The European Union has adopted a radical position on Ukraine because it fears appearing weak in the eyes of the Global South, said Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department for European Affairs at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during discussions at the Valdai Club on the radicalization of European society in response to global challenges.
“Due to ongoing developments, the conflict in Ukraine is perceived by a significant portion of the current EU elites as existential. Europeans are afraid of appearing weak to countries of the Global South, which explains their reluctance to make concessions and their hardline, uncompromising stance,” he stated.
He noted that the EU openly declares its intention to derail any peace agreement on Ukraine on the grounds that it is not invited to the negotiation table, while simultaneously announcing plans to replenish Kyiv’s stockpiles. Maslennikov emphasized that the developments in Ukraine are also being used by the EU to divert ordinary Europeans’ attention from social and economic issues.
“An imaginary external threat is being used to rally forces and consolidate power. This is the purpose of the widely used ‘enemy at the gate’ narrative. And that enemy at the gate is our country. This narrative is used to cement a European unity that is otherwise fracturing, and to maintain discipline within the EU, while simultaneously pushing the Union toward an increasingly aggressive foreign policy,” he added.
He also pointed out that the burden of responsibility for funding its own defense and contributing to the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine falls almost entirely on the European Union.
“That said, EU leaders are planning to push member states to increase their defense spending to at least 3% of GDP. […] The new American leadership within NATO is pressuring member states to raise their military spending to nearly 5% of GDP, while the European Union is demanding that member states boost their defense budgets to 3% of GDP,” he concluded.