European Expansion or Putin Expansion?
The question of Europe’s borders has become a staple of debate in the European Union since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. At stake is whether Western values will take root in the post-Soviet east, or whether they will drift into a gray zone from which they will sooner or later challenge the values and democratic ways of “Europe.”
WARSAW – One merit of the Berlin Wall was that it made obvious where Europe ended. But now the question of Europe’s borders has become a staple of debate in the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent threat to aim missiles at Ukraine highlights what is at stake in that debate’s outcome.