My cynical read on this is that the US did not want to see the EU become and independent bloc, or worse start aligning with the east. So, burning it down is in US interest. Meanwhile, now that Russia emerged as a serious power on the continent, the US is willing cut a deal to carve up Ukraine with them in hopes of pulling Russia away from China somewhat. The Europeans will get thrown under the bus, while Russia and the US will likely make some development deals in Ukraine. The fact that Dmitriev, who heads RDIF, has been in a lot of the meetings is a dead give away of where things are headed.
How long will the currency bloc last, do you think? Germany and France are the only ones that actually benefit from it, it’s basically just financial imperialism that allows the core to determine the taxing and spending of the semi-periphery within Europe.
I expect the EU will implode within half a decade tops. The whole scheme could only work in times of plenty where financial surplus could paper over the internal tensions. Now that the pie is shrinking, countries which are in a better economic position are pulling up their ladders. We see nationalist parties becoming prominent all over Europe now, and that trend will only accelerate. The EU trying to enforce bloc discipline with financial punishments, like they’re doing with Hungary, is another factor. At some point, Hungary might just decide they’re better off leaving the EU and joining BRICS. If either Germany or France end up with a nationalist government like AfD or NR, then there’s a good chance of them bailing on EU as well. Without France or Germany the whole thing would collapse overnight.
Definitely not at the expense of their relationship with China. The problem the US has is that everybody knows how fickle their system is and how easily they can do a 180 on anything they agree on. That makes it effectively impossible to make any sorts of long term arrangements with the US. That said, Russia will likely want to cool things down with the US, and find mutually beneficial economic arrangements going forward.
My cynical read on this is that the US did not want to see the EU become and independent bloc, or worse start aligning with the east. So, burning it down is in US interest. Meanwhile, now that Russia emerged as a serious power on the continent, the US is willing cut a deal to carve up Ukraine with them in hopes of pulling Russia away from China somewhat. The Europeans will get thrown under the bus, while Russia and the US will likely make some development deals in Ukraine. The fact that Dmitriev, who heads RDIF, has been in a lot of the meetings is a dead give away of where things are headed.
How long will the currency bloc last, do you think? Germany and France are the only ones that actually benefit from it, it’s basically just financial imperialism that allows the core to determine the taxing and spending of the semi-periphery within Europe.
I expect the EU will implode within half a decade tops. The whole scheme could only work in times of plenty where financial surplus could paper over the internal tensions. Now that the pie is shrinking, countries which are in a better economic position are pulling up their ladders. We see nationalist parties becoming prominent all over Europe now, and that trend will only accelerate. The EU trying to enforce bloc discipline with financial punishments, like they’re doing with Hungary, is another factor. At some point, Hungary might just decide they’re better off leaving the EU and joining BRICS. If either Germany or France end up with a nationalist government like AfD or NR, then there’s a good chance of them bailing on EU as well. Without France or Germany the whole thing would collapse overnight.
And the whole continent would be in turmoil if the eu ever collapsed
And meanwhile we’re now seeing growth move to the aohtht
Yeah, the smart move for Europe is to align immediately with China
which is precisely why Europe won’t do it
Would Russia even want to align with the US?
Definitely not at the expense of their relationship with China. The problem the US has is that everybody knows how fickle their system is and how easily they can do a 180 on anything they agree on. That makes it effectively impossible to make any sorts of long term arrangements with the US. That said, Russia will likely want to cool things down with the US, and find mutually beneficial economic arrangements going forward.