Europe’s and the EU’s choice of path, 8 May 2026

The third post in this world-leading series of crashed Nostradamus guesses discusses Europe and the EU – it is highly on-topic since we now have a choice to make in Europe, but if it happens to slip into something sour in between, I promise improvement, it is hard not to touch on our problems as well.

The Roman Empire, you all think, was simply so superior that it decided everything – no, they got soundly beaten all the time but two things they did right: in all conquered areas, they offered those who lived there citizenship in exchange for becoming legionaries, and then they shamelessly stole everything that worked from their opponents. If they got beaten by a weapon or a technique in a battle once, they had built it themselves next time, nicely polished. They got very far by being tenacious, forward-leaning, and just seeing a massacre of their own troops as tuition fees.

In 1939, we let the Poles fend for themselves only to be badly beaten in 1940 when Germany made a deal with the Soviet Union and moved its divisions to the Western Front instead. Sweden saved itself by playing along with Germany enough to receive a large post-1945 compensation that our government creatively sold as voluntary reconstruction aid to Europe since we were a humanitarian (previously German-supporting) great power.

Germany would never have gotten as far as they did at all, but they pressed on and took one country at a time with devastating results – the level of risk was enormous but they had an edge with their blitzkrieg and the fact that they had already decided to devastate the world while the rest of Europe hoped that appeasement and not provoking would make the Germans champions of peace instead. Low-reactive responses have never worked and will never work against those who have a strong will to cause harm.

During the war itself, we only accepted the Jews that creative officials managed to get into the country, and post-war we sent back all Baltic refugees to the Soviet Union so they could be murdered in the Gulag – all to make the world a better, brighter place.

This was just Sweden – out in Europe, entire countries had fully supported Germany, which ran its hundreds of extermination camps nonstop for several years. An entire industry whose sole purpose was to murder people.

The countries that were overrun had for nearly five years been occupied by a Gestapo and SS that tortured all those suspected of disliking the occupation with all sorts of creative methods – some Gestapo chief in France had as a favorite to skin prisoners alive and then put them back in the cell.

All those who lived in the sun as Nazi collaborators had it considerably worse in 1945 but Europe survived this baptism of fire only to immediately step into a completely fabricated Cold War so we would crouch under the USA-Soviet rivalry as long as possible, but that plan broke in 1989 after a mistake by some high-ranking officer in East Germany.

Europe lost over three million men during a few hectic summer months in 1940 even though we had more and better planes/tanks than Germany combined with significantly more soldiers. We were simply outclassed in a fair war.

The political will and unwillingness to adopt new warfare decided it – anyone recognize this now in 2026 when Europe has had over four years of a high-intensity war between qualified opponents in our immediate geographic vicinity?

Russia is trying the same thing – just grinding away with soldiers from all corners of the world and increasing the level of violence when they don’t achieve the desired result with the current level of violence.

Their huge problem is that they attacked Ukraine first, which is just as stubborn but also does like the Romans – steals all ideas and improves them lightning fast.

Ukraine, through an enormous sacrifice few countries are capable of now, has bought us time to get organized this round but we are really lousy even at that – now in 2026 we still cannot defend against the drone weapon, and we don’t have any drone weapon of our own yet.

A handful of operators on our armored reconnaissance have apparently received some training during Aurora and that now makes the rounds on Twitter as a major capability increase while the Russians ramp up their drone weapon to 180,000 strong, with the practical work experience we lack.

Since over 80% of the losses come from the drone weapon, I think the analogy with blitzkrieg is not at all off.

To move forward in the discussion below, I make the assumption here that we will manage to resolve the Baltic crisis and that Ukraine will come out victorious this year 2026 – it is more likely than us managing to sabotage it completely again actually since we have Ukraine on our side.

Europe and the EU then have four paths to choose from –

1. Declare a state of emergency and become infinitely more authoritarian as the UK has just tried, then bribe all politicians to arm us to the teeth far beyond what is smart but never miss a good crisis. At least we avoid a new Cold War with a divided, fearful, and weak Europe by becoming a semi-dictatorship ourselves to fight a dictatorship. There is nothing more permanent than a temporary law passed by Congress, as Reagan said, so once this is in place it will be too difficult to remove within a reasonable time.

Dictatorships also have a unique ability to cater to criminals and enter some kind of unholy alliance with them against the broad group of law-abiding citizens – we are not there yet but when the criminals’ bribes are so large that one can retire on them and one understands that one can use their violent capital to improve one’s own situation, then it becomes a marriage immediately because it is too attractive.

2. Feel that this deal to divide the world between the strong was not so bad – we got Africa from the other dictatorships so now we go on and devastate that continent, again…

The worst of all ideas but even during the Cold War we behaved abominably towards Africa.

3. Collapse under the subversive activities from the USA, China, and Russia where the nail in the coffin will be the upcoming financial crisis – welcome a new Cold War with a divided, weak, and fearful Europe. DDR Sweden makes an entrance again and we only get Televinken or Clown Manne on TV, a decent liver steak once a month max for the parents and it is almost a bit religiously solemn around the dinner table because it comes with garlic butter.

4. Project strength where Russia either refrains from the Baltics or we retake the countries with violent force that totally stuns Putin as he frantically takes Omeprazole in his bunker. Beyond that, Ukraine gets everything they point to so Russia collapses in its revolution 2.0. A mined border and total visa ban later, calm settles over Europe.

Belarus retakes its land and Kaliningrad negotiates a demilitarized status we monitor in exchange for some perks into the EU.

Then we proclaim “Made in Europe” for real and cut the umbilical cord to China, stop heavily taxing the citizens, the workforce is within Europe, and finally we turn to Africa with fair and honest trade agreements where we buy their raw materials at various stages while the countries that want to move towards us get trade agreements and access to our markets for reasonably priced products – with an emphasis on fair, which has not been Europe’s hallmark so far throughout world history.

By the way – the Dos Santos family that ruled Angola from sometime in the 1980s until a few years ago actually became somewhat of a name already in the 1500s when they started the business of raiding villages and selling the captives to the Portuguese, they stayed at the top for a very long time.

We can also contribute “know-how” for improvements where needed but without the big finger-wagging, and without pouring out free money that only ends up in the pockets of the elite. A very good way, unfortunately, to distribute money taken from the poor in Europe and give it to those already rich in various countries. I have seen this myself over 12 years in Angola and will not back down on that point.

In Luanda, Sweden built a large apartment complex and then an entire “Sweden village” which was emptied when all the Swedish aid workers left the country – the housing was fairly distributed to the elite and their children.

The hospital we built for childbirth with Sweden-trained doctors + unlimited supplies instead became many new private clinics where the doctors took care of births for the elite’s pregnant women with Swedish-delivered materials. The hospital became a death trap that no one dared to go to because all the competent doctors had left and there were no supplies left.

At the time, I talked a lot with a seasoned Swedish woman who did the audits for Sida – an old-school tough woman who usually became talkative after a few glasses of wine. She often said that Sida never wanted to listen to her criticism, they didn’t care.

Besides that, we tie fair countries to us – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland, and Japan appear as obvious alternatives.

You have probably also seen that Azerbaijan now sells LNG to ten countries in Europe and that the EU, with Macron at the forefront, has flashed its widest smiles in Armenia.

That group of countries is also moving towards us and LNG from Azerbaijan was an absolute stroke of genius – hats off and I wonder if Zelensky’s earlier trips to the area helped?

We will first go through a global conflict and then we will probably have 60-70 years of prosperity when the world gets tired of fighting.

For a long time, Ukraine could have put out this grass fire but I think it’s too late – the ball is rolling.

What we can do, however, is to ensure that the war does not come geographically to us for the first time ever.

Everyone reading this post points directly to point 4 and says “yes please” but do not underestimate the willingness of incompetent and sometimes corrupt politicians to do wrong – we will probably have to fight very hard for this, unfortunately.

Personally, I will work to ensure that Europe and Sweden understand what an incredible opportunity Angola is – that will be my life mission post-global conflict. That country deserves all good things but they are still a bit chaotic and corrupt so many small steps in the right direction are needed.

At some point, there will be a series of posts about the enormous opportunities in Angola for those who are enterprising, we have had a social commitment there since 2006 and some operations in the country still, which admittedly are running on low gear since we are not there but have given a lot of work to local talents. It is very difficult, of course, but the upside is enormous for those who can read the room.

I hope to be on my way back there within 1-3 years, but not before the 2027 election.

Now, a global crisis is not good at all but if the war is fought in Asia this round between the USA and China, it is the least bad for Europe.

Something we have not seen yet but that might come is that China realizes that the best thing they can do is to join the deal Russia-USA have and divide the world between themselves. I would rather see a global conflict than this because over time it becomes much worse with three unleashed unstoppable dictatorships that have agreed, but we are not there yet and I do not want to believe that the USA is so cunning before I see it. A bit like with nuclear weapons – if it happens, it happens.

Choosing between the plague or cholera, I guess – I might be wrong, I don’t know.

Or we get both – first a global conflict until USA-China get tired because no one can make the decisive move and the second best is a cold war, they think?

Europe can only marginally influence this as the USA and China do as they please.

Europe, with Sweden at the forefront, has long seen it as its task to be the world’s soft police at the expense of Europe.

Since China, the USA, and Russia all do what is best for them, the consequences have been far-reaching. So far-reaching that for a very long time we did not dare do the obvious and fully support Ukraine, which is very bad, we have negotiated away our integrity.

Everyone else also tries to split us, preferably into civil war if possible.

We have the acute phase to solve right now to then find our role in the world.

The EU and Europe today are a union, we do not need to become a federal superpower but should continue as now where countries that agree join together and those who do not agree stand on the sidelines on various issues.

Free movement and trade are perfect – but it should stop there, it is never fair to go to a neighboring country in the EU and want a lot of free stuff from them for money their citizens have worked for which should benefit them.

Going somewhere and working your way into the country so you get the same status as the citizens – good good good.

We will need a stronger border defense, and we will need some kind of mobile task forces both for perimeter protection and international missions.

Imagine, for example, if the countries that like us in Africa are attacked by Russia, China, or the USA?

Then it would be good to be able to project strength and assist our new friends.

This is not the same as a federal defense force that is eventually used against other countries in the EU when they do not want to submit to the mandates.

Southern Europe is responsible for perimeter protection against the Mediterranean and Eastern/Northern Europe for the eastern front – those in the middle and far west must loyally contribute with resources.

All countries will have different views on religion, migration, child-rearing, sexual orientations, and other issues.

Instead of smoothing this out across the entire EU, I am of the opinion that since free movement prevails, one can move around.

For example, Ireland is quite conservatively Catholic and if you want to be a very active Protestant in Northern Ireland, you can always move over to us in Sweden instead where we are mostly Protestants.

If you like the sun, you move to Spain.

No one likes France, so they can keep their country.

I was going to bring up the Jews, but haven’t they started leaving all of Europe?

Let countries democratically vote for the policies they want; those who don’t like them can move around within the free movement of the EU?

The EU should therefore not have more directives but be a unifying umbrella where the union’s inhabitants can move around and work.

Globally, we should be restrictive about flexing our muscles – those who choose to belong to us should, however, get help if another power tries to overthrow them, the weakest links in the chain. I think that is both fair and decent.

We ensure to have our own mining operations and build up the electricity production and industry we need – our internal market is enormous and if we bring Africa along, even bigger.

Then over time, we gradually shift to more renewable and environmentally friendly sources, but we cannot start there because that gave China all our production.

So we must start building up Europe from the ground up, and we do not do that through “Net Zero 30,” which quite a few countries are now abandoning, but we also do not do it through demands for reduced emissions that China does not have when they sell to us.

What we have done so far is to give away our industry to China, and now we stand here with disruptions in imports – we are vulnerable and sensitive.

The fact is that since we have cleaner electricity production than both the USA and China, we should immediately demand that all products that do not meet our standards are not allowed to be sold in Europe so that we can get our own manufacturing going.

The tax system also needs to be reviewed, but that is perhaps another discussion – not being able to tackle waste, corruption, and mismanagement while at the same time demanding higher taxes is not fair.

If we take our (fair) responsibility for Africa, we have done what can be expected of us.

Yes, we must have control over the borders and get migration in order BUT if we have fair trade agreements with countries in Africa, we will go there – then it is only fair that the citizens of those countries get to come to us and work, right?

Then they get work experience they cannot acquire in their home country and in the long run contribute to lifting their own country.

I believe something like this would tremendously boost the EU, and the countries that want to get closer to us in Africa will also take big steps forward.

We still have many obstacles left on the obstacle course, but if this is a sensible goal and we start laying the building blocks for it, hopefully the EU in 15-20 years will be something to truly be proud of.

Canada and Azerbaijan are a bit of a lottery win, but countries like Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and a few more, we should also extend a hand to.

Africa is also trying to create an African union modeled after the European one, but so far Russia and China have done everything to destroy it – it would be very good if it got started.