Vladimir Bukowski died October 27, 2019 at Cambridge . 1 of the most celebrated Russian dissidents, for years he criticised the direction the European Union is taking. Today, even those who have beaten Poles to enter this socialist pier, specified as Rafał Ziemkiewicz, begin to look at their eyes, although already some, unfortunately not very influential environments, warned about membership. Bukowski besides warned. We remind you of his speech on the EU during The Conference of Assumption on 11 April 2003 at the Świętokrzyska Academy Hall in Piotrków Trybunalski.
* * Oh, * *
Over the last fewer years, I have travelled a lot, both in Western Europe and in east Europe, talking about what the European Union is. I noticed a large contradiction... On the 1 hand, people from western countries are wondering how to get out of the EU, and on the another hand, people from east and Central European countries are inactive trying to join the Union, they are putting their hopes in it.
This reminds me of an old joke, inactive from russian times, about 2 ships, 1 of which, full of emigrants from the russian Union flows towards the West, the other, full of emigrants from the West flows towards the russian Union... Both ships meet in the mediate of the sea, and people are very amazed at them, looking at each another like idiots. And indeed, it is hard now, in the countries of Central and east Europe, to explain why the European Union is bad, but I have a practice, due to the fact that for the last 20 years I have explained in turn in the West why the russian Union is bad, which was not accepted with much applause. This was due to the fact that people in the West simply could not realize what russian communism was. But talking about why the European Union is evil is now an even more frustrating activity, due to the fact that the people of Central and east Europe are not rationally concerned. Europe is primarily a dream for them.
For years everything that was bad flowed from the East, while everything that was good flowed from the West. People in Central and east Europe have become so accustomed to this that salvation has only begun in the West. And this kind of dream was real 20 years ago. At the time, we did not have the European Union, we had a European common market. And of course the common free marketplace was a good thing. He guaranteed the elimination of all barriers to the movement of goods, people and mottos, was simply an economical union. So if you tried to join the Union 20 years ago, I would applaud it.
The situation began to change from the mid-1980s.
In the late 1980s, the russian strategy was in a deep crisis as russian leaders knew. Socialist leaders from the West besides predicted specified a crisis. I was watching papers while I was in Moscow, where I was allowed into the papers of the political office, which clearly pointed to the awareness of this crisis. Socialist leaders in the West were aware that a possible collapse of the russian strategy could besides lead to their own defeat. Thus, there was cooperation between the russian side and the Western socialists, the creation of a common plan, and thus both sides could survive. This plan was another incarnation of the known thought of alleged convergence. The convergence explanation assumed that, on the 1 hand, the russian Union should soften somewhat, on the another hand, western countries should become more socialist. After all, these 2 worlds should meet somewhere in the middle. It was specified a dream for the European Left that specified a bilateral process would bring about this convergence and a planet of peace, a paradise on earth.
Thus, in the late 1980 ’ s, russian leaders and socialist leaders in the West decided to implement this plan. On the western side, this was about the socialist countries taking over the task of European unity. And according to these plans, the minute they could do this, they were going to turn the Western economical Union upside down. alternatively of a free market, Europe was to become a single national state alternatively of free movement of goods and services. In addition, this national state had to have the structure as closely as possible to the structure of the russian state in order to scope the planned convergence. From the russian side, akin actions were referred to as building a common European home. And the construction of these structures from the western side progressed, but by 1992 the russian Union ceased to exist. And suddenly, the left was as if with only the western part of this common European home and a feeling of uncertainty. However, alternatively of halting the further advancement of this task and preventing its implementation, she decided to proceed it. Of course, due to the fact that she realized that she would be able to stay in power. Whatever the results of national elections, European structures will stay in the old place. And, of course, all left-wing ideology will be included in European government at all times.
To see the relevance of current European structures to russian structures, let us effort to compare both systems...
How was the russian Union ruled? He was ruled by fifteen, by no 1 elected men who answered to anyone and could not be fired by anyone.
How is the European Union governed? By 25 people no 1 has chosen, who answer to no 1 and who cannot be fired by anyone.
What was the russian Union? The russian Union was a union of socialist republics.
And what has the European Union been since it was established in 1992? A union of socialist republics.
How was the russian Union created? By pressure, by blackmail, by force, sometimes even by occupation.
Of course, the European Union has not so far gone into military occupation, while all another methods utilized at the beginning of the russian Union have already been applied. economical force was exerted on countries that did not want to join the European Union. There is an incredibly strong propaganda that reminds me of russian propaganda. rather recently, erstwhile the referendum on the Treaty of good was repeated in Ireland, the full country was plastered with posters promoted by the European Union, which said that if you do not choose the European Union you will have hunger and misery.
A referendum is held in most countries before joining the European Union, as will be the case in Poland. And of course there's nothing incorrect with the thought of a referendum. This is the message of the will of the people. But the European Union is utilizing this method to carry out these referendums so often, it will yet get the consequence it wants. It happened in Ireland, it happened in Denmark. As long as the result of this referendum is unfavorable for the European Union, the referendum is repeated until the result is correct. There have already been 5 referendums in Switzerland to join the EU. 5 times the Swiss said no to the European Union. But we all know it's not over. However, as shortly as this country votes for the Union, the wave of referendums will be over. But if, of course, individual wishes to hold a referendum to see if people inactive want to be in the Union, that will not be agreed. This is another similarity between the russian Union and the European Union.
