Tag: eu

The European Powder Keg: ‘Bosnia Is a Failed State’ 

Bosnia is on the brink of collapse following the sentencing of Milorad Dodik for defying the United Nations High Representative.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the Western Balkans, is bordered by Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. It is home to three main ethnic groups: Bosniak Muslims, Catholic Croats, and Orthodox Serbs.

The breakup of Yugoslavia and the war that followed left the country in ruins, with thousands of victims and deep ethnic and religious divisions. 

The war, which began in 1992, ended with the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which divided the country into two federal entities: the Republic of Srpska, primarily inhabited by Orthodox Serbs, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, shared by Bosniak Muslims and Catholic Croats.

The Dayton Peace Agreement, however, failed to provide a long-term solution for Bosnia. As Tamás Orbán of the European Conservative aptly points out, “Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a country; it’s a ceasefire between three nations pretending to be one, and it may soon come to an end.”

A few weeks ago, a court found Republic of Srpska President Milorad Dodik guilty of defying the authority of Bosnia’s UN High Representative, Christian Schmidt. He was sentenced to one year in prison and barred from holding public office for six years.

The court’s ruling has plunged the country into a constitutional and political crisis unlike any seen since the end of the war.

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100,000 Protest in Belgrade, Serbia Demanding Democratic Leadership Step Down – Pro-EU Activists Caught on Video Plotting Violence before Rally – Government Fires Stun Grenades at Crowd

On Saturday, March 15, 2025, an estimated 100,000 Serbians and others held one of the largest protests in Belgrade in history.

The demonstrators called on the democratically elected government led by President Aleksandar Vucic, to step down. The protesters accused the government of corruption.

In truth, Serbia officially aspires to EU membership, but the current leadership is strengthening its ties with Russia and China. This is forbidden for The EU called for the safety of protesters and the avoidance of violence. The opposition is likely to support integration with the EU, but its position on Ukraine remains unclear.

President Aleksandar Vucic is expected to address the nation at 10 PM.

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EU Retaliates to Trump Steel & Aluminum Tariff by Imposing 50% Tariff on U.S. Spirits

A friend in the spirits business just sent me the following statement:

Distilled Spirits Council President and CEO Chris Swonger Statement in Response to the EU’s Announcement to Reimpose Tariffs on American Whiskey

It seems to me that EU leaders are being weenies once again. Trump imposed tariffs on the importation of EU steel and aluminum into the US because he wants to protect the U.S. steel and aluminum industries. Note that the EU has long maintained 20% VAT and other import duties on American steel and aluminum products, as well as all other US products imported into the EU.

Instead of negotiating about steel and aluminum—which most serious people regard as strategic industries that are critical for maintaining national security—the inveterate weenies at the EU decided to punish the American spirits industry by announcing a 50% import duty.

Punishing Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey distillers strikes me as grossly political, given that these spirits—which are very popular in Europe—are distilled in states that strongly supported Trump in the recent election.

In response to this announcement, Trump threatened to 200% tariff on all alcoholic beverages produced in the EU. I suspect that such a tariff would be absolutely devastating for the German beer industry, the French wine, champagne, and cognac industries, and for the Italian wine industry.

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Record dropouts in Bundeswehr as delusional EU/NATO still mulls going to Ukraine

It’s no secret that Western militaries have suffered from poor recruitment for years. Virtually all EU/NATO members have this problem and there are no signs it will go away any time soon. Worse yet, they are now faced with record dropout rates, which is threatening the integrity of their armed forces. Despite all this and for some inexplicable reason, the EU/NATO still wants to pick a fight with Russia, a “noble democratic endeavor” that would require many times more troops. However, as previously mentioned, their ability to even retain (let alone attract) soldiers remains highly questionable. Namely, the latest reports confirm that 25% of new recruits in the German Bundeswehr drop out after only six months of service.

According to Financial Times, personnel shortages are “pushing troops to a breaking point”. The report cites Eva Högl, the Commissioner for the Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) in the German Parliament (Bundestag), who pointed out that “despite some success in recruitment, poor   meant that the armed forces had come no closer to meeting their target of having 203,000 soldiers by 2031”. As a result, this number dropped to just over 181,000. FT laments that “this comes at a time when Germany is pledging to do more to bolster Europe’s own defenses in the face of a potential US retreat from the continent”. It should be noted that Washington DC has anywhere between 50,000 and 84,000 troops deployed in Europe.

