The House of Lords European Union Committee has accused the UK and Europe of having “sleepwalked” into the Ukraine crisis. In a damning report, the committee has found that Europe “badly misread” the Russian threat, therefore taking a back seat in the conflict unfolding between Russia and Ukraine.
The EU committee states that a “catastrophic misreading” of the Kremlin’s intentions in the build-up to the conflict shows a lack of Russian expertise in the UK Foreign Office. It blames this on government cuts. It also refers to a similar shrinking of EU foreign ministries, now ill-equipped to stage an “authoritative response” to the situation.
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