On July 1, Denmark took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. The announced priorities for the next six months are related to defense and security, migration, EU enlargement and the general budget until the end of the year.
However, the first signals from Copenhagen are directed specifically towards Kiev. Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Biere stated that the country is ready to complete the procedure for revoking Hungary's vote in the EU - because Budapest is blocking Ukraine's European integration.
And Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen commented that if the US abandoned (in terms of military aid) Kiev, this would hurt not only Ukraine, but also the EU and NATO.
And all this - only on the third day of the presidency...
I have previously drawn attention to the fact that the European Union is a great debtor to Ukraine - the country where, for the first time in history, people fought and died under the EU flag (this happened during the Kiev Maidan).
If the European Union had adequately supported Ukraine after the Russian invasion, this invasion would have been repelled by now, or at least Kiev would not be in the current unfavorable situation for peace negotiations. position.
Instead, however, Brussels focused on the latest package of sanctions against Moscow, without realizing that a war is won not so much with economic superiority as with the will to overcome wartime difficulties.
Even during the Russian annexation of Crimea, Europe believed that economic pressure could calm and ultimately force the Kremlin to abandon its expansionist policy. Even then, the standard of living in Russia was lower than in most of Europe, and after the sanctions and military restrictions, it logically continued to fall.
But it turned out that Europe underestimated the will of the Russian elite and Russian society to fight, regardless of the difficulties. The Kremlin is dominated by the strategy that military force is the key to other successes - diplomatic, commercial, economic. And in Russian society, the dominant mindset is that if necessary, they will gnaw on sawdust, but they will not kneel before the "collective West".
Europe has lost valuable time in emphasizing the economic side at the expense of the military. And even after it began to realize this mistake, the desire turns out to be greater than the possibilities.
It is significant that, with all its economic and industrial power, the European Union is unable to produce enough shells for Ukraine, while North Korea manages to produce enough shells for Russia...
Therefore, it is now a good sign that the EU, represented by the rotating presidency of Denmark, seems to be trying to correct this mistake - both in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Union's own security and defense. Including by introducing mandatory military service for women.
However, Danish concern for Ukraine is leading to a confrontation with Hungary. Which may create further obstacles in the implementation of the goals of the current EU presidency and, more specifically, the goal of EU enlargement.
And no, it's not just about Ukraine. It's not even about Moldova, whose European integration has so far been "packaged" with that of Ukraine.
Viktor Orbán's Hungary has definitely taken the cause of the Republic of North Macedonia "under its wing" and this was evident in the adoption by the EP's foreign affairs committee of the draft report on the Republic of North Macedonia, which is disadvantageous to us, including the concepts of "Macedonian identity and language".
By confronting Budapest, Copenhagen is losing an ally for the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU, i.e. for the expansion of the European Union towards the Western Balkans (by the way, this direction was already pushed during the Bulgarian EU presidency in the first half of 2018).
Looked at from our bell tower, a possible deprivation of Hungary's right to vote would be in Bulgaria's favor, because Orban's Hungary is completely unmasking itself as our opponent when it comes to the case of the European integration of North Macedonia (and in particular, the respect for the rights of Bulgarians there). But there are also a number of other cases on which it is necessary to seek "situational majorities" within the EU.
Copenhagen risks losing Budapest as an ally also with regard to migration - another topic declared a priority within the Danish presidency.
And Hungary has a consistent position for strongly limiting immigration to Europe. A position that is finally on the way to being recognized as the correct one - in contrast to the long-standing European migration indifference.
Danish concern for the Ukrainian cause may lead to concerns for Denmark itself. Thus, the six months of the presidency may turn out to be quite long and complicated.
And this is only about the "internal" problems of the European Union. And if we add the "international situation"...
Here, attention should immediately be paid to the Greenland case, which directly affects Denmark. The Arctic island of Greenland is striving for independence, and at the same time it is the object of the appetites of the current US President Donald Trump. In general, "Danish Macedonia" may turn out to be more problematic than ours.
The Danish EU presidency has begun. With clear signals. However, let's see what it will go down in history with.