EU-Russia Partnership
Ahmed Hany
July 10, 2008
EU-Russian Partnership.
Ahmed Hany.
ahmedhany55@hotmail.com
The EU-Russian summit in Siberia showed that the two partners would start a strategic partnership. It is known that the relations between the old communist country and the EU were swinging due to many problems, for example the expansion of the NATO and the deployment of American anti-missile shields in Eastern Europe.. Europe imports about forty percent of its energy from Russia. Previously, Russia pressed on Europe using its energy supply as a weapon. Yet the lesson was that using oil and gas as weapons may be effective on short term. On the long term, these weapons decrease the income of the exporter.
Both Medevedv and Putin see that cooperation with the West and in particular with Europe are necessary. They do not want to return to the cold war with the continent at least. While Russia tries to have a strategic partnership with Europe, it tries to find a common background with the US regarding the several international problems. It sees Europe and the US as two different blocks.
Russia objected the American war on Iraq and both Germany and France took its side. Still Russia has some influence in the Eastern Europe ex-communist countries. Whether in Ukraine or in other Eastern Europe countries there are slight majority that support plans to join NATO. The Anglo-Russian row about the killing of a spy by poison did not affect the EU-Russian relations. Russia likes to see the EU a rival for the US not a follower. Medevedv called for monetary system changes. He called for different currencies, Euro, Rubble, and Yen to be used beside the Dollar. German sees the EU-Russian partnership as the historical geopolitical expansion of the block after extension to the East. It prefers this extension to the French proposal of the Mediterranean Union that might split Europe into Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries.
Globally, Russia refuses the use of force against Iran and this is nearer to the European stance than the American who threats Iran from now and then. At the same time Russia refuses that Iran, obtain nuclear weapons. However, for sanctions one find Europe is nearer to the American stance than Russia that sees that sanction complicates the case.
Russia does consider Hamas and Hezbo-Allah terrorist groups. Lately there were unofficial contacts between Hamas and some European countries. France talks to everybody in Lebanon. Both Russia and the EU did not recognize Jerusalem as a capital for Israel and both recognize the borders of 1967 as the borders of Israel and the future Palestine State.
Russia separates between Europe as a military ally to the USA and as a neighboring states with which, economic cooperation is important. When Russia restarted its long range strategic bombers flights that reached the Atlantic ocean and when it withdrew from the traditional weapons treaty that limits the numbers of tanks on the European borders, it did that as a response to the American repeated trials to encircle Russia. The Europeans know that. Not all European countries recognized the Kosovo independence.
Historically both France and Germany invaded the Russian lands but Russia never started a war against Europe. Russia sees Siberia as its geopolitical extension. Yet after the WWII, Europe learned that Russia has the ability to invade and to occupy Europe. The Europeans know that in the future, if Russia decided to return to East Europe the American would not risk war with Russia to save the Eastern part. This was the motive behind having partnership with Russia not to confront it.
At the same time, the Western economies try to solve the Chinese problem and the last Economic form predicted that protective policies would return instead of free trade. These protective measures will take the form of a block against another block. Protective policies are the start of friction that may reach to confrontations military or political. If Europe will be forced to take protective measures against Chinese good and this is followed by other regions then confrontation with China would be necessary. Russia is the first European defence line against China. Whether Medevedv meant inviting his European partners to a Siberian city in a gesture to tell them that or not, does not make difference about the importance of Siberia in developing Russia.
There is another great expectation of Siberia that is studied in the Western Strategic centers and may be Russian as well which is the immigration from third world countries and in particular the Middle East. To develop Siberia Russia need technology and manpower. It has the technology but it needs manpower to develop it so that the EU-Russian partnership could emerge as a giant equal to rising Asian Powers. This relieves much the EU immigration problems. If this is parallel with the Mediterranean Union then the Land Block that Mac Ender, the international strategist had predicted.
This partnership puts the USA in a dilemma, as it cannot face it and China at the same time. It is predicted that at last the US will coordinate with EU and Russia. If serious steps are taken towards the Mediterranean Union, then the global power agreed about coordination. One may join the signs of calming the Middle East with both projects. However, it is predicted that the US will lead until half of this century at least but it expands the role of key regional powers. Let´s not forget that there are parallel negotiations between NATO and Russia to have partnership. At the same time, NATO has partnership and cooperation with Southern Mediterranean countries. In other words, the military shield of Land Block is being built.
For books by the author:
http://stores.lulu.com/ahmedhany
Ahmed Hany.
ahmedhany55@hotmail.com
The EU-Russian summit in Siberia showed that the two partners would start a strategic partnership. It is known that the relations between the old communist country and the EU were swinging due to many problems, for example the expansion of the NATO and the deployment of American anti-missile shields in Eastern Europe.. Europe imports about forty percent of its energy from Russia. Previously, Russia pressed on Europe using its energy supply as a weapon. Yet the lesson was that using oil and gas as weapons may be effective on short term. On the long term, these weapons decrease the income of the exporter.
Both Medevedv and Putin see that cooperation with the West and in particular with Europe are necessary. They do not want to return to the cold war with the continent at least. While Russia tries to have a strategic partnership with Europe, it tries to find a common background with the US regarding the several international problems. It sees Europe and the US as two different blocks.
Russia objected the American war on Iraq and both Germany and France took its side. Still Russia has some influence in the Eastern Europe ex-communist countries. Whether in Ukraine or in other Eastern Europe countries there are slight majority that support plans to join NATO. The Anglo-Russian row about the killing of a spy by poison did not affect the EU-Russian relations. Russia likes to see the EU a rival for the US not a follower. Medevedv called for monetary system changes. He called for different currencies, Euro, Rubble, and Yen to be used beside the Dollar. German sees the EU-Russian partnership as the historical geopolitical expansion of the block after extension to the East. It prefers this extension to the French proposal of the Mediterranean Union that might split Europe into Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries.
Globally, Russia refuses the use of force against Iran and this is nearer to the European stance than the American who threats Iran from now and then. At the same time Russia refuses that Iran, obtain nuclear weapons. However, for sanctions one find Europe is nearer to the American stance than Russia that sees that sanction complicates the case.
Russia does consider Hamas and Hezbo-Allah terrorist groups. Lately there were unofficial contacts between Hamas and some European countries. France talks to everybody in Lebanon. Both Russia and the EU did not recognize Jerusalem as a capital for Israel and both recognize the borders of 1967 as the borders of Israel and the future Palestine State.
Russia separates between Europe as a military ally to the USA and as a neighboring states with which, economic cooperation is important. When Russia restarted its long range strategic bombers flights that reached the Atlantic ocean and when it withdrew from the traditional weapons treaty that limits the numbers of tanks on the European borders, it did that as a response to the American repeated trials to encircle Russia. The Europeans know that. Not all European countries recognized the Kosovo independence.
Historically both France and Germany invaded the Russian lands but Russia never started a war against Europe. Russia sees Siberia as its geopolitical extension. Yet after the WWII, Europe learned that Russia has the ability to invade and to occupy Europe. The Europeans know that in the future, if Russia decided to return to East Europe the American would not risk war with Russia to save the Eastern part. This was the motive behind having partnership with Russia not to confront it.
At the same time, the Western economies try to solve the Chinese problem and the last Economic form predicted that protective policies would return instead of free trade. These protective measures will take the form of a block against another block. Protective policies are the start of friction that may reach to confrontations military or political. If Europe will be forced to take protective measures against Chinese good and this is followed by other regions then confrontation with China would be necessary. Russia is the first European defence line against China. Whether Medevedv meant inviting his European partners to a Siberian city in a gesture to tell them that or not, does not make difference about the importance of Siberia in developing Russia.
There is another great expectation of Siberia that is studied in the Western Strategic centers and may be Russian as well which is the immigration from third world countries and in particular the Middle East. To develop Siberia Russia need technology and manpower. It has the technology but it needs manpower to develop it so that the EU-Russian partnership could emerge as a giant equal to rising Asian Powers. This relieves much the EU immigration problems. If this is parallel with the Mediterranean Union then the Land Block that Mac Ender, the international strategist had predicted.
This partnership puts the USA in a dilemma, as it cannot face it and China at the same time. It is predicted that at last the US will coordinate with EU and Russia. If serious steps are taken towards the Mediterranean Union, then the global power agreed about coordination. One may join the signs of calming the Middle East with both projects. However, it is predicted that the US will lead until half of this century at least but it expands the role of key regional powers. Let´s not forget that there are parallel negotiations between NATO and Russia to have partnership. At the same time, NATO has partnership and cooperation with Southern Mediterranean countries. In other words, the military shield of Land Block is being built.
For books by the author:
http://stores.lulu.com/ahmedhany
Print
Email
