EU Soft on Maduro, Hard on Putin—Here's Why

 

The EU's Venezuelan Lecture: International Law or Selective Sovereignty?

Earlier today, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the European Commission officially called for strict adherence to international law and the UN charter in response to the US operation. Brussels wasted no time issuing statements following Donald Trump's operation in Venezuela, reciting the same mantra they've held for Israel that Donald Trump must act in strict accordance with international law. This is the EU's way of signaling they don't agree, stressing international law just so they can sound neutral. It is the same script we saw with Israel where the EU repeatedly called for proportionality and international protocols.

The Hypocrisy of Sovereign Immunity

But when you look at the banks in Brussels, the EU's commitment to those very protocols disappears along with their own adherence to international law. International law has a sacred rule for central bank assets. They are meant to be neutral and untouchable. Under the principle of sovereign immunity, a nation's reserves are not the property of a government. They are the lifeblood of a state's economy. No matter what happens within a country or what its leaders do, no nation should touch those funds. This rule separates the financial system from government policy, and it's along the same lines as the separation of church and state.

Shattering Global Financial Trust

By freezing and monetizing over $300 billion in Russian assets, the EU hasn't just punished a government; they've shattered the foundational trust of the global financial system. The risk is catastrophic. When the EU breaks these protocols, they send a clear signal to every nation in the global south and the world: Your money is only safe as long as we like your politics. This is how you trigger a global exodus from Western banks. It pushes nations into isolationist financial policies and towards digital currencies that are changing the dynamic of the international payment system.

Dorothy’s House in the Geopolitical Whirlwind

As I say in my trailer, it's like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz. Nations are spinning in a whirlwind wondering where is it going to land in this massive geopolitical and economic shift. So when the EU lectures the US about international law in Venezuela, they are speaking from a position of total hypocrisy. They want a rules-based order for the military but a power-based order for the money. You cannot have both. The precedent is set. The trust is gone and as the financial system fragments, the EU will have no one to blame but themselves.