In their quest to deepen ties with the EU, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are taking serious risks and enduring considerable hardships. The longer the EU responds to these efforts with indifference and indecision, the faster it will drive its eastern “partners” into Russia’s embrace.
TBILISI – Last week’s EU Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, Latvia, can be summed up in one word: disappointment. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine face considerable hardships – including economic pressure from Russia and the threat of military confrontation – in their quest to deepen their ties to the European Union. And yet Europe’s leaders remain fixated on technicalities that basically amount to rejection, reflected in their refusal to permit visa-free travel to the EU for Ukrainian and Georgian citizens. At this point, the EU’s equivocations have become so frustrating that they are undermining support for European integration.
TBILISI – Last week’s EU Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, Latvia, can be summed up in one word: disappointment. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine face considerable hardships – including economic pressure from Russia and the threat of military confrontation – in their quest to deepen their ties to the European Union. And yet Europe’s leaders remain fixated on technicalities that basically amount to rejection, reflected in their refusal to permit visa-free travel to the EU for Ukrainian and Georgian citizens. At this point, the EU’s equivocations have become so frustrating that they are undermining support for European integration.