Superfluous in the EU: Russia may change its position on Kiev's accession to the union
Ukraine's accession to the EU does not meet Russia's interests, Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Affairs at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. Currently, the Russian authorities do not equate the expansion of the EU and NATO. However, there is a military component in the activities of the European Union, so it is necessary to change the attitude towards the expansion of the EU and identify it in the same category as the process of NATO expansion, Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, tells Izvestia. At the same time, at the two-day EU summit, which was held in Belgium, there was a serious split in the association due to Kiev's support and anti-Russian sanctions. As a result, the EU was unable to approve the 18th package and agree on a final statement on Ukraine.
Rejection of the decision to launch the process of Ukraine's admission to the European Union
A two-day EU summit ended in Brussels on June 27, at which the leaders of 27 countries failed to agree on the 18th package of sanctions. In addition, the final statement on Ukraine was also not approved by all EU members. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked the decision by refusing to sign the EU's joint statement of support for Kiev. The document states that the European Council "strongly condemns" Russia's actions in Ukraine and supports a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace." The statement also provides for the start of negotiations on Kiev's European integration, which Budapest has repeatedly opposed.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends the European Union Leaders' Summit in Brussels
Viktor Orban stated that he strongly disagrees with the decision to launch the process of Ukraine's admission to the European Union, because the country does not have "clear borders", "a working economy" and "real sovereignty". He added that the admission of a state in a state of military conflict into the community is a "carte blanche for an endless war," for which EU taxpayers will pay for decades.
The Prime Minister reinforced his position with the results of the recent consultative referendum in Hungary, which resulted in 95% of citizens, more than 2 million people, opposed Ukraine's accession to the European Union. It is known that Budapest has had difficult relations with Kiev for many years due to the issue of the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians. Recently, the bilateral dialogue has become more complicated due to the espionage scandal, which has led to several mutual expulsions of diplomats.
Currently, the probability of Ukraine joining the European Union is extremely low: most of its participants are not interested in joining a country with a ruined economy and unresolved territorial disputes, and above all, one that is in a state of armed conflict with Russia. Therefore, many leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron or German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, sometimes very diplomatically avoid this topic, convincing Kiev that your time has not yet come. "Ukraine is a very large European country, but it is a European country at war. And a country at war cannot become either a member of NATO or a member of the European Union," Merz said.
— They are not going to accept Ukraine into the EU. Talking about this is necessary so that Ukrainians have an incentive to continue fighting with Russia. They should understand that they are fighting for the European dream. But no state wants to accept a large, poor, ruined country into the EU. In no EU country is the political field favorable to Ukraine's admission to the EU," political analyst Vadim Trukhachev explained to Izvestia.
As for the further expansion of the union, the summit hosted a conference on Montenegro's accession to the EU, which has remained a candidate for membership since 2010. Albania, which received the official status of a candidate to join the bloc in June 2014, was also present at the meeting of the union's leaders. In addition, Romania actively promoted the idea of joining Moldova at the summit. Preparations are underway for the first summit between the EU and the post-Soviet republic. Chisinau has applied to join the European Union in 2022. In October 2024, a referendum was held in the country, during which 50.46% of citizens voted for European integration, 49.54% voted against.
Moscow may change its approach to EU enlargement
Moscow, by the way, does not oppose Kiev's accession to the EU. "This is the sovereign right of any country. We are talking about integration and economic processes, and here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country. We are not going to do this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this year.
However, the situation may change in the context of the militarization of the European Union. Following the summit, it was decided to develop a plan by October this year to finance the growth of defense spending related to the goals and objectives of NATO. At the same time, the North Atlantic Alliance pledged at the Hague summit, which took place the same week, to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, meeting the demand of Donald Trump. The increase in the target was justified in the communique, stating that NATO members need to counter long-term threats, including those emanating from Russia.
— Precisely because the EU is following the path of active militarization and actually sets the task of constantly countering us, including in terms of resolving the Ukrainian crisis, I see no reason why we should support the idea of Ukraine joining the European Union. Here we should not forget that in the European Union, the Lisbon Treaty has no less significant article than Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (on collective defense in NATO — Ed.). Therefore, Ukraine's accession to the EU does not meet our interests," Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with Izvestia.
