Nathalie Loiseau: What War Teaches Us

2022-06-14 | Political initiatives, EU integration

War is back in Europe. We did not know, until a few months ago, that we would have to say this terrible sentence. But today the war is here, in Ukraine, very close to here.

We in the European Union are not at war with Russia, but we are facing war because of Russia. This is not a world war yet its consequences are global. What does that mean? That we must help Ukraine, that we must help it even more, provide it with even more military, financial, humanitarian, political, and moral support. Yes, moral support. We, as European Union, must measure each of our words, each of our actions by asking ourselves what is morally acceptable, when this war is one of barbarism against humanity, of tyranny against democracy. Moral, because when Ukraine asks to join the European Union, we must say a strong and solemn thank you. Ukraine is already an honorary member of the Union, through the blood shed in defense of its territory and in defense of our freedoms. It is an honour for us to see Ukraine as a candidate. Its place is in our European family and we must quickly give it the necessary assurances.

However, there is one thing we are not in a position to do, and that is to tell Ukraine what it must or must not accept. Because we are not at war ourselves, because we have not sent troops alongside the Ukrainian army, we simply do not have the ability to tell Ukraine what to do. We have not acquired the right to do so and we must not forget that.

 

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