World

Georgia’s EU bid raises existential question: Where does Europe end?

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2022

Europe is in the present day going through its most feared nightmare: warfare.

An armed, bloody battle has as soon as once more damaged out in the midst of the continent: Ukrainians battle on the streets to expel the invading Russian forces, who threaten to take over their neighbour and subjugate their cherished independence.

Within the span of only a few days, the continent’s conscience has been shaken to the core, resulting in a strong outpour of solidarity for Ukraine and a sudden re-examination of our frequent id as Europeans.

Moved by each hope and hopelessness, the Kyiv authorities has launched a long-shot bid to hitch the European Union, an arduous, intricate and fragile course of that rests on the political will of the 27 member states. Shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the official utility, two different nations adopted go well with: Moldova and Georgia.

None of those three states had beforehand been thought-about a critical candidate to turn into a part of the bloc, however the horror and shock inflicted by the warfare have all of the sudden shifted the narrative of their favour. The largely stalled accession course of has now been reawakened and infused with a brand new which means, even when the possibilities for a profitable decision are nonetheless low and replete with obstacles.

However for Georgia, one other hurdle emerges: Is it actually a part of Europe?

Article 49 of the EU treaties says that “any European State” that respects the bloc’s core values can apply for membership. At first sight, the supply has a twin dimension: geographical – being someplace contained in the European continent – and political – complying with the basic tenets of the European challenge, that’s, being an open democracy primarily based on the rule of legislation and human rights.

On democracy, Georgia has a blended report. As a parliamentary republic, the nation has made nice strides to beat its Soviet legacy and holds common elections to decide on its public representatives. However the system is shaky, with frequent accusations of fraud and undue boundaries for opposition events.

“Oligarchic affect impacts the nation’s political affairs, coverage choices, and media atmosphere, and the rule of legislation is undermined by politicisation. Civil liberties are inconsistently protected,” says Freedom Home, a non-profit centre that conducts analysis on democracy and human rights.

Freedom Home calls Georgia “partly free,” whereas The Economist’s Democracy Index describes it as a “hybrid regime.” Reporters With out Borders says the nation’s media is “pluralist however not but unbiased.”

Whereas political shortcomings are a significant impediment on the street to EU membership, they aren’t set in stone.

In actual fact, the accession course of is designed to progressively enhance a candidate’s political requirements in order that by the point it lastly joins the bloc, the newcomer is completely aligned with the opposite member states.

In contrast, geography is about in stone – in probably the most literal sense of the expression. And in Georgia’s case, the stone below its toes would possibly elevate some uncomfortable questions.

Between two continents

Georgia is a small nation of virtually 4 million residents positioned within the Transcaucasia area, south of the Caucasus Mountains. It’s bounded on the north by Russia, on the east by Azerbaijan, and on the south by Armenia and Turkey. The nation’s western half borders the Black Sea, opening up an easy maritime route in direction of two EU nations, Romania and Bulgaria.

This specific place places Georgia at odds with the historically outlined borders of Europe, which lengthen all the way in which to the Ural Mountains in Russia, comply with the Ural River all the way down to the Caspian Sea, after which move by the very crest of the Caucasus till they attain the Black Sea.

This traditional interpretation is adopted by, amongst others, the Nationwide Geographic Society – whose map of Europe tip-toes previous Georgia – the Encyclopædia Britannica and the CIA’s World Factbook.

For the reason that Caucasus act as Georgia’s pure northern border, probably the most standard understanding of Europe bypasses the nation altogether, leaving the area as a kind of transcontinental bridge “on the intersection of Japanese Europe and Western Asia,” as Wikipedia places it.

“I name the Caucasus ‘the lands in between.’ Geographically, the nations lie between Europe, Asia, Russia, and the Center East. Culturally, they’re on the border the place Islam meets Christianity, and the place democracy meets authoritarianism,” stated Thomas de Waal, creator of the ebook The Caucasus: An Introduction, throughout a 2019 Q&A session.

“It’s a complicated, attention-grabbing area, which is a borderland in additional methods than simply geography.”

Georgia’s nature as a transit zone appears to confound worldwide organisations.

The Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) excludes Georgia in its periodic financial outlook for Europe. Eurostat, the European Fee’s statistical workplace, additionally ignores the nation in its examine of areas and cities, which options your entire Turkish territory.

The Council of Europe, nevertheless, did see Georgia as a part of the European household of countries when it granted the nation’s membership in 1999. (The Council of Europe is a human rights organisation with restricted energy and utterly unrelated to the EU establishments.)

“I’m Georgian and due to this fact I’m European,” stated Zurab Zhvania, Georgia’s prime minister, when his nation joined the organisation, lower than a decade after the collapse of the USSR.

Zhvania’s triumphant phrases evoked a way of belonging that defied geographical boundaries and as an alternative embraced frequent ties cast on tradition, creed and historical past. At its best extent, the Roman Empire reached all the way in which to the Caucasus. The world in the present day often known as Georgia was then referred to as Colchis and Iberia.

“The attention-grabbing and tough factor in regards to the idea of Europe is that individuals have been actually arguing about it for no less than 2,500 years,” says Giancarlo Casale, a professor on the European College Institute (EUI) with a concentrate on the Ottoman empire and its connections with the trendy world.

“Behind these arguments is a predisposition to outline Europe in a selected means. One technique to outline it’s as Christian. So if you wish to see Europe as Christian, then it inevitably is smart that Georgia needs to be in, as a result of despite the fact that it is on the market within the Central Caucasus, it is likely one of the oldest Christian civilisations of the world.”

‘No unequivocal settlement’

At this time, because the European continent turns into more and more interconnected, borderless and digital, its true character, and due to this fact its confines, exceed the bodily realm that characterised the previous empires, a pattern that President Vladimir Putin seems desperate to reverse.

Conceptual elements, reminiscent of political affinity and social constructions, have now better affect in shaping a collective sense of Europeanness. This summary dimension has come to the fore throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an act of warfare that has turned Kyiv right into a kind of frontline protector of the Western mannequin of democracy.

“Two months in the past, I did not hear anyone saying that Ukraine was a European nation, as a result of no matter whether or not it was a democracy or not, there wasn’t any query it might be a part of the European Union,” Casale informed Euronews in a video interview.

“You may see how shortly these sorts of discourses can change the politics of the second and the way individuals are fascinated by what they wish to be as Europeans and the way different nations slot in with that mannequin.”

This versatile interpretation of what’s Europe would possibly smoothen the trail for Georgia’s EU ambitions or, no less than, for being granted candidate standing. The formal change would open the door to the bloc’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Help (IPA), a multi-billion monetary programme that helps nations perform the required reforms to return nearer to the EU’s authorized order.

Cyprus, a rustic that geographically belongs to Asia Minor however is majority Christian and Greek-speaking, benefitted from this elastic understanding when it joined the bloc as a part of the 2004 wave of enlargement, a time when the political will to increase the EU was decisively stronger than it’s in the present day.

Balkan nations with giant Muslim populations, reminiscent of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have equally been accepted as aspiring members, though their future stays, at finest, unsure.

“There isn’t any unequivocal settlement on what a ‘European state’ means. This requirement may be learn from completely different views, together with geographical, cultural, political, strategic phrases,” Corina Stratulat, a senior analyst on the European Coverage Centre (EPC) who research EU enlargement, tells Euronews.

Brussels’ willingness to show Europe’s map the wrong way up is, nevertheless, not infinite.

In 1987, Morocco’s bid to hitch the European Communities, the EU’s predecessor, was rejected on the grounds it was not a European nation. But, as Stratulat notes, Turkey’s utility, despatched that very same 12 months, was “accepted regardless of its geographic place in Asia.”

The political sensitivities involving the EU’s accession course of, the place the capitals must inexperienced gentle each procedural step by unanimity, counsel the continent’s closing map can be drawn first by prime ministers and later polished by cartographers.

“Is the European challenge primarily motivated by geography or by different financial and strategic/safety concerns? Can geography be a key consideration in an age outlined by the web and globalisation, the place distances and borders imply nothing? Is growth very important or non-compulsory for the EU?” Stratulat wonders.

“Relying on how member states reply to those questions, it can decide how far the Union can stretch.”

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World

How is Azerbaijan involved with France and New Caledonia?

Published

17 mins ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

How is Azerbaijan involved with France and New Caledonia?

France has accused Azerbaijan of meddling in its Pacific territory, New Caledonia, by supporting independence movements and spreading disinformation, amid broader geopolitical tensions.

France has accused Azerbaijan of meddling in its Pacific archipelago territory of New Caledonia.

Despite the vast geographical and cultural distance between the Caspian state and the French Pacific territory, this claim is rooted in a complex web of historical, political, and diplomatic tensions.

The Crisis in New Caledonia

New Caledonia, located between Australia and Fiji, is a French territory with a history of striving for independence.

The recent unrest in New Caledonia was ignited by a new electoral law perceived by the indigenous Kanak population as discriminatory.

This law allows people who have lived in New Caledonia for at least ten years the right to vote in local elections, which pro-independence supporters argue will dilute the Kanak vote.

France’s Accusations

France’s Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, has publicly stated that Azerbaijan, along with China and Russia, is interfering in New Caledonia’s internal matters. “This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” Darmanin told the France 2 TV channel, emphasizing the seriousness of the allegations.

The French government points to the sudden appearance of Azerbaijani flags at Kanak independence protests and the backing of separatists by groups linked to Baku.

Azerbaijan has vehemently denied any involvement, calling the accusations baseless. “We completely reject the baseless accusations,” said Ayhan Hajizadeh, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry. “We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”

A significant element in this story is the Baku Initiative Group, established during a conference in July 2023 in Azerbaijan. This group, which includes participants from various French territories seeking independence, aims to support anti-colonial movements against France.

The group has expressed solidarity with the Kanak people and condemned the recent electoral reforms in New Caledonia. “We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their fair struggle,” the Baku Initiative Group stated.

Why are France and Azerbaijan clashing diplomatically?

The tensions between France and Azerbaijan extend beyond New Caledonia. France is a traditional ally of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s historical rival, particularly regarding the contentious Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Following the 2020 war and a subsequent 2023 offensive by Azerbaijan to reclaim control of Nagorno-Karabakh, France has openly supported Armenia.

This support includes defence agreements and military equipment supplies, fuelling further animosity from Azerbaijan. Darmanin referred to Azerbaijan as a “dictatorship,” highlighting the deep-seated distrust.

France has also accused Azerbaijan of engaging in disinformation campaigns to destabilise its territories. Pro-Azerbaijani social media accounts have been linked to the spread of misleading content about the French police’s actions in New Caledonia.

A French government source mentioned a “pretty massive campaign, with around 4,000 posts generated by (these) accounts,” aimed at inciting violence and mistrust.

This follows France recalling its ambassador to Azerbaijan in April, with President Macron expressing regret for Azerbaijan’s actions, along with his hope that the Azerbaijanis would clarify their intentions.

Why New Caledonia?

While Azerbaijan’s direct interest in New Caledonia might seem far-fetched, it fits into a broader strategy of challenging the French colonial legacy and supporting separatist movements.

By aligning with anti-colonial sentiments, Azerbaijan aims to position itself as a champion of liberation movements, simultaneously discrediting France on the international stage.

This effort is seen as part of a broader geopolitical manoeuvering, including Azerbaijan’s efforts to tarnish France’s image, as noted by its alleged disinformation campaign against France’s capability to host the Olympic Games.

The heightened tensions have had further repercussions. The French Sports Minister cancelled the Olympic flame’s journey through New Caledonia, for security reasons, but also an action that reflects the severity of the unrest and the accusations of foreign interference.

