Unjustified excesses. How long will Europe and Russia go on doing each other reciprocal harm instead of relaunching the elements of cooperation? Of course, some differences of opinion will always continue and each side must look after its own interests, but this looking to outdo one another in retaliation has reached a level that must lead to increasingly heavy negative consequences - to the detriment of both sides. This is an absurd situation in relation to where it all started - that is, the existence of two different peoples in Ukraine, one European and the other Russian. These repercussions have gone beyond the issue - to the point of compromising, even demolishing, various crucial aspects in the relationship that used to exist between the EU and Russia, to the detriment of their respective economies and the way they function, and thus at both parties' expense.
The peoples' word. Let's come back to where we started - the issue of Ukraine. In the face of doubt, the EU should never forget its basic principles. What is the civil and democratic behaviour that should be respected if there are differences of opinion between peoples of the same country? Leave it to the citizens themselves, respecting the laws in force. Who decides if Scotland becomes an independent country or if it is part of Great Britain? The Scots themselves. When the time comes, who will decide if Belgium remains a united country or if it will one day be transformed into two states - Flanders and Wallonia? The citizens. What will the future regime of Catalonia be? The Spanish are discussing this. The situations are not the same, nor are the procedures, and the results will be different - but there's no question of armed conflict.
If Ukraine is inhabited by two peoples that are so different, why should they not have the possibility, and the right, to state where they belong and to negotiate the means for making this concrete?
Real cooperation and the Mistral affair. Respect for the principles just mentioned would avoid wars and the absurd and disastrous consequences caused by the differences in opinion that have grown between Russia and Europe - when every analysis proves the breadth and variety of their effective cooperation previously.
A few aspects have become famous - like the Mistral affair (the warships manufactured in France after Russia placed an order for them). The first ship is ready. If France does not deliver it, France will have to repay the billions it has already received and pay a heavy fine. Why hark back to this? Because 22 MEPs have, in their clever opinion, invented a way that would enable Paris not to honour Russia's order. How? The EU member states would take these Mistral warships for themselves. The ships would become the core of an EU rapid maritime reaction force which would take action on influxes of illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean. The Mistral issue would thus find a positive and constructive outcome (see EUROPE 11153). It is for EUROPE's readers to assess this wild notion. France must decide before the end of October whether it will deliver the first Mistral warship to its owner.
Strange situation. The Mistral affair is just one example of the strange situation of how Euro-Russian relations are based on permanent one-upmanship in their reciprocal punitive measures, which build on each other daily with growing repercussions that are damaging for both sides and bring no gain. Should I give a few examples? When Moscow bans European airlines from flying over its territory on their way to Japan, the European airlines are indeed penalised but Putin is foregoing the overflight duties that would have been paid. If Russia suspends the purchase of fruit and vegetables and other traditional European food products that it needs, it opens its borders to similar products from countries such as Turkey, Argentina, Chile and Egypt. It won't be easy for Europe to win its place back.
I have only mentioned examples that are easy to describe, but the reciprocal restrictive measures go well beyond my examples, covering very vast areas of industry and science. And this is not to mention the “energy” aspect - where links are huge. Europe-Russia cooperation is boundless and is irreplaceable.
Difficult decisions for the EU. In this complicated contest, the decisions from Brussels are very tricky because, as was noted again recently, the situations and interests of member states are not the same - far from it. The definition of common positions demands compromises.
There is also the purely military aspect. The balance between NATO's positions and demands, on the one hand (covered amply by our twice-weekly publication Europe Diplomacy & Defence) and the efforts of several member states to balance their national budgets, on the other, do not seem easy to reconcile. From this point of view too, the calming of relations between Russia and the EU represents a key aspect of the stability that is sought.
(FR)