The report is absolutely scathing. Some choice quotes:
But when the next crisis came, both the US and the governments of Europe fell back on old models of alliance leadership. Europe, as EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell loudly lamented prior to Russia’s invasion, is not really at the table when it comes to dealing with the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It has instead embarked on a process of vassalisation.
But “alone” had a very specific meaning for Scholz. He was unwilling to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine unless the US also sent its own main battle tank, the M1 Abrams. It was not enough that other partners would send tanks or that the US might send other weapons. Like a scared child in a room full of strangers, Germany felt alone if Uncle Sam was not holding its hand.
Europeans’ lack of agency in the Russia-Ukraine crisis stems from this growing power imbalance in the Western alliance. Under the Biden administration, the US has become ever more willing to exercise this growing influence.
Facts aren’t the issue, interpretation is.
No. Atlanticism is based on the idea of relying on the US as a military power, and, consequently, also relying on the US to be sane. It’s been a thing since WWII in the face of the cold war, a major dividing point between France and Germany (at least under CDU governments), but generally been on the decline since Iraq as Atlanticists realised that the US is not, in fact, sane.
If you really believe that Europe is “subjugated” I invite you to look at the trade wars we had with the US. Most were quite short indeed as the US caves pretty much instantly each time they are shown what we can do. Are those the actions of vassals?
“Focussing” doesn’t mean anything. Approach, confront, what? You never know with the US they don’t have a coherent foreign policy.
The US is reliant on European industry in so many ways it’s not even funny. The whole world is.
Not news. Already arrived, as said, beginning with Iraq and really driven home with Trump. Also, we’re not relying on their protection. Again: From what aliens is the US supposed to protect us. If anything is endangered on the military side then it’s resource imports, but not the continent, and even then you’d have to hit a fuckton of places at the same time for trade flow to not simply readjust, meanwhile making pretty much the whole world your enemy.
I live in Latinamerica and I have never seen any shit made in Europe except useless fancy shit, maybe you build some engine part or something? I wouldn’t dare to say the world is dependent on European industry, though, now China, we sure are dependent to them.
ASML
Ok, that’s true, but at the same time it’s not like it’s the only one and also it’s one thing. If we wouldn’t get couped every 5 second we could create a replacement.
We build the machines that you, and China, use to build stuff. We also make things which go into things that go into things. We build the measuring systems you use to calibrate measuring systems. You can also buy whole power plants, turn-key. We bore all your tunnels, build all your gondola systems and probably build your planes, and also trains (The ranking is Alstrom, the Chinese, then Stadler). We build pneumatic tube systems for your hospitals and produce the forceps your surgeons use.
We also do a lot of consumer stuff but I don’t know how popular it is outside of Europe. But I’d be surprised if you can’t find e.g. Bosch food processors all over the world. Or Siemens light bulbs. Have you ever used a BIC pen or lighter (or, of all things, surfboards yes they produce surfboards). Hardly “fancy shit”.
And that’s not including stuff produced all over the world by European companies, if e.g. BASF were to vanish over night every single economy in the world would collapse.
kkkkkkkk
What, surprised? They’ve been producing them for ages.
Estadunidense acha que ninguém conhece liquidificador. Gringo, please, leia um livro kkkkkk
Quê? Surpreso?
I’m not American, Bosch isn’t American, and no I don’t think noone else produces kitchen appliances, much less knows what they are. Your mind must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.
What I did assume from your response is that you only knew Bosch from car parts, angle grinders and electrical drills, or something. But truth be told they produce about everything as long as it uses electricity.
Mate, you have to be a bit too gringo to think that whatever your conglomerates like Bosch produce can’t be produced without exporting all the wealth to the “Global North” as you people call it. Even Bosch itself has factories in China to supplement the stagnating production in your glorified peninsula. And no, we don’t need your posh “food processor” as if cheap and good mixers haven’t been commonplace everywhere for the last 50 years or so. Truth is “you” (as you put it) produce very little to the world, it is all extracted and produced abroad, be it in Asia, Africa or America (the continent), and then you get to claim glory because your patented circuit-printing facilities got to do the very last bit.
Then “you” (as you put it) try to shove these inferior and expensive products down the collective throat of the rest of the world. And then you proclaim to the world of slaves “how good we are, to civilise those barbarians”. Do you really believe us to be so stupid that we couldn’t replicate and improve your circuit boards and electronics without your nonsensical patent laws and foreign meddling? How many Chinas surpassing the USAurope do you need to call your exceptionalism into question? I have never seen a single Bosch appliance and European products are for the most part luxury goods or patent hogs. Oh no, how will I survive with my Asian imports and local production without the help of those smart Euros? All you people do is import, and you pretend that’s a good thing.
But please, educate me about the third world reliance on your tiny continent.
Fine. Convince whatever country you’re in to pass a law forbidding importing anything from highly developed nations. If you don’t want our stuff, your choice. If you don’t want to sell your stuff, also your choice. Just stop trading, I don’t care.
…what you’re going to see happening is your own high-tech sector completely folding, and you then spending the next 50 year spending tons of resources on figuring out how to build things that you can buy off the shelf from Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea, etc.
And that’d be a shame because we’d like to see you on eye level, see you carve out your own areas of excellence where you trump us. But if you don’t want to, well, we won’t force you. Because unlike Seppos we actually learned from history.
BTW, Argentina invented the ballpoint pen and Bics are produced either in Argentina or Brasil, lol.
The interpretation is entirely correct. EU is subordinate to US in every practical way, and one has to be wilfully ignorant not to see that.
If by trade war you mean US cannibalizing Europe by luring what business is left to prop up its own failing economy then sure.
What interests has US actually caved on exactly?
Focusing means allocating resources towards Asia. Meanwhile, the fact that US does not have a coherent policy should itself be very worrisome for Europe. Having outsourced your security to an unstable and unreliable partner has put Europe into a rather precarious situation today.
It’s very clear that plenty of European states feel they need to have military parity with Russia. While the idea of a war with Russia is obviously insane, that doesn’t change the political reality of Europe. Given that Europe is in no position to match Russia militarily, it is therefore reliant on US for military strength.
Completely Seppo-brained. Being on the left doesn’t make you immune from the exceptionalism cool aid.
Russia can’t even fucking match Ukraine which is being drip-fed surplus. France alone could roll over Russia but they’d have a hard time keeping up with the Poles running on pure, distilled, wrath. The only reason they’re not in Moscow right now is because NATO is also a leash.
LMFAO