Why Mette Frederiksen needs to be subsequent EU Council president

The presidency of the European Council is to not be assumed frivolously at such a crucial second for Europe. It’s this workplace’s accountability to set the European Union’s priorities and preserve unity throughout all of its 27 member states. Whoever succeeds Michel might want to make a tough evaluation of the geostrategic problem going through the EU at the moment. It’s my view that Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark and the longest-serving incumbent feminine head of presidency within the EU, is the chief greatest positioned to fulfill this demand.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 isn’t an remoted occasion primarily based on an imperialistic whim of Vladimir Putin. It’s a part of a wider neo-revisionist Russian menace in direction of the whole postwar strategy of European integration. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia refused to just accept the unchallenged primacy of the USA in worldwide affairs and moved to reassert what it considers to be its conventional sphere of affect.

The emergence of this geopolitical actuality factors to a renewed interval of Russo-European confrontation that’s prone to final for the foreseeable future. Only a few political leaders exterior of Central and Jap Europe have a larger understanding of the size of Russia’s menace than the Danish prime minister.

“I see a extra aggressive Russia in all points, not solely in Ukraine. And I believe we now have to ask ourselves: is it the ultimate vacation spot for Russia?”, mentioned Frederiksen in a current interview with the Monetary Instances.

Denmark, a rustic of 5.9 million folks, is without doubt one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine within the EU. It’s the second-largest bilateral donor to Kyiv in proportion to gross home product (behind Estonia), based on the Kiel Institute. Regardless of the financial fallout from the warfare, Denmark has allotted 60.4bn kr (€8.1bn) in a nationwide Ukraine fund. Frederiksen has additionally personally led joint efforts to ramp up defence funding.

All European international locations are responding to Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine in numerous methods as it’s their sovereign proper to take action. However it’s noticeable that the 2 largest EU economies, France and Germany, have adopted a centralised method. Emmanuel Macron initially used his semi-presidential powers to attempt to dissuade Putin from launching the invasion. Very quickly after the Russian assault, Olaf Scholz delivered an epochal tackle to the Bundestag that introduced essentially the most radical transformation of German overseas coverage.

What units Denmark aside from its Western European counterparts has been Frederiksen’s determination to base her response on the Danish precept of consensus-building. In June 2022, Danes went to the polls in a referendum on their nation’s opt-out from the EU’s defence coverage, with a two-thirds majority voting to reverse it (66.9 p.c). It was a courageous determination for a historically Eurosceptic nation to take. However Frederiksen believes within the energy of broad coalitions to unravel complicated challenges, which the EU will discover helpful because it appears to be like to strengthen its unified assist for Ukraine.

Bringing East and West EU collectively?

Russia’s assault on Ukraine and the basic European values in democracy and the rule of legislation requires a shared East-West understanding throughout the EU. This is not going to be simple because of the rising variations between the EU’s three main powers. France and Germany are diverging over how Europe ought to handle a resurgent Russia.

In the meantime, Poland maintains its unequivocal place that Ukraine should win. The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, used his go to to Berlin underneath the Weimar Triangle format to emphasize the significance of deepening monetary and navy support to Kyiv.

These cracks throughout the EU are a priority. Russia’s confidence that it might outlast Ukraine is rising after Putin secured a sixth time period in workplace with a landslide election victory. A powerful European alliance towards the Kremlin requires not solely credible defence and safety capabilities, however belief and dependability amongst all of the EU member states. That is why Frederiksen needs to be the following president of the European Council.

The Danish prime minister’s understanding of Russia’s neo-revisionist menace signifies that she is well-placed to construct confidence throughout the EU-27 because it confronts a quickly evolving safety scenario. What’s extra, Frederiksen’s sturdy document as a consensus-builder could function a catalyst for Scholz, Macron, and Tusk to see eye-to-eye when European cohesion is required greater than ever.