Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

by Adam Tooze

On November 28, 2013, speaking to Der Spiegel, European Parliament president Martin Schulz admitted that EU officials made mistakes in their negotiations with Ukraine. “I think we underestimated the drama of the domestic political situation in Ukraine.”43 Ukraine, he said, “had been in a deep economic and financial crisis” since the introduction of democracy. “They desperately need money and they desperately need a reliable gas supply.” Schulz said he understood why Ukraine moved toward Russia. “It is not especially popular in Europe to help states which are in a crisis … and if you look at Moscow’s proposals, they would offer Ukraine short-term assistance that we, as Europeans, cannot and do not want to afford.”