The involvement of Azerbaijan in New Caledonia’s unrest is a multifaceted issue rooted in broader geopolitical rivalries and historical grievances.

For Azerbaijan, supporting independence movements in French territories is a way to strike back at France for its support of Armenia and to bolster its own international standing.

For France, these actions represent a direct challenge to its sovereignty and stability in its overseas territories, prompting strong accusations and heightened tensions between Paris and Baku.

World

Ukraine and Russia exchange drone attacks while Russia continues its push in the east

Published

6 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Ukraine and Russia exchange drone attacks while Russia continues its push in the east

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia said it shot down some 60 drones and several missiles over its territory while Ukraine in turn said it destroyed over 30 Russian drones. At least four people were reported killed in an attack on the outskirts of Kharkiv on Sunday as Russia pushed ahead with its renewed offensive in Ukraine’s war-ravaged northeast.

Russian air defenses shot down 57 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Local military officials said drone debris hit an oil refinery in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, but there was no fire or damage. News outlet Astra published videos appearing to show an explosion at the refinery as it was hit by a drone. The videos could not be independently verified.

Nine long-range ballistic missiles and a drone were destroyed over the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula, following Friday morning’s massive Ukrainian drone attack that cut off power in the city of Sevastopol.

A further three drones were shot down over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. According to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov, a church roof was set on fire by falling drone debris, but there were no casualties.

The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s partially occupied Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said that one person died and 16 were wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a minibus on Sunday morning.

In Ukraine, air force officials said air defenses shot down all 37 Russian drones launched against the country overnight.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Moscow recently launched a new offensive, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Sunday morning that one person died and 11 were wounded as a result of shelling over the previous day.

Later on Sunday, Syniehubov said four people were killed and eight wounded in a Russian strike on the outskirts of the regional capital, also called Kharkiv.

Ukrainian troops are fighting to halt Russian advances in the Kharkiv region that began late last week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a visit to China that Moscow’s offensive in the Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but that there are no plans to capture the city.

——

Morton reported from London.

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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

World

Argentina's Milei shuts up critics with miracle turnaround of economy, strong security policies

Published

7 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Argentina's Milei shuts up critics with miracle turnaround of economy, strong security policies

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President Javier Milei of Argentina continues to stun his critics with an economy that has outperformed expectations and continues along an ambitious path for national security, including pursuit of a NATO global partnership.

“The fact that you have a president, head of state, who is defending the free market, who is defending the role of entrepreneurs and businessmen as creators of value and just defending deregulation when the tendency in Latin America and much of the West has been to regulate the economy . . . I think that’s very positive, not only for Argentina, but for the region as a whole and maybe beyond,” Daniel Raisbeck, a policy analyst at the CATO Institute, told Fox News Digital.

Milei won the presidency in November last year and prompted concern from some in the West that he would lead his country down a road to ruin with libertarian policies that would make an already troubled economy even weaker. Voters wanted economic relief from a market hit with some of the highest inflation in the world.

Those attitudes have shifted just months later as Milei has enacted a raft of policy changes: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to release a tranche of loans due to Argentina under a bailout program thanks to Milei’s government managing to create a fiscal surplus in the previous fiscal quarter and bring inflation down.

ARGENTINA REPORTS ITS FIRST SINGLE-DIGIT INFLATION IN SIX MONTHS AS MARKETS SWOON AND COSTS HIT HOME

President of Argentina Javier Milei gives a speech after his Inauguration Ceremony at National Congress on December 10, 2023, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Argentina’s inflation in March alone hit 287%, causing poverty to deepen, and citizens to take to the streets with strikes and protests against his policies. The monthly inflation rate was 25% in December when Milei first took office.

Milei then went on to significantly reduce spending with major cuts to public-sector wages as he suspended public works projects and cut subsidies. He also devalued the country’s currency by over 50%, which helped it stabilize in value even as the price of basic goods jumped.

