Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, has just set a new low for Europe’s standing in the world. In the wake of Russia’s sham presidential election on Sunday, Juncker sent the victorious Vladimir Putin a message of unctuous praise. “Congratulations on your re-election,” Juncker tweeted. “I have always argued that positive relations between the EU and Russia are crucial to the security of our continent.”
Juncker also made a point of signaling his enthusiasm for the Kremlin’s demands for a new Europe-wide security architecture, a proposal ultimately designed to split Europe from the United States and inevitably weaken NATO. “Our common objective should be to re-establish a cooperative pan-European security order,” Juncker wrote.
Just like the United States’ President Trump, who was widely criticized this week for congratulating Putin on the Russian election’s outcome while failing to mention its flagrantly undemocratic character, Juncker had nothing to say about the brazen ballot stuffing, the intimidation of independent candidates, the unexplained deaths of activists, the role of state media, or a host of other irregularities leading up to the poll.
This latest failure of moral courage once again shows the growing indifference of European leaders and governments to the defense of human rights. At a time when the Trump administration seems uninterested in advancing the cause of democracy overseas and has just chosen Gina Haspel, who is closely linked with the George W. Bush administration’s policies on torture, to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, Europe should be at the forefront in taking a united stand against the flagrant abuse of human rights.
But it isn’t. Dissidents and activists pushing for civil rights and democracy outside the E.U., and who once looked to Europe as a beacon for the values of freedom, can count on little support from Brussels these days. Authoritarian regimes have every cause to be overjoyed.
No wonder British officials were furious with Juncker’s statement. London is still reeling over Russia’s alleged role in a nerve-agent attack that has left former Russia spy and double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in a critical condition.
Ashley Fox, the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party in the European Parliament, described the European Commission president’s letter to Putin as “disgraceful.” “To congratulate Vladimir Putin on his election victory without referring to the clear ballot-rigging that took place is bad enough,” Fox noted. “But his failure to mention Russia’s responsibility for a military nerve agent attack on innocent people in my constituency is nauseating.”
When Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, took the floor at last month’s annual Munich Security Conference, he was, once again, treated with kid gloves. Forget about the torture, the executions, the flogging, the deaths during detention.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security, and the big E.U. countries such as Germany, do not want to spoil their relations with Teheran. For them, Iran sticking to the nuclear deal that the E.U., along with Germany and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, struck in 2015 takes precedence over talking about human rights.
There are plenty of other examples.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have rolled out the red carpet for Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sissi — despite a crackdown on opposition that in its harshness has left the Hosni Mubarak regime far behind. Disappearances, torture, police brutality, detentions without trial: None of this seems to bother the French or German leaders. “Disgraceful policies of indulgence” was the term human rights activists used in connection with Sissi’s visit to Paris in October.
On China, the E.U. has completely discredited itself in the eyes of reformers and those struggling for human rights. It has criticized neither the Communist Party’s state-of-the art mass surveillance of its citizens nor the constant harassment and imprisonment of dissidents.
Indeed, in June the E.U. failed, for the first time ever, to make a statement about China’s crackdown on dissidents and activists at the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva. The 28 member states couldn’t agree.
Greece blocked the statement. Why? Reuters explains: “China’s COSCO Shipping, owner of the world’s fourth-largest container fleet, took a 51 percent stake in Greece’s biggest port last year.” Athens didn’t want to offend Beijing. Hungary, which has also benefited from Chinese investments, has repeatedly blocked E.U. statements criticizing China’s rights record under Communist President Xi Jinping, according to diplomats.
E.U. leaders show conspicuous uninterest in following up on their oft-proclaimed commitments to democracy and human rights. Nowadays they focus instead on realpolitik and “stabilization,” the craven new buzzword.
Their Egyptian counterparts claim that “stabilization” is the price to pay for avoiding a Syrian, Libyan or Iraqi morass.
Nor are things any better inside the bloc itself. Few member states show any willingness to take Poland or Hungary to task in any serious way for their steady erosion of democratic institutions and norms. The bloc, its defenders say, already has enough problems to worry about, from Brexit to Macron’s ambitious plans for E.U. reform.
But there can be no hiding the shameful reality. Europe has lost its moral compass. Its current enthusiasm for interests and “stability” will one day come back to haunt it.
Comments(1)
Difficult subject, spanning decades of geopolitics, a complicated “Great Game” redivivus and much more. 1971, Kissinger goes to China, secret trip; then Nixon visits China, this is how geopolitics works; 1989 was followed by WTO admission; fast forward to today, Navarro, trade wars and the possibility of the first serious challenge of the Bretton-Woods agreement (the UK offered help for years, and after May’s visit R5FX/Shanghai clearing is operational, although it is a long way the RMB to challenge the USD; in Europe, Helsinki, Brezhnev mistook for a victory, only to learn about human rights. A good reference is Kirkpatrick’s seminal “Dictatorships and Double Standards”, which can always be used to justify any geopolitical behavior. Her “Making War to Keep Peace” is also of interest, as according to the Supreme Law of the US, The Constitution, “The Congress shall have Power To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water” (Article 1, Section 8). The last time this happened was 1942, upon Romania, and soon the critical Ploiesti oils fields will experience the wrath of many “Tidal Waves”. However, this must put to rest any misconception that Trump will not apply Article 5 to the letter, as Congress will immediately intervene; Obama’s ERI represents an additional guarantee. The article misses the realities of the 21st century. After millennia of war, the warring peoples of Europe have reached a point where the EU is the wealthiest, largest entity in Western history. However, the fulcrum of the world has switched back to the East, with SCO, BRI, AIIB, and many more billions souls than the demographically challenged EU; they also absorbed or/and acquired through various means what mistakenly the West thought is just Western: technology. Brexit, unless reverted, is the “coup de grace”, although the Albion has always been separated by more than a sea from the continent, Eurotunnel or not. Juncker’s “I have always argued that positive relations between the EU and Russia are crucial to the security of our continent.” is actually correct, congratulations aside. A war, even conventional war in Europe is inconceivable as the world has changed dramatically; India fought with the Empire in 1914 and 1945, huge contribution, not anymore. Worse, it is hard to believe that it will not escalate to nuclear within days. The EU and especially the UK could focus now on helping Ukraine, that would be a good start; refugees?!
Comment Policy
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks, or other inappropriate material will be removed. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, steps will be taken to block users who violate any of the posting standards, terms of use, privacy policies, or any other policies governing this site. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.