The European Union is increasingly dealing with authoritarian regimes, possibly triggering an existential challenge for the block itself, a post on the European Central Bank blog on Tuesday.

The EU has long been proud of the pursuit of an economic policy based on values, with commercial relations taking into account factors such as social justice, human rights, labor rules and environmental standards, Reuters notes.

But the reality is quite different and the trade with authoritarian regimes has increased steadily from 1999 until the block imposed extensive sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the ECB economists’ suspension supported Claudia Marcini and Alexander Popov.

“Our findings show that, despite its commitments, the EU is actually dealing with countries governed by authoritarian leaders and dictators,” the post said, which does not reflect the ECB’s views. “We see a break of this trend only recently,” it notes.

“Trading with dictators are equivalent to making profits for regimes that often have an expansive and militaristic agenda,” the post said. “After all, this can potentially become an existential challenge for the EU.”

The article, however, rejects the argument that the increase in trade with China is responsible for it, arguing that a similar trend can be observed even if China is excluded.