It’s virtually impossible to imagine Bundeswehr being able to deploy even 10% of that outside of Germany. Worse yet, while US soldiers are often very young (teenagers or in their early 20s), the Bundeswehr is “shrinking and getting older”, as Högl pointed out. In her annual report on the state of the German military, she lamented that “the average age had risen to 34 years — up from 33.1 years in 2021”.

“This development must be stopped and reversed as a matter of urgency”, she stated, adding: “I said the troops are challenged, but they are also very overburdened. I’ll go as far as to say they’re at breaking point. When we look at where our Bundeswehr is needed — for national defense, [NATO] alliance defense, international crisis management — it is a lot. And it really is at the limit.”

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Zelenskiy Cozies Up To Turkey As Erdogan Sees Chance To Finally Join EU, Zelenskiy WILL NOT Hold Elections

The former Ottoman Empire – Turkey – firmly ensconced in a Islamist frame of mind, as it supports the former Al Qaeda members running Syria and slaughtering Christians, sees its chance to finally be part of the EU tyrannical club with the issue of Ukraine.

As America pulls back from the brink, Turkey is a possible benefactor for Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, now that further massive American ‘aid’ is not likely.

But it will come with a cost for Ukraine. After all, Ukraine does need men.

Zelenskiy said yesterday that Ukraine saw Turkey as a partner in security guarantees for his country, and added that Kyiv was ready to ratify a free trade agreement between the states.

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EU Accuses Trump of ‘Blackmailing’ Zelensky!

Yesterday’s pacifists are today’s Rambos, it seems: 442 lawmakers in the 720-seat European Parliament just agreed to a joint declaration that “strongly deplores any attempts at blackmailing Ukraine’s leadership into surrender to the Russian aggressor for the sole purpose of announcing a so-called ‘peace deal.’”

It passed via landslide: 61%.

Not all EU politicians supported the measure:

Melonian Nicola Procaccini, co-chair of the Conservatives (ECR), had tried to delay the vote arguing that a strong stance by the chamber would risk undermining the delicate ongoing discussion between the United States and Russia on the conditions of the ceasefire that were agreed yesterday in Jeddah — on which the Kremlin has yet to officially comment — casting a negative light on the efforts of the star-studded administration.

But the parliament rejected his request, and thus the joint resolution submitted by EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew and Greens (which followed a debate last February) passed with 442 votes in favor, 98 against and 126 abstentions.

Which means, less than 14% of our “friends” in the EU had the testicular fortitude to oppose this brazenly anti-American statement. Thanks, guys.

But perhaps we’re being unfair. Perhaps the EU genuinely, sincerely opposes browbeating a democratic nation — especially one that was just invaded and attacked! — into accepting a permanent, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire. Perhaps this isn’t another example of our European “friends” acting selfishly and cowardly, but a heartfelt moral position.

Nah:

Fun Fact: Just one year ago, this is the same European Parliament that demanded Israel commit to a ceasefire in Gaza!

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800 billion euros of delusional promises

Von der Leyen has accustomed us to her grandstanding nihilism and disconnection from reality. Listening to her, one might sometimes get the impression that she sees herself as a kind of a god of creation, capable of transforming everything into matter with the mere power of her words. But of course, this is not true! The Russian economy has not collapsed in “tatters”; in fact, it has shown remarkable resilience, with wages growing at their highest rate in 16 years (a 21.6% increase compared to March of last year, and an 11.3% real growth after inflation—a dream for any Portuguese citizen), with the average wage expected to reach $1,113 by 2025, while everything remains cheaper than in any EU country.

It is also not true that the Russians have been stripping semiconductors from washing machines, nor is it true that the G7 has blocked Russian oil exports with their oil caps. In fact, Russia has never exported as much oil as it does today. The broker Ursula von der Leyen was also wrong when she claimed that the U.S. had the cheapest LNG—why would Trump want to lower prices now?—urging European countries to buy more shale gas, in violation of the European corporate sustainability directive, which requires suppliers to comply with environmental sustainability rules. As is well known, shale gas is extracted through fracking, a method highly damaging to the environment and banned in the EU. It seems that for the unelected president of the European Commission, directives are applied according to her whims.

But the latest delusion from the European Commission president is the announcement of a “massive boost”—as she loves these Americanized propaganda slogans with supposed creative power—to European military spending, which has already been increasing over time, but now she proposes to raise it by an additional 840 billion euros. It’s worth noting that she was Germany’s Defense Minister, during the scandal involving the sale of Trident submarines to Portugal, a deal that led to the imprisonment of several intermediaries. During that time too, von der Leyen, when investigated about several businesses, said that she lost the cellphone which helped her avoid jail. Similarly, during her time at the European Commission, she was involved in the vaccine procurement scandal. Certain character traits never disappear, and it’s a pity that these are the traits that determine who gets chosen for such positions. To our detriment.

