French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, wants to transform the EU into the United States of Europe, complete with its own European defense force.
Curiously, Valls specifically says “We cannot build a United States of Europe”, but that is precisely what he wants to do.
“Member states have a choice: give up on the EU or transform it,” writes Manuel Valls.
Redefining Europe
Please consider Brexit Vote Pushes Europe to Redefine Itself, by Manuel Valls.
Let us face facts: the European project is in trouble. With the growing threat of terrorism, the refugee crisis, lacklustre economic growth and unemployment, the turmoil in Europe is unprecedented. Added to these, the Brexit vote deeply questioned the very meaning of Europe.
The other 27 member states of the EU have two options (this was the subject of my debate with Jean-Claude Juncker at the Jacques Delors Institute last week): either we give up and leave the European project to a slow but certain death, or we transform the EU.
Reasserting our European identity also means coming to terms with the fact that there are borders — that Europe starts and stops somewhere.
Too often the EU has appeared to be preoccupied with unnecessary regulation. Transforming Europe also means that member states must henceforth focus on the essentials, primarily defence and security — in Europe, of course, but also in the neighbouring region of the Middle East. The French army is already doing more than its fair share: it cannot remain the de facto European army forever. France expects Europe to implement a common security strategy, with fully operational border guards and an electronic system for travel authorisation of the kind already operated by the US.
Finally, transforming Europe means making a clear choice to foster growth that does not only depend on the European Central Bank’s monetary policy. Europe must finance new projects and invest in digital and environmental innovation more than it does already.
These sectors must be enabled to grow and to face competition from countries that have no scruples about protecting their own industries. The time for naivety is over.
For this reason, the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) cannot carry on as they have been. If the EU is to grant market access to American companies, there has to be reciprocity.
The European market must not be a social jungle, where people are set against one another. Nor can it be a tax jungle. It is unacceptable for multinational companies to do everything in their power to avoid paying tax in the countries in which they make profits. The recent ruling of the European Commission on Apple’s tax affairs was courageous and welcome, therefore. At the same time, member states must progress towards common European tax rates.
We cannot build a “United States of Europe”— each country has its own history, language and culture. But we can construct a sovereign Europe, a federation of nation states, strong and unashamed. We will not be the generation that buries the European project. We owe it to our young, who, for the most part, remain deeply attached to the European project. So are we.
Valls Wish List
- Higher taxes
- Unified tax rates (striking at Ireland and Brexit)
- More tariff protections
- More government spending, especially on environmental projects
- A Sovereign Europe
- A Federation of Nation states (all having to do the same thing at the same time)
- Common defense system and an European army
- Fully operational border guards
Hey, let’s just do all that and not call it the United States of Europe.
The main thing Valls got correct was “Too often the EU has appeared to be preoccupied with unnecessary regulation.”
Ironically, Valls proposed regulation in at least a half-dozen areas. and it won’t stop there.
What about agricultural tariffs to preserve the French way of Life? Valls wants to keep those for the sole benefit of French farmers at the expense of everyone else.
Great Nannycrat Transformation
Brexit happened precisely because the EU has been progressing along the lines Valls wants. Citizens are fed up in the UK, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Portugal and France, over various things.
Politicians like Beppe Grillo and the five-star movement in Italy, Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, and Victor Orban in Hungary feed off nonsense like Valls presented.
In Austria, anti-immigration presidential candidate Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPOe) is ahead in polls. The election, scheduled for October 2 was rescheduled to December 4 due to problems with glue.
Problems with Glue
There are problems with glue all right.
Ireland is upset over taxes, the UK, Hungary, France, and Austria over immigration, Greece and Portugal over austerity, and Italy questions the Euro itself.
Valls did not address inane work rules in France, Greece, and Italy. Will those go away with more glue?
Instead of addressing obvious productivity issues, Valls concludes the EU needs an army.
The entire EU project is at risk of becoming unglued precisely because politicians like Valls, EC President Jean-Claude Juncker, and German chancellor Angela Merkel want to force more glue and more regulations into the system when the eurozone cannot remotely agree on a banking union, bailouts, a currency union, or a fiscal union.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
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The historic concept of nation… where the people share the same race, religion, culture, language, history and territory… is dying.
TPTB want all nations to die to further their evil globalist agenda.
If a nation won’t die a natural death, it will be given a lethal dose of diversity via massive immigration.
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it was the same with Sennacherib, and Nebuchadrezzer, and Epiphanes. In each case, the despot desired to cement his control by taking people away from their own place, their own gods (or God), their own land, their own nation, and trying to force them to mix, with the depot as the only god.
it hasn’t worked yet.
Unless making everyone else miserable, yourself hated, and your government destroyed, hunted down, and exterminated, is what you mean by “worked”
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Interesting you would mention ancient Babylon who removed captive people from their homelands and moved them around the vast empire in an effort to destroy tribal loyalty to ethnos, religion, culture and territory. When Cyrus conquered Babylon, he returned Babylon’s captives back to their native lands and restored their tribal individually.
