“You as a political project in denial”. These words are now part of the lexicon of the EU, thanks to a speech by Nigel Farage in the European Parliament a referendum on the British exit from the EU. The point Farage: in spite of being a British exit from the EU, the European Union is not willing to acknowledge that the process of centralization has gone too far.
Farage was right then and he is right now. Despite concerns about too much centralization of powers of the EU, Brussels continues to consolidate power. Now move to the question of the principle of unanimity, which requires all Nations to agree on foreign policy decisions, and even to create a European army.
Opinions among the people of Europe, however, is very different. According to the pew research center survey, 58% of respondents in Greece, 57% in Italy, 61% in France, half of Germans and 61 percent said they often choose the Spanish referendum on membership of their countries in the EU. It should be noted that only small minorities in each of these countries really want to leave the EU: even in Poland, under considerable pressure from Brussels, understandable only up 10%.
However, two things must be said about these figures. First, the level of skepticism in the period 2008-2014, which suggests that another major event like the financial crisis could worsen the ratings of the favorability of the EU is much further. And second, pew also found that only 20% support the extension of the powers of the EU—a view that is shared by most of those in Brussels.
In fact, the European Union strategy to regain the trust of their people was not to rethink the process of political integration, but to reinforce it. The mantra of “more Europe” is shared by the President of France Emmanuel macron. Macron marked the emergence of the European Council (the body representing the member States of the EU), requiring the introduction of so-called “digital tax” on companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook, as well as calling for a “Euro area Finance Minister” and the budget for the 19 States that have a common currency, the Euro. Macron also advocated the introduction of minimum wages in the individual member States in order to “restore the European social model”. And in the 25 member States to progressively integrate their armed forces due to permanent structured cooperation (SAND), including the improvement of Maritime surveillance, armored vehicles, infantry, and artillery—macron became clear that “Europe is dedicated to the creation of a unified military force, economic, common defense, and the doctrine of mutual defense act.”
Makron even digging out old and unsuccessful attempts at taxation, referring to the European carbon tax and re-introduction of a tax on financial transactions, which has not found support even in his socialist predecessor, Francois Hollande.
In order to achieve their European dream, Makron need two things. First, he needs Germany. The Franco-German friendship has long been defined by the EU, and if Paris and Berlin agree on something, Brussels seeks to follow their example. Germany is governed by purposeless and purely opportunistic, the government coalition (and with the United Kingdom, long opposed to EU centralisation—the door), a macron should have little problem getting what he wants. This left him as the unofficial leader of Europe, and suddenly French dominance of the political situation became apparent in Paris and Berlin. Former foreign Minister of Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, said in an interview with the German press in October that, “France is the dominant Germany on the initiative of the EU from 10 to 0”. The French newspaper Le Figaro, meanwhile, quotes the Minister of the French government, saying: “macron is a new and strong power; Merkel is a weak and fragile government.”
The second thing that needs the macron to bring down Euroskeptic voices have been raised in a large number of European countries. He started working in this direction, urging member States to hold a debate on the future of the EU in the next 10 to 15 years, and now 25 countries have agreed to participate. However, this step in the direction of the proliferation of Euroscepticism can easily have unpleasant consequences: countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark refused the previous initiatives of the EU, when asked in the referendum. The Netherlands hit the European Constitution in 2005 and the European Union Association Agreement with Ukraine in 2016. Denmark voted against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and opposed joining the Euro in 2000. Danish opinion polls showed in 2005 that the European Constitution is likely to fail if put to a referendum, the Pro-European authorities have canceled a planned vote and adopted the proposal through Parliament. With countries such as Hungary and Poland now criticize and potentially sanctioned by the Brussels-Pro-EU parties to these disputes may not be perceived positively in all member States.
Some of the allies Makron in Brussels, such as the Czech Prime Minister Andrew Babish, preparing for the loss of growing Euroscepticism. The babish supports legislation that would make it very difficult to organize a referendum on EU membership by increasing the threshold required to conduct one. The government suggested that 850,000 votes needed for the referendum, and half the voters in the country should accept the offer. With a population of about 10 million inhabitants, and voter turnout is usually around the 50% mark, Babish making sure that while on paper “Czexit” perhaps all the imaginable blockade was put in place to prevent it. If it is a “proposal for dialogue” that supporters of the EU offer, it is doubtful that people will accept it.
Now, when the macron is moving forward in their reform plans, with no intention of putting any changes in the public vote, his posture and reputation in Europe has led the media to greet it. DW.com described him as “the sun king” or “Hoffnungsträger” (German for “Herald of hope”). One of the economist of July editions of his to literally walk on water.
It is certainly true that Emmanuel macron lives in the hope that it will be the only European leader on the continent. However, political turmoil in countries such as Poland and Italy, as well as the reluctance of small States such as Malta, Holland, Denmark, can make his reforms bumpy. They can be seen as giving the European Union a reboot, but they are likely to light another fire under the Euroskeptic movement.
If we know one thing about French monarchs in Europe, is that they usually overestimate their support among the common people. It is always important to make sure You don’t…lose your head for their ideals.
Bill Wirtz comments about European politics and policies in English, French and German. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Washington examiner, CityAM, “Mond”, “Figaro” and “Welt”.
Sourse: theamericanconservative.com
