The war in Ukraine has shifted the center of geopolitical influence in Europe to the east - NYT
In addition, the war also gave new severity and energy to expand the European Union to the Western Balkans and beyond their borders, towards Ukraine and Moldova, which have been given candidate status. The situation in Ukraine influenced the placement of forces on the geopolitical board of Europe, according to The New York Times. American observers write that the war in Ukraine has become a shock for both self -confident European order and for the European Union and NATO in general.
And when the leaders of France and Germany seemed to be in a state of paralysis, Poland and the Baltic countries provided moral support to Ukraine in the first days of hostilities. In support of their words, the authors of the publication noted that the pressure from the leaders of Eastern and Central Europe played a decisive role in the adoption of this week, after several months of disputes, the decision to provide Western tanks to Ukraine.
"The center of Europe is moving to the east," the journalists of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz, who were heard in Prague in August last year, quoted. Therefore, the balance of strength in Europe is shifting with its center, from "Old Europe", which cherished its ties with Moscow, to the new members in the east and north, with their disappointing memories of Soviet occupation and the unwillingness to concede to Brussels neither the crumb of its sovereignty.
"Scholz is right, the votes of the inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe are increasingly listened to and are more serious in the Council of Europe, and on the agenda is a big question of expansion to the East," - said the historian from the College of St. Anthony in Oxford Timothy Harton. According to him, Eastern European countries have now become more serious about security issues, since a fierce war is relatively near their borders.
Against this background, Poland is increasing military potential and at the same time became the main lobbyist on the supply of Western tanks to Ukraine, journalists say. And at this time, French President Emmanuel Macron continues to hope for any future peace negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, reaching the idea of giving Russia security guarantees that have angrged many in Europe, moreover not only in the East.
Senior Researcher Chatham House, the British Analytical Center in International Relations, Hans Kundnani says that Eastern Europe's leaders feel more confident, while Germany and France are "more defending more". However, there is a danger that such shifts can seriously split Europe in the political aspect. "There is no doubt that in political terms and even in terms of cultural values of the country of Central and Eastern Europe" drawn Europe to the right.
"Against the backdrop of events in Ukraine there is a revival unites it, " - the expert is convinced. At the same time, Kundnani emphasized that still in Brussels they rely more on the economic factor and population, so the center of gravity of Europe still remains in the West. We will remind, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU Vsevolod Czentsov in an interview with "European Truth" on January 23 stated that Ukraine has a real chance of joining the European Union in the next 10 years.