Any move to “wipe the slate clean” for Russia in a peace deal would be “a historic mistake of huge proportions,” the EU justice commissioner tells POLITICO.
Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Vladimir Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal.
In an interview with POLITICO, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution.
His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans to reintegrate Russia into the world economy.
I wish it was true, but the reality seems to disagree. Trump very much can pardon Putin and anyone else, and will do so if he wants to. The EU may cry, but it will do nothing about it. I’m not one bit happy about this, but that’s just how it is.
Currently, EU leaders consist of the following types of politicians:
Any time Washington wants something, they get it from us. Any time they tell Europe to bend over, it does so, lubricant in hand. Want us to completely illegally seize a Chinese company’s Dutch branch, leading to no benefits and severe sanctions from China? Done, daddy.
It’s a sad state of affairs, but current EU is not prepared to stand up for itself. A combination of US and Russian interference, as well as braindead far-right nationalists have made sure we’re powerless and unable to act on anything significant.
Empires simply cannot tolerate the existence of a place like the EU. It shows their citizens that they don’t have to be slaves and that not every single minute of life has to suck. Which in turn might cause them to protest, and we can’t have that. How many times have you heard the “employment in the USA vs employment in France” memes? Well, the American Empire has found a reliable solution to this issue. Just destroy France, along with all of Europe, and American slaves will stop complaining about shitty work conditions compared to France!
Category #3 is just as afraid of the lunatic nationalists as defying American interests. This is, from my perspective, why Europe has traditionally had some issues with ultranationalism.