European Union is hypocritical and never takes a position on anything. In the world doesn't count much because all dictatorships know that european criticism, protests and opinion are just a facade. The reality is that Europe is more of a business committee than a political entity and cares only about money. Iran massacre opponents? Nevermind, contracts are signed, as usual.
Libya has always violates all human rights that it's possible to violate? Who cares, it has oil. China is pursuing in fact a slow genocide against Tibetans and Uighurs while supporting criminal regimes such as Burma and North Korea? Nothing to think about, European companies are doing great business there. Rather than Christian roots, Europe has very solid capitalist roots, and are the only ones that count. So even if a member state commits foul things Europe did not give a damn.
No wonder then that cares little that Italy, a founding member, is quietly slipping into a dictatorship that systematically violate international treaties on the reception of refugees. Today Berlusconi threatened them for a couple of opinions of certain European Commission spokesmen, one about the importance of freedom of expression and the other about international laws in fact violated by the rejections. But the spokesman of President Barroso stated that there was no intention to criticize Italy. Berlusconi so took the opportunity to say that the criticism of his government are the usual communist political exploitation, etc., etc..
We should not expect Europe to seriously criticize Berlusconi's government for its anti-democratic behavior and its violations of international laws, given that Europe has never even taken a clear stand against the dictatorship in Iran. It would be nice to say that it is out of respect for the internal affairs of other countries, but that does not seem a very convincing reasons. This is more a question of total disregard for what should be the founding principles of the European Union.
It's clear that all the the european rhetoric on human rights, democracy, freedom it's just a joke. Nothing new. Europe has always done business with all the worst dictators of the world without ever lifting a finger against anyone. Not that the U.S. are much better, because they too have supported several dictatorships around the world, but sometimes at least they took a clear stand against the most extreme cases.
We should not expect Europe to seriously criticize Berlusconi's government for its anti-democratic behavior and its violations of international laws, given that Europe has never even taken a clear stand against the dictatorship in Iran. It would be nice to say that it is out of respect for the internal affairs of other countries, but that does not seem a very convincing reasons. This is more a question of total disregard for what should be the founding principles of the European Union.
It's clear that all the the european rhetoric on human rights, democracy, freedom it's just a joke. Nothing new. Europe has always done business with all the worst dictators of the world without ever lifting a finger against anyone. Not that the U.S. are much better, because they too have supported several dictatorships around the world, but sometimes at least they took a clear stand against the most extreme cases.
It would be nice if there was a citizens' Europe that can require member States a decent level of democracy and press freedom, capable of welcoming refugees and immigrants, even illegal, without massacring them, able to resist to bloody dictatorships when it's appropriate to do so by threatening economic sanctions if necessary.
But the truth is that there is no Europe of citizens, there is only a Europe of bankers.
Francesco Defferrari
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