von der Leyen e Merkel supplicano la Cina di aprire i mercati, mentre le sputano in faccia.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2020-10-06.

Resta davvero molto difficile capire dove le tre femmine egemoni in Europa, Christine Lagarde, Ursula von der Leyen e Frau Merkel, abbiano studiato diplomazia.

Da un punto di vista clinico, sembrerebbero proprio presentare uno sdoppiamento della personalità: sintomo di prognosi non buona.

                         Primo Passo.

«EU leaders to tell China to meet 2019-2020 trade deadlines»

«European Union leaders will call on China to finalise a stalled investment agreement by the end of the year»

«EU leaders, who are set to discuss their policy towards China at the two-day summit from Thursday, will also renew demands that Beijing make good on promises made in 2019 to open up Chinese markets to European companies»

«to open up Chinese markets to European companies»

«EU leaders …. will urge China to deliver on previous commitments to address market access barriers, to make progress on overcapacity and engage in negotiations on industrial subsidies at the World Trade Organization»

«Caught in a geopolitical standoff between United States and China, the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, is leveraging its limited power without resorting to a trade war, restricting Chinese investments in Europe until Beijing changes course»

«The EU’s chief executive and chairman told President Xi Jinping on Sept. 14 to “tear down barriers” to European investment in China, asserting that Europe would no longer be taken advantage of in trade.»

«The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, and China is the EU’s second-biggest.»

*

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                         Secondo Passo.

«European Union leaders will call on China …. and again criticise Beijing over its security crackdown in Hong Kong»

«EU leaders, who have labelled China a “systemic rival”»

«EU leaders will also reiterate they have “serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including developments in Hong Kong and the treatment of people belonging to minorities”»

«The West has denounced Beijing’s new security law for the former British colony, saying China is reining in basic freedoms enshrined in the “one country, two systems” principle that governs Hong Kong’s autonomy»

* * * * * * *

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Secondo le ultime stime dell’Imf  la Cina ha un pil ppa di 27,352.382 miliardi Usd, mentre l’Unione Europea ne produce 18,377.114. La Cina è già uscita dalla crisi da coronavirus, mentre il blocco europeo giace nella inanizione della recessione. Le esportazioni cinesi sono vitali per l’eurozona, quelle del blocco europeo in Cina sono voluttuarie.

La differenza è stridente, così come i rapporti di forze.

Al momento, la Cina non ha alcuna voglia di aprire all’Unione Europea. Christine Lagarde, Ursula von der Leyen e Frau Merkel possono piangere lacrime di petrolio che non smuovono certamente i cinesi. Questi, poi, se la sono legata al dito.

È da anni che la dirigenza dell’Unione Europea si sente investita del diritto di fare la morale e bacchettare chiunque non condivida la sua Weltanschauung o le si opponga politicamente ovvero economicamente. Sono più di trenta gli stati che il blocco europeo ha stigmatizzato, per i più disparati motivi. Sono convinti di personificare la verità assoluta e, soprattutto, di essere ingrado di far seguire le azioni alle parole

Sono anni che l’Unione Europea si scaglia contro la Cina nel nome degli ‘human right’, poi, con la coda tra le gambe, pietisce che la Cina ammetta le proprie aziende ad operare sul loro suolo patrio, alle condizioni europee, si intende.

La contraddizione è evidente, al limite del ridicolmente farsesco.

Il risultato è un buco nell’acqua.

Poi, dicono che non si dovrebbe fare ironia sulle femmine ….

*

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EU leaders to tell China to meet 2019-2020 trade deadlines.

European Union leaders will call on China to finalise a stalled investment agreement by the end of the year and again criticise Beijing over its security crackdown in Hong Kong, according to a draft summit statement seen by Reuters.

EU leaders, who are set to discuss their policy towards China at the two-day summit from Thursday, will also renew demands that Beijing make good on promises made in 2019 to open up Chinese markets to European companies.

EU leaders, who have labelled China a “systemic rival”, will urge China “to deliver on previous commitments to address market access barriers, to make progress on overcapacity and engage in negotiations on industrial subsidies at the World Trade Organization,” according to the draft summit statement.

China and the EU have agreed to finalise an investment accord that was under negotiation for more than six years by the end of 2020, but Brussels says Beijing is reluctant to open up its economy.

Caught in a geopolitical standoff between United States and China, the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, is leveraging its limited power without resorting to a trade war, restricting Chinese investments in Europe until Beijing changes course.

