Originally appeared at DWN, translated by John T. Sumner exclusively for SouthFront
Aboard an Italian aircraft carrier, the governments of Italy, France and Germany have discussed the future of Europe. Their findings are an expression of helplessness: More military, more intelligence, more pathos. The EU now gets to feel the curse of the evil deed: their attitude towards Syria has transformed European politicians into blind actionists, who have lost their credibility.
Even the constellation of the “Troika Summit” shows, how torn and weak the EU is in reality: In the circle of the 27 states nothing works anymore, because the plans of the states regarding the key issues of refugees, banks and debt are diametrically different. Even the “Big Three” don´t share the same perspectives: Already in advance, Italy´s Matteo Renzi demanded to say goodbye to the primacy of money. He would want to build “another Europe”, “paying more attention to values and less regard to the big money,” Renzi wrote on his Facebook page. After the referendum regarding the EU-membership of the United Kingdom, a Europe should be constituted, whose ideal should be based “on unity and peace, freedom and dreams, dialogue and ethnic identity”.
This is nothing but hot air. “Dreams” cannot solve the problems Europe and the EU are confronted with. The fact that three random member states are congregating without the presence of even a single representative of the EU Council, the European Commission or the European Parliament, shows how messy the entire situation could develop as.
One of the reasons for the bad state of affairs within the EU is the fact that the German Chancellor stubbornly refuses to recognize realities and causalities in this context. No doubt, the biggest challenge for the EU is the refugee crisis. It will tear Europe apart – but not because of the refugees being dangerous or due to their alleged unwillingness to integrate. The curse of the evil deed results from Merkel’s continued policy of clinging to the mendacity, the war in Syria would be a “spontaneous civil war”, which neither could have been predicted nor could have been influenced from outside of the country. In reality, the war in Syria is a multinational rampage for resources, in which the western countries participate together with their Gulf State allies to accomplish the destruction of an entire region. Most of the refugees and migrants come from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Previously, the West had intervened militarily in all three states, dissolving existing nations and ethnic structures and exposing millions to expulsion.
With an uncontrolled immigration, which she explicitly depicted to the public as being inevitable, Angela Merkel has strengthened right-wing and xenophobic trends in Europe to an extent, that these factors can easily trigger civil war-like conditions in Europe.
The so-called “Islamic terror” is a direct result of these wars. Use of mercenaries from dozens of nations in Syria is the perfect breeding ground for terror. Thousands of fighters from around the world are on duty in Syria, most of them on behalf of private military contractors. Although these units wear domestic military uniforms, like the US special forces, who are equipped with the badges of the Kurdish militia YPG, but yet these militias are changing fronts according to the actual contract situation, and being real mercenaries they replace their enemies to that effect. The application of the Islamist ideology as justification for combat missions is leading to exceptional atrocities.
Intelligence services are playing a key role in the Syrian war. The CIA, the British, the Turks, the Saudis and many others are in action covertly.
Sometimes their true attitude is revealed for a moment, like when the former CIA director Morell said on American TV, that Russians and Iranians should be killed and that President Assad should be put in fear by commando raids.
This reality is blinded out by Merkel. According to DPA, her view of things is outlined like this: “In the face of Islamist terrorism, in view of the Syrian civil war, we feel an obligation to do more for our internal and external security.” This is pathetic – mainly because massive EU sanctions are still in force against the Syrian population, whose removal should be a humanitarian duty, regardless of geopolitical interests.
Now the secret services are meant to be the solution, although some of them are clearly part of the problem. It sounds like a surrender of policy, when Merkel, Renzi and Hollande are saying aboard the “Garibaldi”, that regarding the field of defense, European cooperation should be strengthened – among other things by more communication among the intelligence services.
In view of the superiority of the US services in Europe and the Middle East, Hollande said: “Europe should intensify its present efforts, to take its defense into own hands.” The EU countries should also put additional resources in their common defense effort. France would contribute its share.
These are meaningless phrases. Hollande is entering his election campaign, and his anti-American slogans are nothing but an effort to cut the ground from under Marine Le Pen´s feet.
There is a good reason for Hollande to remain silent about Syria: The French are officially fighting in Syria and had been subjected to criticism just a few weeks ago due to numerous civilians, who were killed in the wake of French and US Air Force sorties.
Even Matteo Renzi remains silent about the war, because first and foremost he is eager to find a deal with the EU regarding the refugees still staying in Italy: Renzi called for the EU to be obliged rescuing those people risking their lives in the Mediterranean.
According to Renzi, around 102 000 refugees and illegal migrants have reached Italy since the beginning of this year. Most of them came from Libya with smuggler boats. Merkel stated, the Coast Guard alone would not be capable to maintain control of the borders. A lot more would need to be done. The cooperation with Turkey regarding the refugees is appropriate. Otherwise it would not possible to win the fight against the human traffickers.
In the light of such fundamental and collective denial of reality, it seems only logical that the three heads of government were also evading the other topics mainly with platitudes.
Merkel said: “Europe not yet epitomizes the spearhead regarding all sectors of global competition” In the digital domain, there is great momentum outside Europe. Europe should “have the ambition to be in the first ranks here”. In addition to internal and external security, this should represent a further component, as well as the future of youth, which would have to be discussed by the remaining 27 EU members in the run-up to the summit in Bratislava on September 16.
Renzi urged strong measures for economic growth and more investment in education and youth. He announced that the prison on the nearby island of Santo Stefano would be converted into a university campus, in order to educate “new European elites”.
Hollande claimed that there would be an intention to extend the Erasmus funding. He also announced more investment in culture.
Renzi said, “Many thought, that after the referendum concerning United Kingdom membership within European Union, Europe would be running on empty. But that was not the case. We strongly believe, that Europe is the answer to the most important problems of our time.”
The meeting included the commemoration of the Communist mastermind Altiero Spinelli. In 1941, he had promoted an abolition of the nation states in favor of a united European federation. Much of Spinelli’s vision is time-bound and can only be assessed in its historical context today.
In a way, Spinelli has anticipated the dilemma of Europe in the era of the “Garibaldi” meeting, when he writes in his manifesto, regarding the situation in 1941: “At times, when highest determination and highest daring are required, the Democrats just feel troubled …acting like admonishing clerics while true leaders would be necessary … all in all, with their various contradictory tendencies, they don´t represent the will for a renewal, but the overall, confused quest for power, preparing a fertile ground for the forces of reaction through paralyzing itself. In times of revolutionary crises, the democratic political methodology is becoming an obstacle.”