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Europe has gone mad

The EU’s obstinacy regarding the Ukraine issue is striking and demonstrates a profound disconnect from reality. The war is lost, yet Europe appears oblivious to this fact. Instead of acknowledging defeat, EU politicians, in their deluded state, seem to be plotting a second phase of the conflict. They claim they can win this war without U.S. support, but what if they fail? Will they then beg for a ceasefire?

Let us revisit history. The Minsk 1 and 2 agreements, signed between Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia (2014-2015), were meant to halt the fighting and grant the Donbass region some form of autonomy within Ukraine. However, Zelensky, despite his election promises of rapprochement with Russia, had other plans. He aimed to reclaim Crimea and bring the Donbass under his control, escalating the bombing campaigns. By January 2022, the bombardment of Donbass intensified, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, particularly in Donetsk.

It later emerged that the former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the U.S. (under the Biden Administration) had instructed Zelensky not to make peace with Russia. We recall the negotiations in Turkey that led to the Istanbul Communiqué, which proposed that Ukraine abandon its NATO aspirations, impose military restrictions, and secure Western support in case of aggression. The talks nearly reached an agreement, with both sides considering significant concessions, but abruptly halted in May 2022. The West, uninterested in peace, sought Russia’s downfall, and the process was derailed following the alleged “false flag” incident in Bucha.

With the arrival of the new administration under the leadership of Donald Trump, efforts are underway to broker a sustainable peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia – not merely a ceasefire, but lasting peace. However, Ukraine’s stance has stalled progress. While the U.S. claims it doesn’t need Ukraine or Europe for peace, this is, of course, nonsensical. The resolution must come from Ukraine and Russia, even if the U.S. (under the Biden Administration) instigated the conflict. A peace treaty or capitulation is essential.

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Report Suggests U.S. Will Cease Future Military Exercises in Europe

According to reports, the U.S. has conveyed to its allies that it does not plan to participate in future military exercises in Europe.

Exercises scheduled through 2025 are not impacted by the freeze.

Swedish outlet Expressen reports, “If the ruling remains in force, it means that Sweden and the rest of the NATO member states will have to plan exercises without the participation of the United States or small American units in the air force.”

Per Expressen: (via Google Translate)

The information is scarce, but the announcement concerns exercises where the US is an important piece of the puzzle for the entirety of the exercise activities in Europe and, by extension, the defense of the European continent.

According to Expressen’s sources, the American planning freeze does not apply to exercises that have been decided to be carried out in 2025.

It concerns exercises that are currently on the “drawing board”, i.e. a little further ahead, says one of Expressen’s sources.

If the announcement stands, it means that Sweden and other NATO countries are forced to plan exercises without American participation or with only small American units in the exercises.

The news, if accurate, underscores President Trump’s position regarding NATO countries and his criticism of their failure to meet the current goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense.

President Trump has asserted that the U.S. accounts for over 70% of NATO’s funding.

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Europe faces ‘nightmare scenario’ on Ukraine, as diplomat says countries must pay for defense ‘every day until Trump is dead’

European leaders are finally waking up to the “nightmare scenario” that they face on the Ukraine war — and realizing that they now have to foot the bill for their own defense thanks to President Trump’s “America First” policies, diplomats said.

After years of slacking off on defense spending, Europe now needs to rearm massively “until Trump is dead,” a European diplomat was quoted as telling Politico.

“Defense spending is becoming a fixed cost. We have switched off the sun and now we need to pay every day for the heating. Every day you need to pay for ammunition, at least for several years, until Trump is dead,” the anonymous diplomat said.

The dire assessment comes as European leaders are set to meet Thursday for a summit on the Ukraine war with the hopes of coming up with an agreement that will give them some say in a peace deal.

“The nightmare scenario is that the US announces a deal soon that accepts most of Russia’s demands and then tells Ukraine and Europe to take it or leave it,” Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told Politico.

During his election campaign earlier this year, Germany’s Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz told voters that the continent is “five seconds to midnight” when it comes to its own defense. French President Emmanuel Macron said Europeans need “an incredible awakening.”

Macron spoke out in opposition to Trump’s ceasefire negotiations on Ukraine and also warned that Europe’s relationship with the US had changed, in a drastic ramping up of tensions.

Peace “cannot be achieved at any cost, under Russian dictates, or through Ukraine’s capitulation,” he told his nation in a TV address on Wednesday.

“We have to be ready if the US is no longer by our side,” he added.

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