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@ Michael
This is quite a coincidence… you posted on Oct 12 and Cyrus’ troops conquered Babylon on Oct 12, 539 BC.
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Hey Valls.
Be aware the anglos are not big on that idea.
Never have been
The Germans have already said the UK should not veto it in the European Parliament as it’s not aimed to be anti-British. Let’s not forget the past wars though. Can’t take our eyes of the buggers for a minute.
“complete with its own European defense force.”
Uh oh. McCain and Graham will have a hissy fit as this might cut into US MIC profits (ie: give US taxpayers a break).
“Today, the volume of the US defence expenditure effectively represents 73 per cent of the defence spending of the Alliance as a whole.”
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm
Some, like Belgium, have not lived up to their 2% of GDP on NATO. Now they will weaken NATO and still not spend the 2%. What a cunning plan, eh.
Well, It is not only the top politicians. The EU will die no matter what. I don’t even want to judge the politicians. They might be right in their own perspective. EU seemed like a good idea at the time, It cannot work, and It will never work. I don’t care for It any more, I used to be for It. What is bad about this transformation period is masses suffering high unemployment and poverty, lack of political leadership, lack of democracy, lack of accountability. EU turned out to be another Soviet Union in the making. Yes, the tools are different and It is not as bad, but similarities hold. The sooner it breaks up the better and this is not just some political crises that will pass, I am convinced It will not. EU will break up and there will be a lot of stupid name calling: racist, xenophobic, isolationist etc. Leftist internationalists are vicious and even violent. Their dream is to get rid of nation states because by their theories all the bad comes from nationalism. Yet nation state is the only entity that we know of that provisions security to the citizens. Once these people dreamed up communism because in their dreams all the bad things would vanish, now the magnitute of their efforts is no less, the ideas are utopic just like communism.
“Leftist internationalists are vicious and even violent.”
Spot on Kristjan and soon they will have an army to call their own with allegiance to them alone. It will be like the Roman army. Insurrection in the likes of Greece will be put down by troops from somewhere else so they won’t side with the locals.
If Europeans can’t see how easily this can become tyrannical they deserve what they get.
Currency given up – tick
Tax control going – tick
Spend control going – tick
Flag – tick
Border controls gone – tick
Defence control from outside – tick
Country gone – tick
Why bother voting.
“What is bad about this transformation period is masses suffering high unemployment and poverty, lack of political leadership, lack of democracy, lack of accountability. ” ~ Kristjan
Amen, brother!
Amen.
If the camera-fest between Putin and Erdogan wasn’t enough, here is another big clue about the future of NATO:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-nato-exclusive-idUSKCN12C16Q
Trump might pull the USA out of NATO too. And of course, the UK isn’t really happy with the EU either. The three biggest militaries in NATO are (were?) the USA, Turkey, UK (in that order).
No one cares what Brussels thinks
And who will be in charge of these troops? Germany? France? Who’ll be the unelected boss elected by unelected comission of Brussels?
Boohoo says me.
“Member states have a choice: give up on the EU or transform it,” writes Manuel Valls.
For me the choice between these two couldn’t be more clear. Give up and let’s take control of our own matters ourselves. It’s not giving up. It’s getting rid of corruption of Brussels.
Redefining Europe
They have tried so many times and failed. Why would it be any different this time? The longer the masquerade goes on, the worse the result.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
We all know the answer to everything in Europe is more Europe.
In theory it should collapse under its own weight but don’t bank on it any time soon.
When it does start to collapse expect laws to be passed to make any bad mouthing (criticism) of the EU prosecuteable as undermining the institution. It would be no surprise to me. Thought police will be employed scanning social media, truly 1984.
They will ultimately try to regulate opinions and thoughts. Give it time.
I’m not far right but you can’t ignore the will of the voters. This was Spring 2016, in case Hofer was elected first time, Juncker has new powers. Meanwhile didn’t Italy and Spain has an imposed leader at some point recently when they hit financial problems, imposed by the EU.
Hollande wants to punish the UK for being democratic. All very ominous.
‘Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, made clear at the weekend that Norbert Hofer would have been frozen out of EU decision-making if he had been elected president of Austria. “There is no debate or dialogue with the far-right,” Mr Juncker said.’
Italy had a technocratic government, in Spain Zapatero kept up spending until his hand was forced on the markets/by ECBEU, later Rajoy signed up to a 100bn bank bailout ‘lite’ with limited supervision, but both politicians are on close enough terms with EU, i.e. they play along with, but even with QE there are many adjustments in line and accounts that are no way resolved, so they really just managed some time and superficial housekeeping so far. Maybe the next government will be more openly technical as it must be a coalition and meet criteria, either that or they will argue to no confidence point. Next two weeks will tell if they actually form a government or go to third election. Catalan secession planned late next year to look forward to also.
