The recent demonstrations across the continent illustrate that the European Union leadership is out-of-sync with European Union residents (i.e., voters). And there is now a palpable dissonance with some member nation political leaders, too.
The European Union leadership in Brussels is clinging to the idea that the European Union is a sovereign nation. To the European Union leadership, this perceived sovereign nation can be moved to support big and consequential policy agendas – all of which are typically crafted far away from any one actual European Union member nation and its actual parliament.
Is there such a thing as a European Union sovereign nation …?
The demonstrations, national political upheavals, opinion polls and some recently concluded member nation elections seem to provide an antidote to that idea.
The European Union member states, however, are sovereign nations with their own history, culture, values, principles, constitutions etc. All of which guide their preferences and propensities when it comes to grand strategy and policy frameworks.
While the European Union leadership never lets a crisis go to waste, the tragic nature of the current events has exacerbated the rift. The European Union leadership is continuously leveraging conflicts to promote mostly itself and with that their personal agendas more so than mutually discussed and agreed-to European dittos.
The European Union is now predominantly a geopolitical project …
The European Union leadership, despite its demonstrable geopolitical ineptitude, is willing to take up more consequential positions while assuming expanded rights to represent all the member nations in sequential geopolitical undertakings with disastrous humanitarian consequences.
Sadly, in the absence of push-back, the European Union leadership increasingly commits the European Union to policy positions, which are dangerous, and difficult to walk back when proven untenable.
The European Union leadership has single-handedly put the European Union on a course towards uncertain, or even catastrophic diplomatic and security outcomes driven by an ill-conceived and counterproductive alignment with the United States, in particular the Obama and Biden administrations and their foreign and security policies. To begin with, there is no rational argument for claiming that European and American economic, foreign, diplomatic and security interests are mostly identical albeit that is exactly, what the European Union leadership portrays.
Unnecessary conflicts will produce a plethora of forced diplomatic errors …
The current direction of travel has exposed the frailty of the European Union during a dead-end and preventable conflict in Ukraine, an uncontrollable but entirely predictable conflict in the Middle East and a brewing and unnecessary conflict in Asia.
None of these conflicts should ever have involved the European Union as a party actively supporting conflict escalation. If anything, the European Union should focus exclusively on ending the conflicts and achieving sustainable peace opening the opportunity for coexistence and trade. Moreover, the European Union leadership is pursuing a course, which at present is diluting the sovereignty of the European Union member nations. History has repeatedly shown that dismissing the force of both nationalism and realism rarely is a winning proposition.
In the absence of balanced leadership costly mistakes multiply …
Observing the bigger member nations – for now – being subservient to both the European Union leadership and to the United States is rather unfathomable. For these bigger member nations, it has so far proven to be a high-risk but low-reward strategy – and it does little to preserve the national unity in these member nations.
And, observing the smaller member nations as these are seeking to leverage the situation to exert an unrealistic level of influence through aggressive rhetoric, leaves the impression that the tail is indeed wagging the dog. If the overall strategy pursued by the European Union leadership fails then these smaller member nations may find themselves in a position, where nobody will answer their calls for support if needed.
Too big to fail – or, just too big for its own good …
History has a way of demonstrating that these super-constructs while continuously seeking to gain in size and perceived influence eventually will fall on their own sword, fall out of favor, and decimate by decree – or simply implode.
Maybe the grand experiment of the European Union will trigger its own undoing in these uncertain and trying times? The European Union leadership is arguably doing what it can to make that a likely outcome.
Time’s running out.https://kristianthyregod.substack.com/p/the-european-union-grand-illusion?r=3jx1d&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
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