Germany: 'Europe United' Must Be Answer To Trump's 'America First'

[ThunderBlade + 231]

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday that Europe must respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of tighter borders, protectionist economic policies and unilateralist diplomacy, with “Europe United”. He said he expected U.S. Democrats, who in Tuesday’s midterm elections won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, to use their newfound power to more heavily influence Trump’s policies. “We’ll see to what extent that has an impact. We hope that this cooperation will be constructive and lead to constructive results in international politics,” Maas said.

[Pavel + 384]

Fair enough. World can be better and stronger whenever one wants to be better than others on the field of economic, IT, health or democracy, but without blackmail .... Market must be open and available to all players with the same condition.

[damirUSBiH + 327]

EU and US have to find joint answer for economic expansion of China and Russia. But they've already tried that. And it didn't work.

[Petar + 76]

The fact is that EU brought prosperity, peace, and stability in Europe. But nationalists and populists from Hungary, Italy and Poland today, or Germany tomorrow bring "dissolution"...

[pinto + 293]

6 minutes ago, Petar said:

The fact is that EU brought prosperity, peace, and stability in Europe. But nationalists and populists from Hungary, Italy and Poland today, or Germany tomorrow bring "dissolution"...

Problem for EU is not US, China or Russia - problem is  expensive and overpaid administration of Brussels and unequal balance of power between EU countries. In this situation the "answers" from Hungary or Italy are a logical reaction...

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

36 minutes ago, ThunderBlade said:

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday that Europe must respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of tighter borders, protectionist economic policies and unilateralist diplomacy, with “Europe United”. He said he expected U.S. Democrats, who in Tuesday’s midterm elections won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, to use their newfound power to more heavily influence Trump’s policies. “We’ll see to what extent that has an impact. We hope that this cooperation will be constructive and lead to constructive results in international politics,” Maas said.

The problem, Mr Maas, is that the European Union apparently does not see itself, effectively, as a union.  If one needs to tell one's member states that they belong to a union, one does not have a union.  This after 25 years of the European Union?  I think that old boy Nigel Farage is right about these clowns: it is not a union, it is not a democracy, it is not fair and just, and so on.

And to imply that the U.S. having an "America First” agenda of tighter borders, protectionist economic policies and unilateralist diplomacy is a bad thing, considering the loose borders issues the EU has, the tariffs and VAT imbalances imposed by the EU, and the idea that the U.S. should do what the EU wants, is the height of hypocrisy.

It only took Herr Maas 25 years to figure out that the EU needs to act as "Europe United"?  It will probably work out soon.

[rainman + 263]

35 minutes ago, damirUSBiH said:

EU and US have to find joint answer for economic expansion of China and Russia. But they've already tried that. And it didn't work.

Oh, dear...  Cliche. The volume of trade between Russia and Germany has been growing and reached US$39 billion in the first eight months of 2018, according to documents prepared by the Kremlin’s press service. 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

Yeah, good luck with that.

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

Nigel Farage on election process of Jean Claude Juncker.

 

[damirUSBiH + 327]

14 minutes ago, rainman said:

Oh, dear...  Cliche. The volume of trade between Russia and Germany has been growing and reached US$39 billion in the first eight months of 2018, according to documents prepared by the Kremlin’s press service. 

The divided EU and allies, opposing views in NATO have just given Russia a chance. That's what I'm talking about.
Sometimes you should read between rows..

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

You can skip to 14:20 in the clip for Nigel's part, or watch the whole clip.

Nigel Farage ``Europe You Met Your Match DONALD TRUMP on Tariffs``

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

45 minutes ago, Dan Warnick said:

The problem, Mr Maas, is that the European Union apparently does not see itself, effectively, as a union.  If one needs to tell one's member states that they belong to a union, one does not have a union.  This after 25 years of the European Union?  I think that old boy Nigel Farage is right about these clowns: it is not a union, it is not a democracy, it is not fair and just, and so on.

And to imply that the U.S. having an "America First” agenda of tighter borders, protectionist economic policies and unilateralist diplomacy is a bad thing, considering the loose borders issues the EU has, the tariffs and VAT imbalances imposed by the EU, and the idea that the U.S. should do what the EU wants, is the height of hypocrisy.

It only took Herr Maas 25 years to figure out that the EU needs to act as "Europe United"?  It will probably work out soon.

Let's have this conversation in about 10 years time. Something has to happen. I don't disagree that the EU doesn't work, but I believe that we need to try to fix it, rather than burn it to the ground. Maybe Trump will be good for Europe in as much as he makes us see that we need to truly come together.... 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

4 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

Let's have this conversation in about 10 years time. Something has to happen. I don't disagree that the EU doesn't work, but I believe that we need to try to fix it, rather than burn it to the ground. Maybe Trump will be good for Europe in as much as he makes us see that we need to truly come together.... 

