Tag Archives: EU

Is Trump Using the JCPOA to Break the UN Before it Breaks Him? by Tom Luongo

Posted on September 21, 2020 | Leave a comment

Is there method to President Trump’s foreign affairs madness? Probably. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 25: President Donald Trump addresses the 73rd United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly on September 25, 2018 in New York City. The United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, is expected to attract 84 heads of state and 44 heads of government in New York City for a week of speeches, talks and high level diplomacy concerning global issues. New York City is under tight security for the annual event with dozens of road closures and thousands of security officers patrolling city streets and waterways. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece wondering if there was a deeper meaning behind the Trump administration’s bizarre maneuvers in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over snapback sanctions on Iran.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the resumption of these sanctions by the U.S. and demands that all the signatories to the JCPOA abide by them or face serious consequences.

In that article I noted the following:

Now at the same time, Trump and Pompeo have been very active across Europe rewriting the U.S. troop deployment map there to pressure Russia into signing new INF and START treaties under threat of U.S. expanded deployments in Poland.

Is this just more aggressive posturing by Trump? We’ll see. I remain convinced that a lot of his foreign policy ‘blundering,’ as Philip Giraldi called it recently (which I don’t disagree with), is part of his purposefully blowing up the old order between the U.S. and Europe now that it’s clear to me the globalists’ goal of a Great Reset involves destroying the U.S. and moving the center of western power to the European Union.

This morning Martin Armstrong shifted his analysis of the current push by the global elite I call The Davos Crowd in an important post stating that the goal of this push was to bring about the rise of the UN to the status of world government during this next period of history .

The stated goal? Bring on the Green New Deal to save us all from Climate Change. The real goal, the concentration of power into the hands of an un-elected bureau of technocrats.

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Market Friday: Johnson’s Big Week on the Way to the COVID Gallows, by Tom Luongo

Posted on September 13, 2020 | Leave a comment

Like many politicians, Boris Johnson is capable of being clever and stupid at the same time. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

n the same week Prime Minister Boris Johnson blew up trade deal talks with the European Union he signs a big trade deal with Japan.

In the same week Boris Johnson unveils new, very unpopular social distancing rules barring gatherings of more than six people, he puts the screws to the Scottish Nationalists who still think their support comes from their being arch-Remainers and not the contrary nature of most Scots.

In the same week that Boris Johnson sets an October 15th drop dead date for Brexit talks with the EU, President Donald Trump’s election chances rose to even for the first time this summer.

In the same week Julian Assange goes through a sham trial for the sake of protecting the indefensible actions of U.S. and UK intelligence agents Johnson’s government is mulling scrapping the BBC’s mandatory licence fee handing them taxpayer money to undermine world security as the tip of the Marxist spear.

Now given all of that, it’s clear that Boris Johnson as Prime Minister is a decidedly mixed bag. His response to the Coronapocalypse has been an unmitigated disaster, bowing to political winds he should have never exposed himself to.

In doing so he’s squandered the significant goodwill his Brexit maneuvers of 2019 garnered him and the Conservative party. So, it’s obvious by now that his lack of managerial/organizational skill is what is undermining his government.

At the same time, however, Johnson’s handling of Brexit has been nothing short of excellent, the valid criticisms of the Withdrawal Act by Nigel Farage notwithstanding.

Johnson inherited a poison pill from Theresa May and in his zeal to fulfill a political promise agreed to a treaty with the EU that would bring his hardball negotiating stance to the current crossroads because of his compromises on the issue of Northern Ireland.

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The EU’s Drive toward Political Centralization Will Doom Its Economy, by Antonis Giannakopoulos

Posted on September 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

Political centralization in the grubby mitts of politicians and governments always dooms economies. From Antonis Giannakopoulos at mises.org:

In the wake of the economically disastrous covid-19 shutdowns, the political class has desperately tried to save the failing euro system. On July 21 European leaders agreed on what they called a “historic” deal. It was nothing more than a multitrillion euro stimulus package. However, it is more probable that the “recovery fund” will delay any chance of a much-needed economic restructuring taking place. What it will do is waste scarce resources and capital while setting Europe up for another financial and debt crisis. Another even more important issue is the dangerous path toward political centralization the EU is heading down as a result of the crisis. The European Parliament is very much dominated by procentralization forces and contains few individuals who defend the principles of decentralization and economic freedom while seeing with great concern the ever growing power of Brussels.

Has the social democratic project for the EU prevailed?

The Classical Liberal View: Economic Union, Political Decentralization

Even before the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, which created the core institution that later became the EU, there have been tensions between the two paths that a European union should take. The tension is between the classical liberal vision and the social democratic vision. The liberal vision puts its primary focus on defending individual freedom and respecting property rights while promoting a European free trade zone with a robust free market. The treaty of Rome was a major victory for the liberals, as it was built on two basic principles: freedom of movement and the free circulation of goods, services, and financial capital. In short, the treaty aimed at the restoration of rights and values that had been lost during the early twentieth century as nationalism and socialism prevailed in the European Continent.

