Europe Day is the story of a continent whose wars turned destruction into order, enmity into partnership, and coal and steel into peace. That is why it is dangerous: its beauty tempts us to forget that beneath the open market, the soft borders and the blue flags lie ash, blood, unconditional surrender and one recognition – wars are not stopped by pleading. They are stopped by victory, institutions and power. Its proximity to Victory Day over Nazi Germany is not symbolic; it is the core of the story. 

Before the declarations, treaties, parliaments, regulations, funds and mechanisms of cooperation, there was Nazi Germany. It was not persuaded, not contained, not invited to a dialogue about its “security concerns.” It was defeated. Only then could Europe build peace. The European order was not born from appeasing evil, but from the courage to identify it, name it and crush it until it could no longer shape the continent’s future.

Peace is a supreme value; it must not be turned into a cult of weakness. Not surrender to an aggressor, not yielding a border, not seating enemies at the table of order so they can dismantle it from within. Peace is order; order requires borders, deterrence, victory, discipline and moral courage. Whoever does not defend peace with power will discover that brutality writes its terms.

Putin’s Russia read Europe before Europe dared to read Russia. It identified war fatigue, fear of escalation, energy........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)