The EU’s chief executive and chairman told President Xi Jinping on Sept. 14 to “tear down barriers” to European investment in China, asserting that Europe would no longer be taken advantage of in trade.

The EU is China’s biggest trading partner, and China is the EU’s second-biggest.

EU leaders will also reiterate they have “serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including developments in Hong Kong and the treatment of people belonging to minorities”.

The West has denounced Beijing’s new security law for the former British colony, saying China is reining in basic freedoms enshrined in the “one country, two systems” principle that governs Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Brexit. Una domanda che tormenta le menti liberal.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2019-09-20.

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Gli inglesi vogliono andarsene da questa Europa.

E vorrebbero anche farlo sbattendosi dietro la porta.

* * *

Che abbiano ragione Mr Juncker, Mr Tusk, Mr Macron, Frau Merkel, etc. etc. ?

Che siano tutti fascisti?

Unione Europea risultato di una dirigenza inetta. I numeri della débâcle.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2019-03-08.

Il Wall Street Journal è lapidario nella constatazione dei fatti.

«the European Commission cut the 2019 eurozone growth forecast from an already anemic 1.9% to 1.3%. Economic output in the eurozone was lower in 2017 than it was in 2009; over that same period, gross domestic product grew 139% in China, 96% in India, and 34% in the U.S.».

La colpa di un simile disastro è da imputarsi in toto all’attuale dirigenza.

Mr Hollande, Mr Macron, Frau Merkel, Mr Renzi, Mr Gentiloni, Herr Rutte come capi di stato, Mr Juncker, Mr Tusk, Mr Oettinger, Mr Moscovici come eurocrati.

Sono dei falliti che hanno trascinato l’Europa al fallimento.

Ma il Wall Street Journal è stato ancora con la mano leggera.

Se invece del 2009 avesse optato per il 2008, i dati sarebbero stati ben peggiori.

Nel 2008 il pil dell’eurozona era 14,113.094 miliardi Usd, ed a fine 2017 era 12,589.880 miliardi.

Similmente, il pil procapite è crollato da 42,770 Usd a 36,670 Usd.

Riassumendo: il pil è sceso di 1,523.21 miliardi Usd ed il pil procapite di 6,100 Usd.

Tutto il mondo ha progredito tranne che l’eurozona, che invece è regredita.

Ripetiamo solo per chiarezza: la colpa di un simile disastro è da imputarsi in toto all’attuale dirigenza. Scomparire sarà l’unica cosa decente che abbiano fatto.

* * * * * * *

«decline of Europe as a force in world affairs»

*

«The Continent’s Grand Unity Project Is Failing»

*

«As its economy lags behind, Europe is becoming more divided politically»

*

«A recent report from the European Council on Foreign Relations projects that anti-EU parties from the right and left are on course to control enough seats in the near European Parliament that they will be able to disrupt the EU and weaken it further»

*

«two factors contributed to the continent’s geopolitical decline in the 20th century»

*

«One was inevitable the wealth gap between Europe and the rest of the world necessarily narrowed»

*

«The second factor in Europe’s decline was internal division and nationalistic animosity»

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«The Euro was both an economic and political failure; and, diplomatic unity remains a distant dream»

*

«China takes Japan and India more seriously than it takes the EU»

*

«Leaders in France and Germany remain firmly committed to the European project, but with Britain on the brink of secession, Italy and Poland mutinous, and Hungary left defiant, the outlook is dimming»

*

«forced harmonization is engendering: distrust, resentment, ridicule, contempt and even hatred, amongst and between the people’s of the European continent»

*

«We have an elitist, bureaucratic, corrupt, authoritarian, repressive institution and leadership on one side and, a demoralized, lost generation of youth who see an “unaccountable, undemocratic, illegitimate and ultimately repressive super-state” that is digging Europe and themselves into an even deeper hole»

*

«A country and its citizens cannot subordinate its sovereignty to an unaccountable, sclerotic, bloated bureaucratic entity in Brussels»

*

«That is why Brexit passed; and, a vibrant, continent-wide nationalist movement took hold»

*

«The demise of the EU and the Euro as currently conceived; and it is only a matter of when, not if»

* * * * * * *

È veramente molto difficile non essere di accordo con il Wall Street Journal quando dice:

«A country and its citizens cannot subordinate its sovereignty to an unaccountable, sclerotic, bloated bureaucratic entity in Brussels»

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→ WSJ. 2019-02-25. Incredible Shrinking Europe

«Last week offered fresh evidence that the most consequential historical shift of the last 100 years continues: the decline of Europe as a force in world affairs. As Deutsche Bank warned of a German recession, the European Commission cut the 2019 eurozone growth forecast from an already anemic 1.9% to 1.3%. Economic output in the eurozone was lower in 2017 than it was in 2009; over that same period, gross domestic product grew 139% in China, 96% in India, and 34% in the U.S., according to the World Bank.»

