Head of EC: We have learned a lot about the behavior of the Kremlin and Putin from countries like the Czech Republic

Thanks to the bitter experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with the Soviet Union, the European Union has learned a lot about the behavior patterns of the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has become more vigilant. In an interview on the 20th anniversary of the largest enlargement of the European Union to date, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated this. According to her, the European Union is not perfect, nor can it be, because it is an association of 27 member states and 450 million inhabitants, the head of the EU executive reminded. However, according to her, the advantages that EU membership brings are huge.

“For me, the European Union is more than just an association of countries, it is our common home,” emphasized von der Leyen in an interview with a group of journalists from the states that joined the EU 20 years ago. In 2004, the Union expanded to include the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta.

Due to the events in some of the new member states, for example when it comes to problems with compliance with the rules of the rule of law in Hungary or media freedom in Slovakia, it is sometimes claimed that these countries were not yet mature and ready to join the EU. But Ursula von der Leyen did not want to agree with that today.

“There are clear rules that must be met by the accession countries, such as, for example, compliance with the rule of law or the existence of an independent judiciary,” she said, adding that the countries in question have met this. However, according to her, it is necessary to constantly work on strengthening democracy. “It is necessary to be very vigilant, to keep democracy alive, it is up to us, the citizens, to strengthen it again and again,” she emphasized.

The enlargement of the Union by ten countries also had a huge economic benefit. The EU market has become one of the largest internal markets in the world, and compared to 2004, EU trade has grown by 40 percent, the head of the EU executive mentioned. “In the ten new member states, six million new jobs were also created in 20 years and unemployment was reduced by half,” listed von der Leyen.

According to her, the integration process on both sides was amazing. “Yes, the Member States had to learn a lot about EU procedures, but the Commission also learned a lot about different approaches, cultures and perspectives. It enriched each other,” added the President of the European Commission.