After hearing the news that Croatia has become the newest member of the European Union, I was surprised to discover that many countries previously regarded as the Eastern Bloc – Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, etc. – have already been EU members for several years. In fact, the only remaining holdouts from Eastern Europe are various chunks of former Yugoslavia, and much of the former U.S.S.R. itself.
Is it in any way feasible for these countries, especially Russia, to eventually become members of the European Union?
Ever is a long time. Not for the next decades. I think Russian should be given membership route. And it should be done simultaneously with Ukraine and Belarussia, to be included en-block. So as not to sow discontent and strife amongst the three nations. Although the economic realities are making the EU less powerful and influential and it might be that Russia is not at all interested.
This. There is a perceived struggle in places like Ukraine between following the West (the EU specifically) and following Russia, and there are factions within those countries pushing one way or the other. Russia of course wants to retain as much influence as possible, and not only are they unlikely to join the EU unless either they get to be the major player in it (unlikely), or things deteriorate so much in Russia that they need an EU bailout (also unlikely), but they actively oppose the EU’s influence in former Eastern bloc countries.
But who knows? Maybe they’ll have another popular revolution in ten or twenty years and a more Western-friendly regime will arise (*really *unlikely).
As long as Putin is in power, this is extremely unlikely. He likes to do things his own way; he does not hesitate to brutally silence his opponents, and the EU would have a very hard time of enforcing human rights in a country so large, so corrupt, and so powerful. Many–not all–Russians are more reactionary than progressive like other Europeans; for example, in Soviet times working for the good of all mankind, regardless of race, was encouraged. Nowadays, violent crimes against people of color are all too common in Russia. The country just isn’t a fit with the rest of Europe…
Besides, why would the Russian Federation want to join the European Union when it has plentiful natural resources of its own?
With regards to the Ex-Soviet Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,) these have much more in common with the rest of Europe (good economies, relatively low corruption, etc.,) so these have already joined the EU.
Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova have many of the same problems that Russia has. The Caucasian Republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) are also plagued by corruption and human rights abuses, so again, very unlikely that any of these would join.
I don’t understand why Turkey is even in the running. Only a tiny sliver of the country is part of Europe, and ethnically & culturally they are much less European than they are Middle Eastern (albeit far more stable & advanced than the rest of the MidEast!) Plus you’ve got that persnickety Kurdish problem to deal with.
Which reminds me…how on earth did Cyprus become an EU member-state?? Isn’t half the island still occupied by the Turkish military?
Turkey is technically a Middle Eastern country, but they are officially secular, which means freedom of religion/conversion. Back in antiquity, they were closely linked with Europe; it could happen again, provided they improve their infamous human rights record.
With regard to Cyprus, Turkey does claim a portion in the North, but only they recognize it. Evidently, they don’t mind the island being included the EU.
“In recent years, the politics of reunification has dominated the island’s affairs. The European Union decided in 2000 to accept Cyprus as a member, even if it was divided. This was due to their view of Rauf Denktash, the pro-independence Turkish Cypriot President, as the main stumbling block, but also due to Greece threatening to block eastern EU expansion. It was hoped that Cyprus’s planned accession into the European Union would act as a catalyst towards a settlement. In the time leading up to Cyprus becoming a member, a new government was elected in Turkey and Rauf Denktash lost political power in Cyprus. In 2004 a United Nations–brokered peace settlement was presented in a referendum to both sides.[27]”
Russia will never join the E.U., it sees the European nations as rivals not friends, and NATO and the U.S. as something not very dissimilar to enemies .