The precedent of Cyprus, the post-Soviet "frozen conflicts" and the European agenda of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia
Authors
Denis Cenușa
Expert asociat
Against the backdrop of a radical reset of the regional geopolitical context, joining the European Union (EU) is a necessity, not just a historic opportunity, for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in their efforts to consolidate their own statehood. In addition, embracing the European vector would make possible a future detachment from the Russian sphere of influence, provided that the reforms initiated generate order and prosperity, and depopulation is stopped.
The fate of the “frozen conflicts” and whether the Russian military threat, which could be used by future European elites to block the three countries' progress towards the eventual accession stage, matters no less significantly.
The current European leadership admits that a situation similar to the acceptance of divided Cyprus as an EU member state may be repeated. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, referred to the Cypriot precedent in the context of the Transnistrian conflict in Moldova. The same argument applies to Georgia, but also to Ukraine, which launched a military counter-offensive in June to liberate all of its territories from Russian occupation, including Crimea. However, the details of the Cypriot model require more nuanced analysis to determine the plausibility of using it as a precedent for the “Associated Trio” countries.
Source of article: https://www.intellinews.com/cenusa-the-cyprus-precedent-for-ukraine-moldova-and-georgia-283580/
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