EU and Poland's problems over Georgia

The EU is an extremely dangerous paper tiger claiming powers it does not control, authority it has not been granted, and diplomatic abilities it lacks. Kosovan independence should have provided a lesson but here we go again. The EU flag stood behind the Georgian leader's shoulder as he fruitlessly pleaded for help on the television yesterday. Never has it seemed as suitably pathetic. The following paragraph concludes a report, here, from the Polish external news service which clearly illustrates some of the dilemmas thrown up by the crisis in Georgia: The Russian invasion of Georgia has hopefully closed Poland’s domestic political conflict between the president and the government. At least the strained atmosphere should improve and the politicians will certainly show more maturity, writes a columnist of DZIENNIK. Now all responsible political forces in Poland should act together. The first goal is to continue supporting the pro-European policy of Georgia, Ukraine and perhaps, in the future, also Belarus. Second, to accept hosting the American anti-missile shield in Poland, which means that the liberal government would somewhat change its position. Third, Poland needs stronger Europe, so its position regarding the Lisbon Treaty, accepted and implemented, should be clear; which would mean the conservative president changing his mind. Fourth, Poland needs a strong, efficient army and the defence budget shouldn’t be too limited. Fifth, Polish politicians should work out a real Polish policy instead of running a constant election campaign, says the columnist. The Wall Street Journal, linked here, reports on the reality within the EU - splits, chaos and confusion, a quote:

The Georgian crisis is "a big game-changer," says Tomas Valasek, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. "EU foreign policy has worked on the basis that if we hold out the prospect of membership, the world around the EU will eventually change in the EU's image. That vision is under threat."

The West's response to the war exposes its division into three camps on how to handle Russia, says Markus Kaim, head of security policy research at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The U.S. sees Russia as a strategic rival, Western Europe sees it as a strategic partner and Eastern Europe sees it as a threat, he says.