Russian-speaking residents of the European Union are among the millions of EU citizens who are expected to vote in the European Parliament (EP) elections, which began on Thursday and will end on Sunday
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2019) Russian-speaking residents of the European Union are among the millions of EU citizens who are expected to vote in the European Parliament (EP) elections, which began on Thursday and will end on Sunday.Sputnik interviewed some of them on the eve of the elections and found that the range of viewpoints reflected the mixed political mood in Europe and that there were expectations that the bloc's attitude toward Russia would change for better.
Elections to the 751-seat European Parliament are held across all 28 EU member states. All eyes are on whether key mainstream parties, which have been setting the tone in the legislature in recent years, can maintain their positions amid the steady rise of nationalist and conservative forces.
A survey of several Russian-speaking EU residents who have the right to vote in European elections showed that they were aware of parliamentary activities and understood the significance of the current election � they do not have any illusory expectations but also do not think that the elections are useless.
A 48-year-old Russian-speaker from the southern Dutch city of Breda, Rodion, said that he had already made his choice but did not feel these elections would bring significant changes in the European Union.
"I would not say that I am very interested in the activities of the EP, but I still keep tabs. I identify myself with European skeptics. I like it better when countries decide who they should be friends with themselves," Rodion said.
He added that he did not have any particularly high expectations for change.
"But everything is moving toward this. It seems to me that there will be certain reforms in the EU and European institutions in the future, because they no longer function as the 'founding fathers,' as it is popular to say, intended them to," he said.
A resident of the Belgian province of Liege, 62-year-old Nicholas, noted that "many speak negatively about Russia" in the EU legislature.
"I think that there are differences of opinion in Europe: there are those who remain of the same old minds, and others, with the new views. But it is impossible to stop the progress. These good ideas that we need to get closer to the Russian Federation are already emerging. I think that if this is the beginning, then, as they say, a spark will light the fire. I think these elections will be that spark, because the rhetoric about Russia has changed," Nicholas said.
Arkady, who has lived in the Belgian capital for many years, has his own version of why people often get frustrated with EU politics and elections.
"Europe failed to fulfill what it promised in the Maastricht Treaty [the European Union's founding document], it turned into a dictatorship of two or three countries and did not bring, for example, solutions to the problem of unemployment. That is why people are disappointed. This is the problem. And the sovereignty of each country is not respected," Arkady told Sputnik.
Aleksander, a 76-year-old Russian native, is also skeptical with the EU vote.
"I do not listen to the radio and do not watch tv. I just go on the internet sometimes. I live in a small town near [the Belgian city of] Charleroi. I do not vote, because when I see unknown Names and also their occupations, with no education sometime, I do not understand how they can represent citizens," Aleksander said.
Russian-speaking journalist Yanina Kozari, who has been living in Belgium for 12 years, supports mainstream parties. She noted that the euroskeptical mood had become elevated in recent years and that member states were not looking at their bloc through rose-tinted glasses anymore.
"I think the Europeans have particularly high expectations of the elections to the European Parliament this year. The romantic stage of the relationship between other countries and the EU has ended ... euroskepticism has increased significantly in recent years, and it was Brexit that triggered this," Kozari said.
She added that it was very foolish of the European Union to paint Russia as the enemy because the bloc had other real threats.
"As for immigrants from Russia and former Soviet countries, the ones who have EU citizenship and will vote, they are a very heterogeneous society. Russians, for example, often worry which politicians are more loyal to Russia, which is natural. I am also among them. In my opinion, it is the stupidest thing to create an image of an enemy out of Russia. The EU has other real threats," she reasoned.
According to her observations, Russian-speaking Europeans "rarely vote for socialist parties since they have already lived under socialism."
"Many Russian-speaking people vote for right-wing parties," she said, assuming that "the majority will vote for the EP groups that are similar to the parties for which they traditionally vote."
Daniel, a 69-year-old Russian native living in Brussels, expressed his concerns about the elections, because, in his opinion, politicians who told people "simple things" were becoming more and more popular. He himself supports pro-European positions and also believes that the Greens parties will show a good result.
"Expectations are related to the fact that people who support pro-European positions want Europe to be bigger. [US President Donald] Trump sometimes demonstrates anti-European sentiment, and I think that this is a chance for us to strengthen Europe. The problem is that there are more and more people who are against the EU, so we are a little afraid of these elections because there are more and more far-rights and nationalists, who are trying to convince everyone that it will be much better without Europe, which is not true," Daniel told Sputnik.
According to him, such politicians "forget that countries receive subsidies from Europe."
"This is the same problem as the United States has: people think in simpler categories, while life becomes more and more difficult," Daniel concluded.
Sergei Petrosov, a 54-year-old man who lives in the Belgian province of Namur, said it was very difficult to predict the results of elections and unlikely that there would be a change, but also that "hope dies last."
"I am following the EP's activities because a Russian-speaking parliamentarian has been working there for many years, so I am interested in the EP's activities in this context. We know that there is still discrimination against the Russian-speaking minority in a number of European countries. In this context, I am interested how and if the EP even can and will respond to these changes. As far as I understand, it cannot yet, but we are all waiting for the new elections, and I, as a citizen, am waiting for the new politicians to come there, the ones who might pay attention to the problems of the Russian-speaking EU population," Petrosov said.
According to him, there is absolutely no pressure on Russian-speaking voters.
"It is yet to be seen who we will vote for ... But, of course, we will vote for the parties that, at least, declare some desire to solve the problems of the Russian-speaking population," Petrosov continued.
Ella Bondareva, who has been living in Belgium for 12 years, said that she would vote and not only because it was her duty.
"I will definitely come and express my opinion. Although many of my Russian-speaking acquaintances who live here believe that it is just a formality and that their voice does not matter," Bondareva told Sputnik.
She also said that there were different preferences among her family members.
"As for the question of whom to vote for, we discuss this in our family and, you wouldn't believe it, but each one of the four adults is going to vote for a different party. Our home debate is quite vigorous. But in general, the majority of the parties, let's say, four out of eight, offer a similar program," Bondareva said.
Miroslav Mitrofanov, a Russian-speaking parliament member from Latvia, shared his perspective as a voter.
"From my experience of communicating with people from different EU countries, there is a noticeable general trend: the more socially active a person is, the more he or she is informed about the EP. But most of those who will vote will do it either to traditionally support their political power or respond to one main alarmist idea, proposed by politicians. Let us say that this could be 'save the planet, stop the climate change' for the center-leftists and 'stop migrant inflows to Europe' for right-wing populists," Mitrofanov said.
He also said that expectations of Russian-speaking EU citizens depended on the country they lived in.
"In Germany, they are largely waiting for European skeptics who promise to limit the influx of refugees from Africa and Asia into the EU to strengthen [their control]. The Russians in the Baltic countries have a different agenda, which is to protect the right to use their native language in education and to protect [themselves] against the threat of neo-Nazism, which regularly appears in various forms in these countries," he explained.
