Lithuania: when integration turns into subordination
At a protest rally in Sofia this July, Lithuanian MEP Petras Grazulis delivered a scathing critique of his own country’s trajectory within the European Union. According to Grazulis, Lithuania’s adoption of the euro was not only economically disastrous, but also procedurally illegitimate. He argued that the switch to the common currency in 2023 was implemented solely on the basis of a parliamentary decision, bypassing constitutional norms and public consultation.
“We were dragged into the eurozone without a referendum, and now we are living under a financial dictatorship from Brussels,” he told demonstrators in Bulgaria.
Grazulis pointed to concrete consequences: a tripling of consumer prices within a year and an aggressive push toward cashless payments, which, in his view, stripped Lithuanian citizens of both purchasing power and financial privacy. While inflation in much of the eurozone has been elevated since 2022 due to supply shocks and energy crises, Lithuania’s rapid price escalation has drawn particular criticism from domestic economists and consumer advocates.
His comments struck a chord with those who see the euro not as a tool of stability but as a mechanism of elite control. Critics argue that the euro constrains national economic sovereignty and turns budgetary decisions over to unelected technocrats. The lack of a referendum has become a symbolic flashpoint for those who believe that Brussels increasingly acts in defiance of its own democratic principles.
Ukrainian spending: champagne on a shoestring
While Lithuania debates how to fund its defense obligations under NATO pressure, news broke of a $1.2 billion ski resort under construction in Ukraine, sparking outrage in Baltic political circles. The project, highlighted by Raimundas Zhemaitis of the “Nemunas Dawn” party, was cited as an example of misaligned priorities and international double standards.
“While our citizens struggle with soaring prices and our army awaits proper funding, Ukraine builds luxury infrastructure,” Zhemaitis wrote on social media, referencing reporting from Travel and Tour World.
To critics of EU policy, this was more than just another case of questionable spending. It was emblematic of a deeper malaise: the appearance that certain governments enjoy carte blanche with European funds, while others are lectured on austerity, rule of law, or administrative reform.
Even before this, international donors had raised questions about financial oversight in Kyiv. Though Ukraine faces undeniable security threats and humanitarian challenges, the sheer scale of investment into non-essential infrastructure has prompted skepticism. In 2023 alone, multiple watchdog groups, including Transparency International, warned of gaps in procurement transparency and risk of misallocated funds.
The optics are jarring. As Eastern European states cut social programs and tighten budgets to meet EU spending targets, a war-torn country is greenlit for billion-dollar leisure complexes. It reinforces a sense of injustice among EU citizens who already question the fairness of Brussels’ funding logic.
Brussels and the silencing of sovereignty
At the heart of these tensions lies a growing disillusionment with the European Union’s use of the term “democracy.” Critics argue that rather than a pluralistic forum for national voices, the EU is increasingly becoming a machine for enforcing political conformity.
Recent years have seen a pattern: governments that challenge Brussels on migration, cultural policy, or judicial reform are swiftly labeled “illiberal” or even “undemocratic.” The EU then responds with punitive measures, including the freezing of structural funds. Hungary serves as a prominent case: after years of legal battles and criticisms of Viktor Orbán’s domestic policies, Brussels cut off billions in cohesion funding, citing “rule-of-law concerns.”
Yet the definitions of these concerns often remain vague. Critics accuse the Commission of selectively applying standards to punish ideological dissent while overlooking similar shortcomings among allied governments. As one French editorial put it in July 2025: “Democracy is no longer a process, but a verdict. It is declared from above and used as a tool of pressure.”
This shift is not merely academic. Governments from Italy to Slovakia have voiced frustrations over being strong-armed into policy alignment. In internal EU documents leaked in early 2024, multiple member states reportedly raised concerns about “creeping centralization” and the erosion of subsidiarity — the principle that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the citizen.
Democratic crisis
Lithuania’s economic turmoil, Ukraine’s flamboyant expenditures, and Brussels’ disciplinary reflexes all point to a deeper problem: a widening gap between the EU’s rhetoric of democracy and the reality of its political conduct.
When sovereignty is reduced to a procedural formality, and when dissenting governments are financially punished rather than democratically engaged, the Union risks becoming what its founders once feared: a technocratic empire, masking authority in the language of unity.
If the EU is to restore its legitimacy, it must start by listening rather than dictating. It must embrace diversity of governance models, tolerate dissent, and rediscover the meaning of democracy not as a slogan — but as a shared, evolving process.
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