RFE/RL: Europe Grapples With Geopolitical Strategies
|
posted by circassiankama on September, 2009 as ANALYSIS / OPINION
|
Europe grapples with geopolitical strategies
|
|
|
|
Seeks to counteract Russia's attempts to expand its influence in the region
|
|
| |
| Tuesday, September 15, 2009 |
|
RFE/RL
|
| |
There
was an element of deja vu in the EU ministers' discussion of the South
Caucasus. The bloc's current Swedish presidency had prepared a new
strategy paper on the region.
The strategy review is largely a
symbolic exercise, since the three countries all have existing
engagements with the EU. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have all
signed up to the bloc's European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and have
agreed to ENP action plans. Earlier this year, they also joined the
EU's Eastern Partnership together with Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.
The
EU's Swedish presidency is keen to keep the spotlight specifically on
the South Caucasus region, however -- partly because next year's
Spanish and Belgian presidencies are liable to have other priorities,
and partly to counteract Russia's attempts to expand its influence in
the region.
At a press conference after the latest EU meeting on
September 15, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt emphatically asserted
the right of all three countries to pick their own allies and friends.
"These
countries are sovereign nations and they have their right to choose
their own destiny," Bildt said. "They've expressed a [wish] for a
closer relationship with the European Union."
Bildt then went on
to say, in a thinly veiled reference to Russia, "They also have the
right not to be restricted by the wishes of anyone else."
The
Swedish strategy paper -- seen by RFE/RL -- breaks no new ground on the
South Caucasus. Instead of membership prospects, the three countries
are offered open-ended association agreements, which could in the
longer term lead to free trade and easier travel arrangements.
However,
the EU's emphasis on treating the South Caucasus as a single, integral,
region contains a snub aimed at Georgia, which as late as last year saw
itself as being on a par with Ukraine among eastern EU membership
hopefuls. But the August 2008 war with Russia, sandwiched between
crackdowns on opposition demonstrations, put an end to Georgia's dreams
of rapid advancement toward the EU.
Describing the current
situation in the region, Bildt offered no differentiation between
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan beyond noting that "some are working
to establish the rule of law, democracy, [and] good governance in
accordance with EU standards."
He then added that he "wouldn't say everyone has made the kind of progress we'd like to see."
EU Backs 'Afghan' Electoral Process
On
Afghanistan, the gathering of EU ministers gave its tacit support to
reported UN-led efforts to avoid a second-round runoff between
President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, his nearest rival.
The "Times" of London reports a serious rift between the UN's Kabul mission chief, the Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, and his U.S. deputy, Peter Galbraith.
Galbraith,
who argued that the UN mission should demand an extensive recount, has
now left the country. Eide is said to be worried that a second round
could leave the country in political limbo for months.
The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission has announced a limited recount
affecting 10 percent of all polling stations. Observers say this makes
a runoff less likely, with Karzai having garnered more than 54 percent
of the vote.
Without commenting on the decision directly, Bildt said external powers must not "dictate" the outcome of the process.
"I
think it's important that we support those institutions, that we give
them the time that they need, and that we don't prejudge any result or
try to dictate any outcome to the process that, at the end of the day,
is in the hands of the Afghan people," Bildt said.
"Afghanization"
-- handing over as much responsibility to the Afghan authorities as
possible -- has been a key theme in recent EU thinking. EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn said in Brussels that the bloc believes holding
a planned major international conference on Afghanistan's future in
Kabul later this year or early next year would contribute to the
"Afghanization" of long-term responsibility for the country.
Bildt
said the EU is eager to step up its civilian, economic, and political
efforts in the country as soon a new government is in place. The EU is
placing a particular emphasis on promoting political reconciliation
between the central government and the Taliban. Bildt said
"peace-building efforts" will ultimately decide the fate of the
country, but did not explain what role the EU would play in a possible
reconciliation process.
Iran Options
The
EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, also briefed the EU ministers
late on September 14 on Iran's latest offer to hold talks with the
"P5+1" -- the five permanent UN Security Council members, plus Germany.
Arriving
at the ministers' meeting, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb
said the EU is ready to impose unilateral sanctions on Iran should
talks on the country's nuclear program be unproductive and the UN
Security Council divided.
"On Iran, we have three steps," Stubb
said. "Step No. 1 is to have a dialogue, and that dialogue will most
probably take place pretty soon, with the Americans and the Europeans
together; step No. 2, if those dialogues don't lead to a result, we
will have to go toward UN sanctions; if we don't get UN sanctions, then
we will have to think about unilateral EU sanctions."
Finally,
Commissioner Olli Rehn said he believes an understanding reportedly
arrived at by Slovenia and Croatia earlier this month in their border
dispute is a "genuine agreement" that will allow Zagreb to speedily
conclude its accession negotiations.
Objecting to what it says
is Croatian encroachment in the Adriatic Sea, Slovenia has blocked
Croatia's EU talks for more than a year.
Reported by Ahto Lobjakas.
|
|
Copyright
© 2009 Spero
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=124&id=20501&t=Europe+grapples+with+geopolitical+strategies
comments (0)
|
