Originally posted by Esay
For me, a United Europe is the best way of social and political cooperation between the European states. And Eastern Europe joining the EU is a natural process, that was inevitable. Also, a United Europe needs a common security policy. With NATO or without.
These are all legitimate goals, Esay...
The issue is: how to achieve them without alienating, bullying, threatening Russia.
In 1992, 93 it was already obvious that the continent needed a post Cold War pan-european security arrangement. The continued existence and expansion of NATO was the european security arrangement of the Cold War applied to a post Cold War world, in other words, NATO became an aberration of thought.
In an ideal world, the new European security structure would necessarily include Russia but you have a series of obstacles that range from ideological to practical reasons.
Many people in Europe do not consider Russia as an european country. They see it as an asiatic country at worst or an euro-asiatic civilization at best. They claim Russia didn't participate in the major european ideological changes: the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, etc...
Others point to more practical, concrete reasons. They say that the plan conceived by the US and western Europe for post Cold War Europe to increase their geopolitical power, included the economic and military absorption of eastern Europe, keeping Russia exactly as she is today: a mere provider of raw materials outside of any economic and military alliances.
If a new, ideal pan european security arrangement that includes Russia can't be reached then a new one must be conceived that doesn't threaten Russia. A security structure Russia can live with.
Anything would be better than this dinosaur of the Cold War whose time has passed.