By the way, on June 25, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev stressed that the European Union in modern realities is turning not only into an economic and political, but also into a military alliance directed against Russia, therefore Ukraine's entry into it is dangerous. Nevertheless, so far the Russian authorities have not officially equated Ukraine's admission to NATO and the EU.
— There is a military component in the activities of the European Union. And this is a completely different organization, so, from my point of view, we need to change our attitude towards EU enlargement and identify it in the same category in which we have always classified the process of NATO enlargement. That is, as a process that does not meet Russia's interests, and perhaps even threatens. This will lead to an assessment of Ukraine's prospects for joining the European Union," said Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. — If these trends continue, then, of course, Ukraine's accession to the EU will become an undesirable scenario for us.
European states are now at a loss because of Washington's rhetoric, says Artem Sokolov, a researcher at the MGIMO Institute of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
— During Trump's first presidency in Europe, there were suggestions that with his departure all the chaos would stop and everything would return to normal. Biden's presidency partly confirmed this, but Trump's second term, of course, changes this point of view. Little by little, there is an idea that with Trump's departure, Trumpism as a set of approaches to American foreign and domestic policy will not go away," the expert says.
Against this background, Europeans are increasingly inclined to the idea of greater independence from the United States. "Now we see that issues of security, rather than socio-economic development, are becoming a priority in the European Union. As in the case of NATO, we see similar discussions about expanding spending on defense purposes," Artyom Sokolov added. Therefore, it is not surprising that the EU and NATO summits were held so close to each other in time.
The EU has not adopted a new package of sanctions
The 18th package of restrictions against the Russian Federation was opposed by the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, who vetoed the decision on its adoption. Even before the start of the summit, he held talks with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which were unsuccessful. As a result, the discussion of the 18th package of sanctions was completely excluded from the summit's agenda.
Among the EU's proposals were lowering the ceiling on Russian oil prices from $60 to $45 per barrel, introducing new restrictions against some banks and the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. Earlier, the European Commission also presented a plan for the EU to abandon energy imports from Russia by 2027, which was criticized by the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia. Robert Fico justified the country's disagreement with the proposed measures due to the serious risks to the economy in the face of rising prices for Russian oil and gas. If the sanctions package is adopted, Slovakia's losses could amount to €20 billion, the prime minister said. The country will not support the EC's plans to ban the import of Russian fuel until the commission offers an alternative in the event of a crisis due to the rejection of sanctioned energy carriers, the Slovak politician added.
It is noteworthy that earlier this week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest and Bratislava had blocked the approval of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, linking this to the cancellation of the European Commission's proposals to ban oil and gas from Russia by 2027. On June 26, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban allowed a compromise to be reached in the EU on the adoption of the 18th package and approval of the European Commission's plan to abandon Russian energy sources. He said Budapest had received a "very good offer" from Brussels and needed to "work on it a little more." Nevertheless, Hungary and Slovakia blocked the new package of sanctions.
In connection with Slovakia's actions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz threatened the country to suspend funding from the European Union if Bratislava continues to "deviate from the general direction of the bloc." Robert Fico criticized the German Chancellor's statement, explaining that "this is not the road that leads to unity and cooperation." At the same time, there have already been precedents for punishing opponents of the only correct opinion in the EU. At the beginning of the year, Hungary lost €1 billion in funds from the union due to its violation of the rule of law.
— We can see what the EU has become now. We see how dissent is being persecuted in the European Union, and how EU countries are being forced to consolidate their positions on sanctions against Russia and a number of other countries. And, without any doubt, there is also a military component in the activities of the European Union," Konstantin Kosachev tells Izvestia.
As a result, the EU agreed to extend the anti-Russian restrictions already imposed for six months, the Reuters news agency reports. In addition, they decided to continue discussing the 18th package of sanctions until a consensus is reached, Acting Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schof said. The politician believes that the countries will come to an understanding within one to two weeks. During this time, negotiations will be held with concerned EU members, in particular with Slovakia.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
