Why did a Brussels bookshop cancel my book launch?

PiolaLibri is a pleasant-looking bookshop-cum-wine bar in Brussels. A stone’s throw away from the Berlaymont, the headquarters of the European Commission, it offers a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere for its customers. It is precisely because it cultivates this image of a relaxed intellectual space that I was so surprised when its owners cancelled the launch event for my new book, The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight For Its History.

The apologetic email claimed that the agreement to host the book launch was based on a misunderstanding. Apparently, the owners had no idea that my book was so ‘political’. ‘After careful consideration, we have found out that the political connotation of the initiative is more strongly marked than we initially understood’, the email said. It added that, ‘our venue has always maintained a line of neutrality, avoiding hosting events that may be associated with a specific political line-up. This choice allows us to ensure an inclusive space that respects all sensibilities.’ Clearly, this ‘inclusive’ space has no room for me, my book or my sensibilities.

The email sought to give the impression that the cancellation of my book launch was not politically motivated. In reality, the bookshop frequently hosts authors who promote a clear political agenda. On its website, it states that a book celebrating the EU will be launched there on 5 October. Clearly, there is a double standard at work in what events the PiolaLibri bookshop chooses to host.

Of course, it probably wasn’t the owners who objected to my book. The decision came after I started to publicise the event. No doubt the media and members of the local political elite put pressure on the book shop to shut the book launch down as soon as they became aware of it.

Brussels is fast becoming a no-go zone for freedom of expression. Earlier this year, several local politicians forced numerous venues to cancel the National Conservatism Brussels conference, which I helped to organise. When we eventually found a venue prepared to host the event, the local mayor sent in the police to try to cancel the conference. It was only the decisive action of my colleagues – including by locking the doors to the venue – that ensured that the conference could take place.

The aim of the cancellers in Brussels is to throw a quarantine around views that challenge the narrative of the EU elites. Outwardly, the EU presents itself as the protector of freedom, tolerance and democracy. In truth, the Eurocrats are zealous control freaks who are scared of opinions that challenge their outlook. Their authoritarian instincts are reinforced by a mood of insecurity. Since the elections to the European Parliament this year, they have become anxious about the rise of populist parties who are opposed to their political outlook. They know their authority is being openly questioned.

The pro-EU elites are not remotely embarrassed about openly flouting the democratic, liberal values they claim to stand for. The local mayor who shut down the NatCon conference boasted that conservatives and populists are ‘not welcome’ in Brussels. Even the owner of PiolaLibri bookshop had no inhibitions about his pro-cancellation policy. He tried to explain that there was nothing unusual about the shutting down of my book launch. Events are cancelled all the time, he told Politico, but it ‘just doesn’t usually cause so much stir’.

Thankfully, the cancellation of my book launch has caused more than just a stir. My colleagues at think-tank MCC Brussels, who are committed to fighting for freedom in the EU, made sure our voices were heard. We take the view that if you fight back, they cannot silence you.

We will be holding the book launch next Monday at the Brussels Press Club and will do our best to strike a blow against the censors.

Frank Furedi is the executive director of the think-tank, MCC Brussels.

His new book, The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight For Its History, is published by Polity. Order it here.