EU to Russia: Security of member states ‘untouchable’

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker issued the warning on Wednesday in his first State of the Union address to the European Parliament.
 
"The security and borders of EU member states are untouchable. I want this to be understood very clearly in Moscow," he said.
 
Describing Poland, the Baltic countries and others as “very important members of the EU,” Juncker stressed that they “should not think that (in a crisis) we would not be there.”
 
"We have a duty to protect the security of everyone," the European Commission president said.
 
The comments come as eastern European members of the EU such as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia claim that the Kremlin is seeking to reassert its Cold War-era dominance.
 
These states should be aware that "solidarity is not an empty word," Juncker stated, adding, "We are there now and we will be there if ever there is a need."
 
Ties between Russia and the 28-member bloc hit rock bottom after the eruption of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. The EU accuses Moscow of having a hand in the conflict, an accusation that Kremlin categorically rejects. 
 
The crisis in Ukraine arose when pro-EU forces, including Western-backed radical nationalists, ousted then President Viktor Yanukovych in late February 2014 after he refused to sign an association agreement with the EU.
 
Kiev launched military operations in April the same year to crush the pro-Russia protests in Donetsk and Lugansk, two mainly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine.