The European Union’s Credibility Sinks and Sinks

The young leadership needed, in particular in the trans-Atlantic world, to bring about the new paradigm in international relations was addressed in an all-day conference held on Oct. 15 by the Schiller Institute both online and at an-person conference in Manhattan. The event, which brought together “next generation” leaders from all the continents, but mainly from the United States, and from the entire political spectrum, was on the theme “End the war and stop green fascism” (Videos of the conference are available here.

In opening the proceedings, Helga Zepp-LaRouche noted that most of the world is already in the process of building a completely new economic system. And in Europe and the U.S., larger and larger segments of the population are up in arms against “the policies that are destroying the material basis of existence for most people”.

Indeed, France was hit Oct. 18 with a national strike to protest against soaring inflation, following on weeks of strikes at oil refineries and a demonstration of tens of thousands on Oct. 16 in Paris to denounce the high cost of living. An exciting wave of protest is growing in Germany (cf. below), while actions are beginning in Italy targeting in particular the war danger and the sanctions policy. In all of Western Europe, mobilizations are underway, including by farmers who are basically condemned to disappear under the absurd “Green Deal”.

An interesting insight into how the rest of the world views the suicidal course the EU has chosen is given by M.K. Bhadrakumar, a former Indian ambassador to the Soviet Union, as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Germany, South Korea and Turkey. In an Oct. 17 column in the Tribune of India, he expresses disbelief at the EU’s decision to refuse Russia’s offers to supply natural gas. This is “a profoundly embarrassing moment for the EU”, in his view. “The triumphalism has vanished as Europe is threatened by years of recession caused by the blowback from sanctions against Russia, where the US insisted on the cut off of energy ties with Moscow. The EU has now become a captive market for Big Oil and is left to buy LNG from the US at the asking price, which is six to seven times higher than the domestic price in the US. Plainly put, the Europeans have been nicely played by the Americans….”

Another very good reason why the developing world mistrusts the EU was given Oct. 13, probably inadvertently, by Josep Borrell at the European Diplomatic Academy in Brussels no less. He stated that “Europe is a garden”, where “Everything works. It is the best combination of political freedom, economic prosperity and social cohesion that the humankind has been able to build.”

However, “Most of the rest of the world is a jungle, and the jungle could invade the garden.” His conclusion: “The gardeners have to go to the jungle…. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us, by different ways and means.”