As Brussels goes into a renewed push to bring more countries into its fold, the divisions between nations in fact go deeper. The call for European integration rings on Kiev squares – and some fear it will turn into western expansion. Who knows what’s for the best? Today we look at the picture not through the eyes of experts or politicians. We ask a great artist about the changes in the air: Emir Kusturica – filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician is on SophieCo.

Sophie Shevardnadze: Emir Kusturica – filmmaker, actor, writer, musician – you name it, everything. Great to have you on our show today. So, Ukraine has been on the news lately, everyone’s talking about it, you have said that Ukrainians are looking at the Yugoslav scenario – what exact parallels would you draw with Ukraine and Yugoslavia? Do you think civil war is possible there?

Emir Kusturica: I don’t think the civil war will come because the question of the Ukraine is more the question about “who will give more,” because I have a feeling that those people who are awoken from their European colleagues, they are much more agreeable to accept some good bid. So this artificial name of what we call today NATO is in fact spreading…or what they used to say in World War I –“Drang nach Osten.” And now this is very visible that in fact the European Union formally doesn’t mean NATO but in fact it’s very much connected. Why am I saying this? I have an example in which for the strategic reason, Bulgaria and Romania became Europe before even Serbia and Croatia. What is Europe for me? Europe is an old system that gave us Renaissance and that gave us the biggest achievements in the Judeo-Christian civilization and I am behind this. But each time, it comes every once in a while in a century to a crisis, then there is the formal way to go for the goods which are on the other side. My problem, a little bit of problem, of understanding this, is if the present administration with the president is 100 percent decided not to go to Europe as they said, I don’t know if this is a sincere act of Mr. Yanukovych or is in fact negotiating, trying to get more from Europe. But the point is, they will never get money from Europe because Europe cannot give them anything.

• A Permanent Economic Emergency