Gorbachev calls on EU and Russia to unite on global affairs

     Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Tuesday called for the European Union and Russia to unite and create a major European voice that would counteract the overarching influence of the United States in defining global politics. «If we don't get Russia in, Europe won't have a big voice in the world»,  Gorbachev said at the opening of a two-day meeting on the future of Europe in Budapest. «The way forward is to search for a formula to remove obstacles to EU cooperation with Russia».
     Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and oversaw its collapse in the six years leading up until 1991.
     He famously introduced reforms, perestroika and glasnost, all credited with ending the Cold War and leading to the Soviet Union's break up. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his efforts.
     Gorbachev said that Europe had failed to create a «clear, independent voice» after the end of the Cold War, and that this had caused many of the current global issues.
     In particular, he criticized Europe for not standing up to the US in the build-up to the Iraq war.
     «What led us to the war in Iraq ... was a blow to the United Nations and to international law. It could have been avoided», he said. «Europe did not live up to its potential. It put up with a situation where the US has monopoly leadership».
     Relations between Russia and the EU have worsened in recent years, with the two at loggerheads over energy supplies and the EU concerned about what it sees as an erosion of democracy in Russia.
     Gorbachev asked for more understanding of the democratization process in Russia, saying that the former communist state was only «halfway there», and warned that the current bad relations were prompting a movement in Russia to move toward building links with emerging superpower China.
     He called on the EU and Russia to remove obstacles to cooperation and to take the lead in setting global policy.
     «We should build from the east», he said. «The two parts of Europe need each other».
     While he warned that Europe could not be successful if built on an «anti-US basis» he said that it should stop following the US's lead.
     «Why should Europe be a follower of other's policies?» he said. «Europe must speak out on issues ... the environment, non proliferation, terrorism and globalization».
     «I believe Europe can, and must, take the initiative», he continued. «The hour of Europe is coming in international affairs ... if it doesn't we will see a time of global troubles».
     Gorbachev was opening a meeting of the World Political Forum, an organization he started with Gyula Horn - a former Prime Minister of Hungary.
     Active and former politicians and leaders of civil society from across Europe were due to discuss EU enlargement and other issues affecting Europe during the conference.
     Gorbachev also warned that the EU's policy of fast-tracking new states into the 27-member bloc was not working and that a different approach was needed.