On December 20, the independent platform Our Days News held the closing annual international conference “European Geopolitical Security: Current Issues, Forecasts and Prospects.” The event consisted of three sessions:

• Europe's crisis: human rights, social and economic trends

• European security in the context of the crisis in Ukraine, the Palestinian-Israeli war

• New world order: what will it be like in the context of the development of the Global South?

The list of participants included:  Hicheme Lehmici, Geopolitical analyst Secretary of the GIPRI Geneva International Peace Research Institute (Geneva), Come Carpentier,  Distinguished Fellow India Foundation, convener of editorial board, World Affairs (France-India), Batko Slavisa, Milacic journalist, political scientist (Serbia and Montenegro), Patricia Huber, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (Austria-Brazil), Oleg Ivanov, Leader of the «Koos» party Estonia (Estonia), Ulle Pukk, Member of the «Koos» party Estonia (Tartu, Estonia), Dr. Adama Diabate geopolitical scientist (Mali), Lucija Mulej Budnjani (Austria), Lily Ong (Singapore/Swiss), Dayana de Silva (Brussels, Belgium).

Oleg Ivanov, the head of the Koos party, noted that on Tuesday, December 19, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution submitted by Russia on combating the glorification of Nazism and neo-Nazism. Forty-nine countries, including Ukraine, the United States, Canada and Japan, spoke out against the adoption of the document, while 118 countries supported the Russian resolution with 14 abstentions. The proposed resolution is particularly relevant now that in a number of European countries, above all in the Baltic states, neo-Nazi ideas enjoy tacit official support, just like anti-Russian sentiment. This is no joke.  Systematic persecution of political opponents of the current regimes, censorship, bans on independent media, and the spread of neo-Nazi sentiment within society with official blessing has become part of the state image of the Baltic countries. In Latvia and Estonia, since the 1991 Soviet breakup, hundreds of thousands of residents, even those born in Riga or Tallinn before 1991 or later, have been deprived of their citizenship. Currently, in Latvia there are about 220,000 people with the status of “non-citizen,” and 145,000 in Estonia.  There is an ethnocratic political regime, not a democratic one that began to quickly take shape there. The political forces in these countries seek to use “ethnic” legislation to make sure that non-Latvians cannot claim participation in government on equal terms with ethnic Latvians.

They also seek a political rehabilitation of Nazism. Thus, a few years later, encouragement of right-wing radicalism in Latvia by the international community led to the growth of neo-Nazi sentiment there. And not only in Latvia, but also in all the Baltic countries, and in other former Soviet republics too. Suffice it to mention that since 1994, every March 16, former soldiers of the Latvian Waffen SS Legion and their current followers march in a column formation through downtown Riga. Along with neo-Nazism, Russophobia also enjoys official support.

In a recent example, Zoya Palyamar, a resident of Estonia with 40 years of living in that Baltic state, traveled St. Petersburg in Russia, and on her way back home was told by Estonian border officials that her residence permit had been cancelled. As a result, she was deported to Russia.

Over 130,000 Russians are under the threat of deportation from EU countries, and have turned to Russia for help. Forty-two percent of them named Russophobia as the reason, and 24 percent - the deprivation of their rights.

The other Baltic countries stick to the same policy, having adopted laws that deny Russians the right of obtain entry visas, residence permits and the right to buy real estate, and in cases when they already have real estate, making it inaccessible or forcibly seized. All this means that democratic values, freedom of speech and conscience declared by the West can be trampled upon when dictated by political considerations. The bottom line is that such an attitude towards Russians, and tomorrow towards anyone, will depend on whose interests come first.

Ulle Pukk, from the Koos political party, spoke about the problems with freedom of speech and political freedoms of citizens in Estonia. She gave some examples of how the policies of the ruling elites negatively affect Estonians themselves. The government jacks up taxes on electricity and spends huge sums to fight Russia, while the country is paying several times more for imported electricity that it did before.

“We have been selling ourselves for political ideology. We just didn't learn.”

Speaking during the second session on the topic: “European security in the context of the crisis in Ukraine and the Palestinian-Israeli war,” Hicheme Lehmici, geopolitical analyst and Secretary of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute GIPRI (Geneva), noted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has left Europe divided since ordinary Europeans don’t like what Israel is doing despite propaganda and calls for supporting Tel Aviv’s actions. In a stark contrast with the situation in Ukraine, which has not always been covered objectively and honestly in the media, sometimes one-sidedly.

“We can see in 2 months Israeli army killed 2 times more civilians than the number of civilians killed during the 2 years of the war between Ukraine and Russia.” He noted that propaganda, media lies and the policy of double standards demoralizes the European public and divides society, which is not a creative path for Europe.

”And why the people are so mobilized now in France, for example, or in the United Kingdom... It's because there is a collapse of narrative you have in the Western countries with moral speech.”

In her report, Professor Lucija Mulej noted, “We need to question our grounding positioning and reembrace idea of “enlightened argumentation.”

People need to learn to understand and accept each other again. Recent tragic conflicts show that humanity has achieved serious technological progress, but without the desire to understand each other, things may degenerate into a series of bloody wars, with casualties and destruction. A lot depends on how the system of trust, which today is anthropological and existential, will be built.

Dayana de Silva, European researcher, gave a brief overview of the three main topics of the conference. Speaking about the crisis of Europe, she said, “The War on Ukraine and the aftermath of covid has taken an economic toll on the average European citizen. Prices have soared through the roof, for virtually everything but most importantly what the people need to survive, such as food, water, and gas. One of Belgium’s top provider, Engie, has nearly tripled the rate for consumption of gas and electricity. As we are part of a union, it is part of the decree we aid our allies during times of conflict, however we have been meddling in conflicts and aiding allies whom are not part of the Union. The European Union’s obedience and allyship to the United States, forces us to create hardlines with some  of our biggest natural resource suppliers, and in return the people suffer the consequences. However, to which end?”

Concerning the “European security in the context of the crisis in Ukraine, the Palestinian-Israeli war,” she said, “History shows that when conflict emerges, states directly involved, be it soldiers on the ground, sanctions, aid, compliance,  whether near or far, will almost always receive push back. In the case of the Palestinian-Israeli war, if we can call it that, Europe is playing a dangerous hand in the matter. The fear of potential domestic terrorist attacks is surging. In Brussels we have already had two attacks since October. Turning a blind eye and cult-like following (on the level of State) for allied nations, explicitly committing war crimes, and the dismissal of the domestic popular opinion in regards to the humanitarian crisis and carrying on, is a recipe for chaos.”

Commenting on the topic of the third session: “New world order: what will it be like in the context of the development of the Global South?” Dayana noted, “The development of the global south is a gravely yet important process. As the world is progressing and we are more than ever aware of the importance and the abundance of the global south holds, it is crucial that those states act diligently and start to leverage their resources and diplomacy in a beneficial way that fundamentally boosts their nation. As more and more West African countries unleash themselves from western states, specifically French influence, they can now attempt to fully be sovereign and create new allyship.”

In his address, Dr. Adama Diabate, geopolitical scientist and advisor to the Government of Mali, briefly described how France, together with Western Europe, are pursuing a systematic policy of plundering Africa, while forcing the African countries to use economic and financial instruments that hamstring their development. Touching upon the topic  of security in Africa and the role of the West and Russia in ensuring  security, Dr. Adama Diabate noted that Islamists do not appear just out of nowhere; they were created and supported by Western powers.

“For 11 years, jihadists have been on our land. This is what was brought to our land by the West. These people started a fire and then pretended to put it out. And now Russia has been here for a year and a half and we are increasingly controlling our territories.”

As the event draw to a close, all expressed that the Program offers a unique setting. It was agreed that this particular (or extended) format represents a unique opportunity. An enlightening, farsighted and engaging as the event was, it gave a lasting impression on the attendees and inked a top standard stamp for the Program's forthcoming rounds.

The mesmerising ship of insights and wisdom gets a full swing sail before too long again.

Chloé Bernadaux is an International Security specialist (Sciences Po Paris), writing on the neighbourhood policy, Euro-MED relations, and disarmament affairs. She is passionate about international conflict resolution, human rights, accountable governance, gender rights and the Middle East.