According to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Europe is not complete without Ukraine. Therefore, the war-torn country should be more closely linked – at least to their own initiative for closer cooperation.
The Three Seas Initiative of twelve Central and Eastern European EU countries wants to tie Ukraine more closely to Europe.
At a summit meeting in Riga, the heads of state and government decided that the state attacked by Russia could take part in the initiative as a partner country. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had previously campaigned for this, who addressed the participants – including Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – via video.
“We decided today to invite Ukraine to participate in all projects implemented within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative,” said the host, Latvia’s President Egils Levits, after the meeting. It focused on the consequences of the war and support for Ukraine. The twelve EU members located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas also campaigned for Ukraine to be granted EU accession candidate status.
The EU Commission recommended on Friday that Ukraine and Moldova should be officially designated as candidates for accession to the European Union. The decision on this must now be made by the governments of the 27 EU countries. The topic is to be discussed at the EU summit this Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
«Increasing resilience in various areas»
The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 by Poland and Croatia. According to Steinmeier, the informal forum is now more important than ever. The intention to develop and network the area between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas “perhaps sounded somewhat abstract to many ears in the past,” said the Federal President in Riga. With the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, what is necessary is also clear to those who have previously observed the initiative with relative indifference: “We must work together to increase our resilience in various areas.”
A parallel business forum organized by the initiative also dealt with questions of energy, transport and digitization. “We have no doubts that further strengthening of infrastructure links between our countries are our priorities and must be implemented,” stressed Poland’s President Andrzej Duda. Road and rail links are particularly important.
On the sidelines of the summit, Steinmeier held one-to-one talks with Duda and his Estonian colleague Alar Karis. It was the first conversation with Duda since the two presidents met in Warsaw in April. Steinmeier was surprised by the fact that Ukraine was unloaded at short notice for a trip to Kyiv together with Duda and the three Baltic heads of state. Poland had organized this trip. The process had led to considerable resentment on the German side, which is now considered resolved.
The three seas initiative includes the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Visegrád states of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, the Black Sea countries of Bulgaria and Romania, the Adriatic countries of Slovenia and Croatia, and Austria. Germany is a partner country of the initiative and supports many projects financially.
Source: Stern
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