By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
In recent years, things in Europe have taken a rather wrong turn. We have repeatedly written about misguided policies related to the so-called green transition, which restrict the economy and impoverish citizens; about the allowance of uncontrolled immigration from culturally incompatible environments, which undermines the European way of life and threatens the security of Europeans; not to mention the ideological absurdities linked to various “gender theories”, which claim that there is an arbitrary number of genders.
In this sense, the election of Donald Trump – regardless of what one may think of him – is a welcome wake-up call. His announcement that the official policy of the federal administration will recognise only male and female sexes would have sounded unusual, if not absurd, decades ago – after all, “why state something that is self-evident?” But in today’s artificially constructed reality, where woke indoctrination has infiltrated almost every aspect of society, this is no longer the case. Nowadays, someone who declares that there are only two sexes is quickly labelled by progressive activists as reactionary, if not outright fascist. Therefore, Trump’s decision – however self-evident it may seem – can be seen as a commendable return to normality. We can only hope that this marks the beginning of the end of ideologically driven social engineering.
Of course, what we are witnessing in the U.S. will not automatically be replicated in Europe. It is also an illusion to expect that Trump will start solving Europe’s internal problems. Anyone on the right who sees him as someone who will “liberate us” is mistaken. The American president will put American interests first. He has made this clear, and we can believe him. He will approach Europe with significantly less diplomacy than his predecessor, viewing it as one of those profiting at the expense of Americans. Regarding defence, he has stated that Europeans will have to invest significantly more if they want to continue relying on U.S. support.
However, this can be understood as an incentive for Europe to stand on its own feet militarily – and not just militarily. A fundamental shift in developmental priorities is needed. In some key areas, Europe is lagging not only behind the U.S. but also behind China. Recently, it was announced that the Chinese tech company DeepSeek has successfully developed its own artificial intelligence model. Until now, this field has been almost exclusively dominated by American tech giants.
And where is Europe in this? Nowhere. It lacks competitive companies – not just in artificial intelligence but in other advanced technologies as well. Instead, European institutions are preoccupied with regulating “everything under the sun”, in line with the saying: “America innovates, China imitates, Europe regulates”. The problem is that this regulation is generally designed in a way that does not encourage creativity and the exploitation of Europe’s innovative potential but instead imposes numerous obstacles and restrictions on those who wish to develop technological innovations. Rather than allowing people to freely develop their ideas, the European bureaucracy is obsessed with control. This is particularly evident in its approach to communication on online platforms. Instead of fostering high-tech startups, it funds those who engage in censorship.
The new European Commission has set one of its main goals as promoting innovation and creating a business-friendly environment for entrepreneurs. A commendable ambition! Yet at the same time, it continues to insist on the so-called green transition, the implementation of which is one of the main reasons for Europe’s unfavourable business climate. These two things simply do not go together. Without a complete rejection of harmful policies, Europe will fall even further behind in technology. We can only hope that this realisation finally takes root among political decision-makers.