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Europa und die Folgen von Putins Krieg in der Ukraine

Mar 28, 2022 Joschka Fischer

BERLIN – Seit dem 24. Februar2022 leben wir in einer anderen Welt. Mit dem militärischen Überfall Russlands auf das Nachbarland Ukraine hat der russische Herrscher ohne Grund die gesamte europäische Friedensordnung, ja wahrscheinlich weite Teile der Weltordnung, wie sie sich seit den frühen 90er Jahren entwickelt hat, mutwillig zerstört und die Gefahr einer direkten militärischen Konfrontation zwischen der Nato und Russland heraufbeschworen.

Der Krieg ist zurück in Europa. Eine europäische Großmacht greift ihren kleineren Nachbarn an, stellt dessen Existenzrecht in Frage und droht gar mit dem Einsatz von Kernwaffen.

Und wie immer in der ein für alle Mal überwunden geglaubten Vergangenheit des Kontinents besteht die Gefahr, dass sich aus einem europäischen Krieg schnell ein erneuter Weltenbrand, ein dritter Weltkrieg unter Einschluss von Kernwaffen entwickeln kann. Es ist dies das europäische Trauma schlechthin – das Hegemonialstreben der Großmächte des alten Europa, verbunden mit der Nukleardrohung des Kalten Krieges –, das Wladimir Putin mit seinem Angriffskrieg wieder aktualisiert hat.

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Yoshimichi Moriyama Mar 31, 2022

The Japanese media-induced public opinion is the same as the Western media reports.
However, Japanese TV commentators who have some good knowledge in Russian affairs see the Russian invasion in a broader perspective. For instance one such said yesterday, "In 1990s and the first decade of 2000 the West was solely interested in Russia as a big market to make huge money in. They did not pay attention to Russian security anxiety."
It has been reported in Japan that the general resonse of European countries has been the decision to increase defense expenditures.
We have lost free independent Ukraine if the country is a free country and we now feel need, born from suspicion, to spend more money on the military. I understand, for instance, that NATO leaders including President Bush and Putin met in Prague in 2008. Presiden Bush mentioned Ukraine and Crimeia should be incorporated in NATO in the future; to this Putin reacted very violently.

I would like to point out that the Russian attitude toward the West is basically very different from the Chinese one.
An American official said in a Japanese newspaper three or four or five years ago, "We've never had this kind of experiences before with any countries that we are having with China now." This is the traditional American sentimentality that Kennan said in his book, American Diplomacy. When were the Sino-American relations friendly?
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jagjeet sinha Mar 30, 2022

1814 1914 2022 - FRANCE GERMANY RUSSIA
Destruction is never the Destination for either Democracy or Diplomacy. President Macron deserves kudos for straining every nerve to have spoken with both Presidents in Russia and Ukraine on 42 occasions since confrontations commenced. Germany as the other Twin engine behind EU too has strained itself beyond expectations to bring about a cessation to the confrontations.
In attempting to learn from history, the Russian determination not to remain blacked out for another century since Bolsheviks did their Bastille, must rank together with similar determination of both France and Germany - both having suffered similar predicaments under Napoleon and then the Nazis.

The Anglosphere has been the Eternal Prize since Elizabeth I chartered the East India Company and created nearly 2 billion shareholders of PlanetEnglish. Both France and Germany managed to rejoin the right side of history - albeit with disastrous destructions first in 1814 and then 1914.
Russian determination to rejoin was manifest from the moment Mikhail Gorbachev dreamt of Perestroika and a common European home with Russia on the right side of history and geography.

Surely with lessons of history, it is incumbent upon leaders like Macron and Scholz alongside Biden and Boris, to achieve the Peace that all desire with Diplomacy given every chance until success is achieved - without the destructions similar in scale to 1814 and 1914.
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Tom Shapiro Mar 28, 2022

