They care enough to admit them into EU and and have no border with them and have a single currency together, because they realise that having an iron curtain in Europe is very destructive.
I dont know about this. There is nationalism in every country, but I cant say I have never received any bad treatment in any western european country. I also have friends and relatives all over Europe and they dont share that view. This obviously does not change the fact that western europe is more developed than post communist Europe. And its people tend to be a little more polite and cultured.
The Dutch might care a lot less because they know they will be last country to fall to the Russian empire. But ask Germans in Leipzig if they want to be a part of a Russian puppet state? or if they want to be in a free democratic Germany? No, I assure you they wil fight to the end and the fight is on now. There are volunteers from all over Europe risking their lives to save Ukraine.
Russians have tried this strategy of division, to try and divide Europe so they can have their way. Its not going to work, you can see that in the actions of the EU governments and the people.
Europe is united like never before. This was unimaginable 12 days ago.
Sure...If you believe in your fairy tale. I am going to teach you a lesson in EU history. EU was a economic cooperation between West-european countries to advance their common economy which they believe will lead to common prosperity. The organisation founded in 1957 which is now known as the European Union, originally had six members:
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. After the fall of the Sovjet Union, there was some sense to include eastern europe into the EU for common prosperity. The idea was: ''making money and not wars''.
The problem with this line of thinking was that the Western European countries were/are more advance whether economy, technology,social, political system etc than their Eastern Europe counter parts. It would be impossible to make backwards countries like Eastern European countries to be advance as Western Europe in short terms. So there need to be put more money in education, technology, social, justice system etc by Western EU members to Eastern EU members. Decades of experience has shown that until now East-Europe is a failed story whether in politic or economic sense.
Political failure because Eastern Europe always followed USA orders instead of consulting with Western Europe counterparts. Anyone remember when USA defence secretary Rumsfeld try to divide the EU by claiming Old Europe=Western Europe didnt matter? And what did Eastern Europe did? Nothing at all, and smiling bcause they think they will be the new EU power backed by USA. Foolish folks. See Iraq war
Anger at Rumsfeld attack on 'old Europe'
Transatlantic row as Berlin and Paris hit back at US defence chief
John Hooper in Berlin and
Ian Black in Brussels
Fri 24 Jan 2003 02.06 GMT
Transatlantic differences over Iraq turned bitterly personal yesterday as political leaders in France and
Germany hit back at the US defence secretary's dismissal of their cherished alliance as representing "old Europe".
So heated was the response to Donald Rumsfeld's remarks, particularly and all the more surprisingly on the right, that the French president, Jacques Chirac, appealed for calm.
Nato's secretary-general, George Robertson, also tried to play down the rift, insisting that there was no row within the military alliance over providing logistical and other support for US-led action against Iraq. He said Washington's European allies were divided only over timing of action.
But Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, confirmed that Berlin was working on a plan aimed at slowing the drift to war. The German representative on the UN security council is to call for a further report from the weapons inspectors to be delivered in mid-February.
"We want them to continue working," Mr Fischer said after he and his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, had appeared before a joint session of their countries' parliamentary foreign affairs committees. "If they are to continue working, then they must also report."
Shortly afterwards, he set off on a visit to Turkey, Egypt and Jordan in search of a peaceful solution to the crisis.
In responding to a reporter's question about French and German qualms, Mr Rumsfeld hinted on Wednesday that Washington would turn to Nato's new members in eastern Europe for support.
"You're thinking of Europe as Germany and
France. I don't," he said. "I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire Nato Europe today, the centre of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot of new members."
Mr Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, said the president, who was visiting Berlin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Franco-German friendship treaty, wanted to see the debate over Mr Rumsfeld's remarks "take place with seriousness and calmness". But back in Paris, the tone was one of spluttering outrage.
"If you knew what I felt like telling Mr. Rumsfeld ... " the ecology minister, Roselyne Bachelot, told a radio interviewer, before resorting to a well-known regional expression for a four-letter word. Her cabinet colleague, the finance minister, Francis Mer, said he was "profoundly vexed".
Even the reaction of the government's official spokesman, Jean-François Copé, was distinctly sardonic. Mr Rumsfeld would do well to listen to "old Europe", he said.
"When one is an old continent, a continent with an old historic, cultural and economic tradition, one can sometimes inherit a certain wisdom, and wisdom can be a good adviser," he said.
Germany's centre-left government, which has had troubled relations with the US since last summer when the chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, ruled out German involvement in a war, made no official comment. The general secretary of the chancellor's Social Democratic party was critical, but restrained. "Rumsfeld does not understand Europe," said Olaf Scholz. "It is good to heed Europe."
By far the strongest response came from the arch-conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union. Its spokesman on European affairs, Bernd Posselt, accused Mr Rumsfeld of "neo-colonialism". He added: "The US has to learn that the European Union is a partner and not a protectorate."
