Letter to the Ambassador of the Netherlands concerning the position of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the perspective of Ukraine’s EU accession.<\/p>\n
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Subject: Ukraine’s accession to the European Union<\/p>\n
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Your Excellency,<\/p>\n
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It was with great astonishment that we noted that the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands apparently holds the position that Ukraine must not join the European Union. We refer specifically to an interview given by Prime Minister Mark Rutte to “New Europe”: https:\/\/neurope.eu\/article\/rutte-ukraine-never-join-eu\/ <\/p>\n
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Prime Minister Rutte argues, among other things, that Ukraine must maintain a good relationship with both Europe and Russia, and that Russia itself is partly based on roots in Kyiv.<\/p>\n
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Now, it is undisputed that it is sensible for every European country to maintain good relations with our neighbour Russia. All countries of the former Warsaw Pact are interested in this, even if they had to suffer under foreign rule from Moscow for almost half a century. Thank God they had the good fortune to be admitted to the EU in time to avoid falling victim to Russian aggression once again, as is the case for Ukraine (where people die almost daily as a result of Russian intervention). Membership in the EU is by no means in contradiction to good relations with Russia. This surely applies to all member states of the EU! <\/p>\n
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If Moscow interprets this differently and believes it can take the liberty of curtailing the sovereign rights of a free state through military aggression or other forms of repression, then it is the duty of all representatives of the free world to reject such a Moscow demand with the utmost severity and by all possible means. We wish to count the Kingdom of the Netherlands as part of the free world as well. <\/p>\n
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Undoubtedly, there are certain common roots between Ukraine and Russia dating back to the time of the Kievan Rus. However, these Kievan roots in no way justify a subjugation of Kyiv to Moscow. While European tradition was able to take root in the territory of present-day Ukraine (despite all the difficulties that still characterise Ukraine’s political system), Moscow remained, in the core of its rule, a Khanate. This clear distinction in the tradition of governance gives Kyiv the unequivocal right to seek accession to the European Union and obliges the democratic countries of Europe to defend Kyiv in this endeavour against any claims to power by the Moscow Khanate. <\/p>\n
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A statement to the effect that Ukraine should never join the European Union contradicts both European tradition and the idea of genuine European unification.<\/p>\n
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The statement by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands carries so much negative weight, partly because the Kingdom of the Netherlands also acted with prejudice and false reservations towards Croatia for a long time. We recall with regret statements from the Netherlands claiming that Croatia was not cooperating with the ICTY because it would not extradite General Ante Gotovina. In doing so, it was studiously ignored that Gotovina, with his French passport (which he naturally possessed as a member of the French Foreign Legion), could move freely in Europe quite independently of any directives from Zagreb. Ultimately, he was not arrested in Croatian territory, but in Spanish territory. <\/p>\n
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Excellency, this letter certainly contains some harsh formulations. For the Paneuropa Union, as the oldest European unification movement, the question of European unification has never been about platitudes but always about very clear principles and content. “Paneuropa is all of Europe” was our slogan even at a time when people in Western Europe still believed in peaceful coexistence with the totalitarian Soviet Union. With this slogan, it is clear to us that every European country has the right to join the European unification. Ukraine is undoubtedly a European country (significantly more so than Turkey). Furthermore, Ukraine is undoubtedly a sovereign state (recognised as such by the Kingdom of the Netherlands), which therefore naturally has the right to decide whether it wants to join the European Union. <\/p>\n
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Excellency, we ask you to bring our strongest protest against his quoted statement to the attention of your Prime Minister. We hope that our protest \u2013 in all its severity \u2013 serves as an impetus to change this position, and we remain gladly available for clarifying discussions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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