European “values and principles”
Macedonia is constantly being lectured about so-called “European values and principles.” So, let’s take a closer look at those “values and principles.”
In celebration of so-called “Europe Day,” the Italian Embassy in Macedonia tweeted out this inane statement: “This is a special #EuropeDay after the historic decision for [Macedonian flag emoji and the imposed name for Macedonia] to open negotiations. The EU has granted us all peace, freedom, democracy, stability, respect of human rights and development. Happy birthday, Europe!”
Can you spot the danger in that statement? The Italian Embassy in one tweet has exposed the worldview and thinking of those elites who worship at the altar of the European Union. They believe, passionately, that government — in this case, the European Union — actually “grants” freedom to its citizens, though “subjects” might be a better word. Actually, freedom, as the preeminent natural right, pre-exists governments, any government. And governments are instituted among and by the people to secure freedom and other rights, not to grant them. Everything else flows from the securing of those rights, including the ability of a people to create a democracy. To believe that governments “grant” such things is to acknowledge and admit that governments are our masters, not our servants which is completely backwards.
Moving on, and still on the subject of “Europe Day,” Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs el jefe, published a statement celebrating the day — “My personal take on the European idea” — as he titled it. It’s worth noting that Borrell is a member of the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party which he joined in 1975; the party jettisoned its Marxist ideology four years later in 1979. In his “personal take” Borrell writes, among other stupidities: ‘The history of Europe is one of fighting over borders. Millions have died as a result. Borders are therefore the scars of history. The genius of the European integration idea was to say, we stop fighting over where the borders are and instead focus on making them irrelevant. In fact, the EU has become the world champions in eliminating borders.” (One could say that the EU has also become a world champion in eliminating identities and trying to build new ones — the European man and European woman — much like the Soviet Union attempted to do.)
Let’s pick that paragraph apart: he states that the history of Europe is one of fighting over borders in which millions have died. On the face of it, that’s true. But the fighting did not occur in some abstract way as if peoples were merely fighting for land or water access or where a border post should be. The fighting happened because of ideologies and the fighting has occurred as long as people have inhabited the European landmass. So, borders are not the problem, as Borrell asserts; corrupt ideologies are the problem. And the current ideology of the EU and its elites is one of authoritarianism, as it sucks the sovereignty of the individual nation-states.
Which leads me to the “European values and principles” set forth in the so-called “Zagreb Declaration.” The Zagreb Declaration, issued on May 6, is a statement of the European Union and its members “in consultation with Western Balkan leaders.” It is a wonderful demonstration of the word “logorrhea,” which one dictionary describes as “excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness.” And it does address Macedonia, though without ever mentioning either “Macedonia” or, since this is the EU, Macedonia with the “N” word in front of it. This is quite a feat considering that the Declaration enshrines “European values and principles” and is, ostensibly, about the enlargement of the EU with the “Western Balkan” states though, ironically, the word “enlargement” does not appear once.
But when it comes to Macedonia, which it does not mention by name, the Declaration goes out of its way to mention Macedonia’s neighbors, specially Bulgaria and Greece and what Macedonia ostensibly owes them. The Declaration states, among other things, “Implementing bilateral agreements in good faith and with tangible results, including the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations with Bulgaria, remains important in this regard. Further and decisive efforts need to be devoted to reconciliation and regional stability, as well as to finding and implementing definitive, inclusive and binding solutions to partners’ bilateral disputes and issues rooted in the legacy of the past, in line with international law and established principles…”
In other words, the EU is determined to make Macedonia comply, fully and completely, with Bulgaria and Greece on their respective demands of Macedonia.
Zoran Zaev and his SDSM/DUI government will, if they remain in office, agree to every demand put forth by Bulgaria. Why do I know this to be true? Because they agreed to every demand put forth by Greece. And because the last line of the above-mentioned Zagreb Declaration states “We welcome that our Western Balkans partners align themselves with the above points.” Including Macedonia, though without saying so.
In the meantime Bulgaria continues to pile on with their demands, the latest example being that of former prime minister Sergey Stanishev, currently the leader of the Party of European Socialists, who recently stated “Zoran Zaev said that if they win the elections SDSM will faithfully implement the Prespa treaty with Greece and the Friendship treaty with Bulgaria. Bulgaria is vitally interested in having Zaev and the social-democrats win the elections…”
While it remains to be seen when elections in Macedonia will be called (early summer, mid-summer, early fall being the three possibilities), Zaev and his government continue to battle a growing host of scandals including the recent resignation of Dan Doncev, the director of the health fund (who has also been caught up in one of the many scandals), leaked audio tapes (you can listen to them here), showing just how corrupt Zaev really is and how in his pocket were — and remain — the various civil society organizations largely funded by the US Government, the EU and its various member states, and of course, George Soros (more, here and here).
Back to my original point: if all of this is what “European values and principles” entail, is that what Macedonia truly wants and desires?