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→ Fortuna’s Corner. 2019-02-25. Incredible Shrinking Europe: The Continent’s Grand Unity Project Is Failing; And Its Global Influence Is Fading;”The Rotten Heart Of Europe”

Incredible Shrinking Europe: The Continent’s Grand Unity Project Is Failing; And Its Global Influence Is Fading;”The Rotten Heart Of Europe”.

*

The title above comes from an Op-Ed in today’s (Feb. 12, 2019) Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by Walter Russell Mead. According to his Wikipedia biography, Mr. Mead is the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College; and, previously taught foreign affairs at Yale University. He is also Editor-At-Large of The American Interest Magazine, and a columnist for the WSJ.

Mr. Mead begins, “Last week offered fresh evidence that the most consequential historical shift of the last 100 years continues: the decline of Europe as a force in world affairs. As Deutsche Bank warned of a German recession, the European Commission cut the 2019 Eurozone growth forecast from an already anemic 1.9 percent, to 1.2 percent. Economic output in the Eurozone was lower in 2017 than it was on 2009.” “Over that same period, gross domestic product grew 129 percent in China, 96 percent in India, and 34 percent in the U.S.,” according to the World Bank.

“As its economy lags behind, Europe is becoming more divided politically,” Professor Mead reminds us. “Brexit negotiations have inflamed tempers on both sides of the English Channel; Central European Countries like Hungary and Poland are alienated from the West; much of Southern Europe remains bitter about the aftermath of the Euro crisis; and the EU political parties continue to gain support across the bloc. A recent report from the European Council on Foreign Relations projects that anti-EU parties from the right and left are on course to control enough seats in the near European Parliament that they will be able to disrupt the EU and weaken it further. This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Mr. Mead notes. “The EU was founded to stop Europe’s decline, not reflect it.” Though to be fair, the EU was also formed in part because the continent had germinated two world wars; and, no one wanted a third.

“As Europe’s founders saw it, two factors contributed to the continent’s geopolitical decline in the 20th century,” Mr. Mead writes. “One was inevitable,” he contends, “as technologies of the industrial heartland spread to Asia and the Americas; the wealth gap between Europe and the rest of the world necessarily narrowed. The diffusion of medical innovations — which also often originated in Europe — contributed to population explosions in the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Europe, the first continent to industrialize, was the first to experience decline in its birthrates associated with urbanization and affluence.”

“The second factor in Europe’s decline was internal division and nationalistic animosity,” Mr. Mead wrote. “This was the problem the EU’s founders sought to cure. Two world wars left much of Europe impoverished and in ruins. If the Continent could unify under a single set of values and political institutions, future wars could be averted. The unification policies began with Franco-German reconciliation after World War II. As the Cold war ended, and Germany was reunified, European leaders launched an ambitious program to broaden and deepen transnational cooperation.

“The union would expand to the east,” Professor Mead wrote, securing democracy in the former Warsaw Pact countries. Economic cooperation would deepen with the development of a single market, the establishment of a common currency, and the adoption of common economic principals. Diplomatically, the Europeans would seek a unified front in their dealings with the outside world. Building a new Europe that could compete on equal terms with the United States and China in a post-Cold War world is Europe’s overarching goal.”

“It’s become increasingly apparent that this grand project is failing,” Professor Mead argues. “An uneven; and perhaps overambitious expansion weakened — rather than strengthened the EU. The Euro was both an economic and political failure; and, diplomatic unity remains a distant dream.”

“Neighbors like Russia, Turkey, Israel, and the Arab states flout the EU’s wishes at will,” Professor Mead wrote. “European influence in Washington, already declining in the Obama years, has reached a nadir under POTUS Trump. Neither Moscow, nor Washington showed much regard for Europe’s interests when suspending the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which limits missile deployments in Europe. China takes Japan and India more seriously than it takes the EU; and, neither the U.S. nor China has been particularly concerned about what Europeans think, as they negotiate bilateral trade agreements that may redefine the world trade system.”

