How the EU got it so wrong in Ukraine

The current political and economic crisis in Ukraine began at a time of limited US interest in the post-Soviet space (in the context of the strategic pivot to Asia) and of a deep, structural European crisis also affecting EU global and regional policies, including the rather limited political interest in and financial support available for the Eastern Neighborhood Policy. Under those unfavorable circumstances, the EU decided to make a rather half-hearted attempt to draw Ukraine – a country heavily indebted and highly dependent on Russian energy – closer to a European orbit. The financial support that would have been provided through the proposed agreement, in order to balance the costs of opening further the Ukrainian internal market to European firms, was so low that it would have guaranteed a deterioration of the Ukrainian economy in the short term, only for the country to enjoy some long-term benefits if all went according to plan.

Read more: Ekathimerini