Aktuelles > EM Germany Newsletter CW 08/2023 | War in Ukraine

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EM Germany Newsletter CW 08/2023 | War in Ukraine

Almost a year ago, Russia started its extended war on Ukraine and German politics had to admit that it had held on too long and too naively to the principle of “change through trade” with an openly imperialist Russia. Despite the Crimean annexation, the war in eastern Ukraine, the interference in European elections and political assassinations in the middle of Europe, Germany continued to build the Nord-Stream-II Baltic Sea pipeline, accelerating the road to the dead end of energy dependency.

The change of opinion came bit by bit with the new “Zeitenwende” approach. However, the suffering in Ukraine continues and Russia’s brutality is increasing. This makes it all the more important, firstly, to strengthen together in Europe Ukraine with humanitarian, financial and military support and to further isolate Russia on the financial markets and at the diplomatic roundtables. Secondly, the German government – just because of its Nord Stream II project – should proactively advocate for a rapid start to EU accession negotiations with Ukraine. The active participation of social forces in Ukraine will play a key role. We, at EM Germany, will support this idea where we can within European Movement International with our member organisations on the ground. Thirdly, as a lesson of the failed Russia policy, German foreign policy should re-evaluate its relations with autocratic states and review its strategic dependencies together in a coordinated European approach.

Because now it is time to put an end to German unilateral politics with autocratic states. In the interest of its own security, the German government should act instead in a truly pan-European and joint approach based on the European values.

Yours

Dr. Linn Selle

President of the European Movement Germany


#EBDGrafik of the week

From Euromaidan to EU accession? In the current #EBDGrafik we look at the relations between Ukraine and the EU and analyze the developments since 2012 and show how Russia has repeatedly tried to prevent a rapprochement of Ukraine with the EU.. | Download

EM Germany News

EM Germanys General Secretary comments on Ukraine’s chances of joining the EU | Can Ukraine become an EU member? How long will the accession process take and what homework do Ukraine and the EU have to do on the way to membership? The Secretary General of EM Germany Bernd Hüttemann sees the accession process as an opportunity to fight corruption in Ukraine. In an interview with ARTE, he stressed the importance of fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria as a prerequisite for the country’s accession, but also called for institutional reforms on the part of the EU towards more parliamentarization and majority voting. | More (in German)

Economic challenges in focus at EBD de-briefing ECOFIN and Eurogroup | The consequences of the Russian war of aggression, the situation on the energy markets and high inflation in the European area continue to pose major challenges for the European member states. But how to deal with them? At the EBD De-Briefing, Dr. Judith Hermes, Head of the European Policy and International Financial Policy Division at the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) provided fascinating insights into the meetings of the Euro Group and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). | More (in German)

EM Germany contributes to Council of Europe summit | It is the first time in 18 years and the fourth time in history that the heads of state and government of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe have met for a summit. In the run-up to the summit, which will take place on May 16 and 17 in Reykjavík, Iceland, political actors from across society were called upon to provide input on the future of Europe. What role should the Council of Europe play in global politics? How can the Council of Europe become a stronger strategic and political organization? EM Germany also participated in the call and submitted a contribution. For the EMCDDA, it is clear that the Council of Europe is an important institution in the change of era proclaimed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which has been under the public radar for far too long. | More (in German)

Upcoming Events

In order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the EM Germany hosts its events as video conferences whenever possible.

16.03.2023 | Europe’s Wars. Europe’s Women. European Wars from the Perspective of Women. Panel discussion of the Network Preis Frauen Europas in cooperation with the European Academy Berlin and the Europa-Union Berlin. The panelists are Jasmina Prpič, Lawyers without Borders e.V., Prize Winner Women of Europe 2012, Mariia Lutsak, Graphic Artist, Painter (tbc), Hana Camdzic, Student, Organizer of the Film Festival „Wake up Europe“ (tbc), Regina Hellwig-Schmid, donumenta e.V.. Lisi Maier, Director of the Federal Foundation for Gender Equality, winner of the Women of Europe Award 2021, will moderate the event.

27.03.2023 | EBD De-Briefing on the European Council with Sibylle Katharina Sorg, Head of the European Department at the Federal Foreign Office and Hendrik Kaelble, Head of Unit EB1 for General European Policy, European Economic and Fiscal Policy at BMWK. The first commentary will be given by Nora Hesse, Head of the Political Team at the Representation of the European Commission in Germany.

More information

Our Presidency Calendar on the Swedish EU Council Presidency contains all dates of the semester.

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