Ukraine plans to merge some ministries and establish the Ministry of European Integration, which is responsible for joining the EU and possibly NATO. The uniqueness of the decision is that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy is preparing to absorb European Integration competences.

This idea shocked Ukrainian EU experts, naming it counterproductive. They claim it will not help Ukraine, especially when Kyiv declares its intentions to join the EU quickly.

However, the vice prime minister and the advisor to the president, responsible for relations with the EU, do not deny these intentions. We can only hope that massive criticism will stop these plans to create a body that is planned to be called the "Ministry of European Integration, Culture and Information Policy."

What are they planning to change?

The outlines of the government reform have been previously agreed upon. All interlocutors of European Pravda confirm that. However, the Zelenskyy administration has agreed at the political level that the number of ministries will decrease. Ukraine's media outlet ZN.UA reported on November 8 the relevant decision had been backed at a meeting between the president and the Cabinet's leadership.

This should show the voters the state apparatus's reduction during military austerity.

There is also a political engine of change: the reduction of ministries will make it easy to eliminate a few ministers who have become "undesirable."

Meanwhile, if implemented, the planned reform will radically change how Ukraine coordinates its European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Nowadays, when Ukraine declares accelerated EU and NATO accession, this is really important.

They want to establish a ministry responsible for the EU and NATO integration based on the Ministry of Culture.

The new minister will be Olha Stefanishyna, who will retain the position of deputy prime minister. In this case, she will be tasked with integrating cultural diplomacy with tools for promoting Ukraine's membership in the EU.

Olha Stefanishyna, in a comment to EuroPravda, did not deny it was considered. She also confirmed that she is confident about retaining the post of vice prime minister. "There is no threat to my mandate as deputy prime minister for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as this is now a priority for the state," she said.

Stefanishyna refused to share her position on the changes but assured that if it happens, "the capacity (for joining the EU) should be strengthened." However, in reality, the proposed changes are capable of harming Ukraine's movement toward membership.

What is it for?

People have been discussing whether the Ministry for European integration is needed in Ukraine. Olha Stefanishyna supports this idea. However, she insisted on a separate ministry. Nobody mentioned establishing a new body based on the Ministry of Culture.

This symbiosis is unnatural. Not a single state that has joined the EU had that.

The point that "cultural diplomacy will let Ukraine back its interests on the path to accession," as European Pravda sources claim, is not convincing. It rather indicates that not everyone in the Ukrainian government understands the tasks that Ukraine must fulfill in order to join the EU and NATO.

During the membership negotiations, which Kyiv intends to open, Ukraine must introduce all norms of the EU acquis into its legislation and prove to the European Commission that its legislation corresponds to European legislation and is applied in exactly the same way as in the European Union. Not a single cultural diplomacy will convince the EU, and it will only consume the time and resources of the Deputy Prime Minister and other leaders.

Even more absurd is that the Ministry of Culture will have to deal with NATO.

Ukraine plans to attend the summit in Vilnius next year to back accelerated accession. They will have to explain that we will adapt the standards later. It will not be easy to convince the Allies that the Ministry of Culture is an effective tool for NATO integration.

Numerous sources confirm that the real reason for the "merger" is different. The authorities want to remove the current Minister of Culture, without admitting that its establishment was a bad decision. Therefore, the reform supporters sought something "closest" to culture. Guided by a false perception of Ukraine's EU accession, they made such a strange choice.

Unfortunately, there is still a popular opinion in Ukraine that European integration is an international activity. However, this is largely no longer the case. Of course, negotiations with the EU and member states remain a component of this process. But when it comes to EU accession, this is exclusively a matter of internal reforms and legislative changes.

Fortunately, not everyone in Zelenskyy's office supports this reform.

Diplomatic advisor to the President of Ukraine, Ihor Zhovkva, responsible for relations with NATO and the EU, emphasises that the current structure of the government without a ministry of European integration may be one of the options. "The current structure has shown its effectiveness: Ukraine obtained the candidate status. We filled out the European Commission's questionnaire with quality," Zhovkva told EuroPravda.

However, under the pressure of criticism, Ukrainian authorities might give up this idea. But establishing the Ministry of European Integration as an independent body may stand a chance, especially considering the attention on this matter paid by official Kyiv.

Written by Sergiy Sydorenko
"European Pravda" editor