Merkel vraagt Rusland te stoppen met 'Koude Oorlog-mentaliteit'
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel i on Wednesday (27 November) said the EU will keep its door open to Ukraine and urged Russia to let eastern countries decide for themselves about European integration.
Merkel is just one of the 20 EU leaders gathering in Vilnius Thursday and Friday for the so-called Eastern Partnership summit. But Germany's privileged economic relations with Russia and Merkel's standing as the most powerful leader in the EU make her words carry weight.
She is to meet the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovich, who last week said he will not sign a long-negotiated association and free trade agreement with the EU, blaming Russian pressure.
The signature was to have been the main result of the summit.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Merkel sought to downplay the dramatic decision.
"He will say it is his own decision and no rejection of Europe, rather a postponement of the signature. And we will continue to offer this agreement," Merkel said.
She spoke of a "structural problem" with the former Soviet countries on EU's eastern flank.
"The more they come closer to Europe, the more Russia sees it as a distancing themselves from Russia. This zero-sum game has to be overcome," she added.
She admitted that the six Eastern Partnership countries - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan - cannot do it alone, however.
"The EU and Germany have to talk to Russia. The Cold War is over. These countries must and should decide for themselves, but this is in no way directed against Russia," she said.
"We need Russia, we import their gas, we have a common interest to see the Russian state modernise. But we must overcome the last relics of the Cold War."
With the surprise u-turn by Ukraine, EU leaders will seek to salvage what can still be implemented in the broad array of measures and technical assistance, including potential financial aid for the almost-bankrupt Ukrainian state.
"The German government and the International Monetary Fund have said for a long time they need reforms. If Ukraine does its homework, the EU could offer €500 million," a high-ranking German official told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday.
But the perspective for Ukraine one day to become EU member remains off the table, as it does for Moldova and the other Eastern Partnership countries.
However, the neighbourhood policy can bring some benefits to these countries.
The EU commission on Wednesday proposed to extend visa-free travel to Moldovan citizens with biometric passports.
"This is very good news for citizens and a very tangible element towards a closer political association and economic integration with the EU. It is also an encouragement for other eastern partners who seek to achieve the same goal," said home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom i.
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