The EU has decided to lift sanctions against Uzbekistan. Sure - they haven't actually met any of the conditions the EU set for the lifting of sanctions. Yes, they haven't set up an inquiry into the shooting of at least 180 civilians in Andijan like we asked them to. And, like yeah, the human rights situation has actually got worse since then.
But - as one EU diplomat so rightly points out: "The sanctions would probably be dropped sooner or later with no political gain for the EU, but now there is still an opportunity to sell them for some kind of closer cooperation. Everybody wants to be politically correct, but the [German] calculus is quite persuasive."
Its great that the EU is taking an ethical lead here and not being distracted by loads of loot.
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