Joining the European Union (EU) will take several years for Ukraine, former Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Northern European Policy Center Artis Pabriks (LA) expressed this opinion to the LETA agency.
When asked whether Ukraine could join the bloc while the war is going on, the chairman of the Northern European Policy Center emphasized that this issue is not very topical yet, as the accession process has been going on for several years. One can hope that when Ukraine is ready to join the EU, the war will be over.
“It is still too early to speculate whether Ukraine’s territorial disputes with Russia will be over by the time of accession or not. We must make every effort to end the war with Ukraine’s victory,” Pabriks said.
As for whether the Kremlin could intensify attacks on Ukraine after the European Council’s decision to start accession talks, taking into account its desire to keep neighboring countries in its sphere of influence, the former defense minister emphasized that the events in the EU and the US with aid delays, Hungary’s “bandit” behavior create additional optimism in the Kremlin continue the war.
“Russia has put its economy on the track of war. Currently, the intensity of the attacks is high enough. I don’t think that Russia can afford anything much more. However, it should be expected that Russia will increase its pressure wherever it has influence in the West – both among the heads of states , both parties and their own lobbies. Also, Russia will try to help maintain tension in the Middle East, where Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists. Russia will use any opportunity and weapon to weaken the West. Unfortunately, the West gives some basis and opportunities to Russia for this,” said the Northern European politician chairman of the center.
Asked if the EU member states could start asking questions about what Hungary is doing in the bloc after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s efforts to block the start of negotiations with Ukraine and the provision of financial support, Pabriks stated that the EU mayor is full. Basically, EU decision-making is achieved through compromises, giving way to one or the other head of state or government. It also succeeded on the night of Thursday, December 14, when Orban left the meeting rooms and allowed the leaders of the other 26 member states to decide in favor of starting accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
According to the chairman of the Northern European Policy Center, this game is not over. He assumed that Hungary would continue to sabotage and undermine EU support for Ukraine. Pursuing a policy of compromises towards Hungary, the necessary security situation in Europe will not be achieved, said the former defense minister.
In Pabrik’s view, the EU should show itself a bit from a position of strength by triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty and temporarily freezing Hungary’s voting rights. The former defense minister emphasized that the EU has been dealing with Orban’s attitude and policies for years and the situation is getting worse and worse. This suggests that the possibilities of compromise with Orban have been exhausted.
Speaking about the necessary reforms in Ukraine, including fighting corruption and limiting the influence of oligarchs, the chairman of the Northern European Policy Center noted that no country is perfect, and war does not help to move forward with reforms. According to Pabrik, it is necessary to do everything possible so that Ukraine can win the war and finish it, while working on reforms in parallel.
“The EU member states must help Ukraine. I think that as soon as the war ends, the reforms will proceed much faster. Here, the approach “step by step” must be used – first of all, we must help Ukraine win the war as much as possible, which, unfortunately, we are not doing and cannot do for various reasons, then in turn it is necessary to help with the implementation of reforms. Ukraine should not be blamed for what has been done or not done so far, because while the war is going on, reforms are more difficult to implement. Therefore, first of all, Ukraine’s victory must be achieved,” said the former defense minister.
At the summit in Brussels, the leaders of the EU member states agreed to start accession negotiations not only with Ukraine, but also with Moldova. Therefore, the issue of Transnistria, which stretches 460 kilometers along the Ukrainian-Moldovan border, becomes relevant. Transnistria declared independence in August 1991, before the collapse of the USSR, but in 1992 a brief armed conflict between the self-proclaimed republic and the central government of Moldova followed.
Pabriks emphasized that there are Russian troops in Transnistria. Currently, the EU must move forward with all reforms in the part of the territory controlled by the legitimate government of Moldova, and hope that when the Ukraine-Russia war ends, the Transnistria issue can be resolved in some form.
The chairman of the Northern European Policy Center emphasized that Transnistria cannot be left as a “gray zone” where both the Russian armed forces and various types of criminal structures can operate without hindrance. This threatens regional security. According to Pabrik, when Ukraine and Moldova become full EU member states, Transnistria will have no other option but to adapt. He stated that the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks should also include the issue of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria.
Asked whether inviting Ukraine and Moldova to the EU enlargement talks could speed up, for example, Georgia’s and Armenia’s aspirations towards the EU, Pabriks emphasized that EU leaders have decided to grant Georgia the status of an official candidate country. In his opinion, more pressure will come from the Balkans, because, for example, Austria advocates starting negotiations with Bosnia. According to Pabrika, it is not possible to start negotiations with Bosnia at the moment, because it is not in such a situation that it can be done. He emphasized that the Balkans are one of those places where possible provocations from Russia can be expected, as the Balkans have always been a classic object of Russian influence.
2023-12-15 20:30:17
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