In an interview with Hungarian blog Napieu.eu, German ECR MEP Lars Patrick Berg MEP discusses whether the EU is able to become a global power.
Lars Patrick Berg MEP: “After the outbreak of the war, the EU Member States came together relatively quickly and united against the Russian invasion. They went beyond their internal disputes and made weapons available to Ukraine. Increasingly severe sanctions against Russia were agreed upon in stages. Ukrainian refugees have been accepted and most member states have pledged to increase defence spending to the NATO target of 2 per cent of GDP.
At the same time, they have clearly and firmly refused to commit themselves to rescuing a sovereign, democratic European country with military occupation. They refused to supply certain types of weapons, such as fighter aircraft. From security or geopolitical point of view, the Union has gone as far as it could go in terms of united action, and from then on, the offer of arms and the level of support was up to the Member States. Initially, the EU wanted to coordinate this action, but the member states did not ask for it.
EU unity has also been shown on the issue of phasing out Russian energy imports, but implementation has been slow and partial due to diverging interests among the Member States. Many European companies have withdrawn from Russia, more by their own choice than because of official sanctions, but many remain because they do not feel threatened.
There is an even greater divergence between member states in terms of where they seek to source their gas and oil. The divergence is determined by geography and the potential for changes in political commitment, and in this respect, it is not Europe that has been strengthened, but above all the value of resource-producing countries in Africa and Asia that has increased. In terms of gas and oil supplies, the Member States are going their own way, which can in no way be seen as a consolidation of European unity, even if the EU itself is seeking to supply gas to the Member States from Azerbaijan. This is just a drop in the ocean.”
👉 Mein Interview mit dem ungarischen 🇭🇺 Blog https://t.co/C1oUNO8Sfl : Kann die #Europäische_Union 🇪🇺 eine #Weltmacht 🌍 sein?https://t.co/tIsmEnsJIi pic.twitter.com/18nuexh5OW
— Lars Patrick Berg MdEP (@L_P_Berg) August 30, 2022