The European Union's foreign policy in relation to separatist conflicts either involves declarations or a post-factum policy. This opinion was voiced by political scientist Dionis Cenușă, according to whom the European community should get more actively involved in the separatist conflict settling process. According to the expert, when it comes to Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, the European Union could get involved based on the Association Agreements signed with the three countries and on the basis of supplementary agreements.
During public debates organized by the IPN news agency, political scientist Dionis Cenușă said that the European Union involves itself in the settlement of separatist conflicts as an observer, which is insufficient.
"Many issues have arisen in the European Union due to the eastward and southward enlargement, including migration and other security issues. This is why many EU instruments have been adjusted to the new realities, which is most welcome. It is important to bring all these instruments under a single umbrella. Currently, we are witnessing how the EU leads a post-factum foreign policy or it limits itself to declarations. According to Dionis Cenușă, none of the issues can be solved in such a manner.
According to the expert, as a partner of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, the European Union could take a more active role in the solving of these respective conflicts.
"The EU has signed bilateral agreements with three Eastern Partnership countries, namely the Association Agreements signed with the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. On the basis of these agreements and supplementary signed treasties, the EU can get better involved in the conflict resolution process. The EU is a very careful international actor and is committed to the rules of international law. If the EU decides to become more involved in conflict resolution, this will happen on the OSCE platform," said Dionis Cenușă.
According to the expert, the European Union aims to get involved in the resolution of separatist conflicts by attempting to mediate, reintegrate the separated territories and prevent tensions from escalating. The political scientist welcomes Romania's proposal to create the institution of an EU Special Representative for Black Sea basin conflicts.
"Stabilizing the region is a challenge for the EU. When the EU introduces a civilian mission, it automatically contributes to the stabilization of the region by its presence and by being a global actor that cannot be ignored. The second challenge is related to the attempt to reintegrate the separated territories. The EU can bring the actors involved in a conflict to the same negotiating table. The third challenge involves conflict mediation, as the EU has observer status in the 5+2 format. In the context of these three challenges, the Romanian diplomacy initiative makes sense and must be promoted and supported, including by the community of experts", said the political scientist.
The public debate on "Settling territorial conflicts in the Eastern Partnership: In search of a tailor-made EU approach" is organized by the IPN News Agency as part of the project "Developing political culture in public debates" and is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
