The EU was once built on the idea that political decisions should be made at the lowest possible level. According to the so-called subsidiarity principle, which was meant to guide the project, issues of continental importance would be handled at the Union level, while national matters would continue to be managed by the member states.
In practice, Brussels’ meddling has shown itself to extend far beyond that — not only involving Swedish snus, Danish licorice pipes, Italian olive oil, Polish coal, and Hungarian paprika. Most recently, it has gone after wood-burning stoves, with new plans for extensive regulations on firewood heaters – something that, according to MEP Beatrice Timgren (Sweden Democrats) will cost Swedish cottage owners “hundreds of thousands of SEK”.
These individual issues may be minor in themselves, but they are also symptoms of a deeper and more serious affliction that clearly characterizes the EU establishment. Its anti-democratic development continues to be reflected in the flood of new legal texts and outright authoritarian directives that now permeate everything from agriculture to migration and energy policy. Member states that have stood firm by the principle of subsidiarity and national self-determination have come to be regarded by the EU Commission as enemies.
Hungary, in particular, has stood up to Brussels’ uniformity and threats of sanctions, rejecting the destruction of agriculture and the economy on the pretext of climate policy and geopolitics, and blocking the Union’s population exchange policy and rainbow propaganda aimed at children. By refusing to maintain the steady stream of arms shipments and billions in aid to Kiev, and instead focusing on diplomacy to stop the carnage of the Ukrainian war, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is now widely accused of serving the “enemy” and undermining the Union.
Outwardly, the EU celebrates “diversity” as something positive – but real diversity of opinions, values, and ideology is not tolerated.
The EU likes to present itself as a democratic institution – but in many ways, the reality is quite different.
Slovakia and Poland are other recent examples of countries that have felt the wrath of Brussels when their governments have similarly gone against the Commission’s uncompromising line.
30 000 lobbyists
EU defenders would argue that it’s the member states who appoint the Commission’s members and influence the Parliament through elections. To that, one must first add that the EU Commission’s stated mission is to act on behalf of the Union, not the individual interests of its member states. In the Parliament – which has limited power and is backed by low voter turnout – Sweden holds 21 of 720 seats. Even if all Nordic parliamentarians agreed on a specific issue, they would still have less influence than, for example, Spain or Poland.
Most problematic is that power in Brussels has been built into a labyrinth of institutions and bureaucrats, where ordinary people have extremely limited insight and ability to influence decisions. Those who can and do influence decisions in these complex corridors of power are the 30,000 well-paid professional lobbyists who are constantly present in Brussels – who are constantly present in Brussels – representatives of multinational corporations, the arms industry, pharmaceutical giants, and other special interests working hard to shape laws and regulations to ensure they benefit financially.
Swedish taxpayers, like citizens in other countries, mainly play the role of financing this machinery – with voices from the corridors of power continually calling for increased membership fees.
The big brother state
In recent years, the EU has increasingly and clearly moved toward becoming a postmodern Soviet superstate. A major focus is now placed on monitoring, mapping, and punishing thought criminals of various kinds, and the Union’s bureaucrats – through the Digital Services Act and other directives – are given the authority to massively censor “disinformation” – a vague term that in practice is used to suppress free public debate. “Chat Control” is another example, where the EU Commission wants all electronic communication to be decrypted, monitored, and reviewed in real time.
In recent years, the EU has increasingly and clearly moved toward becoming a postmodern Soviet superstate
Outwardly, the justification is that EU bureaucrats want to protect adults from “Russian hybrid operations” and children from online pedophile abuse – while experts warn that the legislation in fact leads to deeper mass surveillance, self-censorship, espionage, and increased distrust among citizens.
This is just a surface-level sample of all that is deeply dysfunctional with an EU that unfortunately now appears to be a colossus impossible to reform from within. It’s simply not enough for Party X to have a record election and win Y seats in the EU Parliament – even though such parties can, of course, be a breath of fresh air in an increasingly suffocating political atmosphere in Brussels.
The EU is not Europe
In its own propaganda, the EU continues to claim that it represents Europe, but it actually constitutes the antithesis of everything Europe traditionally was – and beneath the surface, still is. The EU and Europe are by no means synonymous and, in fact, have in many ways become direct opposites.
Mainstream media have dismissed more national-conservative currents as “Euroskeptic”, when in reality, it is the socially liberal establishment that are the real Euroskeptics. The driving forces of the Union have repeatedly shown that they are not friends of Europe’s nations and peoples – on the contrary, they have openly declared that they see no intrinsic value in them and view the dissolution of national sovereignty, identity, traditions, and cultures as a positive outcome in favor of liberal globalism’s rainbow flag.
The EU and Europe are by no means synonymous and, in fact, have in many ways become direct opposites.
Most people would agree that European cooperation and good relations between Europe’s nations are something positive and desirable – but that is something completely different from replacing Europe’s diversity with a totalitarian superstate under the leadership of globalists like Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, or Friedrich Merz. Additionally, these same EU elites have consistently pushed to bring tens of millions of non-European migrants into Europe – a project that has further fractured our countries in many ways and cast doubt on whether the indigenous peoples of Europe even have a meaningful future on the continent.
Let the EU Collapse
Corruption and lust for power are now built into the very walls of what must today be regarded as an institutionally corrupt, anti-democratic, and repressive organization that runs counter to true European interests. The only way to restore Europe’s freedom, national self-determination, and diversity is to dismantle the entire EU apparatus before this colossus destroys everything that makes Europe unique.
That both the Swedish Left Party (V) and the Sweden Democrats (SD) have abandoned their earlier explicit EU opposition is certainly regrettable – but it only reinforces the argument that new forces are needed to advocate for a Swedish EU exit. When this will happen remains to be seen, but in the meantime, there is no reason to complicate things. The sooner the plug is pulled on this completely failed project, the better. One day, when that’s done, something else and something better – something that truly serves the peoples of Europe – can be built in its place.
