Current Ukraine crisis..What do you think? 1st stage to another cold war?

[Nefarian]

Individuals can't join EU. It's for governments only. There is always a consensus on who can join. If you say financial standing has no basis in accepting a member why is Germany telling member states to accept austerity in exchange for financial aid?

Hahahahaha.

"Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality..." it does not even apply here. You can say the same to the UN, US, etc... or any supernational government they all claim the same but please... be SPECIFIC.

Getting out of context... backread sad panagsa.

Then why is it that we have this topic "Ukraine wants to join EU but their President is against it"

What will happen if ever their President is pro-EU?

Do you think they will not be accepted because Germany doesn't want them? Seriously?

What do you expect from a communist President?

[M.A.D.]

Backread again. Communist? Russia isn't communist anymore. The centrally controlled government and centrally controlled economic model has been proven a failure many times over.

Anyway, keep posting, I'm ignoring you.

Then why is it that we have this topic "Ukraine wants to join EU but their President is against it"

What will happen if ever their President is pro-EU?

Do you think they will not be accepted because Germany doesn't want them? Seriously?

What do you expect from a communist President?

[pak88]

You're right. Germany is fed up with having to bail out greece and other questionable EU economies. I don't think it will move anytime soon on any new entrants when there are a lot of sick economies to bail out and only one clearly strong economy. If you are looking to Germany for answer then good luck since it is a soft economic power that will not and can't flex military might.

What? Go tell the to the richest EU states namely germany and france. This move to get ukraine to join is very puzzling. You don't get into EU unless you are financially sound lest you become an added burden to their finances. All EU member states have the same monetary policy which is determined by the ECB head Mario Draghi.

The ECB does not work the same way as that of the Fed. If you are a non-performer in the EU like greece you can fund your deficits but something has got to give. That precisely is the reason why Merkel wants Greece and other indebted nations to accept austerity in exchange for a bailout, which the greeks vehemently oppose.

Not all EU members have the same fiscal policy. And what makes it complicated is that not all EU member states have sound exports such as food, technology, etc. Some of them rely on tourism which is not really a high income business model.

If you have the same monetary policy coupled with different fiscal policy, how can you balance the whole EU economy if one is a good performer who raises taxes pretty well, who was a industrial base to speak of, who has a low unemployment because of their manufacturing base -- I am referring to germany here.

Compare it to a EU member who has high unemployment, does not practice the same work ethic like the germans, demands more benefits from the state, does not have a highly valued economy since it relies on tourism and seasonal exports like food, does not have a resilient manufacturing base -- I am talking about greece. If greece wanted the same benefits like that of germany without working for it, who is going to make up for the short fall in their fiscal policy? Obviously it would be the richer members, germany in this case. I think the same case applies to Ukraine here.

The real reason why Ukraine has been in that situation for a long time is because of its geopolitical location. It will never be stable no matter if they join the EU or Russia. The best solution would be to divide ukraine into small parts. The north and west will join the EU, while the portions closest to Russia will side with Russia.

That video has been dissed as propaganda by most ukrainians.

9gag? hahahahaha.

[Nefarian]

Backread again. Communist? Russia isn't communist anymore. The centrally controlled government and centrally controlled economic model has been proven a failure many times over.

Anyway, keep posting, I'm ignoring you.

Lol you're ignoring me because you can't answer a simple question.

What will happen if their President is pro-EU?

P.S: Communism is not a form of government but an ideology. A theory wherein to achieve utopia "I own what you own and vice versa". This mindset are what Putin and the leaders of China are into. Soviet Union? Super bowl ring? Spratlies? And now Crimea?

[enimavix]

Waiting for World War 3. In a bad way.

[M.A.D.]

Plus the fact that Russia provide germany with natgas via their ukrainian pipeline. They seriously don't want to antagonize Putin lest putin flip the switch for natgas to Germany which may end up with factory brownouts and power shortages. Germany does not want war, all they care about is just making money.

Had that plan to establish an undersea pipeline that goes from the black sea and goes out of bulgaria not been announced earlier the outcome would have been totally different. Now it appears they are racing against time to make sure Russia is impeded in her natgas exports to EU.

I am beginning to think all of this is a result of the botched attempt at syria, where a natgas pipeline was supposed to pass through syria eventually ending in EU but since syria is allies with Russia and it was never started at all. Since they can't weaken putin's position in the Mediterranean, they will try to plug the leak right where is starts.

You're right. Germany is fed up with having to bail out greece and other questionable EU economies. I don't think it will move anytime soon on any new entrants when there are a lot of sick economies to bail out and only one clearly strong economy. If you are looking to Germany for answer then good luck since it is a soft economic power that will not and can't flex military might.

[æRLO]

Ukraine wants to be a part of EU para nako dili tungod sa economy. They want something they don't have and that is freedom from oppression. Their ousted President is a puppet of Russia so what do you expect?

I don't know ngano butangan ninyo ug color ang usa ka butang nga klaro pa sa crystal. The people in Ukraine wants freedom. Thanks to internet access kining mga Ukranians nakita nila unsa ka nindot ang kinabuhi ug maka choose ka sa imong gusto. Mao jud ng rason nga ang internet access sa China gi control sa ilang government kay dili sila ganahan ang mga tawo diha mapukaw ug makaila unsay democracy.

