Europeans gained great influence in Georgia by negotiating the end of its August war with Russia, but five years after the “Rose Revolution” they remain divided over Tbilisi’s NATO and EU aspirations.
The French EU presidency, personified by President Nicolas Sarkozy, played a “courageous” role as mediator in the conflict, pushing for the rapid deployment of an EU mission to observe the ceasefire and launching talks between the two sides in Geneva, said Sabine Frazier of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
Previously the Europeans had remained in the shadow of the strong US influence on Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
But now, with the outgoing Bush administration “out to lunch” on the issue for several months, Europe has stepped forward, she said.
The key EU role did not stop with the fighting. It went on to organize a donors’ conference for Georgia late last month, garnering 3.4 billion euros (US$4.3 billion) in pledged help for the small Caucasus nation.
Europe is now “a far more important guiding light” than it was back in November 2003 when the bloodless Rose Revolution brought Saakashvili to power, said Thomas Gomart the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
However the influence is still limited, the analysts say, with Georgia — along with fellow ex-Soviet republic Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova — kept at arm’s length as part of the EU’s ambiguous “neighborhood policy.”
This policy covers nations bordering the EU, which has made great eastward strides since 2004, though not the Balkan nations who are being lined up for full membership in the bloc.
The neighborhood policy encourages economic reforms and democratization through substantial economic carrots.
“But in reality it’s just a lot of window-dressing. There’s not a lot of substance,” Frazier said.
Nicu Popescu, of the European Council on Foreign Relations in London, is even more scathing saying the EU “does not keep its promises” made under the neighborhood policy.
He cites “blockages” on issues ranging from talks with Georgia on visa facilitation, with many EU nations worried about an influx of illegal immigrants.
“Georgia well illustrates the limits, the impasse, of the neighborhood policy, which consists of trying to exert maximum influence over other countries without responding clearly,” to their aspirations for eventual EU membership, Gomart said.
He said that the EU should reinvent the whole policy, regardless of what NATO decides.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
RSS