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Europe Takes its Statute Seriously

29 мая, 00:00

By Viktor ZAMYATIN, The Day It has happened before: a year ago the monitoring committee of the Council of Europe mooted to suspend the Ukrainian delegation's mambership because of Kyiv's failure to meet a whole series of commitments. What would have been a disgrace for any of our neighboring countries is being met in Kyiv with calm: we failed to do it, oh well. Look, we do try, but "they" give biased assessments and employ double standards. There are many controversial points: not all CE members have abolished capital punishment, not all of them can boast the absence of problems with minorities and democracy. And the Council of Europe is not an organization with world political clout, it is only the first step toward truly influential structures. And if a country does not meet some commonly accepted criteria and does not want to bring its situation in line with them, it automatically loses any claims to Europeanness and prospects of integration in various other organizations and structures. Such a country, in the long run, loses a more or less normal image against the general background.

The new scandal with the Council of Europe broke out immediately after the informal Central and East European summit in Lviv, which seemed to confirm that, at least geographically, Ukraine is still a European state, with which dialogue is still underway. Further insistence on Ukrainian as a special case is a sure way to being treated no better than Belarus. The first warning has already sounded: foreign ambassadors cautiously prompt Ukrainian rulers to hold a fair presidential election lest there be any serious consequences.

It is evident even now that other countries deal with Ukraine only if and when necessary, stopping short of admitting it into their company for good. The European Union (ostensibly the coveted goal of the Ukrainian ruling elite) is not going even to say if Ukraine has any chance at all of becoming a member. Moreover, hints about visa treatment and trade restrictions are assuming quite discernible features. It is easy to predict the situation if Ukraine is officially pronounced undemocratic.

In any case, the true attitude to Ukraine is an open secret: a Ukrainian Gastarbeiter can be easily kicked out of the Czech Republic or Poland, for he is a man with no rights, a Ukrainian ship and its crew can be held by a Nigerian chieftain with impunity.

These are all trifles that often prevail over any good news.

Выпуск газеты №:

№20, (1999)

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Day After Day