Neighbors kick Euro approach into touch

Nov 26, 2007
By Mike Collier

RIGA -- A conference that was supposed to provide some end-of-year self-congratulation to EU decision-makers went off-message in Riga on Nov 23, with a succession of valued neighbours seizing the chance to kick holes in the EU’s European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

The conference, titled ‘The Baltic States and The EU Neighbourhood Policy’ started with a slight sense of anticlimax for several reasons. The gathering had largely been an initiative of former Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks, but following his resignation, the conference lost some of its raison d'etre. Then delegates from Georgia cancelled in order to grapple with unrest at home - leaving a large display outlining the glories of Georgia looking rather folorn in the foyer.

The proceedings started amicably enough with the first speakers - including new Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins - praising the EU’s attempts to spread common values of democracy and rule of law further afield. But then the event quickly morphed into a checklist of the ENP’s inconsistencies and blind spots.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov made the first specific criticisms of ENP, suggesting that some people might interpret the development of ENP as a sign of “enlargement fatigue” within the EU. “Neighbours are not members – by definition they are outside, which may be seen by some as a strong signal,” Mammadyarov pointed out.

In an eloquent address that had some delegates fidgeting uncomfortably, Mammadyarov drew attention to the EU’s inconsistent approach to frozen conflicts and issues such as territorial disputes and ethnic cleansing. The EU could not afford to have double standards, he said, underlining that energy-rich countries such as Azerbaijan are far from poor relations in need of EU handouts. “The ENP is not a one-way street. Neighbours are not coming with empty hands,” he said.

With the ENP ball now well and truly rolling, subsequent speakers seized their chance to give it a good kick.

Lithuanian foreign minister Petras Vaitiekunas claimed a “discriminating policy has emerged with regard to Georgia and territorial integrity,” [referring to the breakaway region of Abkhazia] and voiced Lithuania’s strong backing for Ukrainian and Moldovan membership of the EU. “The east represents unfinished business,” he said while drawing lines for a new polarity between east and west in European matters that he called “Europe-to-Europe dialogue.”

Next up was Belarus' deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Yeudachenka, who rattled off a long list of grievances including the EU’s decision to withdraw Belarus from its list of preferred trading partners and the application of “obsolete and forbidden” import quotas at a time when Belarus has been dropping numerous tariffs of its own. “I trust 2008 will be the year when the EU drops import quotas on Belarusian textiles,” Yeudachenka said and asked the EU to stop blocking Belarus’ attempts to join the World Trade Organization. Belarus is currently excluded from official ENP status.

The clearest demonstration of the ENP’s occasional absurdity came from Moldovan deputy Foreign Minister Valeriu Ostalep. “You need a visa to get a visa to the EU,” he explained, describing a situation in which Moldovans wishing to travel to Belgium or Italy first need to apply for a Romanian visa in order to travel to Bucharest and apply for other European visas.

Ostalep’s coup de grace was still to come. After describing how Moldova had established two information centres to educate the public about the role of the EU and the benefits of EU membership, he revealed: “Unfortunately we didn’t receive necessary support [from the EU]. The EU information centres were opened using US money.”

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