There’s a persistent belief in the EU that the bloc does its best work when countries are trying to join or trade with it, not necessarily after they’re in. During the long process of accession, the theory goes, applicant governments reduce their public debt, expose the dusty corners of their economies to the cleansing blast of single market competition and import the labour and environmental standards and rule of law for which Europe considers itself famous. More distant countries ineligible for membership can get a dose of market access and European values by signing a preferential trade agreement.
Events this week suggest that confidence is a little overdone. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have blatantly violated EU and global trade rules by declaring they will block grain imports from Ukraine, the EU’s most politically significant accession candidate since the first wave of former Soviet bloc countries (including those three) joined in 2004. The rogue nations aren’t exactly showcasing the rule-of-law training module they passed to gain membership themselves.
Ukraine, not prepared to sit down and shut up for the sake of European solidarity, has promptly threatened direct retaliation and a case against the three countries at the World Trade Organization. Given the strategic imperative of hugging Kyiv close and the self-congratulatory fuss EU politicians made last year when they opened their markets to imports from Ukraine following the Russian invasion, this is a really bad look.