Global stability is a fragile asset, as the ukrainian war and other crises. In a world that is being torn apart, building trust in the European project becomes a strategic issue for the European Union.
Where Europe’s demand is not satisfied, the feeling of apathy in the citizens of the candidate countries for accession to the European Union could be exploited geopolitically by other powers.
(We leave you: United Kingdom: this will be the election of the successor to Prime Minister Liz Truss).
And in the face of these siren songs, the Union must address the age-old challenge of be a useful travel companion and reliable for all those countries of our continent that have European aspirations, regardless of their formal level of integration in the European project.
Europe is going through a paradoxical moment in its history. Precisely in one of its most convulsive periods, recent years have brought about a historic acceleration of the project of european integration. Since the covid-19 pandemic arrived in Europe a little over two years ago, practically all the decisions that the European Union has taken have had one thing in common: their desire to strengthen the political integration of their States.
The European Union must continue to integrate, knowing that its integrating vocation extends to the entire European continent. But to guarantee its continuity, the European Union will have to offer new forms of participation that make it possible to foster a feeling of belonging to the European project in the candidate countries for accession.
(We suggest: Leaving Ukraine without electricity: Why did Russia implement this strategy?).
The political integration of the Union and its enlargement to other European countries are two historically inseparable processes. In a speech at the beginning of this century at the Humboldt University of Berlin, the then German Vice Chancellor Joshka Fischer He explained it very clearly:
“The need to organize these two processes (the political integration and enlargement of the European Union) in parallel is undoubtedly the greatest challenge facing the European Union since its creation. But no generation can choose the challenges that history throws at them.
No generation can choose the challenges that history throws at them
The European Union will never renege on its historical commitment to extend its integration project to those countries that show a clear will to join. Now, Ukraine Y moldova – pushed by Putin’s senseless drift – are new candidates for accession. And with the start of formal negotiations prior to the accession of North Macedonia and Albania, the Balkan region could be involved in a positive dynamic that reinforces a greater rapprochement with institutions European.
Ukraine is part of Europe, and its citizens have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to become part of the European Union. If Ukraine meets the requirements, there is no reason why it should not become a Member State of the European Union. To facilitate its process of integration into Europe, the European Union has a responsibility to assist in the physical and political reconstruction of Ukraine.
(We leave you: Ukraine would face pressure from the EU if it joined the bloc).
Estimates from the Kyiv School of Economics put the cost to rebuild just the damage to Ukraine’s physical infrastructure at least $100 billion. Clearly, the reconstruction of Ukraine will have to be a collective effort.
A good idea
The accession of new countries to the European Union is not the only way to deepen the political integration of the European continent.
The proposal of the French president, Emmanuel Macronto build a “european political community” is the most innovative in this sense. Whatever name this new structure takes, it must create opportunities for the candidate countries to cooperate in many areas with the European Union, so that their integration into Europe is not a distant milestone, but a tangible reality.
The promises of accession and the long negotiations that precede it will be harmless, even harmful, for the European Union, if they generate frustration in the candidate countries, and in their citizens. Without going further, North Macedonia is a clear example of a country whose effort has been rewarded after too long a period – seventeen years – from his recognition as a candidate to the opening of formal negotiations.
(We leave you: The EU grants Ukraine and Moldova accession candidate status).
Recognizing that there may be other formulas to integrate the European continent beyond enlargement does not imply saying that the latter has not been a successful policy. Without the 2004 enlargement to Eastern Europe, the European Union would not be the commercial and regulatory power that we know. With its successive enlargements, the EU has positioned itself as one of the largest economies in the world, accounting for around 16 percent of world GDP.
Without the 2004 enlargement towards Eastern Europe, the European Union would not be the commercial and regulatory power that we know today
For geographical or political reasons, enlarging the European Union to extend the European stability area is not always feasible. In this sense, the fundamental question for the European project has been what alternative instruments to accession of new Member States could be used to create stability in their neighbourhood.
Since the Ostpolitik of Willy Brandt laid the groundwork for rapprochement between the West and the Soviet bloc, generate bonds of economic interdependence has been the main answer to this question. But economic interdependence presupposes responsible geopolitical actors. And as the main lesson of this war, Europe will have to reconsider the role that interdependence plays in its integration project. Europe will have to stop feeling vulnerable, and a lot will have to change in the Kremlin, before any formal relationship with Russia can be entertained in the future.
(You can read: The power of Xi Jinping, who is on the verge of a new mandate in China)
The undeniable success of the European Union as a regional integration project does not make it a finished project. It cannot even be said that it is a project that has a written end. In any case, it is a camino that we Europeans have to continue traveling. To go through it, the European Union has to pursue its strategic interests, as well as attend to the European perspective of all the countries in its immediate environment.
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JAVIER SOLANA
Former High Representative of the European Union for Common Foreign and Security Affairs and former Secretary General of NATO.
© Project Syndicate
Madrid.
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