Crossroads Digest

Ukraine and Belarus are the two countries which today constitute the main part of the strategically important “new” Eastern Europe. Since 2004 they have been sharing a common border with the European Union (the EU) and have become potential candidates for the EU membership. In the 1990s Ukraine and Belarus were commonly perceived as part of the “grey” zone between Russia and the EU and were believed to be in the sphere of Moscow’s legitimate geopolitical interests. However, the EU enlargement to the East and the relative political stabilisation in the Balkans have made these countries more visible for Brussels. Western disappointment with Russia’s democratic reforms and Putin’s politics in the “near abroad”, especially his use of “gas blackmail”, seen as a potential threat for European security in general, are additional factors explaining the EU’s increasing interest in Ukrainian and Belarusian affairs. The engagement of Brussels and of some European governments in Ukrainian affairs during the Orange Revolution, the growing political pressure on Lukashenka’s regime and the introduction of sanctions against Belarus officials indicate a serious commitment of the EU for this region.