Tag Archives: Union européenne

Vladimir Putin is already at war with Europe

Le HuffingtonPost, February 23, 2015, Strade, February 24, 2015, InformNapalm (en), February 27, 2015, InformNapalm (fr), February 27, 2015, EuropeanSotnia, March 10, 2015, InformNapalm (de), March 26, 2015

At the Munich Security Conference at the beginning of February, Sergey Lavrov caused general amusement among the ministers and diplomats present when he declared that the reunification of Germany had happened without a referendum. Unquestionably, the cream of European diplomacy was laughing as much at itself – and could just as easily have cried. A year after Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, more than fifteen months since the beginning of the Euromaidan in Kyiv, and more than fifteen years since Vladimir Putin’s accession to power in Russia, these politicians and diplomats are at a loss to describe what is shaking up the European continent. Lire la suite →

Vladimir Poutine est déjà en guerre contre l’Europe

Le HuffingtonPost, 23 février 2015, Strade, 24 février 2015, InformNapalm (en), 27 février 2015, InformNapalm (fr), 27 février 2015, EuropeanSotnia, 11 mars 2015, InformNapalm (de), 26 mars 2015

Début février 2015, à Munich, lors de la Conférence sur la Sécurité, Sergueï Lavrov a provoqué un éclat de rire généralisé parmi les ministres et diplomates présents lorsqu’il a affirmé que la réunification allemande avait eu lieu sans référendum. A n’en pas douter, le gratin de la diplomatie européenne riait sans doute aussi sur lui-même. Il aurait d’ailleurs pu, tout aussi bien, pleurer. Près d’un an après l’invasion et l’annexion de la Crimée par la Russie, à plus de quinze mois du début de la révolution Euromaidan à Kyiv et plus de quinze ans après l’avénement de Vladimir Poutine au pouvoir en Russie, ces politiques et ces diplomates peinent toujours à mettre des mots sur ce qui ébranle le continent européen. Lire la suite →

An open letter to Captain Nadiya Savchenko, on day fifty-seven of her hunger strike

Le HuffingtonPost, February 9, 2015, Strade, February 10, 2015, kontury.info, February 11, 2015

Free Nadiya Savchenko

Dear Captain, dear Nadiya,

Though I was not optimistic, I did hope a little, a very little bit, that Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Hollande would bring you back with them from Moscow in their « luggage ». After all of the violations of Russia’s recent, and not so recent, commitments, such a concrete gesture would have given an ounce of credibility to Mr. Putin’s declarations that he truly wanted to negotiate. Alas, this was not the case. The Chancellor and the President returned empty handed. Lire la suite →

The war between Russia and Ukraine: a threat to European unity

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 →

La guerra ruso-ucraniana y la amenaza de la desunión europea

Le HuffingtonPost, 5 février 2015, Strade, 6 février 2015

Con el fondo del recrudecimiento de los combates en Ucrania estamos asistiendo a una multiplicación de indicios de división en el seno de la Unión europea. En el curso de las últimas semanas el primer ministro húngaro ha anunciado su apoyo al nuevo proyecto de gaseoducto que conectaría Rusia con Turquía y al cual los europeos serían invitados a acoplarse, renunciando de esta manera a las conexiones a través de Ucrania. Por otra parte Víctor Orban se prepara para recibir próximamente al presidente ruso en Budapest. También Miloš Zeman continúa exhibiendo su discrepancia, sosteniendo mordicus que el Kremlin no está implicado en Donbass. Francia, por su parte, ha llevado a cabo negociaciones bilaterales con Rusia para restablecer las exportaciones de carne porcina suspendidas desde después del boicot ruso a los productos provenientes de la Unión europea. Robert Fico, el primer ministro eslovaco no se desvía de una postura de cierta comprensión hacia Moscú, mientras Sofia está sometida a una enorme presión, a causa principalmente de las importantes inversiones rusas en Bulgaria. Mucho mas inquietante es que la llegada al poder de Syriza y del Partido de los Griegos independientes (ANEL) ha iluminado crudamente la extensión de los lazos tejidos entre personalidades de primer plano de esos dos partidos y personalidades rusas conocidas por el papel importante que juegan en la puesta en práctica del proyecto imperial de Vladimir Putin. Lire la suite →