Intergovernmental Dialogue Quotes
In 2002, when Prodi made this offer on behalf of the EU, teh Russian economy was close to complete collapse, there was incufficient medicne available, the military was in disarray, and the EU thought that it could take advantage of Russia's weakness to offer them some economic benefits without the complications of even giving Russia the same degree of power and influence as Poland--Russia's former satellite. Russia's pride and dignity were offended. They rejected the arrangement and when Putin became President he began a very aggressive policy of pushback against NATO and EU expansion Eastward. Many political scientists feel that it would have been better had the EU not offered anything at all rather than the highly one-sided proposal that they made.
One major problem at the time was that the Soviet Union was supporting and instigating revolutions in many parts of the world. When most nations of the UN wanted to provide peace keeping troops to quell the conflict, the Russians would veto and block the effort, Vandenberg wanted the UN to change the rules regarding the veto. The right of veto for the major nations was originally included in the UN Charter at the insistence of the United States, and many Americans did not want to give it up or have any exceptions lest there be more in the future. The Russians at that time also did not want to give up any of their veto powers. Another method that Vandenberg wanted to solve the Russian peacekeeping blockage problem was for America to engage in more collective security pacts so that action could be taken without UN Security Council unanimity by going around the UN.