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Johnson Pushes the EU to the Brink over Brexit, by Tom Luongo

Posted on September 9, 2020 | 1 comment

By now its obvious the UK has the upper hand in negotiations with the EU, and always has. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

Brexit Direction Sign

When the end-game of a political issue becomes obvious I tend to move on to other pressing issues. For most of 2018 and 2019 Brexit was a top-drawer issue because its end-game was uncertain.

With Boris Johnson’s resounding victory in December Brexit’s end-game became obvious if you assumed Johnson was a man of his word.

That was a tough pill to swallow, but given the political stakes for Johnson not a bad bet to put money on. And I argued after swallowing that pill that Johnson was in a position to drive the Remainers in his government and Parliament to extinction during Free Trade negotiations.

With the latest twist in the Brexit saga it looks like he and his negotiating team are ready to drive the final stake through the heart of them and the European Union with the Internal Market bill.

The Withdrawal Act’s validity and applicability to the future relationship between the EU and the U.K. is predicated on two things.

  1. Both sides negotiating a Free Trade Agreement in good faith.
  2. A free trade agreement is actually signed by the two parties.

If either of these things do not come to pass Section 38 of the Withdrawal Act upgrades the power of the U.K. government since it asserts the sovereignty of the U.K. parliament as a law-making body for the whole of the United Kingdom.

This includes Northern Ireland.

Johnson’s seeming sell-out of Northern Ireland with his agreeing to the Withdrawal Act was always predicated on there being a free trade deal struck between the EU and the U.K.

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Posted in Business, Economy, Governments, History, Politics, Secession

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The Covid Crisis Has Helped Make the Blueprint for a European Superstate, by Claudio Grass

Posted on August 9, 2020 | 1 comment

When politicians say never let a good crisis go to waste, they mean never let an opportunity to grab more power go to waste. From Claudio Grass at mises.org:

After intense negotiations, long days and nights of clashes, and a distinctly sour note underlying the entire summit, European Union leaders finally agreed on an unprecedented €1.82 trillion ($2.1 trillion) budget and covid recovery package. This agreement provides €750 billion in funding meant to counter the impact of the pandemic and also includes €390 billion in nonrepayable grants to the hardest-hit EU members, with Italy and Spain being the main recipients.

The harsh negotiations brought to the surface once again the deep economic, structural, and cultural divide between north and south. This divide has been at the core of every serious political and economic crisis in the bloc so far, and its reemergence served as yet another reminder of how unnatural, forced, and unsustainable the integration vision of the Europhiles really is. Their wider strategic aims, much like this covid relief package itself, are nothing more than a massive redistribution of wealth and a vain effort to impose uniformity on a radically diverse group of national identities, economic profiles, and local political realities.

As we have seen so many times in past crises, the main sticking point in these most recent “rescue” talks were the legitimate grievances and concerns of the richer countries in the north, including the Netherlands and Austria, about having to foot the bill yet again and bail out their cash-strapped southern neighbors. In this case, the disagreement centered on the question of loans vs. grants, as the richer members initially insisted that the immense sums of money they were forced to give away should at least be repaid at some point in future. And so, in the name of “solidarity,” the nations that put up some opposition, the “frugal four”—Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and the Netherlands—were named and shamed in the media, portrayed as heartless, Dickensian misers. Naturally, the fact that the chief beneficiaries of all that free money were in deep, chronic financial trouble long before the coronavirus even emerged was conveniently left out of the debate. Instead, the “frugal” were put under immense pressure to “do the right thing,” namely to agree that the majority of the support funding would be in the form of pure cash gifts. Apparently, these “persuasion” tactics also included histrionic outbursts: according to the BBC, “at one point French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly banged his fists on the table, as he told the ‘frugal four’ they were putting the European project in danger.”

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Posted in Debt, Economics, Economy, Geopolitics, Governments, Law, Politics

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The Big Lie: The EU is Fixed, The Dollar is Dying and COVID Will Kill You, by Tom Luongo

Posted on July 29, 2020 | 2 comments

Anytime the mainstream media joins together in a Hallelujah chorus, they’re trying to pull one over on you. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

Dyin’ ain’t much of a livin’, boy
– The Outlaw Josey Wales

The Davos Crowd is desperate. That much has been clear to me for months.

From the moment they tied COVID-19 to the breaking of the oil markets back in March they have worked like no other time in history to convince us the world we knew was gone.

The latest iteration of this big lie is the all-out assault on the U.S. dollar. Now for months a few analysts like me have been steadfast in reminding everyone that no matter how much money the U.S. prints in the short run, it is only doing so because of the extreme levels of latent and active dollar demand in the world.

So, there is narrative and there is reality. And reality is that today there is huge demand for the U.S. dollar regardless of what the headlines tell you.

That said, that doesn’t mean that demand doesn’t ebb and flow. And now that we’re on the other side of the first wave of this crisis period, marginal dollar hoarding has slacked off.

This is most evident in the dramatic rise in the euro back above $1.17 and the British pound breaking back to challenge $1.30. But in the grand scheme of things these are just relief rallies within primary bear markets.

But in the past couple of weeks, coinciding nicely with a massive rally in the precious metals, there’s been a deluge of talk about the end of the dollar.

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Posted in Banking, Business, Currencies, Debt, Economy, Financial markets, Governments, Politics

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EU Economy Traveling Along Same Worn Dead-end Road, by Bruce Wilds

Posted on June 8, 2020 | 1 comment

The problem with the majority of Europeans is they really think economic growth comes from and is directed by governments and central banks. From Bruce Wilds at brucewilds.blogspot.com:

With so many countries across the world facing difficulties, many people have yet to notice the Euro-Zone has become a place where hope goes to die. The last round of elections in the Euro-Zone should bring little comfort to those supporting a stronger Europe. Huge gains were made by forces seeking more power for the populist agenda. In short, it is a boost for the rights of individual nations to have more say in how they are governed.  Two of the most pressing issues are that insolvent Italy struggles with a stagnant economy and Spain is coming apart politically with Catalan separatists defying Spain’s Prime Minister.

To avoid the union coming apart at the seams and a miserable future, the European Commission recently unveiled an unprecedented  €750BN CoVid-19 recovery plan. It consists of €500 billion in grants to member states, and €250 billion would be available in loans. This means they are asking for the power to borrow. This is geared to tackle the worst recession in European history and shore up Italy. It would mean transforming the EU’s central finances to allow for it to raise unprecedented sums on the capital markets and hand out the bulk of the proceeds as grants to hard-pressed member states.

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Even the EU Are a Bunch of Karens — Barnier Complains About Brexit Negotiations, by Tom Luongo

Posted on April 25, 2020 | 1 comment

Furious whining from the EU because the British won’t do what the EU wants them to do. Maybe that’s why the British are leaving the EU. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

So, this happened. EU lead negotiator for the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom is complaining in the press again.

“The United Kingdom cannot refuse to extend the transition and at the same time slow down progress in important areas,” Barnier said, expressing concern that Britain has not presented concrete proposals for certain contentious issues, but did not name the areas, according to DPA news agency.

H/T to Fort Russ

For once someone is treating the EU the way it treats everyone else and they don’t like it. I guess Michel should change his name to Karen.

Except the problem here is there’s no manager to talk to because Prime Minister Boris Johnson isn’t listening.

The typical EU negotiations looks like this, according to former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

You walk in with a well thought out proposal, present it in detail thinking it’s the beginning of a negotiation only to find they aren’t listening at all and look at you like you’ve just sung the Swedish National Anthem.

Well it looks like Boris Johnson and the Brits are treating Barnier and the EU with the same vague contempt that he and the EU treat everyone else and guess what?

Karen doesn’t like it.

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Posted in Business, Debt, Economy, Geopolitics, Governments, Insurrection, Law, Trade

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The European Union is Dead but Does Not Yet Know It, by Giulio Meotti

Posted on April 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

If unity was supposed the hallmark of the EU, then it most certainly is dead. From Giulio Meotti at gatestoneinstitute.org:

  • The truth is that there is no “Union”.
  • The coronavirus now has put the European Union and its comfort zone face-to-face with all its weaknesses, decadence and cowardice.
  • Another merciless battle Italy fought with the EU was for protective face-masks. France adopted a policy of requisitioning them; Germany banned their export. Those unilateral decisions undermined a much-touted EU principle: the free movement of goods in the single market.
  • As L’Express exposed, France seized four million masks belonging to a Swedish company and that had been intended, in part, for Italy and Spain.
  • When Italy and Greece were overwhelmed by migrants from the Middle East and Africa, the EU countries refused to take their “share” of migrants. Lacking a policy to stop the flow of mass immigration, Europe decided to leave the southern countries to their fate.
(Image source: iStock)

The new coronavirus appears to be tearing apart the fragile framework of the European Union.

“Europe” said the former Commission chief and a EU godfather, Jacques Delors, “is in “mortal danger“.

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Covid-19 Shatters the Facade of European Union, by the Strategic Culture Editorial Board

Posted on March 22, 2020 | 1 comment

It’s every country for itself in Europe now. From the Strategic Culture Editorial Board at strategic-culture.org:

The new coronavirus and its accompanying disease Covid-19 has stopped the globe in its tracks. Governments, markets and news cycles have become dominated by the pandemic. Europe is now the epicenter for the disease, with reportedly more fatal cases of infection than China where the virus first erupted in December.

Several European Union countries have declared themselves states of emergencies, including Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. The 27-member bloc has sealed off external borders. Some states, such as Poland, have begun closing borders with other EU members. Brussels, the administrative center of the EU, is alarmed because the much-vaunted single market and its core principles of free movement of goods and people is at risk of collapsing.

The European entity which proclaims solidarity and supranational status is reverting to a collection of nation states, each desperately fighting for their own survival amid the Covid-19 pandemic. EU leaders have been criticized for showing lack of central leadership and solidarity. When Italy first reported a surge in infections a few weeks ago, the rest of Europe was slow to respond with the necessary prompt assistance. Now Italy is such a grip of the disease – with thousands dead – that in some parts of the country normal funeral services reportedly cannot even cope with the number of deceased.

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Posted in Collapse, Economy, Governments, Medicine, Politics

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