2050 superpower

Chapter 27: The Gradually Aging Europe (3)
Naturally, Europe was rejoicing when it was reborn, but the United States on the other side of the Atlantic did not join in the joy.At this time, the United States is in conflict.The marathon confrontation with the Soviet Union lasted for more than 40 years, and the Soviet Union was finally dragged down and disbanded. However, the United States has not played enough, and the United States feels lonely without an opponent.Lonely America wants to continue playing the game of the past, but the cost of this game is too great to bear alone.Therefore, the United States insisted on the continued existence of NATO for no reason, and let European countries pay for their own games through NATO.But the old Europe is already tired of the United States and does not want to play with the United States any longer.

Old Europe generally refers to Britain, France and Germany.Without Britain, France and Germany, there would be no Europe, just as there would be no Asia without China, India and Japan.If a continent wants to gain an important international status, it must have a powerful country in this continent, otherwise this continent is a wasteland in the world, and no one will pay attention to it.In Africa, because there is not a country with international weight, no one will take seriously no matter what kind of human rights crises and wars arise.The same is true for a country.For example, the Philippines, a "democratic" country, is as light as ashes in the world. In its domestic Maguindanao province, the family forces launched a bloody massacre against competitors in order to compete for the governorship. After the uproar was spread, no one mentioned the matter again.If such a thing happens in a core country, it will inevitably cause international shock.

Since the three countries of Britain, France and Germany are the core countries of Europe, the United States must give full "attention".

Needless to say, Britain is a traditional entourage of the United States, while Germany and France are different.The United States only recognizes that Britain can represent Europe, while Germany and France do not recognize it because Germany and France are disobedient.In this regard, U.S. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld made it very clear. He said: France and Germany who opposed the Iraq War are just "old Europe" and cannot be representatives of the whole of Europe.

So, what should the new Europe look like in the eyes of the United States?The United States believes that "New Europe" refers to the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, several small EU countries and most Eastern European countries.The new Europe in the eyes of Europeans is exactly the opposite of the United States. They believe that the new Europe should be a strong, independent, independent and economically powerful Europe that has the right to speak internationally.The implication is that only France and Germany can represent "New Europe".

We can see what kind of new Europe he hopes to have from the US's pretentiousness.

The new Europe that the United States wants is impossible.The question now is whether the new Europe can sustain the hopes of a European renaissance.

Hope there always will be.However, if the new Europe is to achieve a real revival, the fishbone stuck in its throat must be spit out.This "fishbone" is the NATO that still exists.NATO, which is dominated by the United States, is a product of history; after the passage of time, NATO has a new meaning for the United States - to control the new Europe militarily.Because of the existence of NATO, the United States can use the "carrot" policy within the EU to divide the EU.The United States has deployed missile defense systems in EU countries such as the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Poland on the condition of economic assistance.Nominally speaking, it is to contain Russia. Once the United States and Europe turn against each other, the United States can easily gain control of NATO and in turn contain New Europe.Therefore, if NATO is not eliminated, it will be difficult for Europe to settle down.

In addition to NATO, which has its bones in its throat, the problems existing in the EU are also important factors affecting the revival of the new Europe.As new member states join the EU, while they share the benefits of joining the EU, they hope that the EU will be more democratic and not allow the old European countries to have more power.But New Europe cannot do without the influence of Old Europe.Whether it is Merkel's Middle East peace efforts or Sarkozy's "Mediterranean Union Plan", they are all aimed at enabling the new Europe to gain a foothold in the local area and look at the world. Economic development in Europe.

Whether the efforts of France and Germany will be effective depends on the cohesion within the EU, but the EU has cracks.Needless to say, the United Kingdom will always be a hidden danger to the European Union, and some other small Eastern European countries are also factors of instability.Does the expansion of New Europe absorb countries that are as determined to revive Europe as Old Europe?I'm afraid not.There are many countries that only see the immediate interests and follow the old Europe. Once the interests are gone, these countries are the cracks in the EU. Once the stress reaches a certain level, these countries are the ruptures that will cause the EU to collapse.Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland and other countries have large and small cracks in them. Under the lure, they have become the presence of the United States in New Europe. They have received double salaries in one body and two servants.

