The countries on the eastern fringe of the EU feel their time has come. In their telling, a tectonic shift to the east is taking place
the German chancellor to the White House would once have been considered the pinnacle of Euro-American diplomatic relations. Yet when Germany’s Olaf Scholz arrives in Washington,for talks with Joe Biden on March 3rd, it might not even count as the American president’s most important contact with Europe that fortnight.
Not so fast. That the mood in European circles has shifted is in no doubt. That it will translate into enduringly more influence for countries such as Poland, the biggest of the “Bucharest Nine” , is far less certain. The region has wasted opportunities for a greaterEven western Europeans accept that this is central Europe’s moment.
table. “We always listened to them,” says one western European diplomat. “Now perhaps we listen a little more.” But the message from the east is not necessarily getting through.One reason is differing emphasis on the security threat. For Poland and other frontline states the threat from Russia is unlikely to abate soon. Leaders in the region have long said that Mr Putin’s imperialist ambitions would turn to them one day.
The life-goes-on approach is bad news for his country in particular. Poland could reasonably hope that its starring role in the war would help defuse a long-standing spat with the. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, has accused it of flouting basic principles of the rule of law. In its view, the government is packing courts with politicised judges, and seeking to undermine the primacy oflaw.
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