This was emphasised by the Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU during her speech on «Ukraine and NATO: Challenges of Future Membership in Wartime.» The Chair addressed her speech to participants in the youth simulation game Model NATO: Mission: Rebuilding Security. The event brought together more than 150 participants - pupils, students and civil society activists - who worked in a format simulating the work of six key NATO committees. Their focus was on security issues, collective defence, recovery strategies and Ukraine's role in the Alliance.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that such events are very valuable in terms of Ukraine's institutional preparation for NATO membership. «I am glad that you find the time and motivation to see how the structure works, which, I sincerely believe, each of you strive for, so that we can finally achieve it, join it and have the opportunity to guarantee our security through collective security. I am convinced that this time will come, and despite the fact that we do not currently have the support of all our partners to include Ukraine in the Alliance, I believe that such a window of opportunity will definitely appear,» said the Committee Chair.
She noted that Ukraine has come a long way in the defence sector over the past 30 years. In order to take advantage of this window of opportunity, Ukraine must first and foremost not lose the trust of its partners. «The Alliance and the European Union currently trust Ukrainian society. Unfortunately, they have stopped trusting the Ukrainian government. This has an impact on aid to Ukraine and further support. Therefore, I believe that trust is the plateau that will allow us to move forward with confidence. We must not allow other mistakes that could lead to a loss of trust. Everything else can be sorted out and achieved,» said Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze.
Also, in her opinion, Ukraine needs to actively work to fully meet the requirements of interoperability with the Alliance. «First of all, from the point of view of our legal system, compliance with the laws, fulfilment of the main, fundamental requirements relating to democracy. And even if we fully comply with the technical requirements, these first, fundamental criteria will be much more important for us to join,» said the Chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU. «Look at the experience of Finland and Sweden. They moved quite quickly from submitting their applications to actual membership during russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. And that was a political decision. At the same time, there could be no comments from NATO regarding their readiness, because they were already ready. They are the same as the Alliance countries.»
Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze also noted that today, support for Ukraine's membership in NATO, as well as in the European Union, is very high, but also very emotional. Therefore, it is important to communicate to society why membership in the EU and NATO should be a conscious choice. First of all, so that this process is irreversible and there are no attempts to turn everything back. Also, according to the chair of the Committee, narratives about the possibility of a so-called ‘third way’ for Ukraine are very dangerous. «We do not have a third way. We have a path together with the civilised world. You can be the people who turn this choice into a conscious choice,» concluded the chair of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU.