“Chisinau Can Rest Easy”. Brussels Took Full Control of Romania

Christian RUSSU

Bonuses instead of criticism and sanctions: the outgoing administration in Washington and the Brussels bureaucracy “gave” visa-free travel and Schengen to Bucharest for abandoning democracy to prevent sovereigntist forces from taking power

Two weeks after the scandalous cancellation of the presidential election, the incumbent authorities in Bucharest got what they had imagined for so long. As if by magic, the hard-bitten Austria withdrew its claims to Romania’s full-fledged accession to the Schengen area. Brussels quickly formalized everything, so from the new year the long-standing issue of the “battle for Schengen” for Romanians will be over. It didn’t take long for positive news to come from across the ocean: United States has approved the visa-free regime. You can’t help but to remember the distant times of vassalage in Western Europe, while considering this situation. A suzerain rewards his vassal for his loyalty, but he cares little about the cost to his ward of maintaining power. These are rough waters, and war is a constant. If the vassal is threatened by rebels and revolutionaries, the suzerain must provide any assistance, including military one, to suppress any revisionist sentiments. In return, the vassal is a member of his lord’s council, performs military duty, and defends the borders of his dominions ... The Romanian expert and intellectual environment have long been raging with debates about the discriminatory attitude of the EU leadership and key countries of the community.  Bucharest has always been a “negligent pupil”, a beggar who has been forced time after time to abandon its national interests. Let us recall the issues of Ukrainian transit, with the Patriot air defense system taken away. All these were severe blows to the ego of the neighbors across the Prut. The domestic demand for the defense of national dignity has reached a new level after Hungary, a long-time rival, managed to break into world politics under Viktor Orban. How did a country with a smaller territory, no natural resources and no access to the sea manage to dictate its terms to the Brussels bureaucracy? How did it manage to become a mediator in the confrontation between Moscow and Washington? Why do even the Bessarabian Romanians refuse to follow Bucharest’s policy? These questions are increasingly stirring the minds of both the Romanian elite and ordinary citizens. Presidential candidate Calin Georgescu gave simple and straightforward answers (which is why he won the first round): the key lies in independent politics, where one must defy one’s suzerain, or even not listen to him at all. Of course, the globalist structures were obliged to suppress these manifestations of dissent in the bud, which they did. The European Commission claimed interference in the Romanian elections by launching an investigation against the social network TikTok. Total censorship is being introduced within the country. The National Audiovisual Council is cleaning up not only TikTok, but also YouTube and Facebook. It is shutting down opposition websites. The Minister of the Interior speaks of the “insanity” of the two million citizens who voted for Georgescu. The mainstream Western media echo him, calling the Romanian population “poorly educated”. We should not be surprised at the sudden courage of Marcel Ciolacu or the surprising insensibility of Nicolae Ciuca, who kept the half-collapsed coalition in the new parliament. The Alliance for European Integration - 3, formed under the pressure and control of EU officials, turned out to be like a copycat. The EU cares little about the consequences for Romania itself: how stable the new political arrangement will be and how it will affect the economy. If the international rating agency Fitch revises the country’s rating from “stable” to “negative”, Eurostat reports that Bucharest is approaching EU norms, at least in the category of purchasing power. The frantic search of the Romanian elite for a worthy place for their homeland in the new system of coordinates seems to have come to an end. Confusion, shock and prostration are visible in the public field. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the moment, Hungarian business is squeezing another asset in Romania in the form of E.ON Energie. Now, even at the level of public reflection, few Romanian politicians will want to say that Bucharest has been “reined in” without giving it the opportunity to claim more, and even robbed. Even right-wing radical forces like George Simion’s Alliance for the Union of Romanians seem to be picking up on these sentiments. In several counties AUR has suddenly started to form alliances with the ruling parties: somewhere with the Social Democrats, somewhere with the National Liberals. As if there would be no presidential election at all. At the same time, everyone realizes that the only possible candidate for the presidency after all that has happened will be Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union, an ardent supporter of the Euro-Atlantic course. None of the potential winners from the anti-systemic opposition will be allowed to participate in the elections. Under this scenario, Lasconi was even allowed not to participate in the creation of the ruling coalition and to continue criticizing her opponents. As an alternative, the mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan is proposed, who, however, holds similar views to his former USR party colleague: the lack of alternatives of the EU and NATO, support for Ukraine, etc. As far as relations between Brussels, Bucharest and Chisinau are concerned, the rule “my vassal’s vassal is not my vassal” has been in force for a long time. The EU overlooked Romania’s expansion on the left bank of the Prut, favorable to the gradual integration of Moldova into the European Union. However, after February 2022, our politicians managed to join the ranks of all other vassals of the “first level” with hysterics about “Russian threat”, unlimited solidarity with Ukraine and oaths of eternal loyalty. Since then, Romanian politicians have a very jealous attitude towards all visits of PAS representatives to European capitals. The zone of Bucharest’s exclusive interests became a subject of regional politics overnight. After what happened across the Prut, our political elite can breathe a sigh of relief. There is no longer any serious threat to its free position from its neighbors. At least, for the next few years it is possible to trade its subjectivity in promises to Brussels bureaucrats to fulfil their every whim, up to and including participation in military scenarios. After all, the latter requirement is the main obligation of any vassal to its suzerain.