Again, pointing at Trump and saying that maybe he will help the EU figure out it needs to come together implicitly shifts blame to the outside instead of to the inside.  Responsibility requires self reflection, and I don't see that happening any time soon with the EU.  Blaming another country for woes that are of your own making and saying it is unfair when they stand up and say so, is simply not the answer.

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

1 hour ago, Dan Warnick said:

Again, pointing at Trump and saying that maybe he will help the EU figure out it needs to come together implicitly shifts blame to the outside instead of to the inside.  Responsibility requires self reflection, and I don't see that happening any time soon with the EU.  Blaming another country for woes that are of your own making and saying it is unfair when they stand up and say so, is simply not the answer.

Agree 100%, except that I am not blaming Trump for anything. if anything I think EU will need to thank Trump. 

Europe or any other country / Union need to sort their issues out on their own. All I am saying is that if the EU ever get their shit together I believe they will be a force to reckoned with. I hope that they will & hope that Trumps divide and conquer strategy will make EU come together. Judging from the debate in certain key countries I think there is a good chance we will.  

1 hour ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

It only took Herr Maas 25 years to figure out that the EU needs to act as "Europe United"?  It will probably work out soon

EU never had to act united in other than an economic sense... untill now. 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

11 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

I hope that they will & hope that Trumps divide and conquer strategy will make EU come together. Judging from the debate in certain key countries I think there is a good chance we will.

Hang onto that hope, and let us know how it works out for you.

[Epic + 390]

3 hours ago, ThunderBlade said:

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday that Europe must respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda of tighter borders, protectionist economic policies and unilateralist diplomacy, with “Europe United”.

I wonder if he is including Italy, Turkey, Greece, and the UK as part of "Europe"? 

Or maybe what he is really saying here is: "Please, please please, UK, don't leave us to this mess!  We need your money!"

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

4 minutes ago, Epic said:

I wonder if he is including Italy, Turkey, Greece, and the UK as part of "Europe"? 

Or maybe what he is really saying here is: "Please, please please, UK, don't leave us to this mess!  We need your money!"

It's assinine, isn't it?  Everything I see about EU financial matters, trade, migration and climate change these days gives more and more credibility to the Global Government theory we see being exposed as an end game (shh, that is not openly talked about).

[NatGasDude + 94]

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/09/642587456/chinese-firms-now-hold-stakes-in-over-a-dozen-european-ports

 

4 hours ago, Petar said:

The fact is that EU brought prosperity, peace, and stability in Europe. But nationalists and populists from Hungary, Italy and Poland today, or Germany tomorrow bring "dissolution"...

It's difficult to check the box that  peace, prosperity and stability in Europe is thanks to the glut caused by EU bureaucrats. Merit rests on the shoulders of hard working Europeans who put effort into their businesses and enterprises. EU regulations are choking businesses across France and southern Europe with all kinds of nonsense like the 'distance a mailbox must be from the front door', 'portion of boiled egg a child should eat at school', 80% of small hotels cannot meet the plethora of regulations, and small towns in France and Southern Europe have been hit with a regulatory cost of 2.7% of their GDP, or 2.5 B over a 4 year period (as well as destruction of incentive to invest capital because of the prohibitive regulatory environment). They were better off during the pre-EU days which resembled a more laissez faire market.

Just like I disagree with the notion of crediting Trump for 'all of America's economic growth' (deregulation and tax cuts helped but only partially), I disagree with crediting EU regulation with all of EU's prosperity.  It is a dangerous mentality to credit governmental leadership for all of a nation(s)' prosperity- it's about the workers as well as the effective management of business and capital. Government either applies the brakes via regulation or greases the wheels with subsidies(not always good to choose winners..), but they certainly don't fuel the locomotive. The EU experiences GDP growth despite the regulatory environment, not because of Brussel's bureaucracy.

The nationalist-populist voice in Italy/Hungary is an outcry to defend sovereignty and native culture. If migrants have the right to flaunt and defend their cultures in Europe, then the natives who welcome them should also have their voices heard. Western culture must be defended, promoted and sustained because it is the foundation for free thought, the rights of man, and representative government. That is why foreigners are flooding the gates of the US and EU-their native countries have no respect for the individual and they are trying to escape that injustice.

What happens when the native traditions of the EU are overwhelmed and forgotten? Do we just forget about the EU's metamorphosis from the crucible of harsh feudalism and Church rule to the cradle of human rights/enlightenment/representative government? Shall we erase that tradition, and embrace chaos for the sake of political correctness? It's a scary future for those who forget the past, and although the populist movements can appear a bit 'loony' at first glance, they are being pushed through BY THE PEOPLE, and maybe that voice and platform is necessary to balance the hyper globalist/anti nativist voice that dominates western politics.

 

Chinese ownership of EU ports......a major 'PLUS'!

 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

^^ That is an excellent piece!

[Tomasz + 1,608]

From economic point of view European Union is on second or even first place as economic  power.

But if you want to rate its geopolitical positions it means nothing. After WW2 it was a junior-partner of USA and still holds this position.

I have no illusion that in foreesable future there will an independent european foreign policy.

I also dont think that any sensible leader of Russia and China wait for this even after fatal results of US policy in Middle East.

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

5 hours ago, Dan Warnick said:

Hang onto that hope, and let us know how it works out for you.

story of the starfish.. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

13 hours ago, Petar said:

The fact is that EU brought prosperity, peace, and stability in Europe. But nationalists and populists from Hungary, Italy and Poland today, or Germany tomorrow bring "dissolution"...

That is because the European Union became tyrannical and is extremely bureaucratic. It has also forced overwhelming immigration on the people of Europe. The leaders of Europe seem more interested in enforcing their wills on the people of Europe than on listening to them and providing the kind of union that the people want. You forgot to mention Brexit which is also based mainly on excess EU immigration. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

9 hours ago, Dan Warnick said:

It's assinine, isn't it?  Everything I see about EU financial matters, trade, migration and climate change these days gives more and more credibility to the Global Government theory we see being exposed as an end game (shh, that is not openly talked about).

Excerpt from one of my long winded comments earlier this week:

 

So, what is my point in all this?

From what I see going on in the big picture, this is an epic battle between the forces of Globalism + Socialism and the forces of Nationalism + Capitalism.

On the one hand, there is the concerted push for independent countries to eliminate or reduce borders, eliminate or reduce national currencies, and become 1 big globalist, grey, Borg family.



 And resisting the globalist Borg Socialism intiative, is a handful of EU states and part of the U.S. (mostly the flyover states).

And the clash of ideologies seems ready to happen this month.

Oil prices will likely go bonkers this week and this month, and even more so if the Khashoggi incident is used as leverage to decouple the U.S. PetroDollar from global oil prices.  

... The list goes on and on, but I'll try to keep this fairly simple.

By the end of this year, I tend to think that this epic battle on the world stage between Globalism + Socialism  - vs. -  Stronger Borders + Capitalism will have a bit of resolution, with one side gaining ground and the other side losing ground.  

... If the forces of Globalism + Socialism gain the upper hand, I tend to think that the Khashoggi incident will get ramped up to cause more chaos.  And a subsequent renewed push away from the PetroDollar for oil.

If the forces of Nationalism + stronger borders / Capitalism gain the upper hand, I expect Brexit to move forward, and the PetroDollar strengthened to last longer to fight another day.

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

7 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

From what I see going on in the big picture, this is an epic battle between the forces of Globalism + Socialism and the forces of Nationalism + Capitalism.

I am not sure I understand. Please elaborate. 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

12 hours ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

I am not sure I understand. Please elaborate. 

Not sure what you don't understand.

From what I see, there is an ongoing battle between a push to globalize the world, and a push by nations to remain independent.  And to me, these opposing forces appear to roughly correspond with the opposing forces of Socialism vs. Capitalism.

To me, both of the ideas of Globalism and Socialism fall under the concept of "Collectivism" or more appropriately "The Borg Collective".

And both of the ideas of Nationalism and Capitalism fall under the concept of "Individualism"  or "Personal Responsibility".

I have gleefully mocked the Globalism Collectivism ideal of turning the rainbow vast spectrum of individualism into the clammy grey NPC Borg collective of enforced samethink.  

The UN - styled Globalism Collective initiative by un-elected, un-accountable Ivory Tower bureaucrats is scary.

Hungary in the EU flipped the middle finger to un-elected EU bureaucrat dictators in Brussels when the EU Collectivism bureaucrats demanded that Hungary unquestioningly accept vast amounts of unvetted, illegal migrants from Africa.

The UN recently demanded that the US accept vast amounts of unvetted, illegal migrants from Central America (the same illegal migrants who refused refugee status in Mexico while en route to the promised Welfare Land of the USA.  Trump rightfully put his foot down and refused. 

The proper procedure is to go through lawful immigration procedures, with background checks, health check, etc.  Not violently breaking through fences and swarming over a border.

I prefer the rainbow of individualism and personal responsibility over the grey muddy collective of irresponsible Socialist Globalism.

 

Just my opinion; as always, you are free to disagree.

============================

“I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine.  He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.”

– Thomas Paine (1737-1809)