“One European initiative did work,” Professor Mead notes: “the single market. Europe remains formidable as a consumer bloc, and the EU’s ability to regulate the conditions under which foreign companies like Google and Gazprom operate inside its wealthy market is the most important card in its hand.”

“Leaders in France and Germany remain firmly committed to the European project, but with Britain on the brink of secession, Italy and Poland mutinous, and Hungary left defiant, the outlook is dimming,” Professor Mead observes. “if Paris and Berlin could devise a program to reignite European growth, secure its frontiers, and satisfy the nationalist emotions now ruling the bloc, Europe could arrest its decline. So far at least, such an outcome seems unlikely.” he notes.

“Some on the nationalist right in the U.S. welcome Europe’s demise,” Professor Mead wrote. “This is a mistake. A strong Europe, even if it is sometimes cantankerous and disagreeable, is better for the U.S. than a weak Europe — that can neither secure its own neighborhood, nor contribute to global stability. But, the U.S. must deal with the Europe we have; and, the Europe we have….isn’t doing well,” Professor Mead concludes.

Bernard Connolly, Author Of “The Rotten Heart Of Europe: The Dirty War For Europe’s Money”

I have felt from the beginning that the European Union and the Euro. as currently conceived — was doomed to failure. I wonder what took Mr. Mead so long, as I deeply respect his intellect and grasp of history.  In 2014, Rick Santelli of CNBC had a fascinating and thought provoking interview with Bernard Connolly. Mr. Connolly an Oxford educated British economist who is known for his pessimistic outlook for the Euro and the European Monetary Union, provided a sobering but thoughtful assessment of the European Union.

Mr. Connolly’s book, “The Rotten Heart of Europe: The Dirty War For Europe’s Money,” is a sobering, but realistic assessment of the consequences and pitfalls that plague the Eurozone — as a consequence of pursuing a continent-wide monetary union. And Mr. Connolly should know, he was there for the “birth” of the Euro and was partly responsible for where Europe is today. Depression and recession are widespread across the continent as toxic nationalism and profound unemployment — especially among the youth are pervasive.

Mr. Connolly contends that the monetary union — which is at the heart of this grand Euro experiment — is rotten at its core. Indeed, Mr. Connolly contends that this destructive pursuit is making the economic situation in Europe worse than it would otherwise be; and, this “forced harmonization” is engendering “distrust, resentment, ridicule, contempt and even hatred,” amongst and between the people’s of the European continent. Yet Mr. Connolly notes, “the people who put this together (some of whom are in leadership positions today) hail the EURO and EU as a success.” “They call Spain a success and they have 27% unemployment. Greece is called exceptional; and yet, youth unemployment there is a staggering 67%.” He calls this belief in the promise of a monetary union either crazy or disturbing. Those who originally proposed a European Union thought this was the path to prevent a third European civil war. The reality Mr. Connolly says, is a reversal of the post-WWII economic revival. “We have an elitist, bureaucratic, corrupt, authoritarian, repressive institution and leadership on one side and, a demoralized, lost generation of youth who see an “unaccountable, undemocratic, illegitimate and ultimately repressive super-state” that is digging Europe and themselves into an even deeper hole. Not surprisingly, he sees ultimate failure for the European Union and even disaster, the longer those in charge in Europe pursue this feckless endeavor. A deadly cocktail of unintended consequences. You may or may not agree with Mr. Connolly; but, it is hard to dismiss, or ignore him and his thesis — would be a failure itself.

Divorcing oneself from this unworkable union will not solve Europe’s economic woes — not by a long shot. Over-excessive and oppressive regulation, onerous taxation, and the migrant crisis will still haunt the continent. But, being miserable in one’s own country is more tolerable that being miserable for some disconnected, faceless entity.

POTUS Obama and his national security team were on the wrong side of history. A country and its citizens cannot subordinate its sovereignty to an unaccountable, sclerotic, bloated bureaucratic entity in Brussels. That is why Brexit passed; and, a vibrant, continent-wide nationalist movement took hold.  The demise of the EU and the Euro as currently conceived — is doomed to failure in my view; and it is only a matter of when — not if — IMO  RCP, fortunascorner.com