As the third unfortunate anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine approaches, it is worth reviewing what has been achieved or, in this case, not achieved so far. Since the European Union eagerly inserted itself into this war, presenting it to the public as a matter of its own survival, which the same public equally eagerly accepted, it is an understatement to say that things have not gone according to plan. Three years later, the European economy is teetering on the brink of recession combined with stubborn inflation, and its economic engine, once the glorious Germany, is in free fall. As has been reported in this media, more and more companies in Croatia are feeling the consequences of this slowdown.
Furthermore, Europe has meanwhile become completely dependent on the USA in military, political, energy, and, de facto, every other sense, and the icing on the cake is the return of Donald Trump to power, who will maximize the aforementioned dependencies. In general, sanctions against Russia, which were based on the renunciation of Russian energy, have caused energy chaos in Europe and a situation where it is no longer clear who drinks and who pays. There is gas, there is no gas, gas is cheap, gas is expensive, some count on LNG, some on clear skies and a little wind, some on nuclear power plants, some on coal, some on oil, some on Russian, some on some other… Because of this, the already well-shaken European competitiveness is plunging at a rapid pace, and it is becoming increasingly clear that it is lagging far behind the more dynamic economies of the world. China is no longer visible on the horizon, the USA is about to slip away, and as things stand, soon we will be a fading image in the rearview mirror for those who are now looking at our backs.
Mockery and Rejections
Given that economic power usually translates into all other forms of power, or impotence into powerlessness, Europe has realized that it has never been less important on the global political stage. Wherever Europeans appeared and demanded or begged for understanding regarding the Ukrainian situation, they encountered mockery and smooth, sometimes even juicy, rejections. Indeed, it is hard to have friends when you have been raping more or less the entire world for centuries and boasting that in your empire the sun never sets. Former colonies have become states capable of looking after their own interests, just as they learned from Europeans and Americans. After a very long time, they have welcomed their moment, which is best reflected in the fact that practically the rest of the world, the Global South, as it is condescendingly called by the West, does not perceive the war in Ukraine as a relevant issue, because for them it is not. Europe and the USA can hardly count on what I call the ‘political West’, countries that are broadly part of the Western sphere (Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea…).
