Monday 24 February marks the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. In all honesty, I have no clue where to start from to succinctly articulate what happened during the Munich Security Conference.
The Vice President of the US JD Vance was invited to speak at the conference. Among other things, he stated that the greatest threat that Europe was facing, was not from China and Russia but from within. When VP JD Vance uttered such words, the hall went pin-drop silent. Certainly, what VP JD Vance meant was that on the matter of migration, as well as free speech, the EU was not acting rationally. True, when it comes to free speech, distinct from hate speech, we cannot be selective and prescriptive. Notwithstanding that there is a fine line, free speech is just free speech. You either allow it or you do not. And the concept of disinformation is further restricting our own free speech to the point of choking us. It is indeed tantamount to autocracy.
There is no such disinformation concepts and the only problem I see here is that the EU’s narrative on the social media is completely lost when they try to counter the Russian political narrative. And to counter this narrative, the EU decided to close Russian media. It is just like when China further controlled their media during the Arab Spring for fear of experiencing the same uprising. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU embarked on a trail of sanctions, announced on a bimonthly frequency. We all remember Ursula von der Leyen taking the podium, feeling more the Empress of Europe rather than the President of the EU Commission. They played bingo with our economies.
After the first and second set of sanctions, the European economies were obliterated with high inflation, and we are still adjusting. It stands to reason that citizens bought into the Russian narrative that sanctions are bad. Even I said it in 2022, that if not universally applied, sanctions won’t work. And I held the PSC Ambassador post for four years. Clearly, I remember Sergey Lavrov’s narratives used to go viral on the social media, while Josep Borrell’s counter narratives never picked up. And the reason is because, primarily von der Leyen did not allow him because there was never a strategy, and she always felt the Empress of the Berlaymont. The EU’s gross economic mistakes were masked by axing Russian media, referring to the channels as sources of disinformation. Until now, I never truly understood what disinformation meant. To me it comes across as gagging and anti-free speech. To quote the outgoing European Ombudsman, the President of the EU Commission’s cabinet is run in a Consiglieri style. The level of secrecy is similar to that found in corrupt Russian oligarchies to avoid the word used by O’Reilly. Frankly, there are no distinctions. Once a massive institution, like the EU Commission, tampers with free speech, it sends an authoritarian and a chilling message.
Indeed, JD Vance referred to this gagging as the result of former soviet countries’ fixation on disinformation and misinformation. Definitely, disinformation is just a word mostly pushed by the eastern member states. I witnessed it when I was a member of the Political and Security Committee. They tire everyone out. It is reminiscent of their communist past, where freedom of expression was controlled. If the EU Commission is worried that a few hundred euros over TikTok can overturn the result of an election, then I have to agree with VP JD Vance that some of the block’s democracies are truly fragile.
VP JD Vance referred to the Romanian election case and its postponement. He is once again, right. I personally think that there are two outliers here. There are two distinct political ideologies. On one hand, there are those, who like me, believe in diplomacy, free speech and proper regulation that allows businesses to thrive and create jobs and wealth for everyone to enjoy. On the other hand, there are those who believe in controlling citizens, because they think that they are the intelligent ones, while the rest of the electorate are nincompoops who cannot choose and decide by themselves. And we see this kind of political behaviour even here in Malta. It is truly sad.
When in January 2022 I appealed to not go to the direction of pulling everyone into the Ukrainian war, the reason was to avoid the political situation we are currently in, and for the EU to preserve its soft diplomacy. When I was posted in Brussels, I had the opportunity to attend a think-tank session about Putinism. Indeed, what I have learned I owe it to the EU, and the member states that used to organise such sessions. Frankly, I could see that this war will prolong to the point of exhaustion. However, President von der Leyen monopolised the media appearances. I remember her hysterical loud statements, and her churlish behaviour when taking to the podium. At times I really thought something was really wrong with her. Truly insufferable, obscene and irrational.
As I had the opportunity to write last month, the President of the European Commission is just disguising herself behind EU values, raping the EU institutions. You must be a little unhinged to come up with the stellar idea of turning a laundry room into a bedroom in the Berlaymont building. How can von der Leyen feel what citizens are feeling on the ground, especially the pinch of inflation, when she does not even pay for her own rent and utility bills. The president said that this is the price we have to pay for freedom. Well, in the long run we are all economically dead!
Worse, the narrative of the President of the EU Commission is even more dangerous. In 2023, von der Leyen said that Europeans were living under the illusion that peace is permanent and repeated this statement during this year’s Global Economic Forum. Well, I must agree. The European continent was always divided by wars. Even a simple Google search would give you an endless list of wars. Hence, the foundations and the creation of the European project. We vowed never again. It seems that we did not learn the lesson. What saddens me though is that, unless sacked, von der Leyen will be retired in a few years’ time, and so will Emmanuel Macron. We do not afford to arm Europe. And I must repeat it, we do not afford to rearm Germany.
In 2022, the EU Commission had no strategy to deal with the Ukrainian war. And they have no strategy now. EU citizens suffered from the bad decisions taken and pushed by von der Leyen in 2022. And EU citizens will suffer once again in 2025 and in the subsequent years. The security guarantees that were called by Russia in 2021, seem to be the basis of the peace agreement. It appears that for the time being, or perhaps indefinitely, Ukraine will not be able to join NATO. The EU will not be at the table for the peace talks. The biggest losers are Ukrainians and Europeans. The main author of such an ugly chapter in European Commission’s history, is none other than its president. I still remember her SOTU’s speech in 2022 stating that Putin will fail, and Ukraine and Europe will prevail. The European Parliament must push for von der Leyen’s removal.
Honestly, I believe that to secure a proper deal with the Americans and the Russians, and perhaps a win-win outcome for Ukraine, von der Leyen must go. And we need a proper interlocutor at the negotiating table. Sincerely, I can see her panicked and clutching to the straws. However, there can be no permanent peace if she stays on. Ursula von der Leyen is not the solution but the problem of Europe’s permanent peace. And the longer she stays the worse it will get.
