Main focus of Wednesday, May 6, 2009

New friends to the east

The EU wants to improve its relations with six former Soviet republics. Democracy and economic reforms are to be fostered through a so-called "Eastern Partnership" with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. The European press awaits this Thursday's founding summit in Prague with a dose of scepticism.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

The project of an eastern partnership holds risks for Brussels, writes the Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "Tricky in political terms is the issue of relations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, as well as to a lesser extent his Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin. For months Lukashenko has been walking a fine line between West and East. He knows he must substantially democratise the country to truly improve his relations with the EU. But he seems to be speculating on attaining what economic advantages he can merely by cleaning up the facade here and there. He can't really show his colours for fear of falling out of favour with the Kremlin. But he's also keeping his options open to the east, for example by so far avoiding the clear recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia which Moscow is expecting." (05/05/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe
All available articles from » Rudolf Hermann

Lidové noviny - Czech Republic

The EU summit for the founding of an "Eastern Partnership" due to take place on Thursday was meant to be a highlight of the Czech EU presidency, but it has already lost most of its lustre, the conservative daily Lidové Noviny complains: "To blame are those who brought about the fall of Mirek Topolánek's government at the end of March, and thus deprived the Czech representatives of a chance to negotiate a deal in the weeks ahead of the summit. The Czech position was thus reduced to that of merely organising the event and acting as a catering service responsible for the refreshments. … With the exception of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi none of the major leaders are coming to Prague. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the others see no reason to come because one day later Topolánek's reign ends, no one knows the transition prime minister Jan Fischer, and no one wants to be seen with President Václav Klaus." (06/05/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU neighbourhood policy, » Czech Republic, » Europe, » Eastern Europe
All available articles from » Luboš Palata

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna - Poland

Writing for the daily Dziennik Piotr Gursztyn criticises the Eastern Partnership and says the West is only interested in Russian gas and no longer cares about Poland's stance: "Poor Partnership for the East!, it may well be pointed out. True, everyone talks highly of it, but the list of those who are not taking part in the EU summit in Prague shows that the number of those who want to save it is dwindling. This is probably the main reason why [Polish President] Lech Kaczynski will not attend. Nor will Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk be present. … Of course, one could say that the prime minister didn't go because he didn't want to bump into the president. … The countries on the western side of the continent are not in the least interested in our opinions nowadays. And all because they want to be able to buy gas from the Russians." (06/05/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Poland
All available articles from » Piotr Gursztyn

Financial Times Deutschland - Germany

The EU must free itself from long-standing illusions - first and foremost the idea that Europe has nothing to do with zones of influence - for the Eastern Partnership to be successful, writes the liberal Financial Times Deutschland: "Of course the EU is extending it's 'zone of influence' with the eastwards expansion, even if the diplomats in Brussels prefer to avoid the term. It is in the Community's best interest to share similar norms and values with neighbouring states. Democracies don't just look better, in the long term they're also the most reliable partners, they are less of a military threat and they're more attractive for investors. Anyone who steers clear of the term 'zone of influence' does so primarily to avoid angering Russia. But it would be entirely wrong for the EU to let Moscow dictate what type of relation it maintains with its neighbours." (06/05/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Ukraine, » Russia, » Europe, » Georgian Republic
All available articles from » Nils Kreimeier

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