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Just one month after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) absorbed seven new members, another main Western bloc, the European Union (EU), will see the official joining of 10 countries on May 1. The "double enlargements," both the largest in their histories, have not only changed the political pattern in Europe, but also exerted profound influence on relations among powerful countries.
Political pattern in Europe changed
The US-led NATO is a result of the Cold War. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty Organization, the United States has made an eastward enlargement plan to absorb some countries in Central and Eastern Europe that are eager for security guarantee from the West.
In March 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined the NATO in the first wave of its enlargement. Five years later, seven more countries, including Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, became the bloc's new members. As a result, the NATO had expanded its membership from 16 to 26 countries, and its defense sphere, from Western Europe to the European-Asian region.
The EU, growing from a regional economic organization by Western countries, introduced a single currency in1999 and has developed itself toward political integration.
After the end of the Cold War, some Central and Eastern European countries have been seeking to join the EU to gain economic benefits and political integration to Europe. The main EU countries, such as France and Germany, have also made active efforts in drawing them in for eventually setting up a "Greater Europe."
After six years of tough negotiation, 10 nations -- Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Hungary and Cyprus -- will officially join the union on May 1, boosting the number of union members from 15 to 25.
Among them, eight countries, including Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Estonia, have joined both the EU and NATO, symbolizing their complete integration with the West in terms of economy, politics and military affairs.
The unprecedented expansion of both organizations has inevitably brought a fundamental change to the political pattern in Europe.
Russia avoiding direct confrontation
NATO's eastward enlargement has pushed its defense line to the border of Russia, the strongest potential military rival of the United States. Reaffirming its opposition to the enlargement, Russia has meanwhile been seeking for more realistic and flexible countermeasures in face of its fading power.
In 2002, Russia signed joint statements with the United States on the reduction of nuclear arsenals and on the establishment of new strategic relations. In the same year, the country also inked a pact with NATO on a new partnership and NATO-Russia Council.
Through these moves, Russia has been trying to get an equal say with NATO and to weaken the threat to its state security as much as possible.
Russia remains a strong rival to the United States, even after the NATO enlargement that indicates that the United States got the upper hand.
EU wants to deter US
NATO's enlargement not only poses a direct threat to Russia, but has also strengthened the US role in the security affairs of Europe, which is against the EU will of independence.
France, Germany and other EU countries have been pushing for the development of Europe by introducing a single currency, creating an independent defense system and promoting political integration.
The latest EU enlargement, serving as an important step in the "Greater Europe" plan, was also somewhat designed to deter the United States, the only superpower in the world.
Europe's strategic cooperation with Russia also reflects its intention to face the United States.
Russia has some disputes with the EU over economy and trade but did not oppose the union's enlargement in general, as it had expressed its willingness to join the union.
The cooperation among France, Germany and Russia on some hot global issues has restrained the United States to a certain extent.
New members in two-way squeeze
The new members of both NATO and the EU are in a sensitive and complicated position and they are in fact caught in a two-way squeeze between the West and Russia.
After the end of the Cold War, these nations have turned to the West, seeking economic support from West European countries and security protection from the United States.
With the expansion of NATO, they now stand in the front line with Russia, acting as the shield against Russia and also the first target of Russia's counterattack.
Facing pressure from both sides, the countries have to not only fulfill NATO's obligations but also avoid fierce confrontation with Russia.
Additionally, the pro-US stands by those countries could spur discontent from France and Germany, thus widening the gap between the "old Europe" and the "new Europe."
To those countries, defined as the "new Europe," financial support from the "old Europe" led by France and Germany is absolutely necessary.
(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2004)
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