Brussels, 03/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 3 October, Etienne Davignon's thinktank 'Friends of Europe' published the first issue of a new publication entitled Europe's World, to be published three times a year. The new publication has been warmly welcomed by the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the Secretary General of the Council of the EU (also EU High Representative for CFSP), Javier Solana.
In the first issue, Bronislaw Geremek, the former Foreign Minister of Poland who is now an MEP, explains 'why Europe still lacks a Russia policy'. Without beating about the bush, he comments that 'America is seen by Russians as the model of economic and technological success, while Europe is seen as little more than America's poor relation. Europe is the only territory over which Russia still entertains ideas of exercising a superpower role; Russia's submissive attitude to whoever is master in the White House seems to be balanced by haughty and sometimes arrogant behaviour towards the European Union.' Geremek comments that the European institutions in Brussels lack in-house think tanks to help the EU formulate an action strategy for Russia. 'An honourable exception has been Cecilia Malmstrom's report which was approved by the European Parliament in June. Her report reflected a growing awareness that it is high time the EU redefined its policies in relation to Russia.' Conflicts since the collapse of the Soviet Union should not be overlooked, neither should Moscow's responsibility. 'There is also the problem of democracy in Russia itself… Mr Putin's imperial inclinations have an authoritarian ring that cannot strengthen anyone's sense of security in Europe.' 'So what should the EU be doing…? First, it should not declare that establishing good relations with Russia is a priority. Relations are as good as they can be in the current circumstances - the two sides' reciprocal interests are already being served, at least in economic terms. The EU should only visage Russia playing a greater role in Europe on condition that it accepts its rules. The EU should not abandon Estonia to fend for itself over Russia's refusal to recognise the Estonian-Russian border. It should not accept Russia's use of its energy resources as a means of exerting political pressure on its neighbours.' 'The courage shown by Javier Solana, Alexander Kwasnietski and Valdas Adamkus during Ukraine's Orange Revolution are good examples of how the EU is learning to prevent dangerous confrontations. In contrast, the approach taken by a number of European states of being nice to Russia can only weaken the position of the EU. It is time to abandon any private strategies in relation to Russia… It is possible that a modern, democratic Russia that respects rights and liberties may yet appear on the political scene.' (The article was published before the EU-Russia Summit in London on 4 October.)
The first issue of Europe's World includes articles by former European Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou, former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP, and Jean Monnet Professor at the University of Sussex European Institute, who comments that 'what Lisbon has lacked is political courage'. President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies and former Vice-President of the European Convention Manuel Marin writes that 'democracy has been the first casualty of the Constitutional debacle'. Gianni Bonvicini, Director of the Istituto Affair Internazionali in Rome (set up by Altiero Spinelli), has written an article entitled: 'Discontent killed Europe's Constitution: Here's what to do'. Former Swedish pm and former UN Secretary General's Special Representative for the Balkans, Carl Bildt, warns that 'Europe's third chance to get it right in the Balkans may be its last.' (Info: http: //http://www.europesworld.org )