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Qabil Ashirov

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The failure of the EU, which seemed very robust and powerful prior to the Ukrainian War, in coping with the biggest challenge in its history may surprise many around the world, but not Azerbaijanis. For years, we have observed and expected this ineffectiveness from the EU, whose actions often fail to match its rhetoric.

The speeches and behaviours of EU politicians reveal that they are hard to square with reality, floating among the clouds and living in a utopian world artificially fabricated by themselves. Instead of adopting practical foreign norms and policies to address all aggressors or violators of international orders, they engaged in favouritism by adopting arbitrary resolutions. Obsessed with the belief of being the smartest and most venerable on the Earth, they thought that nobody would dare to challenge them but would plead to be their lackeys. However, Russia turned everything on its head by attacking Ukraine in 2022. In the wake of Donald Trump's coming to power in America, it popped up that without the USA, the EU is nothing but a scarecrow.

More precisely, the willy-nilly behaviours of EU politicians and their haphazard policies had long hollowed out Europe, which once was the powerhouse of the world, and turned it into a paper tiger or a bureaucratic entity whose members cannot find common ground. No words can sketch out the current situation of Europe better than the words of Polish President Donald Tusk: 'Right now, 500 million Europeans are begging 300 million Americans for protection from 140 million Russians who have been unable to overcome 50 million Ukrainians for three years.’ For a month or two, several times a week, the leaders of the EU have come together to demonstrate that they are holding all the cards and can cope with the Ukrainian crisis without the USA, but they cannot put forward any palpable solutions. But will they be able to put forward any palpable and demonstrative action that will solve the crisis and prevent further Russian aggression? You bet, no! On the contrary, their indecisive and willy-nilly behaviour will induce Russia to push further.

To put things into perspective, when Armenia attacked Azerbaijan and grabbed 20 per cent of Azerbaijani lands, the EU sat on its hands, offering only lip service and calling on both sides to resolve the conflict through negotiations. When Russia attacked Georgia in 2008, the EU once again sat on its hands. However, when Russia attacked Ukraine and seized over 20 per cent, the same EU slapped sanctions on Russia, calling it the aggressor. This raises questions: ‘Is invading the territories of a neighbouring country considered aggression or not? If yes, why do you not address it against Armenia, which held 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territories under occupation over 30 years? If not, why do you address it against Russia?’

When Russia launched an attack on Ukraine in 2022, the EU countries froze all assets of Russian oligarchs. The EU is passing these actions off as justice. Moreover, discussions have arisen about confiscating the assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs (some believe that the oligarchs are straw owners of Putin’s assets) to give them to Ukraine as compensation. Meanwhile, Miriam Lexmann, a Slovak MP in the EU parliament, French Internal Minister François Bayrou, and other politicians are going to extreme lengths to put pressure on Azerbaijan and get Russian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan, straw-owner of Putin’s assets and of Armenian origin, freed by exploiting the adage ‘a leopard never changes its spots.’ Here, once again, questions arise: ‘Are Russian oligarchs guilty of Russian aggression against Ukraine? If yes, why do you stand with Ruben instead of freezing his assets? If not, why do you freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs worldwide?’

All these speak about the chaos within the Union and confirm that the EU politicians have long ago lost the plot. Concurrently, the EU politicians are trying to punish one aggressor strictly to prevent further aggression, and standing with another aggressor, more precisely Armenia. How do you think, can it work?