Bratislava - the petty summit
The 27 States who want to remain in the European Union met in Bratislava (Slovakia) for a separate summit – which means without the United Kingdom. They were there to think about their common project, but did little more than rehash the same old songs. The world is changing. The United Kingdom is adapting. The European Union is stagnating.
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Three months after the decision by the British electorate to leave the European Union, the heads of state and government – with the exception of the British Prime Minister - met in Bratislava to give new life to the EU.
We were hoping for some serious reflection on the reasons that led to the Brexit and what was necessary for the Union. This was not the case. The 27 settled for saying things that could accelerate the dissolution of the EU, while discussing terrorism without understanding that the danger is within, while Germany and France once again raised the project for a common European army, and while Jean-Claude Juncker spoke in defence of the interests of the Luxembourg bankers.
During Brexit, we explained that Buckingham Palace and an influential part of the British ruling class wanted to distance itself from Washington, and to move closer, economically, to China, and militarily, to Russia [1]. However, Downing Street played none of these cards, and kept its intentions secret until the opening of the negotiations for its exit from the Union.
And yet, in international politics, London made two important moves. First of all the report of the Chilcot commission concerning the war on Iraq, and secondly that of the House of Commons concerning the war on Libya. The first, drawn up in 2009-10, had been sleeping in a drawer for years. The second was launched during the summer. Both of them criticised Downing Street’s alignement with the White House, both under the Labour leader, Tony Blair, and the Conservative leader, David Cameron. In a very British style, the authors noted the stupidity of these wars, and revealed the lies that had been used to justify them. But not a word on the secret agreements between London and Washington, nor on the role of MI6 in the fabrication of these lies. What is secret must remain so. In any case, these reports put an end to the current version of the «special relationship» between the UK and the USA.
The heads of state and goverment of the European Union had not read these reports, and therefore had not asked themselves what London might be preparing. Some of them even confirmed that the British would not leave the EU if they were met with determined opposition during the Brexit negotiations.
All of them warned Angela Merkel about the organisation of a second wave of migrants, and re-affirmed their will to implement the measures that have already been set up to prevent it. In any event, no-one asked the question whether the first wave of migrants would be enough to solve Germany’s demographic problem, or if Berlin felt obliged to play a second set, as it had announced.
In truth, the threats of the 26 against Germany will not be materialised if Germany reiterates the operation. The Luxembourg Prime Minister – in other words, Jean-Claude Junker’s replacement at this post – proposed the exclusion of Hungary, which has refused to admit its part of the refugees. No doubt a method for preventing the dissolution of the Union.
Three projects were envisaged [2] :
First of all, concerning the fight against terrorism, to make sure to avoid allowing unvetted migrants to enter Europe. This is obviously necessary, but in no way solves the problem, since the majority of terrorists are European. The Union still does not have an opinion either on mass terrorism, as observed in the «Greater Middle East», nor on the few terrorist actions which have touched them directly. No-one has read the strategic plans of Daesh, such as The Management of Barbarism, and have consequently failed to observe that the current method of fighting terrorism is exactly what the terrorists want the Union to apply. Secondly, the project for a common European army will be discussed at the summit in December. It resembles the project of the European Defence Community (EDC) which was intended to unite France, West Germany and Benelux during the 1950’s. At that time – in other words, in the context of the Korean war - Paris opposed the rearmament of West Germany, but was favourable to the integration of a West German army into a common army. The project never saw the light of day, because it was rejected in Paris by an alliance of Gaullists and Communists. Today, the German army has reformed, and is deployed in certain «peace-keeping operations», without opposition from Paris. In the current context, that of the wars in Syria and the Donbass, the European Union pretends to believe that there is a threat of Russian invasion. Eighteen months ago, the EU set up the East StratCom Task, which is a discreet office of anti-Russian propaganda which feeds thousands of journalists with its «information». Just as in 1954, it is clear that this project is a US craze intended to drag the Europeans into the next round of wars, and it is no surprise that this time, the post-Brexit United Kingdom is against it. Finally, the European Fund for Strategic Investments should be developed in 2017. This fund is known as the «Juncker plan». In reality, it is an old project of the European Investment Bank (EIB), an institution which is also based in the tax haven of Luxembourg. The Fund has done nothing more than expand the power of the EIB and its bureaucracy. It has boosted investments in Europe only marginally, and paradoxically, has also increased its imbalance – for example, it did almost nothing for Greece, the country which needed it most, but this is of no interest to the bankers, who see this country as a debtor.In the end, the Brastivala summit demonstrated the will of the 27 to change nothing in the Union. According to them, everything can keep going the way it has been, so long as Germany doesn’t let in more immigrants. Consequently, we can keep «fighting terrorism» while we watch it develop, prepare ourselves to join with the United States in their next war, and let our bankers make the decisions concerning our investments.
Translation
Pete Kimberley
Pete Kimberley
[1] “The Brexit reshuffles world geopolitics”, “The new British Foreign Policy”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 28 June and 4 July 2016.
[2] “The Bratislava Declaration”, Voltaire Network, 16 September 2016.
