Poland in Sweden

A translation of Prime Minister M. Morawiecki's article titled "Historical challenges and false directions for Europe at the crossroads" published on the 24.08.2022 in Svenska Dagbladet:

 

Historical challenges and false directions for Europe at the crossroads

 

The war in Ukraine has exposed the truth about Russia. Those who refused to see that Putin’s state has imperialist tendencies today have to face the fact that in Russia, the demons of the 19th and 20th centuries were revived: nationalism, colonialism, and totalitarianism. But the war in Ukraine has also exposed the truth about Europe. Many European leaders allowed themselves to be lured by Vladimir Putin and are in shock today.

The return of Russian imperialism should come as no surprise. Europe today is in such a situation not because it was insufficiently integrated but because it refused to listen to the voice of truth. The voice has been coming from Poland for many years.

The fact that the Polish voice is being ignored is just an example of the broader problem that the EU is struggling with today. The equality of individual countries is of a declarative nature. Political practice has shown that the voice of Germany and France counts above all. Thus, we are dealing with a formal democracy and a de facto oligarchy, where power is held by the strongest.

The safety valve that protects the EU from the tyranny of the majority is the principle of unanimity. Seeking compromise among 27 countries whose interests are so often in conflict can sometimes be frustrating, and the compromise may not satisfy everyone 100%. However, it guarantees that every voice will be heard, and the solution adopted will meet the minimum expectations of each member state.

If someone proposes that the EU’s actions should depend even more than before on German decisions – what would mean abolishing the unanimity rule – a brief retrospective analysis of German decisions should do the trick. If, in recent years, Europe had always acted as Germany wanted – would we be in a better or worse situation today?

If all of Europe would follow Germany’s voice, not only Nord Stream 1 but also Nord Stream 2 would have been launched for many months. Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, which today serves Putin as a blackmail tool against the entire continent, would be almost irreversible.

If all of Europe would send weapons to Ukraine on the same scale and at the same pace that Germany did – the war would have ended long ago. It would have ended with Russia’s absolute victory. And Europe would be on the eve of another war. Russia, encouraged by the weakness of its opponents, would move on.

Today, any voice from the West to limit arms supplies to Ukraine, ease sanctions, to bring “both sides” (that is, aggressor and victim) to dialogue – is a sign of weakness for Putin. And yet Europe is much stronger than Russia.

If we really want to talk about democratic values today, it’s time for a great reckoning of Europe’s conscience. For too long, the most important value for many countries has been the low price of Russian gas. And yet we know that it might have been so low because the ‘blood tax’ that Ukraine pays today was not added to it.

Defeating imperialism in Europe is also a challenge for the European Union itself. The EU faces increasing deficiencies in respecting the freedom and equality of all member states. We hear more and more that it is not unanimity but the majority that should decide the future of the entire community. Moving away from the principle of unanimity in subsequent spheres of EU activity brings us closer to a model in which the stronger and bigger dominate the weaker and smaller.

I appeal to all the European leaders for the courage to think in the categories adequate to the times we live in. And we are at a turning point. Imperial Russia may be defeated – thanks to Ukraine and our support for her. The victory in this war is but a matter of our consistency and determination.

Today’s circumstances force us to think in a different framework. We must have the courage to admit that the EU has not performed as it should in the face of the COVID crisis and the ongoing war. The problem, however, is not that we walk our path to integration too slowly and should rapidly accelerate this process. The problem is that this path per se is wrong. Instead of taking two steps forward, it is sometimes good to take a step backwards and look at a particular matter from a distance. The prospect of returning to the principles underlying the European Union seems the brightest one. The purpose is not to undermine but to reinforce them instead of building across them. Europe needs hope more than ever. And hope can only be found in return to principles, not strengthening the institutional superstructure.

 

https://www.svd.se/a/AL43Kj/polens-premiarminister-fel-att-overge-sann-demokrati-inom-eu