In a recent speech Ursula von der Leyen named Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as countries without whom the EU is not complete. She, on the other hand, only referred to the Western Balkans as a bloc, despite the fact that the accession of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia should be a priority considering the EU’s security interests.
The European Union seems determined to answer Russia’s annexation efforts by implementing more restrictive measures. But more and more EU member states are becoming doubtful about the benefits of the sanctions.
As the cost of living and energy prices skyrocket in Europe, resistance to EU sanctions on Russia is growing. On Saturday, 70 thousand Czechs took to the streets to demand that their government take a neutral stance in the conflict.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced on Monday that the EU is preparing an ’emergency intervention’ in the bloc’s power market to curb skyrocketing prices.
‘The problem is the Western European argument attached to these sanctions, namely: the greater the pressure exerted by the sanctions, the quicker peace will come. This mindset was wrong from the start because sanctions–as we saw earlier in the case of Iran– can only have an impact in the long run.’
Texas might face a similar energy-crisis as many European countries, although not for the same reason.
In order to restart the economy, Macron is proposing measures with both social and economic dimensions, including an EU-level fuel tax and EU standards to be enforced in trade agreements, and he is a strong proponent of the directives on minimum wage and gender equality.
The possibility was unnoticed or at least underrated, that the AUKUS agreement was a strange victory, not only for AUKUS members, but also for another region, usually chastised by the world’s political elite: Central and Eastern Europe.
Frequent charges against the Commission are predominantly based on the fact that it lacks democratic legitimacy for making decisions regarding issues of ideology, and it is not held accountable by anyone for its political decisions, which would certainly be unthinkable in democratic circumstances.
In the last decade, both Poland and Hungary have been actively formulating European policy; however, this duo is not strong enough without the active support of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is also a warning sign that the loudest criticisms of Hungary and Poland can often be heard from inside the V4.