Veselovskyi was born in Vinnytsia in Ukraine. He received his higher education at the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where he currently pursues a PhD in International Law. Bohdan has 45 scientific publications in national and foreign academic journals (including Scopus) on various scientific topics in the field of international and European law. Currently, Bohdan works as an international expert in the Parliament of Ukraine and writes analytical articles and policy briefings, as well as teaches students courses in international and European law.

Ihor Zhovkva – Dr., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Office of the President of Ukraine, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of Ukraine. Ihor Zhovkva graduated from the Institute of International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University in 2001 with the degree in International Relations. He held a PhD in Political Science in 2005 and became an Associate Professor in 2014 and Professor in 2019. In 2002, he started his service as an assistant to the Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Chairman of the Committee on European Integration. During 2002-2008, Ihor Zhovkva held various positions in the Foreign Policy Department of the Administration of two Presidents of Ukraine. In 2008, he became Chief of Staff of Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European Integration. During 2010-2014, he chaired the Department of International Cooperation and Investment Marketing at the State Agency for Foreign Investment of Ukraine. In 2014, Dr Zhovkva moved to the Administration of the President of Ukraine to become Director of the Foreign Policy and European Integration Directorate General. Since September 2019, Dr Zhovkva serves as Deputy Head of Office of the President of Ukraine.