EU Should Be More Active in Conflict Settlement in South Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - To guarantee its own security, the EU must become more engaged in resolving the conflicts in the South Caucasus lest they ignite into full-fledged wars in Europe's neighbourhood, says a new report of the International Crisis Group (ICG) titled Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus: The EU's Role. The latest report from the ICG examines the EU's efforts to address tensions over Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and points out how the EU can do more. Thus far, others have taken the lead in promoting conflict settlement in the region, but over a decade of negotiations led by the UN in Abkhazia, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Nagorno Karabakh and South Ossetia, have not produced comprehensive peace agreements. With its reputation as an "honest broker", access to a range of soft and hard power tools, and the lure of greater integration into Europe, the EU has a greater role to play, and offers added value to compliment the UN and the OSCE, the report says.



In the opinion of ICG representatives, to avoid instability on its borders, the EU seeks a ring of well-governed countries around it. The EU "is further interested in the South Caucasus to ensure access to Caspian oil and gas, develop transport and communication corridors between Europe and Asia, and contain such threats as smuggling, trafficking and environmental degradation," the Statement says. As the EU is unlikely to offer membership to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan any time soon, it must identify innovative means to impose conditionality on its aid and exercise influence. "The EU is trying to define its role in a new neighbourhood which is neither at war nor at peace", says Nicholas Whyte, Director of Crisis Group's Europe Program.



"If the EU fails to implement its strategic vision for a secure neighbourhood, its credibility in the region, and generally vis-à-vis Russia and the U.S., will suffer. More troublingly, if the South Caucasus conflicts continue to deteriorate, the EU may find itself unprepared for responding to wars among its neighbours," Whyte said.