euro|topics - The NATO puzzle

Main focus of Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The NATO puzzle

The expansion of the NATO Alliance will be one of the main subjects at the NATO summit in Bucharest, which begins tomorrow. Croatia and Albania are to be allowed to join; Greece has threatened to veto membership for Macedonia. Georgia and Ukraine also want to join - but the final decision has yet to be made.

Die Presse - Austria

Burkhard Bischof expresses the opinion that NATO should wait and see what happens in Ukraine, Georgia and Russia before it gives the green light for further expansion: "One thing's for sure: in many respects Georgia is still a long way from meeting the criteria for NATO membership, including the political criteria. You only have to recall President Saakashvili's conduct towards members of the opposition last autumn to see this. And while Ukraine certainly has a more mature democracy, it has shortcomings in other areas. But above all there is a deep division between western Ukraine and the rest of the country regarding NATO. NATO membership is a pet project of the orange camp's political elite and enjoys the support of only a third of the population at most. To offer the country access to NATO's Membership Action Plan would only deepen the rift in Ukrainian society and give Moscow new ammunition for political interference with its neighbouring country." (01/04/2008)

Der Tagesspiegel - Germany

The German daily criticises the German government's stance in opposing Ukraine and Georgia's wish to join NATO: "It strange that Germany, of all nations, should be using Russia's imperialist arguments ahead of the NATO summit - and blocking these countries's desire to join. What are the Foreign Affairs Ministry's arguments? That the majority of the nation doesn't want NATO membership in Ukraine. In Georgia, on the other hand, where 80 percent want NATO membership, it argues that democracy is not stable enough there. These are just excuses. If Germany believes it's obliged to ignore the will of these countries then it should at least admit why: because it - wrongly - wants to take Moscow's views into account." (01/04/2008)

Le Figaro - France

Russian specialist Francoise Thom argues that "the issues go beyond Ukraine and Georgia. Putin wants to finish his second term with a big victory that will allow him to reinforce the much dwelled upon thesis among Russians that his diplomacy has been a dazzling success. This will force Medvedev, his successor, to continue his policies. ... The Kremlin today considers itself to be in a position of force, and it will interpret a Western retreat as recognition of the changing balance of power, increasingly unfavourable to Europe and the United States. The Kremlin will see this as a confirmation that Putin's policies toward the West - consisting of arrogance, confrontation, blackmail and provocation - pay off. Let's not forget that the hysteria encouraged by Moscow around the idea of a Ukraine and a Georgia integrated into the West is not due to military security considerations. What Moscow cannot tolerate is seeing a close neighbour Europeanise." (01/04/2008)

Klassa - Bulgaria

On the subject of NATO expansion in the Balkans Boyan Tchukov writes: "One thing's for sure: the three western Balkan nations Croatia, Macedonia and Albania will be invited to join the NATO Alliance in the near future. George W. Bush's visit to Zagreb straight after the summit is very revealing. The American guest wants to give Croatia a special gift: between 12 and 20 F-16 fighter aircraft. And by the end of the year Croatia is to receive 40 aircraft. In return, the Croatian ministry of defence is to put an airport at NATO's disposition. This gift to Croatia has political as well as military dimensions. It clearly demonstrates that NATO's plan of 2001, under which Serbia was to assume a leading role among the Balkan nations and become a key NATO partner, has been discarded." (01/04/2008)

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, April 1, 2008

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