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PUTIN UNVEILS COUNTER-EU OPTION FOR POST-SOVIET STATES
http://euobserver.com/24/113819
Today @ 16:09
By Andrew Rettman
With EU-Ukraine association talks on the rocks, Russian leader Vladimir
Putin has unveiled a new plan to pull former Soviet countries into a
"Eurasian Union" instead.
Putin. Many post-Soviet leaders feel more comfortable on visits in
Moscow than in Brussels, in terms of language and protocol (Photo:
ec.europa.eu)
Putin outlined his ideas in an op-ed in Russian daily Izvestia
on Tuesday (4 October). Noting that Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are already pressing ahead with plans to
form a Customs Union and a Single Economic Space, he said the bloc
will in future become a fully-fledged "Eurasian Union" with joint
economic governance, common institutions and passport-free travel on
the EU model.
"We propose a model of a powerful supranational union capable of
becoming one of the poles of the modern world and of playing the role
of effectively 'binding' Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region,"
he said.
In a signal to other post-Soviet nations in the region - Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
- he added: "The Eurasian Union is an open project. We welcome the
accession of other partners, notably the [former Soviet] commonwealth
countries. This does not mean pushing anyone or rushing them into
something. It should be a sovereign decision of the state dictated
by its own long-term national interests."
Putin noted the plan sounds like an attempt to rebuild the Soviet
Union.
He said the group of 12 countries have "spiritual threads that unite
[their] peoples" and that the 70-year-long period of Soviet domination
in the last century left the "inheritance" of a joint infrastructure
and manufacturing base.
But he added: "We are not talking about recreating the Soviet Union.
It would be naive to try to restore or copy what is already past ...
The Eurasian alliance will be based on universal principles of
integration, as an integral part of greater Europe, united by common
values of freedom, democracy and market laws."
Moscow's gambit comes at a sensitive time in EU-Ukraine relations.
The EU is in December planning to finalise a trade and association
pact with Ukraine, by far the largest and most populous of its eastern
neighbours. The treaty aims to pull Ukraine out of Russia's sphere
of influence and put it on a path to EU membership 10 to 20 years
down the line.
The pact is in jeopardy on two fronts, however. The EU is angry at what
it calls Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's persecution of his
political rivals. And Ukraine is angry over the EU's refusal to promise
future accession in the preamble to the treaty, while at the same time
asking it to make pro-EU reforms set to cost tens of billions of euros.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry is considering confronting the EU with
a make-or-break decision by submitting a formal application for EU
membership early next year.
But with anti-enlargement countries such as France, Germany and the
Netherlands highly unlikely to endorse the move, the confrontation
could end in Ukraine turning towards Putin's union instead.
"It's a dangerous situation. It [an EU refusal] would give pro-Russian
elements in Ukraine all the excuse they need to abandon the European
project. At the same time, with Putin becoming president [of Russia]
again next year, he will be in a powerful position to exert influence
on Kiev and other capitals in the region," an EU diplomatic source
told EUobserver.
Georgia and Moldova are the most pro-EU in the group. But powerful
pro-Russian opposition forces exist in both countries, with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili's popularity waning after the 2008
Russia-Georgia war and with Moldova facing zero prospect of EU
membership so long as more than 1,000 Russian troops remain parked
on its territory in the frozen conflict over Transniestria.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://euobserver.com/24/113819
Today @ 16:09
By Andrew Rettman
With EU-Ukraine association talks on the rocks, Russian leader Vladimir
Putin has unveiled a new plan to pull former Soviet countries into a
"Eurasian Union" instead.
Putin. Many post-Soviet leaders feel more comfortable on visits in
Moscow than in Brussels, in terms of language and protocol (Photo:
ec.europa.eu)
Putin outlined his ideas in an op-ed in Russian daily Izvestia
on Tuesday (4 October). Noting that Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are already pressing ahead with plans to
form a Customs Union and a Single Economic Space, he said the bloc
will in future become a fully-fledged "Eurasian Union" with joint
economic governance, common institutions and passport-free travel on
the EU model.
"We propose a model of a powerful supranational union capable of
becoming one of the poles of the modern world and of playing the role
of effectively 'binding' Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region,"
he said.
In a signal to other post-Soviet nations in the region - Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
- he added: "The Eurasian Union is an open project. We welcome the
accession of other partners, notably the [former Soviet] commonwealth
countries. This does not mean pushing anyone or rushing them into
something. It should be a sovereign decision of the state dictated
by its own long-term national interests."
Putin noted the plan sounds like an attempt to rebuild the Soviet
Union.
He said the group of 12 countries have "spiritual threads that unite
[their] peoples" and that the 70-year-long period of Soviet domination
in the last century left the "inheritance" of a joint infrastructure
and manufacturing base.
But he added: "We are not talking about recreating the Soviet Union.
It would be naive to try to restore or copy what is already past ...
The Eurasian alliance will be based on universal principles of
integration, as an integral part of greater Europe, united by common
values of freedom, democracy and market laws."
Moscow's gambit comes at a sensitive time in EU-Ukraine relations.
The EU is in December planning to finalise a trade and association
pact with Ukraine, by far the largest and most populous of its eastern
neighbours. The treaty aims to pull Ukraine out of Russia's sphere
of influence and put it on a path to EU membership 10 to 20 years
down the line.
The pact is in jeopardy on two fronts, however. The EU is angry at what
it calls Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's persecution of his
political rivals. And Ukraine is angry over the EU's refusal to promise
future accession in the preamble to the treaty, while at the same time
asking it to make pro-EU reforms set to cost tens of billions of euros.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry is considering confronting the EU with
a make-or-break decision by submitting a formal application for EU
membership early next year.
But with anti-enlargement countries such as France, Germany and the
Netherlands highly unlikely to endorse the move, the confrontation
could end in Ukraine turning towards Putin's union instead.
"It's a dangerous situation. It [an EU refusal] would give pro-Russian
elements in Ukraine all the excuse they need to abandon the European
project. At the same time, with Putin becoming president [of Russia]
again next year, he will be in a powerful position to exert influence
on Kiev and other capitals in the region," an EU diplomatic source
told EUobserver.
Georgia and Moldova are the most pro-EU in the group. But powerful
pro-Russian opposition forces exist in both countries, with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili's popularity waning after the 2008
Russia-Georgia war and with Moldova facing zero prospect of EU
membership so long as more than 1,000 Russian troops remain parked
on its territory in the frozen conflict over Transniestria.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress