The Decline And Fall Of The EU Empire — latest Economic Slide To Zero Revealed And A Wittering EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen Insulting Ukraine.

Graham Charles Lear
13 min readFeb 5, 2023

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A three-part investigation into the EU.

Part One.

The decline and fall of the EU empire — latest economic slide to zero revealed.

EU’s stats body goes all coy and quiet on the latest GDP figures, so I shout them out

On Tuesday (31 Jan 2023) the EU Commission’s official statistics agency, Eurostat, was due to release its latest report on GDP in the EU for the final quarter of 2022. I waited expectantly. No report appeared all day.

Frustrated, in the end, I delved into Eurostat’s database. Hey presto, there were the new figures. So, they had published the numbers where very few people would look, but inexplicably the news report which usually comes with these had not materialised.

EU27’s economic growth falls to 0% in the final quarter of last year.

© EU Commission

Looking at the numbers, one can see why they failed to produce a report. In our summary below, I reveal the decline in the EU’s economic fortunes last year.

  • 2022-Q1 : 0.8%
  • 2022-Q2 : 0.7%
  • 2022-Q3 : 0.3%
  • 2022-Q4 : 0.0%

[Source: Eurostat GDP figures for Q4 2022.]

As you know if you read my articles I follow Germany's troubles as it gives a very good indication of how the EU as a whole is doing

EU’s economic powerhouse, Germany, went negative

In the final quarter of last year, Germany’s GDP growth figure dropped to -0.2%. For this to happen to the EU’s №1 economy — by far — must be cause for concern in the EU.

This one country out of the EU27 accounts for almost a quarter of the EU’s entire economy.

The best one can say is that Germany’s decline was not as bad as that of its neighbour, Austria. Austrian GDP fell by 0.7% in the last three months of 2022.

I find it interesting that the EU’s statistics agency hasn’t yet produced one of their gushing news reports on the latest EU growth figures, although it was due out on Tuesday. There has been no explanation for the delay. Nor whether it will appear at all.

In the words of the legendary American singer-songwriter Don MacLean: “Not a word was spoken. The church bells all were broken.”

It was only by delving into their database that I found they have put the EU’s growth in the final quarter of last year at 0.0%, i.e. no growth.

I am pleased to have been of service to the EU Commission in promulgating the figures….

How can Rejoiners seriously campaign to rejoin the EU after reading all this?

Proud Brexit Britain has been shining like a beacon of light compared to the EU, not that you would know thanks to the Pro BBC

Deceit, hypocrisy and betrayal are revealed.

EU sanctions?

What EU sanctions?

How the EU has been funding Putin’s Russia to the tune of €250 bn since the war started

And the EU27’s sales to Russia have rocketed by +40% in just nine months

Brexit Britain has once again shown the EU how it should be done

(And we couldn’t have done this if we had still been a member of the EU.

Part two

Following my investigation of the official EU data above, I present the second part of our three-part series entitled “How can anyone seriously campaign to rejoin the EU?”

Today’s second part in this series is a deeply shocking report which explodes the EU’s claims of virtue and saintliness. It concerns the EU and Putin’s Russia. I can reveal that the EU’s supposed ‘sanctions’ on trade with Russia since his illegal invasion of Ukraine are little more than words. Meanwhile, Brexit Britain has once again led the way.

Please note. What follows is not about the rights and wrongs of the war. Nor is it about who caused it. This report is about countering the disinformation coming from Brussels, which shows up the EU for what it is.

Having analysed the EU’s latest trade figures updated on 25 January 2023 and they will certainly not please President Zelenskyy. They show that the EU Commission’s so-called ‘sanctions’ against the Putin regime have not stopped trade between the EU bloc and the Russian Federation.

“And by 24 February, exactly one year since the invasion started, we aim to have the tenth package of sanctions in place.”

- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, Thurs 02 Feb 2023

Putin’s illegal invasion started at the end of February (24 Feb 2022). The EU has produced nine ‘sanctions packages’ in that time, to great fanfare each time. Below I summarise the limited effect of these EU ‘sanctions’ on EU-Russian trade. I then contrast this with the significantly superior performance of Brexit Britain

EU’s exports to, and imports from, Putin’s Russia since the war began up to end-November 2022 (latest month)

  • EU’s exports to Russia in November were 40% higher than when the war began
  • EU’s imports from Russia have totalled €153.6bn since the illegal invasion

[Source: EU Commission’s latest trade figures, 25 Jan 2023.]

Providing more supplies to Putin’s Russia each month

There are two aspects to the EU27’s increase in sales to Putin’s Russia. The first is that sanctions have not stopped EU27 companies from providing vital supplies needed by Russia while it wages war on Ukraine.

The second is that not only have the EU27 continued supplying Russia, but their sales have also rocketed by 40%. In the first nine months since the war started, EU27 companies have raked in €39.1 bn from this trade.

And how did the EU present all of this to the world?

The headline of the EU Commission statistics agency’s report is.

“EU trade with Russia declined strongly”.

© EU Commission 2023

I strongly suggest they rewrite their report.

Brexit Britain once again completely outshines the EU

Below I present a comparison between the EU and Brexit Britain when it comes to trade with Russia. As the EU bloc’s numbers are much higher than those of the UK, I have converted these into indices, where March 2023 = 100. This shows the relative performances very clearly.

EU’s Russian exports and imports

1. EU’s and UK’s sales to Russia, Mar-Nov 2022

  • Brexit Britain has REDUCED its sales to Russia by -47.2%
  • The EU27 have INCREASED their sales to Russia by +40.0%

[Sources: EU Commission’s statistics agency and the UK’s Office for National Statistics.]

2. EU’s and UK’s purchases from Russia, Mar-Nov 2022

  • Brexit Britain has reduced its purchases by 97.1%
  • The EU27 have reduced their purchases by only 42.4%

[Sources: EU Commission’s statistics agency and the UK’s Office for National Statistics.]

If the EU had acted instead of pretending to act, Russia would have been in deep trouble

Russia abruptly stopped publishing its international trade data at the end of February 2022, just as its illegal invasion of Ukraine started.

However, I do know that the EU is Russia’s largest international trade partner by far. In 2020, the EU was Russia’s biggest customer, accounting for 37.9% of its goods exports worldwide. 36.5% of Russia’s imports came from the EU. [Source: EU Commission.] It should be noted that this trade was happening SIX YEARS after Putin’s first illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2014 when he seized Crimea.

In 2019, the EU was the largest investor in Russia. The EU foreign direct investment (FDI) outward stock in Russia amounted to €311.4 billion, while Russia’s FDI stock in the EU was estimated at €136 billion.

If the EU had actually acted and cut its trade ties, the Russian economy would have been cut off at the knees. According to a US Congress report 40% of the Russian economy is based on international trade. There is every prospect that in these circumstances Putin would have been deposed.

But NO, the EU betrayed us all not least Ukraine and because of that betrayal, we are all nearer to a third world war than we have ever been.

However, Britain can hold its head high — because of Brexit

Without Brexit, the UK could not have pursued its own sanctions. As a result of Brexit, however, the UK Government was able to act swiftly and decisively — unlike the EU — as can be seen from the charts above.

After reading the above, do Rejoiners really want to rejoin such a dysfunctional foreign empire like the European Union?

There’s no easy way to put his…

Since the start of Putin’s (second) illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Commission has put out a stream of statements which are worthy of the Kremlin. The problem for the Commission is that the facts don’t lie — especially when the data comes from the EU itself. The analysis proves beyond any doubt that the EU continues to prop up Putin’s Russia, with over a quarter of a TRILLION euros paid to Russia for imports (and these are not all for gas) in the first nine months of the war.

Not only that but EU27 countries have been raking in billions in cash by increasing their sales to that country by an astonishing 40%. The Commission might not wish all of this to be known, but like Nazi Germany, it puts everything down in writing and we can see what it's doing if we bother to look.

Part three

In the investigation of official EU data, I presented a deeply shocking two-part report about the EU and Putin’s Russia. I revealed that the EU’s supposed ‘sanctions’ on trade with Russia since his illegal invasion of Ukraine are little more than words.

I now reveal Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, offered totally insensitive comments in a war zone.

The EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, made a visit to Ukraine on Thursday (02 Feb 2023) and gave a long speech to President Zelenskyy, to the Ukrainian people, and to the press.

Ms von der Leyen’s first message was about economic aid. She then had other topics she wanted to talk about and she spoke at length about them. Below I summarise some of these.

Let there be (EU) light…. I kid you NOT

After talking about aid and reconstruction as if the war had already been won, the EU Commission President waxed lyrical on the subject of the EU providing LED light bulbs to Ukraine, available from post offices. (Assuming these haven’t all been bombed to the ground by Putin’s forces.)

‘Forget the war, Volod, let’s talk about the EU’s Green Deal

You just could not make this up if you tried

“From this week on, indeed, the LED light bulbs are available to Ukrainian citizens at the post office. These are the first batches of the 30 million LED light bulbs we promised. But in fact, I am happy to announce that we can overshoot our goal. We are now able to provide 35 million LED light bulbs.”

- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, 02 Feb 2023

WOW

Green energy support

In the middle of a bitter and bloody fight for the very survival of Ukraine, the EU Commission President stood in the heavily bombed capital city of Kyiv and made further remarks. She felt it appropriate to talk about green energy.

She continued her long speech to President Zelenskyy by describing how the EU planned to help Ukraine achieve green energy. In the middle of Ukraine’s desperate and bloody battle for its very survival, this is what she said

“Renewables will not only bring clean energy; they will also increase Ukraine’s energy security. Because they are home-grown, and because a decentralised energy system is plain and simply safer. So, we are now working on making available significant funding for solar panels that will be deployed across Ukraine.”

“And the final element in the energy security: Today, we are signing a Memorandum of Understanding on renewable gases, such as biomethane or hydrogen.”

  • EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, 02 Feb

It was as if she was saying, ‘oh Volod, Volod. Please stop talking about tanks, I want to talk about renewable gases’

The EU Commission President then went on to talk about the EU’s sanctions

As I have shown clearly the EU is making more and more money from its sales to Russia. Any thought that sanctions have prevented Russia from receiving badly needed supplies is completely false. In the fact, the opposite is the case. From the EU these supplies have risen by 40% since the start of the war.

Not only that, but when it comes to imports from Russia — providing much-needed foreign currency to keep Putin’s economy afloat — the EU has been more than generous. Our report yesterday showed that the EU has spent over one-quarter of a billion euros buying goods from Russia in the first nine months of the war.

Despite this, Ms von der Leyen told President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people the following :

“My second message today is that we are making Putin pay for his atrocious war. Before Russia started this war, we were very vocal about the severe economic costs we will impose on Russia if it invades Ukraine.

“Today, Russia is paying a heavy price, as our sanctions are eroding its economy, throwing it back by a generation.”

  • EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, 02 Feb 202

As I have shown when it comes to buying from Russia the EU’s very gradual reduction has been far less than that of the UK and took a long time to start. Indeed in November the EU’s imports from Russia actually started increasing again, by +30% based on the previous month.

It gets worse

Undaunted, the EU Commission President ploughed on about town twinning

There then followed a passage about Ukraine joining the European Union before the EU Commission President reached her finale. For this, Ms von der Leyen thought it appropriate to talk about twinning. I assure readers I am not making this up.

“My final point — and it is last but certainly not least: We are connecting more and more our people, our companies and our cities. Last year, Volodymyr, you called for our cities to twin — the twin partnerships. They heard you, and they are doing it.

“So let me report you that we have now 100 large cities in the European Union that are twinned with 36 Ukrainian cities by now. Munich with Kyiv for example; Turku with Kharkiv. Almost 1,000 smaller towns in the European Union have partnerships with municipalities in Ukraine — with Hromadas.

“And, just like as you called for, they are ready to help rebuild the sister cities in Ukraine. Our network, Eurocities, has already launched a project on the sustainable rebuilding of cities in Ukraine. And I think it is amazing because there are urban planners, engineers, architects fully on board.

“And the New European Bauhaus concept will inspire them. They partner in Ukraine to launch the capacity-building programme. For example, they share knowledge for rebuilding smartly, for example by recycling concrete so that Ukraine could use half of the debris from destroyed buildings to rebuild better.

“Our LIFE programme will provide the first steps on that, this is EUR 7 million for the programme to start. So, our vision is to turn the destruction of war into opportunities to build a beautiful and healthy future for Ukraine.”

- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kyiv, 02 Feb 2023

Er… I believe it’s just possible that President Zelenskyy is currently focused on fighting a war. It’s just possible he now has other things on his mind than twinning and Bauhaus — a pre-war German building design style.

‘Volod, I’m sure you’ll get EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyens German tanks, once they’ve been repaired. Meanwhile, there’s always town twinning’

How can anyone seriously campaign to rejoin the EU after reading this?”

I am compelled to ask Rejoiners how they can possibly want to surrender British sovereignty to a foreign empire run by people so out of touch with reality. This is not about one person. They’ve been like this for many years and are only getting worse with each passing year.

Ursula von der Leyen was the German Defence Minister. It might have been thought she would understand something about war, but it seems not.

I realise that Ms von der Leyen had little to point to in terms of the EU sanctions having made much difference to its trade with Putin’s despotic regime. Nevertheless, for her to stand in a war-ravaged city in a country fighting on a daily basis for its survival, with civilians and military personnel being killed and maimed every day, and to witter on about “town twinning” and “the New European Bauhaus concept” almost defies belief.

Is the EU Commission on a different planet?

One can only speculate what President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people made of all of this. Perhaps they just had to bite their tongues and ask for more EU cash. That’s what I would have done.

For UK Rejoiners, however, they must confront this reality. Here we have the EU in all its glory, prancing around on the world stage playing gesture politics.

The sheer insensitivity of these ideologues playing their violins and talking about wholly irrelevant EU policies while Kjiv and the rest of Ukraine are burning — surely displays these EU fanatics in their true, washed-out colours.

Brexit Britain stood up to be counted while the EU had meetings and put out disinformation

Whatever your views about this war, most countries’ governments have a broadly similar position. We can therefore judge the EU against Brexit Britain on this basis.

The UK has outperformed the EU27 on military training and supply of weapons, massively outperformed the EU in cutting its Russian imports, and hasn’t bothered President Zelenskyy with irrelevant and self-promoting ideological projects.

[ Sources: EU Commission ]

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Graham Charles Lear

What is life without a little controversy in it? Quite boring and sterile would be my answer.