The monthly inflation dropped to 8.8% by April, marking the first single-digit inflation rate in over six months.

Argentina recorded a $589 million budget surplus in January and continued to post a surplus for each of the first four months of 2024, even as the surplus shrank to $299 million in April, Reuters reported. This marks the country’s first quarterly surplus since 2008.

Raisbeck stressed that Milei’s primary measure of cutting spending has proven highly effective, while arguing that the significant deregulation in other parts of the economy has helped it revive over those first months of the new administration.

Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza lifts a chainsaw next to Buenos Aires province governor candidate Carolina Piparo of La Libertad Avanza during a rally on September 25, 2023, in San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images)

“Argentina was one of the most regulated economies in the world,” Raisbeck said. “So when you have a very well-thought-out package like the one that they introduced . . . and you get rid of as many of those regulations as you can, then it’s very positive.”

AT LEAST 90 INJURED AFTER PASSENGER TRAIN HITS BOXCAR, DERAILS IN ARGTENTINE CAPITAL

He noted that Milei has not adhered to some of his more aggressive campaign promises, which included a promise to dollarize the economy and shut down the Central Bank, saying that it was a “non-negotiable matter.”

Even days after he won the election, Milei appeared to favor more moderate Cabinet members than many would have expected of a man who jolted the international community with his outsider attitude and plans.

Students protest for more public university funding and against austerity measures proposed by President Javier Milei, featured on the sign, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The posters read in Spanish, “With fascism, there are no rights,” center, and “Why so much fear to educate the people?” and “Defending the university is defending the country.” (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The Wall Street Journal, in December 2023, argued that Milei’s tenure “may turn out to be pretty conventional,” with pro-market Economy Minister Luis Caputo leading away from Milei’s more radical plans.

The promised dollarization has been delayed, and Raisbeck explained that Milei’s approach has relied heavily on using the Central Bank to help regulate the economy, though he argued that Milei’s policies remain libertarian due to the deregulation he has pursued in other areas.

A vendor waits for customers at the central market for fruit and vegetables in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

“Everything related to deregulation is very libertarian, and we’ve seen great success already in the housing market, for instance,” Raisbeck said. “So that obviously brought a huge amount of supply that was suppressed because of price controls.”

Milei also brought Argentina back to the international foreground, with a stronger focus on national security and changing up the country’s goals from the previous administration – most notably, he rejected the invitation to join the China and Russia-led economic bloc BRICS.

PERUVIAN LAWMAKERS BEGIN YET ANOTHER EFFORT TO REMOVE PRESIDENT DINA BULARTE FROM OFFICE

A man holds up a giant US dollar sign with President Argentina's President Javier Milei

A supporter holds a giant dollar bill with the face President elect Javier Milei as people start gathering outside National Congress ahead of his inauguration ceremony on December 10, 2023, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Milei argued that it was not “opportune” for Argentina to join the bloc as a full member, according to German outlet DW. However, he will continue to develop ties with its members in the meantime.

“They have a good security minister, Patricia Bullrich, who has experience because she was a security minister in the previous government,” Joseph M. Humire, the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, told Fox News Digital. “She has been able to get the ball rolling very quickly, and I think that was the benefit of having her in that position.”

Supporters of presidential candidate Javier Milei gather outside his headquarters during the presidential runoff election in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, November 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Humire explained that Milei’s government has largely focused on clearing out external agitators, particularly those connected to Russian disinformation networks, which remain a paramount concern in most parts of the world as Moscow seeks to expand its influence.

“The external forces are usually the key,” Humire said. “Usually, it’s the Russians. The Russians have probably the biggest disinformation networks to be able to amplify local grievances and turn them into this macro instability, and they did that in Colombia, in Chile.”

“A lot of the specifics of the nation’s security has been in mitigating these agitation networks that create chaos throughout the country, and they have been neutralizing some of these threats while they’re studying others,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.