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Opinion: As Ukraine dreams of joining the EU, its ex-communist neighbors have lessons

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The bitterly cold weather was offset by the warm welcome refugees received, a short respite from the reality they were escaping. Those crossing the border were met by volunteers offering everything from a warm meal, blankets, hot drinks and medicine, to hygiene products, clothing and free transport to major cities in Romania. Some arrived late at night, soaking wet, and had to wait many long hours, most of the time well into the next day, to enter Romania. The freezing temperatures and daily snowfall made the long queues even harder to bear.
I saw women and children dropped off by husbands, fathers and partners, as able men were barred from leaving Ukraine, allowed only to accompany loved ones to the border and then return to fight. Couples reached for each other through the chain-linked border fence, in scenes that were at times surreal and cinematic.
For Eastern Europe, the Ukrainian tragedy strikes a deep chord — not only because of its proximity but because stories of Soviet occupation are still entrenched in the public mindset. In places like Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, and the Baltics, those memories intertwine with the momentous change of becoming European Union member states.
Protesters from Border Communities Against Brexit outside Hillsborough Castle during a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Northern Ireland for talks with Stormont parties. Picture date: Monday May 16, 2022. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images)

EU launches legal action against UK over post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland

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The European Union on Wednesday launched new legal proceedings against the United Kingdom over its failure to implement parts of the post-Brexit deal it agreed with the bloc.

The British government published plans earlier this week to change the Northern Ireland Protocol, the part of the deal designed to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open and avoid a return to sectarian violence.
The European Commission said it launched the infringement proceeding because the UK has failed to implement the agreement “despite repeated calls” to do so.
The UK government argues the agreement needs to be “fixed” to avoid “burdensome customs processes, inflexible regulation, tax and spend discrepancies and democratic governance issues.”
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This photographer’s surreal images explore the complexity of Asian American identity

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Another series titled “The Wait,” also published in Blanc Magazine, explores the concept of liminal spaces. Inspired by the design studio Atelier Aveus’ furniture collection of the same name, the series situates its protagonist in eerily ethereal waiting rooms. In several of the images, the woman sits upright in a chair and looks on wistfully, surrounded by soft shades of seafoam green and pink. As time goes on, the woman’s patience appears to erode and her posture becomes decidedly less restrained. One photo features the woman stretched out across the floor, her head resting against the arm of the chair.
“This one is about being in this space where it’s kind of unclear if you’re trapped in the space or if you’re putting yourself in that space — if it’s a choice for you to be there,” Watt added.
That ambiguous, in-between state of being is all too familiar for Watt.
“I often find myself in these liminal thresholds throughout different areas of my life, especially in regards to identity,” she said. “Being not quite Asian, not quite American, or being a woman wanting to be presentable and look good, but also not wanting to be controlled by it.”