Main focus of Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Will Russia divide the EU?

It seems unlikely that the EU-Russia summit, which begins on Thursday, May 17th, in Samara, will bring positive results. There are numerous ongoing conflicts between Russia and Eastern European EU member states. Meanwhile, the West European states hope for cooperation with their neighbour in the East. Will the newly enlarged EU be able to reach a consensus regarding its policy towards Russia?

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

Josef Zieleniec, formerly Czech Foreign minister and now EMP, calls on the EU to show a united front against Russia. "Nothing less than the future of the political community of Europe is at stake in Samara. For centuries on end Russian rulers have regarded Central and Eastern Europe as their natural sphere of influence. Even today, this view is one of the cornerstones of Russian state thinking, and the EU membership of the new democracies hasn't changed this one bit... Russia systematically denies its former satellite states their right to sovereignty. ... It uses every opportunity to cut them off from the rest of the EU and play them off against the West European member states. The conflict over the removal of the monument in Estonia, the threats of military action in retaliation against the construction of the missile defence system, the blockade against meat imports from Poland, the repeated interruption of gas supplies as a political weapon - these are all recent examples." (16/05/2007)

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Latvijas Avīze - Latvia

Uldis Smits doubts the EU-Russia summit will improve relations between the EU and Russia. He points out that they have reached an all-time low and that the dispute between Moscow and Estonia over the war monument in Tallinn is overshadowing the meeting. "By fanning hate against Estonia, Russia has inadvertently done the Baltic states a favour. The West European media have suddenly turned their attention to the events that took place in the 1940s. The conclusions of their historical analysis don't tally with Moscow's official ideology. The world regards the 'spontaneous protests' incited by the Kremlin as a deliberate, Moscow-backed campaign against the West. ... With Sarkozy, France now has a president whose own father fled Hungary to escape the Red Army and who makes no secret of his sympathies with the US. ... The exit from the political stage of members of the old guard of Kremlin allies such as Gerhard Schroeder, Silvio Berlusconi and Jacques Chirac is making it more difficult for Moscow to achieve its goals in Europe." (15/05/2007)

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Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

Europe has yet to come up with a convincing response to "Russia's rough policies", writes Hansrudolf Kamer. He calls for EU foreign policy to take greater account of the conflicts between the countries of Eastern Europe and Russia. "The old Europe should be aware of the fact that the expansion of the EU to encompass former satellite states and members of the Soviet Union has strained relations with Moscow. The EU is not free to choose here, it is under obligation. It can't try to make amends with Russia without considering its new members. Prague, Warsaw and Tallinn, to name only a few, also have their say in determining the EU's policy towards the great power in the East. They won't let a new constitution take away or diminish this right. ... Up to now the European Union has been in the comfortable position of being able to make stipulations for new members. Now it must show greater and more visible solidarity with these members, particularly when there's trouble." (16/05/2007)

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Financial Times - United Kingdom

Academics Bertrand Benoit and Richard Milne note that an argument about Russia between the Lithuanian ambassador and Germany's ambassador at a recent meeting in Brussels "called into question the ability of Germany, current holder of the EU presidency, to remain neutral in a whole range of disputes between Russia and its former Soviet-era satellites in eastern Europe. ... German business needs good relationships with a stable, if authoritarian, Russia and it wields considerable influence in Berlin. ... By sticking to its exclusive relationship with Moscow, however, some EU experts argue that Berlin is contributing to the division of Europe. Besides, they argue, Germany's interest - to persuade an increasingly affluent and assertive Russia to remain a reliable energy supplier and partner - would be better served by building a truly European policy towards Moscow." (16/05/2007)

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