DO EUROPEAN LEADERS think their countries might soon be at war? Their words say yes. In Cyprus for a European Union summit on April 23rd and 24th, Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, voiced fears that Russia could attack Europe’s eastern flank(侧翼) within “months”. Given doubts about America’s commitment to its transatlantic(跨大西洋的) allies, Europe must get serious and strengthen its common defences within NATO and the EU, he declared.
欧洲领导人认为他们的国家可能很快陷入战争吗？他们言辞上说是的。4月23日至24日在塞浦路斯举行的欧盟峰会上，波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克表达了对俄罗斯可能在"数月"内攻击欧洲东翼的担忧。鉴于对美国对其跨大西洋盟友承诺的质疑，他宣称欧洲必须认真起来，加强其在北约和欧盟内部的共同防御。
The actions of other European leaders are more ambivalent(矛盾的). The contradictions are especially glaring(显眼的，刺眼的) when it comes to their relations with Ukraine. EU governments this month approved a €90bn ($105bn) loan for Ukraine that had been blocked by a spoiler in their midst: the populist-right, Putin-friendly government of Viktor Orban in Hungary. Unfortunately for Ukraine, Mr Orban’s ejection by voters in mid-April has made other leaders’ doubts more visible, now they can no longer hide behind Hungary’s veto. Many EU member countries, including the power-duo(两大强国) of France and Germany, are in no hurry to grant Ukraine the full membership that it seeks, let alone on the accelerated timeline demanded by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who wants his country to join by January 2027. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has publicly ruled out swift accession, stating that Ukraine cannot join the bloc while at war and must meet strict standards on the rule of law, corruption and other fundamental principles.
其他欧洲领导人的行动则更加矛盾。在与乌克兰的关系上，矛盾尤为明显。欧盟各国政府本月批准了一笔900亿欧元（1050亿美元）的贷款给乌克兰，该贷款此前被内部的搅局者——匈牙利欧尔班·维克多的民粹主义右翼亲普京政府所阻挠。对乌克兰来说不幸的是，欧尔班在四月中旬被选民赶下台，这使得其他领导人的疑虑更加明显，因为他们现在不再能躲在匈牙利的否决权之后。许多欧盟成员国，包括法德两大强国，并不急于给予乌克兰它所寻求的正式成员资格，更不用说按照乌克兰总统泽连斯基要求的加速时间表（他希望国家在2027年1月前加入）了。德国总理弗里德里希·默茨公开排除了快速入盟的可能性，称乌克兰不能在战争状态下加入欧盟，必须满足法治、腐败及其他基本原则方面的严格标准。
Some concerns are understandable. For all its heroism, Ukraine is a corrupt, fragile democracy that is liable to emerge from this conflict with ambiguous borders and Russia as its neighbour-from-hell(地狱般的邻居). Other Euro-worries are more feeble(软弱的，无力的). For instance, EU farmers are scared of competition from Ukraine’s large, world-class farming industry. If the country ever does join, it is said in Brussels, the Common Agricultural Policy could not survive in its current, subsidy-heavy(高补贴的) form.
有些担忧是可以理解的。尽管乌克兰表现出英勇，但它是一个腐败、脆弱的民主国家，很可能以边界模糊、俄罗斯为‘地狱邻居’的局面脱身。其他欧洲担忧则更为无力。例如，欧盟农民担心来自乌克兰庞大而世界级的农业产业的竞争。布鲁塞尔方面称，如果乌克兰真的加入，共同农业政策将以目前这种补贴沉重的形式无法维持。
Anchoring Ukraine in Europe, while that is still possible
在仍有可能时将乌克兰锚定在欧洲