Washington last week formally asked its allies to help defend Turkey and provide Awac radar planes and ships to patrol the Mediterranean. But on Wednesday, Nato ambassadors postponed a decision on military planning after objections from Germany, France and other states worried about a slide towards war.
"We have not yet achieved a consensus on proposals that have been put forward," Lord Robertson admitted. "There is a disagreement on timing by a small number of nations, but there is no disagreement on substance. This is not some sort of bust-up."
But diplomats in Brussels said last night that Germany was unlikely to approve the same wish-list as long as the arms inspections were continuing.
"We knew the Germans had a problem, but we were surprised that the French joined them," said one alliance official. Washington also wants to use Nato planning facilities and equipment and has suggested it could play a role in postwar humanitarian operations in
Iraq, as it has done in Afghanistan.
The EU divisions are likely to resurface when foreign ministers meet in Brussels next Monday, hours before Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, presents his long-awaited report to the UN security council.
Transatlantic row as Berlin and Paris hit back at US defence chief.
www.theguardian.com
Economic failure: No progression at all, even China which start more or less at the same, has progressed leap and bound.
Had Western Europe realised how different and challenging East Europe was in the 20th century, there would be no direct EU members for East European countries like Bulgaria,Romania, Hungaria, Poland etc. Membership will only be allowed based on EU criteria which some countries in balkan still struggle to fulfill. Even then it is still the matter of voting, which Western European countries still hold the weight unlike their Eastern European counterpart.
To avoid being played out by USA, France proposed to make the EU smaller to their origin members because France like Western Europe see East-Europe, Balkan, Baltic states as backward corrupt beggar countries that have nothing substantial to offers. Take a look at recent proposal to make Ukraine direct member of EU. Here in the Netherlands, you will find nobody who want Ukraine being member of EU because of the moneypit story and corruption etc.
Some EU Nations Balk at Push to Advance Ukraine’s Membership Bid
- Nine nations have asked EU to grant Ukraine candidate status
- Germany among those looking to buy time before taking decision
Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Kyiv on March 3.
Photographer: Sergei Supinksky/AFP/Getty Images
By
Alberto Nardelli,
Natalia Drozdiak, and
John Follain
7 maart 2022 14:06 CET
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Several western European Union countries are pushing back against calls for the bloc to grant Ukraine so-called candidate status this week, a first step on the long road to EU membership, according to several diplomats.
Germany, the Netherlands and others first want the EU’s executive arm to deliver its opinion on Ukraine’s readiness for the membership process before taking a political decision, said the diplomats, describing private discussions taking place ahead of a summit in France this week. Those countries want to focus on delivering practical support to Ukraine and ending the war rather than embarking on a process that could take at least a decade, one of the diplomats said.
Countries in favor of the proposal argue that it would be symbolically important for EU leaders to put their weight behind Ukraine’s bid, even if the actual membership process itself remains long and complicated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy formally applied to join the EU at the end of last month and nine member states from central and eastern Europe, led by Poland and the three Baltic nations, have publicly called on the bloc to grant Ukraine candidate status and start the accession process.
EU leaders are due to discuss Ukraine’s request when they meet over two days near Paris starting Thursday.
EU Club
The European Union began with six members and now has 27
Source: European Commission, Bloomberg
Note: The U.K. joined in 1973 and left in 2020
The leaders could decide to back Ukraine’s candidate status and start the long process of negotiating full membership, they could buy time by punting the issue to the European Commission, or they could find a compromise position, such as recognizing that Ukraine has a long-term relationship with the EU without formally backing its candidate status.
“There is still a long path ahead. We have to end this war. And we should talk about the next steps,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
said last week to the European Parliament. “But nobody can doubt that a people that stands up so bravely for our European values belongs in our European family.”
Leaders at the summit may ask the commission to provide an opinion on Ukraine’s candidacy faster than usual, in a show of political support for Kyiv, EU diplomats said. The process usually lasts between 15 and 18 months.
But even coming up with an opinion would be a fraught undertaking amid an invasion, as it involves the commission sending a lengthy list of questions to the government, and dispatching fact-finding missions to the country.
Read More:
NATO Faces Reality of Emboldened Russia on Its Doorstep
A diplomat from one of the countries opposed to making Ukraine a candidate said their government was wary of offering false expectations and Kyiv isn’t ready to begin the formal accession process. Some countries in western Europe are concerned about further expansion after long-running disputes over the rule of law with newer members such as Hungary and Poland, as well as how other long-standing candidates in the Balkans would view a preferential approach for Ukraine.
Gaining EU membership is an arduous process requiring dozens of criteria to be met -- from the rule of law to judicial reforms -- and can take more than a decade. Croatia was the last country to join the bloc and its application lasted 10 years before it was formally accepted in 2013. Starting the process requires the unanimous approval of all EU member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
www.bloomberg.com
I am dealing with facts, numbers and not wishes.