For 75 years after the Liberation of Western Europe and the virtual annexation parts of Central Europe and the Balkans, a resurrected Europe has tried and failed to overcome centuries of nationalism and ponder the idea of a “United States of Europe”. It took making England the common enemy of the English colonies in North America to create the United States.
Now the nations of the E.U. and NATO have a powerful foreign enemy bent on Europe’s subjugation. Thus far that has achieved a new sustained level of common purpose which the threat of the USSR never achieved. The reason is that long after the Post War ressurection of Europe, those European nations were content to allow the United States to assume complete responsibility for their defense against the Russian Bear. All wars end whether in victory or stalemate. Whether Europe’s resolve to abandon self-interested nationalism in favor of some sort of a Federated Republic of Europe remains to be seen. Europe has been riven by serial internecine wars over territory, religion and colonies since at least Charlemagne. With both Russia and China as the last credible threats to Western security , surely unity is Europe’s only viable road to continental security. Do the European Heads of State and Parliaments accept this reality. When this shooting war ends we will quickly know.
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Abdoul Raji Mar 28, 2022

Whilst proposing a way forward for the EU, I would have hoped that Joschka Fischer (a pacifist who opposed the Iraq invasion) would sue more for peace than what he presents here as if the newfound unity of the EU/NATO is the only best way to give Russia its comeuppance. I'm very disappointed with this article because as these politicians gloat over the bravery of Ukrainian fighters, a lot of death, suffering, and refugees continue to be their lot. The other day, a mother of one who managed to get to Calais in France told a TV crew whilst in tears, that she does not know whether she will ever see her husband again. These are situations politicians should be seeking to bring to an end rather than thinking that Ukraine has to fight and win the war and then get integrated into some obsolete organization peopled by unelected bureaucrats. Just look at von de Leyen when she flexes muscles as if she was popularly elected to the position she occupies....
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Henk Crop Mar 28, 2022

That's a great idea.
The EU still has more or less the same structure as when it comprised of only 6 members.
There are many issues to improve democracy and cohesion in the 27 member Union.
- The EU is lead by France and Germany. All other 25 members are basically excluded, although they comprise 66 % of the EU population.
- Germany is the biggest member, in population and economy, it can therefore be expected to play a leading role. However it is politically weak. That a Chanceller can maintain her position for 12 years is undemocratic. The weak role of Germany provides France, the EU Commission and the ECB to grab too much power. This undermines the EU.
- The most powerful EU Institution is the ECB. The President has been French/Italian/French. All from countries with too much debt and who breach basic EURO agreements. The result is that the EUROZONE has developed into a fighting Union.
- They want the EU to become a strong player in the World. However in the ECB board each member has one vote, this includes the most competitive EU members.
These members are, according to the Global Competitiveness Index, 2019: Netherlands,
Germany, Sweden, Denmark. And..... France ranks 15th, Italy 30th.
If the EU wants to compete on the World Market the leading members ought to have more influence on the direction the EU wish to go.
In Brussels they only dream about an ever closer Union, which does not add to competitiveness in the market.
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vic lai Mar 28, 2022

Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, said correctly that the US is not killing Russia --- she's actually killing the European Union (EU).
History will show that, what the Plaza Accord was to Japan, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine is to the EU.
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It's well said that if, in politics, something unexpected happens, you can safely bet it was very carefully, skillfully and tacitly planned by someone somewhere to make it happen that way.
Europe beware.
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- alex Finch Mar 28, 2022
  
  The EU was already facing a Japanese style „lost decade“ before the Russian-Ukraine war, having „elected to accept less material well-being in exchange for reduced competitive stress in the workplace and more income redistribution“ (Greenspan 2007). America had NOTHING to do with the EU‘s demise. Merkel‘s policies were the exact opposite of what Americans had been advising her to do, and now somehow Russia and it’s EU-cronies are trying to blame the war on the US. The promise in 1990 not to expand NATO was made long before Putin and his criminal hit-squads took control of Russia.
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alex Finch Mar 28, 2022

Christopher Clarke’s famous book the Sleepwalkers describes how Europe stumbled into World War I thanks to the total misjudgment of it’s leaders. The recent Politico report „Putin’s useful German idiots“ describes how Merkel and most the German politicians misjudged, against all advice, how dangerous the Russian leadership had become. While those countries wanting to join NATO could recognize the dangerous developments in Russia, the Germans actually helped strengthen Putin’s murderous regime, demonstrating political naivety that rivals the sleepwalkers of a century ago. Germans need to ask themselves how could this happen again, and they must openly acknowledge that they foolishly ignored the warnings from America. Arrogance, envy of America and naivety has resulted in millions of innocent people suffering once again in Europe.
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