Between 1989 and 2025, Europe enjoyed a period of economic growth. Today, the European Union has 449 million inhabitants. That’s less than India and China, but more than the United States. Europe is an open continent, breathing demographically and a major economic power. For the first time in its history, Europe is made up of nations that are no longer empires. Its position in the world is, for the first time, in line with the humanist values it defends. What’s more, Europe is by far the world’s biggest direct investor (17,000 billion euros). However, these investments are mainly directed towards the United States, where they are used to finance innovation, the defense industry and deficits. Over this period, its growth is above all the result of the economic collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 and the peace guarantees provided by the presence of the American army on European soil. In 2025, it is clear that the guarantees given to Ukraine by the United States in the Budapest Memorandum have not been respected. It is therefore worth remembering the terms of this memorandum. The word given by the United States is therefore of little value. Europeans must therefore take their defense in hand, all the more so as we cannot rule out an economic collapse in the United States, whose reforms have an air of Perestroika about them. Europeans must invest in the development of multipolar international relations based on mutual respect. Together with other nations, Europe must ensure that the decisions taken by the United Nations are respected. It must also be less dependent on the United States, whose democratic evolution is uncertain, in terms of innovation and production. Europe must not compromise with theocracies, autocracies or oligarchies. The history of the Russian and American people may well be marked by two dates: 1989 and 2025. But the history of the European Union does not begin in 1989, and will not end in 2025, if we Europeans give ourselves the means to do so, and if, through our own strength, we guarantee our independence.
The Budapest Memorandum stipulates that Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom undertake, in return for Ukraine’s (or Belarus’s, or Kazakhstan’s) accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and completion of the transfer of its nuclear arsenal to Russia, to:
1. 2. Respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its present borders.
2. – Refrain from any threat or use of force against Ukraine, except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
3. Refrain from using economic pressure on Ukraine to influence its policies.
4. To seek the endorsement of the UN Security Council if nuclear weapons are used against Ukraine.
5. Refrain from using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
6. Consult with other stakeholders if questions arise about these commitments.