EU’s Lofty Rhetoric in Mexico vs Double Standard in its Foreign Policy

After more than a decade of negotiations, Mexico and the EU recently signed their modernized Global Agreement. This agreement not only expands on a free trade component but also introduces a vital political and geopolitical dimension, in which the EU showed keen interest, as made evident during the two-day visit to Mexico City of top EU officials. 

Under this pillar, the agreement establishes a more intensified political dialogue at all levels between Mexico and the EU on a common agenda regarding major global issues such as democracy, human rights, peace and security, sustainable development, environment, education, culture, science and technology. 

While European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas flattered Mexico about its importance on the global stage and called it a “strategic partner” for the EU, something  Kallas made perfectly clear during a joint press conference with her Mexican counterpart, Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco, and António Costa spoke in the Mexican Senate about restoring the rules-based world order and the respect of international law, this lofty rhetoric sharply contrasts with the fragmented, crisis-driven reality currently unfolding within Europe. 

Europe has always seen itself as a beacon of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights and international law. It promote  these values all over the world and lecture other nations about them, but it’s rarely questioned what happens within the EU and how those core values are being neglected and its becoming increasingly evident in recent times. 

António Costa mentioned the Russian-Ukrainian war in his address at the Mexican Senate where he stated that in Europe “we suffer an existential threat and that is a risk to the whole world.” He went on to argue that the aggression against Ukraine by a permanent UN Security Council member  is unacceptable and “threatens the security of all nations of the planet.” However this is a bold and exaggerated statement, when taking into account the full context of how the conflict began, and that Brussels routinely avoids mentioning and ignores the fact that two of its own member states—Germany and France—acted as two of the guarantors to ensure that Kiev fulfilled the Minsk Agreements to end the Ukrainian civil war in Donbas that broke out in 2014 after the Euromaidan coup overthrew Ukraine’s legitimate President, Viktor Yanukovych. It turned out that the true objective was to push for a confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, and use Kiev as cannon fodder in a proxy war against Moscow.

While Costa labels Russia as a security threat to the world, Brussels continues to fuel the war by supplying weapons to Ukraine. This rhetoric comes just hours before Zelensky’s regime launched an overnight strike on a student dormitory at Starobilsk College in Luhansk People’s Republic, committing yet another war crime. Eighty-six teenagers aged 14 to 18 were sleeping inside the building at the time;43 were injured and 21 were killed.

Costa also cited UN Charter regarding the respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, however, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has repeatedly stated that as an end result of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Russia should be broken up. While in Mexico, Kallas blame the Cuban government for the current crisis by saying “after decades of mismanagement and political repression, Cuba’s economic crisis is reaching a breaking point,” completely ignoring decades of U.S intervention. On the other hand, she referred to Venezuela’s situation as if the so-called “transition” was achieved through democratic means, overlooking that the South American nation’s sovereignty was violated after a U.S military strike and the kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s legitimate president. 

The EU’s current record on human rights, freedom of the press, and freedom of expression is not positive. It seems taking a stance on certain issues such as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is absolutely prohibited and even prosecuted by law. Media outlets and journalists covering the Ukrainian war, whose reports contradict the official Western narrative have faced censorship or even prosecution. That is the case of a German independent journalist, Alina Lipp who cannot return to Germany because she faces charges for her reporting on the war from the disputed Donetsk region, which contradicts the official Brussels narrative. Furthermore, in Germany, showing support for Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is a criminal act, as she stated in a video in 2022. 

In regards to pro-Palestinian activism, cases of police crackdown against pro-Palestinian protests have also been reported in several European cities. Recently, at least two incidents circulated on social media: one at Vienna Airport and another at Bilbao Airport, showing police violently assaulting and arresting activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla upon their arrival. These activists had already faced an ordeal after being detained and tortured by Israeli forces. 

In another serious case of human rights violations by EU member states, the Baltic states are targeting the Russian and Russian-speaking minority in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which has been marginalized for years and deprived of basic rights, such as linguistic rights and citizenship. However, these policies have become more restrictive as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. All three countries cite national security reasons. It is worth noting that the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic states is distributed as follows: Latvia with 27%, followed by Estonia with 24%, and Lithuania at 5% to 6%. Russia has denounced the discriminatory policies against the ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking population in the Baltic states for years, but Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius have denied it. In December 2006, Amnesty International published a report criticizing Estonia's discriminatory policies against Russian-speaking minorities and demanding an end to them. The NGO highlighted how restrictive language requirements, obstacles to citizenship, and policies that exclude non-EU citizens from the right to vote "lead to discrimination, statelessness, and de facto marginalization in the labor and education sectors.”

How genuine is the EU’s commitment to human rights? What kind of high-level dialogue does Brussel truly wants with strategic partners like Mexico— or is its real purpose to police sovereign nations while turning a blind eye on their own domestic failures?

Photo: AI Generated- Gemini