The revival of New Europe is inseparable from the traction of the "troika".If Sarkozy, Brown and Merkel can build a dynamic European leadership, the new Europe will have vitality.The biggest test for the new Europe now is whether Brown can change Britain's course.In the Iraq war, because Britain closely followed the policy of the United States, not only the prestige of the Labor Party in the country was greatly damaged, but also Britain caused many doubts in the European Union.Therefore, Brown must make a difference in foreign policy and not continue Blair's policy.

Apart from Britain, French naivety may ruin the revival of the new Europe.After Chirac came to power, France made a major move. He participated in the NATO military committee and the meeting of defense ministers.Thereafter, in March 2009, French successor President Nicolas Sarkozy submitted a formal application to NATO on behalf of France, requesting to return to the NATO military command system.This series of moves by France is nothing more than wanting to join NATO in order to realize the ideal of reforming NATO.France wants to change the label attached to NATO from "America" ​​to "Europe" through the reform of NATO.France is too naive. In the ideology of the United States, only "I am the only one" is written. Unless the United States is subdued, it is foolish to change NATO.

The change of dynasty always makes people have more reverie. From June 2009 to 6, 4, the seventh direct elections to the European Parliament were held simultaneously in 7 EU member states, making it the largest transnational democratic election in the history of the world.The global financial crisis did not help the left gain a voice in Europe in this election, nor did European social democrats take the opportunity to regain control of the European Parliament.

At the same time, the number of people who participated in elections in New Europe decreased year by year, and its turnout rate dropped from 1979% in 61 to 99% in 2009.After the general election, not a more radical European Parliament was formed, but a more conservative European Parliament.Whether this European Parliament, which is full of Euroscepticism, racism and extreme nationalism, can lead the revival of a new Europe, the question mark has to be enlarged again.

Judging from the current situation, there is no hope that the new Europe can support the European revival.The job of New Europe now is to leave the United States, take back the hearts of the people that the United States has won over, and rebuild Europeans' confidence in politics.

§§§ Section [-] Where is the future of the European Union?
The ever-changing world has provided opportunities for Europe's revival, but the European Union has turned a blind eye to it, and still follows its established policy and requires the world to conform to its standards with a "slim fit" thinking. This has seriously affected Europe's revival.In addition, some EU member states are distracted and unable to form a whole, which also affects the recovery of Europe.These issues are not the most important.The most important issue for the EU now is to clarify its own development route. Only in this way can it pursue, develop and create.

Looking back at the 50-year development history of Europe, the profound changes are self-evident.From April 1951, six Western European countries signed the European Coal and Steel Pooling Treaty, starting the process of European regional economic integration.With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the bipolar structure of the world, various forces in the world have been divided and combined amidst the vicissitudes of life, and the political and economic landscape has hardly been finalized.

From the Roman Empire to the end of World War II, Europe has been in constant disputes and turmoil.As the starting place of the two world wars, Europe's catastrophe brought huge losses to Europe, from the former center of the world to the division of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.The United States relied on NATO and the Soviet Union relied on the Warsaw Pact to compete for dominance in Europe.Western European countries struggled to survive in the cracks between the United States and the Soviet Union for hegemony.Old Europe relied on the nuclear umbrella of the United States, had to align with the United States politically, and had no independence of its own at all.

After the end of the Cold War, the world became a multipolar world.Facing the world hegemony of the United States, New Europe intends to "establish the United States of Europe" to confront the United States.New Europe is determined to abandon the past, create the future, take the road of integration, revitalize the economy and improve its international status, and redraw the political and economic map of Europe.

After decades of hard work, the European Union is developing towards financial integration, political integration, defense integration and social integration.As an economic entity, the overall GDP and trade volume of the EU have surpassed that of the United States, ranking first in the world.At the same time, the EU has also expanded from the initial 6 countries to the current 27 countries.However, the EU, like China, although economically stronger, can say "no" to the United States, but still cannot be on an equal footing with the United States, and cannot ignore the face of the United States.

(End of this chapter)