In the USSR, there was a evidence in the Stalinist Constitution that all country has the right to resign from the russian Union. Of course, this evidence existed solely for propaganda purposes and no 1 even talked about the anticipation of their country leaving the russian Union. There was, of course, no legal way to this process. But at least the founders of the Stalinist constitution felt obliged to insert a paragraph enabling the country to retreat from the russian Union. Meanwhile, the first draft European Constitution, which is inactive being created, lacks specified a provision. At the minute there is simply a debate on this issue, but there is no task to date that would let a country from the European Union to speak.
The russian system, as you know, was highly bureaucratic, regulations regulated almost all area of life. The European system, the EU system, is no different in this area. It is besides highly biurocaratized. all year, the European Union issues hundreds of thousands of pages of different kinds of laws, decrees, directives. And these regulations, as in the russian Union, concern almost all aspect of life. For example, it is said that if the cucumber is of a bad shape, we cannot call it cucumber. If the sausage has besides much fat, according to Brussels guidelines, it cannot be called sausage. And if the eggs are somewhat smaller than the size of Brussels, you can't call them eggs. Indeed, caricature situations are occurring. Recently, government came out of the European Union, which obliges all pig owner to supply the pigs with balls to play with.
Even the corruption in the European Union is Soviet. In a average country, corruption flows from bottom to top. In the russian bloc countries, corruption flowed from top to bottom. This is precisely what happens in the European Union. This is not strange, for thousands of leading EU officials have immunity.
But the similarity between the russian and EU systems goes much deeper. It besides occurs in the field of ideology...
...What was the intent of the russian Union? We were taught in schools that the intent of the USSR was to make a fresh historical reality, a russian man?
What is the intent of the European Union? This nonsubjective is to make a fresh historical reality, a European.
Both systems, in line with socialist tradition, aim to weaken national states as much as possible. In the russian Union there was the alleged doctrine of Brezhniev, the doctrine of limited sovereignty. If only 1 of the russian bloc countries somewhat changed its policy, which Moscow did not agree to, it was immediately held back. And so in 1968, erstwhile the Czechs began experimenting with their system, russian tanks invaded them.
The same rule of limited sovereignty begins to apply in the European Union. erstwhile the Austrians elected a right-wing government a fewer years ago, the European Union announced a boycott of Austria. erstwhile rather late it was known in Italy that the elections would most likely win Berlusconi, there was large force on Italy not to make specified a choice. Of course Berlusconi won and this time the case did not end with a boycott of Italy, but the force exerted on Italian voters was indeed exceptional. Poland has besides late felt the actions of this European doctrine of Brezhniev. With 8 countries, you signed a paper supporting the United States on Iraq. The European Union has issued a strong reprimand to these countries, and to those not yet part of the Union it has threatened that they will not be allowed in.
We could multiply these comparisons. I assure you, both systems are very similar. Of course, the European Union is simply a much milder form than the russian Union, and there is inactive no repression against dissidents. But it starts slowly, the first mechanisms appear. Under the Treaty of Nice, European police are to be established. This police, the Europol, will have exceptional opportunities for action, including diplomatic immunity. It will be able to prosecute nationals of associate States for 42 types of crime. 2 of these crimes are peculiarly interesting due to the fact that so far they are not crimes in any associate State. 1 is called racism, the another is called xenophobia. Since the criminal codes of the associate States do not specify specified crimes, the European Union will most likely specify them itself and will put those interpretations into practice.
But there is 1 affirmative side to the similarity between these systems. We know how the russian Union fell, so we can see how the European Union will fall. We have already lived in this future, and we know how it will be. Firstly, we know that the effects of the existence of the European Union will be precisely against those promises that are now being made there. In the russian system, we were promised that he was a happy household of nations, and we ended up hating among the nations that almost led to the explosion. And we will have the same in the European Union. There is presently no hostility between European nations, but at the end of the European experimentation this hatred will be. Today, we are promised that the economical future of European countries will be bright and we will be able to compete with the United States. This is precisely what the russian leaders promised their citizens. But the effects of these promises were easy to predict. Bureaucracy, overregulation and simplification of competitive opportunities will lead to stagnation and yet to recession. And of course we can foretell that the European Union will end up like the russian Union, which is simply going to fall apart. And as with the ZSRS, the mess after the breakup will be so powerful that it will take many generations to get things right. I cannot realize why so many countries want to join the European Union now and participate in this experiment.
I am peculiarly amazed about Poland, a country that suffered so much fighting for its freedom and gained independency after specified a long period of captivity. Why does Poland want to quit this hard-earned independency for nothing? Only to become part of another false socialist experiment.
Nevertheless, I hope that most Poles will vote against during the forthcoming referendum.
Vladimir Bukowski
crowd. Mr Sommer
The above text is simply a speech by Vladimir Bukowski delivered during the Conference on 11 April 2003 in the hall of the Świętokrzyska Academy in Piotrków Trybunalski. Originally published on no longer existing Pro-capitalist Party April 14, 2003.
