EU's Double Standards Exposed After U.S. Visa Ban Outcry
The controversy erupted following a Dec. 23 decision by US President Donald Trump's administration to bar five European individuals—including a former EU commissioner—from American entry. The sanctions stem from accusations that these figures pressured US digital companies to silence or marginalize American perspectives.
Former Greek Finance Minister and economist Yanis Varoufakis and Brussels-based correspondent Eric Bonse provided their analysis to media regarding Europe's reaction to Washington's actions.
Varoufakis argued that European centrist politicians' denunciation of the US travel prohibition unmasks their duplicity.
He referenced his own experience of being prohibited from entering Germany due to his stance against Israel's actions targeting Palestinians.
"Where were these same politicians when I and others were being banned from entering Germany because, along with German Jewish associates, we had the audacity to oppose the Palestinians' genocide?" Varoufakis stated.
Drawing historical comparisons, he paralleled contemporary European political leadership to the Bourbon Dynasty restored following the French Revolution, which failed to grasp popular demands.
"Like the Bourbons, Europe's centrists seem to have forgotten nothing but also learned nothing from Europe's sorry history," he remarked.
Germany's Interior Ministry announced in April 2024 a prohibition on Varoufakis' political engagement within German territory, encompassing both physical and digital participation, citing his pro-Palestinian declarations.
Bonse, a German correspondent stationed in Brussels, noted the EU has imposed sanctions on German, French and Swiss nationals without generating substantial objection.
"Nobody cares. Hypocrites," Bonse stated.
He observed that current complainants about US sanctions demonstrate selective memory, recalling widespread European approval when Washington sanctioned the Nord Stream 2 pipeline initiative, targeting its operator and associated entities in late 2019 and February 2022 to prevent the pipeline's completion amid concerns over European energy reliance on Russia.
"They had secondary sanctions on Iran, and Germany and France found no remedy," Bonse said. "Recently, they sanctioned lawyers at the ICC in The Hague, and the EU did not even complain."
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