Če morate prebrati kakšen članek o pomenu Evropske unije v sodobnem svetu, je to članek Wolfganga Münchaua v UnHerd. Münchau brez olepševanja brutalno jasno napiše, kako je v zadnjega pol leta EU boleče odkrila, kako nepomembna je v globalnih zadevah. Če se je do nedavnega na podlagi gospodarske moči (BDP) in izvoza še lahko pretvarjala, da je globalno pomembna in državam globalnega juga predavala o človekovih pravicah, je danes ta privid padel. EU se je kot povsem nepomembna razgalila v treh ključnih zadevah.

Prvič, pokazala je, da razen odločnih besed ne more ne gospodarsko in ne politično kaznovati Rusije, kaj šele, da bi jo vojaško porazila v Ukrajini. Nima s čim. Lahko samo strelja odločne in patetične govore.

Drugič, od finančne (evrske) krize se EU gospodarsko ni več pobrala, po začetku energetske krize (od februarja 2022) pa se pospešeno deindustrializira. Njene nekoč paradne panoge (avtomobilska, elektro) so danes bleda senca kitajske konkurence.

In tretjič, najbolj brutalno pa se je kot nepomembna EU razgalila v odnosu do svojega gospodarja – ZDA. Če se je ob predsednikovanju Josepha Bidna EU še lahko skrivala kot navidezni partner v njegovem zavetju, pa jo je Donald Trump brutalno zlorabil, oklofutal in pohodil pred celim svetom. Pokazal je, da lahko z evropskimi “voditelji” in vodstvom EU počne, kar se mu zahoče – lahko jih kot za šalo prisili, da kupujejo ameriške energente, lahko jih kot za šalo prisili, da povsem sprostijo uvoz ameriških izdelkov in se odpovedo  preverjanju konkurence na trgu tehnoloških storitev, medtem ko ZDA uvedejo med 15 in 50 % carine na evropske izdelke, lahko jih kot za šalo prisili, da se zavežejo, da bodo 5 % BDP namenili za orožje (kupovanje ameriškega orožja), lahko jih kot za šalo prisili, da od zdaj naprej evropske države plačujejo za ameriško vojaško pomočl Ukrajini, lahko jih kot za šalo pred celim svetom poniža tako, da jih kot šolarčke posadi okrog svoje mize in jim pove, kaj morajo narediti, lahko jih kot za šalo prisili v … karkoli.

Zakaj? Ker lahko. Ker je EU vojaško in tehnološko  povsem podrejena ZDA. Ker je vojaško okupirana s strani ZDA. Ker, kot pravi Münchau, se ne moreš enakopravno pogajati z državo, ki upravlja tvoj jedrski ščit. In EU ni naredila nič, da bi spet postala gospodarsko močna in da bi se tehnološko, vojaaško in politično osamosvojila od ZDA. Le pada iz ene politične napake v naslednjo.

EU je ameriška kolonija in njen imperialni gospodar z njo očitno lahko ravna, kakor se mu zahoče. Tudi tako, da jo prisili, da – sicer tako polna ust humanitarnosti, demokracije in človekovih pravic – ostaja ne samo tiho ob največjem in najbolj javnem genocidu v zadnjega pol stoletja, pač pa, da ga tudi aktivno podpira z javno podporo Izraelu in z dobavami orožja in obveščevalnih podatkov ter z zatiranjem pro-palestinskih protestov na lastnem dvorišču.

Sodobna EU je na žalost patetični in sramotni skupek lokalnih politikov, ki sedi na zarjavelem industrijskem muzeju, in kokodaka besedilo, ki mu ga pišejo v Washingtonu.

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Before the Europeans endured the Vortex, they believed they could fight Donald Trump over his tariffs. They thought they could organise their own defence to fight against Russia should that ever become necessary. Immediately after he won the German elections in February, Friedrich Merz declared that Europe would have to become independent of the US. When he became chancellor, he swiftly realised the impossibility of his statement.

The photo released by the White House last week, with Donald Trump sitting behind his desk and the European leaders arrayed on chairs before him, tells us how the attempted insurrection of the European minions ended. Perched uncomfortably on their chairs, the politicians look like unruly school children called in for a dressing down. Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president, took notes like a pupil eager to write down what the headmaster was saying. Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, arms crossed, looked like she had been given a detention. Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron tried to look important — like the head boys. All you can see of Trump is his fist.

“Europe’s collective weakness has been a choice, not something forced upon us by adverse circumstances, or foreign powers.”

I cannot imagine François Mitterrand, Helmut Kohl, or Margaret Thatcher squirming on their seats before the US president’s desk. But, then, no former president would have dared do to them what Trump has just done to their successors.

Things were to only get worse for the Europeans. Last Thursday, America confirmed the final version of the  EU trade agreement — though it was more diktat than settlement. The US imposes 15% tariffs on all European goods, and 50% for steel and aluminium. In turn, the EU agrees to eliminate all tariffs on US goods, and open up its markets to all American cars and agricultural products. The EU also agreed not to apply its anti-trust policies to US digital companies. That’s what you get when the other side has put a gun on the table.

It is not true, as some people say, that the EU negotiated badly. Indeed, as the British can testify, they are good negotiators. But you can’t unleash a trade war against the country on which you rely for your nuclear umbrella. The US has always been the imperial power in the transatlantic relationship and now they are using that power against us. Europe has no choice but to acquiesce.

And yet, the EU has always considered itself to be the envy of the world — morally and intellectually superior, and cultured. The EU supports multilateral institutions. It pretends to support human rights whenever this is expedient. It has a customs union, a single market. and a single currency.

But this image doesn’t sit easy with the political and economic reality of modern Europe. France has a dysfunctional government that does not know how to pass the budget; it sits on the precipice of a sovereign debt crisis. Italy has been on that brink for even longer. The best thing you can say about Meloni is that she successfully managed to stay off the radar screens of the bond market vigilantes. But the Italian economy today remains fundamentally weak. Germany’s industrial model has collapsed. It relied critically on five events not happening: Donald Trump getting elected for the first time, Brexit, the Ukraine war, China’s aggressive industrial policies, and Trump getting elected for a second time. Spain’s growth looks better superficially, but this is only because of immigration. Productivity growth is as low as everywhere else in Europe. The UK, too, languishes under the same problem.

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I have been a pro-European all my life. But a Europe of coordinated subservience is not one worth having. The whole idea of European integration was to address collective action problems. The EU no longer does that.

Instead, it set out on a path of no return. This has led it a place of low growth, high debt, and a lack of political majorities that support change. Large and increasing portions of European citizens live off welfare. They have no interest in reforms that will invariably lead to a cut in their income. Demography plays havoc with democracy. In Germany, for example, I cannot identify a single political party with a coherent agenda for reform. In the UK, too, there is not one political party that has given serious thought to a post-Brexit economic model. In their decline, European countries are astonishingly similar. The UK, France and Germany are all currently discussing wealth and property taxes as a last and desperate measure. If, and when, this is implemented, they will end up with even less growth. They are running out of ideas.

Europeans once believed that if the crisis were big enough, they would do the right thing. Recent history has shown that this is not so. We have had the euro crisis, Trump, Brexit, a pandemic and Ukraine. As each crisis hit, Europe got weaker.

Vir: Wolfgang Münchau, UnHerd