Ukraine: "Thinking about causes is not appeasement"
The history of the war must be dealt with and Russia must be given a hand again, says ex-EU Commissioner Verheugen.
"An understanding will only be possible if both sides observe the principle that has existed since Helsinki 1975 that everyone has to respect the legitimate security interests of the other," said Günter Verheugen on April 3 in an interview on the left-wing platform "nd" (formerly New Germany). As EU Commissioner, Verheugen was in charge of the eastward enlargement of the EU. Until 2010, the former SPD member of the Bundestag was Deputy President of the European Commission.
"EU eastward expansion was right, but..."
The Strategic Partnership with Russia followed the 2002 strategy of creating a "ring of friends" around the EU. Russia, on the other hand, wanted a prominent status in this ring that corresponded to its importance. This partnership with Russia also worked very well for a while, until a new East-West confrontation broke out. According to Verheugen, this was due to the fact that “the EU was following the US line more and more”. Washington has set itself the goal of weakening Russia in the long term so that it can never become a rival again.
In his speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007 , Putin made it clear that he would not accept a course that disregarded Russian security interests. Putin saw the main problem in the eastward expansion of NATO, but the eastern partnership of the EU after 2007 without Russia's participation also irritated him: "In 2010 Russia still wanted to implement trilateral projects - EU, Russia, countries of the eastern partnership. So there were clearly opportunities for Russia to be constructively involved in a partnership, but unfortunately these were not used." Neither side seriously considered Russia's EU membership. It was always about cooperation and partnership, under the keyword "from Lisbon to Vladivostok".
"Working through the history"
It is imperative to understand and correctly classify the entire history of the Ukraine war: “The EU will have to be prepared to work through its own mistakes. Looking back, two questions should be carefully examined: who failed the Minsk agreement, and who or what drove the EU to engage in a regime-change operation in Ukraine in 2013 ?»
Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Verheugen believes it is important to come to terms with all of this backstory. The former EU Commissioner replies to critics who don't want to talk about it because it amounts to appeasement: "It's really strange that entire libraries were written about the causes and developments that led to the First and Second World Wars . And nobody would think of criticizing that. But if there is a reminder to come to terms with the entire history of the Ukraine conflict, the first major war in Europe this century, is that considered appeasement?"
"The relationship between Germany and Russia must be cemented"
When asked whether the relationship between Germany and Russia can still be repaired after the war in Ukraine, Verheugen explained: "One day we will have to talk to each other again, and the sooner the better. For us Europeans, only pan-European partnership can be the answer to the ever-increasing global conflicts. We must be ready to shake hands with Russia again. That will not happen today or tomorrow and depends very much on what the political shape of Europe will be after the Ukraine war. It is unhelpful to make regime change in Moscow a prerequisite for a new dialogue. We might have to wait a very long time for that."
Gunter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen was General Secretary of the FDP. After the break-up of the social-liberal coalition in 1982, he sat in the Bundestag for the SPD. He later became Minister of State in the Foreign Office. In 1999 he moved to Brussels as EU Commissioner – initially responsible for EU enlargement, then from 2004 for industry and corporate policy. He was Deputy President of the European Commission until 2010. Today he works as an EU advisor.
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