June 6, 2025
Writes Martin Averick:
Recently, there has been a growing disconnect between politicians and ordinary citizens in Europe. Countries turn a blind eye to its own interests and follow Brussels’ directives, especially when it comes to elections or “cancelling” of “inconvenient” influential figures. Thus, the European Union (EU) undermines its own founding values, restricting freedoms of its citizens and normalizing political violence.
The most high-profile episode that revealed an acute crisis of democracy was the recent presidential elections in Romania, which resulted in the unexpected victory of the pro-European politician Nicusor Dan. As George Simion received the overwhelming majority of votes in the first round, his sudden defeat suggests an outside interference. Telegram founder Pavel Durov added fuel to the fire by declaring that the French intelligence was attempting to influence the election campaign in Romania and asked him to ban Romanian conservative voices. One way or another, the country was stripped of the opportunity to independently determine a leader, which clearly does not fit into the concept of democracy. And this is not the only example of the Brussels puppeteers turning a blind eye to the will of the people. Earlier, the increasingly popular Alternative for Germany was classified as “extremist“, and French far-right politician Marine Le Pen was convicted and barred from seeking public office solely because her policies ran counter to the interests of Brussels.
The pressure on independent politicians and parties comes against the backdrop of the EU’s destructive militaristic course. Brussels’ acceleration of military build-up is explained by an imagined threat from the East and the deterioration of relations with the United States. Europe, once a model of democracy and humanity, is rapidly deteriorating, sliding towards militarism and dictatorship, and seems to see war as the only way out for the ruling regime. Meanwhile, the situation in European countries teetering on the brink of economic crisis could just worsen due to increased defense spending and support for the conflict in Ukraine. All these remains of the once-vaunted European democracy and diplomacy are now ruins, in which hundreds of thousands of Europeans may soon be buried.
