Le HuffingtonPost, 5 février 2015, Strade, 6 février 2015
Against the backdrop of renewed fighting in Ukraine, we are seeing more and more signs of division at the heart of the European Union. In the last few weeks alone, the Hungarian Prime Minister has announced his support for the new gas pipeline project that will link Russia and Turkey, and that Europeans will be expected to join, effectively giving up connections via Ukraine. Moreover, Viktor Orban is apparently preparing to host a visit by the Russian President in Budapest. Miloš Zeman, the Czech President, has also continued to be at odds with the rest of Europe by steadfastly maintaining that the Kremlin does not have a hand in the war in Donbass. At the same time too, France has been conducting bilateral negotiations with Russia aimed at restarting the exportation of pork products that was suspended after the Russian boycott of agricultural and food products of EU provenance. The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, will not stray from a certain generosity towards Moscow, while Bulgaria is under enormous pressure given substantial Russian investment in the country. But there are even greater concerns on the horizon: with Syriza and the Independent Greeks (ANEL) now in power in Greece, we see more clearly how intimately connected some of their high-level members are to Russian figures who are known for their important roles in fostering Vladimir Putin’s imperial designs. Lire la suite →
