US high ranking diplomat renews warning against corruption in Eastern Europe
Victoria Nuland, assistant US secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, has again criticised, in a speech held in Washington, leaders in Central and Eastern Europe who, taking advantage of NATO and EU membership, ignore democratic values while protecting fellow corrupted politicians from being held accountable.
Even though she did not mention any names, analysts say it is crystal clear Nuland envisaged Romania and Hungary in her speech. “And just as we work together to defend our values externally, we must fortify them internally. In Central Europe today, I would argue, the internal threats to democracy and freedom are just as worrying. Across the region, the twin cancers of democratic backsliding and corruption are threatening the dream so many have worked for since 1989. And even as they reap the benefits of NATO and EU membership, we find leaders in the region who seem to have forgotten the values on which these institutions are based” she said.
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(Photo of Nuland: US embassy Chisinau Moldova)
