Why EU leaders call special, emergency summit?
People Daily Online resident reporter in Brussels Li Yongqun
If EU continues to take orders from the U.S. in the Georgia-Russia crisis, noted the Russian side recently, then Russia will be obliged to talk with the U.S. on European affairs in the months or years ahead, and this remark of Russia's has indeed hit the "soft rib" of the EU.
The conflict between Georgia and Russia has given rise to a chain of shock waves in the region of the former Soviet Union, not merely in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which has long had separatist tendencies. Tension in Crimea of Ukraine and northern Azerbaijan would also aggravate, so the rivalry between Russia and the West over the region has been escalating.
Georgia has asked EU to impose sanctions on Russia and Ukraine hopes to establish its status as a candidate for EU membership as soon as possible; these nations all want to get their security guarantees from the EU. If EU fails to achieve anything this time, it is tantamount to declaring the bankruptcy of its good-neighborly policy in Eastern Europe, so its neighboring countries to the east would get disappointed.
Hence, EU wants very much "to develop its ability to the full." An extraordinary, special summit is held shortly after EU foreign ministers convened an emergency meeting on the crisis in Georgia on August 19. Nevertheless, it still cannot get tough in the face of Russia, because it neither has "a spurt of energy" nor "it is congenitally deficient".
EU does not have "a spurt of energy" since it loses its "moral height". EU recognized Kossovo before Russia's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Therefore, EU lacks both assurance and justice on its part when trying to censure or denounce Russia.
EU is "congenitally deficient", because its 27 member countries are disintegrated on the issue concerning their relations with Russia. EU countries can roughly be divided into five parts or sections, according to the Council of EU foreign ministers. Cyprus and Greece are referred to as "Trojan horses", whose government often defend positions close to Russian interest with the EU, and are willing to veto common EU positions; the "strategic EU partners" imply France, Germany, Italy and Spain; the "friendly pragmatist" nations are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Luxemburg, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia; the "cool pragmatists" indicate Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and Britain; and Lithuania and Poland are cited as the "new Cold War fighters". Under such circumstance, EU apparently cannot march in step to form a unanimous foreign policy towards Russia.
To date, EU still hopes to settle the Georgia-Russia crisis eventually and maintain peace and stability in the region by means of its cooperation with Russia. Consequently, EU will not impose sanctions against Russia, still less isolate Russia.
Read the full article here:
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91343/6491459.html
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