Ukraine is in the news again for all of the wrong reasons. Like many former Soviet satellite states, it has struggled to maintain good government since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. For Ukraine in particular, the influence of "Mother Russia" has never been easy to escape. For example, about a quarter of Ukrainians are ethnically Russian. Also, the autonomous Ukrainian region of the Crimea is still where the Russian Navy is based. However, as with many conflicts world wide, energy is also a fundamental issue in this conflict.
Ukraine has long been thought of as "The Breadbasket of Europe", although it has not lived up to that reputation in recent times. The fertile Ukrainian steppe is one of the great agricultural regions of the world and, up until the imposition of communism, its hard working people made very productive use of the land. In fact, in the mid-nineteenth century when the Canadian government was looking for immigrants who they could trust to successfully develop the cold and remote Canadian prairies, the turned to Ukraine and actively recruited many thousands of Ukrainians. This is how my father's family came to Canada. They immigrated from western Ukraine in the 1890's. I visited this region recently and it is amazing how similar it is to the Canadian prairies. The main difference though is that 70 years of communism has left the Ukraine a disaster in many respects.
This is where the European Union comes into the picture. Over the last 50 years, the EU has successfully united western Europe, largely by creating a common market for goods and services. The EU's agricultural policy is often held up as its greatest achievement. They have managed to cultivate a modern agriculture industry with significant investment and the latest technology, while at the same time using subsidies to support the small farmer, and the small town life that goes along with it. Fully half the entire EU budget goes to these farming subsidies. The main reason that Ukraine wants to join the EU is to benefit from the EU agricultural policy, and rightly so. However, Russia would be the clear loser in this case as if Ukraine were in the EU, most of its grain would flow west to Europe.
Natural gas is the other volatile energy issue with Ukraine. Although Ukraine does not have significant natural gas reserves itself, the main natural gas pipeline that connects Russia's vast gas reserves with the gas consuming countries of western Europe flows through Ukraine. Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has sporadically leveraged this position to achieve discounts on its own gas purchased from Russia. In 2005, Ukraine simply turned off the gas in the middle of winter and left much of western Europe panicking. This is the main reason why the EU would welcome Ukraine into its fold. The EU highly regulates how energy is distributed and sold within its borders and if it were part of the EU, Ukraine would no longer be able to play such games and the EU's energy supplies would be much more secure.
There are many Canadians, including myself, with Ukrainian roots and we are all hoping for a peaceful resolution to the current crisis. One of the reasons that Canada has been such a success for nearly 150 years now is because we have successfully and responsibly developed our natural resources. For Ukraine to achieve long term stability, it should strive to do the same in the 21st century. Becoming a full fledged member of the EU is the best way to make that happen.