Ni ulbo ang kaspa sa mga Ukranians mao ni ang resulta ngano nagka gubot ron.

I Am A Ukrainian, This Needs To Go Viral - 9GAG.tv

The EU is already struggling, they already have their deadweights like Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain. It is completely dumbfounding on EU's part to venture into Ukraine. The EU is already having problems dealing with a smaller country with similar problems in Bulgaria. Ukraine isn't as oppressed as you make them out to be. Actually, prior to Ukraine begging for Russian financial help, EU didn't give two sh*ts about Ukraine, not necessarily a bad thing as the EU is not a charity organization and have to maintain their economy. Karun ra na sila ni focus sa Ukraine nga nag ka anam ug shift ang sphere of influence sa Ukraine towards the Russians.

Outside of its proximity, I can't think of any other reasons. The intentions are so ambiguous that I'm not sure if EU would support a partition or balkanization of Ukraine.

You don't have to be rich to apply for an EU membership (or so they say), but there is the Copenhagen Criteria and the burden is on the applicant to achieve those criteria--Ukraine has been unable to achieve those criteria, as expressed by the EU before this debacle. intentions aside, the odd thing here is, the EU certainly wasn't making it easy for Ukraine to join the union before the Ukrainian government became more close to Putin in hopes of financial aid.

Lol you're ignoring me because you can't answer a simple question.

What will happen if their President is pro-EU?

I'll answer it, even though it's just a theoretical and moot question.

If the president was pro-EU, then you can expect another Orange Revolution. OR you'll see ethnic Russians/ people who aligned with Russia complain about it and try to lobby for referendum out of Ukraine. It wouldn't matter, and decision ultimately falls on the EU council and mechanism. Yanukovych isn't exactly an anti-EU president either, until November 2013 he complied to everything the EU asked for his government including releasing former minister Yuriy Lutsenko and his cohorts, and adopting laws that complied with the Copenhagen criteria--still the EU kept making other excuses.

[Nefarian]

If the president was pro-EU, then you can expect another Orange Revolution. OR you'll see ethnic Russians/ people who aligned with Russia complain about it and try to lobby for referendum out of Ukraine. It wouldn't matter, and decision ultimately falls on the EU council and mechanism. Yanukovych isn't exactly an anti-EU president either, until November 2013 he complied to everything the EU asked for his government including releasing former minister Yuriy Lutsenko and his cohorts, and adopting laws that complied with the Copenhagen criteria--still the EU kept making other excuses.

Or it could be that Russia puts too much pressure on Ukraine's president. Daghan kaayo conscpiracy theories manggawas basta ingon ani nga issue pero usa ra ako gusto mahitabo: I want Ukraine to forge their OWN destiny free from external grip.

[æRLO]

Or it could be that Russia puts too much pressure on Ukraine's president. Daghan kaayo conscpiracy theories manggawas basta ingon ani nga issue pero usa ra ako gusto mahitabo: I want Ukraine to forge their OWN destiny free from external grip.

They're joining the EU. I wouldn't call that freeing oneself from external grip. Russia can exert pressure on Ukraine because there are a lot of Ethnic Russians in Ukraine--if there wasn't such a large Russian minority, Ukraine wouldn't be so passive about Russia's play in their country. Mao ni, the best outcome is a referendum, and partition.

[M.A.D.]

Russia’s gas-export monopoly said on March 1 it may end last year’s agreement to supply Ukraine at a cheaper rate unless it’s paid $1.55 billion owed for fuel. It’s the first time since the overthrow of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych last month that Russia has directly used its position as Ukraine’s dominant energy supplier to pressure the new regime.

Russia Gas Threat Shows Putin Using Pipes to Press Ukraine - Bloomberg

But Ukraine is also a breadbasket, a natural gas chokepoint, and a nation of 45 million people in a pivotal spot north of the Black Sea. Ukraine matters—to Russia, Europe, the U.S., and even China. President Obama denied on Feb. 19 that it’s a piece on “some Cold War chessboard.” But the best hope for Ukraine is that it will get special treatment precisely because it is a valued pawn in a new version of the Great Game, the 19th century struggle for influence between Russia and Britain.

The geopolitical struggle comes down to money. Russia pledged $15 billion in loans to pull Ukraine into its nascent Eurasian Union, but after paying out $3 billion it has put further funds on hold. On Feb. 26, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. was organizing a stopgap $1 billion loan guarantee—far short of the $35 billion in aid Ukraine is seeking. The Institute of International Finance, which represents big banks, estimates that with no change in policy Ukraine would need $30 billion in foreign assistance this year alone. The IIF predicts that the International Monetary Fund will insist as a condition for aid that Ukraine cut natural gas subsidies to consumers and industry, and allow its currency, the hryvnia, to fall further, shrinking the trade deficit. The problem: Those measures will be so unpopular that they will jeopardize any new government.

The New Great Game: Why Ukraine Matters to So Many Other Nations - Businessweek