Grandstanding, self-righteous and hypocritical, what can possibly go wrong with the European Union under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas?
For a superstate bloc that supposedly stands for the rule of law, human rights and international justice, Brussels has given the lamest excuse of a response to the murderous American raid in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
European Commission President von der Leyen said the bloc was “closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela”, that it stood “with the Venezuelan people” and supported “a peaceful and democratic transition”. “Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter,” she declared.
“Closely monitoring”, “respect international law”? That’s diplomatic speak for doing absolutely nothing.
Nikolas Rajkovic of Tilburg University and Harvard Law School observed the double standard. For von der Leyen, “Ukraine was framed as an existential breach of order; Venezuela is treated as a crisis to be processed”, he wrote in the international law journal Opinio Juris. “Ukraine was not a test of whether law could constrain power. It was a test of whether law would remain the language through which power is judged. Venezuela answers that question.”
It ought to be clear that the enforcement of international law and sanctions is only for weak countries and enemies of the West. This is why Rodrigo Duterte and Maduro are in detention waiting for trial while US President Donald Trump and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu go their merry unrestrained way to pursue war and genocide.