The European Union’s early response to the struggle raging within the Center East solely served the US’ disruptive pursuits
By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst
European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen’s showboating in assist of Israel within the present Center East battle has reportedly provoked a backlash from EU lawmakers and diplomats.
When the Israel-Gaza struggle broke out simply over every week in the past, von der Leyen made the choice to supply unconditional assist to West Jerusalem fairly than urge for calm or mediation, having Israel’s flag projected onto the European Fee headquarters and paying a go to to Israel herself. She clearly did so out of an inclination to look consistent with the US. However her actions have aged poorly as studies of civilian deaths and humanitarian catastrophe within the besieged Gaza Strip proceed to mount.
Anybody aware of von der Leyen is aware of that she is an unapologetic neoconservative and transatlanticist who’s single-handedly undermining the autonomy, respect, and international coverage stature of the EU by actively working to make the bloc subordinate to the US in a number of areas, all whereas trying to showcase herself as a real regional chief. If the EU sees itself in a elementary competitors with China and Russia, there couldn’t be a worse advert to the remainder of the world than her management, and her Israel blunders could also be her most damaging selections but.
Von der Leyen’s international coverage legacy includes dragging the EU into a number of confrontations it might have performed with out. This week, she is heading to Washington DC to strive to forge a deal on metal and aluminum commerce focused at China, however that can in the end resort in throwing the EU market beneath the bus, once more. Different acts have included backing the American place on Ukraine and striving for full escalation of the struggle there, selling power decoupling with Russia, in addition to inventing the time period “de-risking” with China and searching for to undermine the bloc’s profitable relationship with Beijing. All through this, she has been repeatedly keen to tug giant sums of cash out of skinny air and suggest fantasy initiatives which quantity to little greater than posturing, and which her workplace alone will not be even capable of authorize.
For instance, that features providing Belarus billions if it goes forward with a US-backed regime change, or inventing quite a few “infrastructure” schemes to compete with China, such because the World Gateway, amongst different issues. She has thus repeatedly used the stature of her workplace to comply with American goals and attempt to form the continent with out establishing any sort of due consensus. Virtually instantly after the struggle in Gaza broke out, the European Fee introduced all EU support to Palestine can be frozen. No matter what you consider Hamas, with hindsight that call now seems spiteful, reactionary and inhumane, which tells you how briskly the Fee was to leap to the American place of unconditional assist for Israel.
However this time there’s a widespread feeling it has gone too far. Moderately than permitting Europe to have staked out a reasonable place on the Gaza battle, even when it might not be too sympathetic to Palestine, the choice was primarily outsourced to the US, discrediting the EU and solely serving to contribute to the rising backlash beginning to emerge amongst Muslim communities in response to the battle. For international locations akin to France, that is disastrous. This hurts the EU’s picture throughout the Islamic world and the World South by seemingly siding with the oppressors.
Quickly sufficient, a sequence of embarrassing U-turns adopted, together with the reinstatement of support, mixed with tweets in Arabic, however the harm had already been performed, as a result of Israel has lengthy been given the inexperienced gentle to pursue unparalleled destruction in Gaza, at seemingly no matter the fee. In doing so, von der Leyen has in truth undermined, in one more manner, the bloc’s means to current itself as a severe and complete political actor. She appears to don’t have any love for the concept the EU ought to have strategic autonomy and be able to calibrating its personal pursuits and place on this planet, and would like that it as an alternative be a easy parrot of the US.
After all, if she took into larger consideration the pursuits and positions of member states it might be much less of an issue. However she doesn’t and as an alternative primarily serves as a totally disruptive drive, in observe undermining European diplomacy and stopping the EU from constructing relations with a variety of states. Ultimately, this favors solely the US.
The statements, views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of the creator and don’t essentially symbolize these of RT.
Supply hyperlink
