Friday

29th Mar 2024

Opinion

All eyes on the FIFA World Cup - and on Russia

  • One of the stadiums that will host the FIFA World Cup in Russia (Photo: FIFA)

As the FIFA World Cup sets off, everyone's eyes will be on Russia.

There are, however, plenty of other reasons for Europe to watch Russia.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Kremlin's warfare against European countries through direct attacks and through covert influence operations should be a concern to all leaders in Europe. Instead of calling for softer policies on Russia, we must demonstrate real leadership and stand up for our values of freedom, democracy and rule of law.

The Putin regime has dissolved democracy and rule of law in Russia.

We have seen many cases where the regime has imprisoned or murdered political opponents and journalists.

Oleg Sentsov launched a hunger strike for being a political prisoner. Sergei Magnitsky died for his investigation into Kremlin-linked corruption. Boris Nemtsov for his belief in democracy. Anna Politkovskaya for her independent journalism. The Russian regime even attacked the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with nerve gas in an EU member state.

All these individuals are part of a broader pattern of Russia's development under Putin.

The Chechen war. The war against Georgia. The invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops in Transnistria in Moldova. Military participation in the warfare against civilians of the Assad-regime. These unscrupulous acts show the regime's disrespect for human lives and international law.

An attempted coup in Montenegro. Disinformation, cyber-attacks and destabilisation attempts towards European countries. Military practices in the Baltic Sea region. Money laundering, financing of extremist parties in Europe and an assertive energy policy.

Weak EU is good for Russia

Russia wages war at all levels. Nothing would make the Kremlin happier than a weaker European Union.

Against this background, it is unbelievable that some leaders in Europe are calling for softer criticism against Russia and fewer sanctions in order to "improve relations".

Russia's policies completely disregard the spirit of good neighbourly relations.

The way to improve relations is not to make concessions to an aggressive Russia, but for Russia to stop attacking European democracies, withdraw its military troops from neighbouring countries and fulfil its Minsk obligations. Then we can build a mutually beneficial relationship based upon common principles.

In the meantime, Europe must strengthen its military capacities as well as its societal resilience, to be able to meet the current and future threats.

The EU and its member states should impose sanctions, inspired by the Magnitsky legislation, which would allow the freezing of assets in European banks for individuals who have committed severe human rights abuses. Such actions would target the elite whom Putin is dependent on and they would not affect the Russian people negatively.

In the European Union, we must complete the energy union and stop the political project Nord Stream 2 in order to secure energy independence.

We also need to strengthen our cyber defence and resilience against propaganda.

It is extremely worrisome that the Kremlin narrative has found its way to established European politicians who should know better. Whilst the extreme left and the extreme right continuously repeat the Kremlin narrative and praise the regime, us in the centre - be it centre left or centre right - must stand firm against Russian influences.

The Russia of today is run by a regime that puts might over right.

Vladimir Putin had since long secured his re-election by hindering potential opponents and with democracy losing. By increasing support for democracy, civil society and independent journalism in Russia, and build people-to-people contacts, we can build closer relations between the peoples of Russia and of Europe.

But Europe should never allow ourselves to become victims of the Kremlin.

We need to realise that we are operating in a long-term non-military conflict. We need a Russia policy based on reality and based on the threats we are facing.

We should not give Putin the success that he seeks in weakening the Union. In a world where autocrats are gaining more influence, the European Union must remain a strong defender of freedom, democracy and rule of law.

Gunnar Hokmark is head of the Swedish EPP delegation in the European Parliament

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

Analysis

Good day for Russia in Europe

Russian firm Gazprom is a reformed character, the EU commission has said, improving the climate for new pipelines to Europe.

Stakeholder

FIFA's schools programme aims to reach 700m children

Football clubs today invest huge sums of money in youth development and court talented young players from an early age. Children are the future – not only where football is concerned, but also for society in general.

Stakeholder

A new strategy to promote gender equality through football

Recognising the passion for women's football and its potential offers vast untapped opportunities, FIFA is committed to reaching an ambitious goal: by 2026, the number of women's footballers is to be doubled from 30 million to 60 million players worldwide.

Stakeholder

A touch of football at this year's G20 summit

FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the G20 leaders and placed football at their disposal as a powerful tool to help them address the challenges facing the world today.

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Column

EU's Gaza policy: boon for dictators, bad for democrats

While they woo dictators and autocrats, EU policymakers are becoming ever more estranged from the world's democrats. The real tragedy is the erosion of one of Europe's key assets: its huge reserves of soft power, writes Shada Islam.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us