Sounds like littered with land mines.
A bit like that in the UK at the moment too.
The days of set and forget policy and politics are gone.
Complexity abounds everywhere, with big consequences if someone steps in the wrong place.
They always like the forgetting part, and rely on it, but the setting part is pushed as far out of sight into the future as possible while everyone gets to imagine they are beavering away behind closed doors to resolve it. In fact they aren’t much, generally true resolutions are stalled and without answers. The UK on the other hand has last say, no matter how diverse the complexity, and so it must get as much right now to lead and ensure none are left behind, that the cost of adherence is acceptable. Spain has not that ability, it has not the monetary ability, it holds no longer the full pride to offer but instead outside obligation and leverage, and it has the culmination of decades of confrontation, corruption and mismanagement condensed into several key events occupied by serious challengers, events which are openly known to have the government officials litterally confused and unable to absorb .
So while nothing is happening, average people also do their duty and forget it all, life goes on… but they spend more time looking down than up, because they know difficulty is present.
I would support a federalized state of Europe if it were proportionally represented with an elected house and senate.
But no bloody Turks.
Turkey joining, even after Erdogans antics, is in the bag.
The EU needs the demographics and demand and especially when the UK is out of the Union.
The Turks and the Germans will be allied, again as per the Ottoman-German alliance.
A gas pipeline will help show willing by the Turks to help Europe, and they’ll make money from it too, plus holding back migrants as a support to Merkel. Visa free travel first, soon, imho.
In time, a long time perhaps, I can envisage Turkey and Poland controlling the EU as Germany and France do now.
Mish I and many others I’m sure really do appreciate all the great work u have been doing lately. I especially liked Real GDI,GPDI Recession Indicators Take ll. Our country and the world r n so much trouble and we r so divided and the problems r so immense that when things collapse I don’t think our governmental and financial leaders have a plan to deal with something that’s far beyond anything they can imagine.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is completely right, no matter how you parse the words. Either the EU grows more powerful with its own military, or it risks diminishing. It may seem and be like the Fourth Reich, or just a politicized version of NATO. But without its own military, Merkel cannot invade and squelch dissident nations like Hungary that block the immigrant flow and France cannot endlessly sustain wars in the Middle East and its former African colonies. Brexit was a sensible response, and a strong EU army can prevent that from happening again with other EU countries. Like Lincoln when states attempted secession.
The French minister is being very realistic. Trump and Putin would not agree, as they would see the seeds of perpetual internal and external warfare being sown. But Europe is accustomed to 30-year and 100-year wars, and Hillary and the Neo-con War Mongers would show their love for it with USA taxpayer dollars. Armaments manufacturing would make this a form of Stimulus without infrastructure. Stockman worries that there will not be money for infrastructure, but there is always money for war. So, this is a form of economic stimulus.
I am not advocating a global EU-USA police state with lots of warfare, but that does seem the end game. It is all very logical. The USA has no problem with its White House occupant authorizing extra-judicial drone murders and mercenaries supported by its Secretaries of State sodomizing and dismembering foreign leaders (beware bad guys like Putin, Erdogan, UKIP and Assad, label your body parts and sew your rear shut, because the Libyan leaders fate may await). But the good side is: No offensive TV trash talk from Trump will ever again insult non-males or non-whites, and we will all have Obamacare. The take-home message: Politically Incorrect statements will result in banishment or death, but if the cause is good, sodomy, dismemberment, murder, etc. are all okay, just so long as you smile and apologize. Speak softly and carry a big stick?
An European armed forces could be used to force countries to remain in the EU. Get ready for ultimatums.
“Let us face facts: the European project is in trouble. With the growing threat of terrorism, the refugee crisis, lacklustre economic growth and unemployment, the turmoil in Europe is unprecedented.”
I don’t know. WW2 turmoil seems to be more unprecedented.
Their problems with glue…. they’ve been sniffing it for 30 years.
The countries of Europe have always been tribal, and attempting to force all these different people under one umbrella was never going to work long term, especially given that they are being force fed rules, regulations, and a way of life by a bunch of unelected bureaucratic hacks in Brussels. Given the current sentiments in many of these countries, a USofE has very little chance of seeing the light of day.
I would be in favor of letting the EU take over their part of NATO.
…and US getting out.
The USA has too much influence over NATO.
The USA is using NATO to aggravate the Russians.
I’m shocked that the elite hasn’t pulled a Trump on that Austrian anti-immigration candidate Hofer yet.
There must be some bimbo in his past that they can yank out of the woodwork. Most men have one. Heck, even if one doesn’t exist they can orchestrate her.
If I were him the first thing I would do is organize an army of vote counters ready to storm the polling stations on Dec 04 to guard against more fraud. His opponents aren’t stupid. They aren’t going to make the same mistakes they made last time.
This is a global effort to exploit democracy, folks. Don’t kid yourselves. All the hot points going on in the world right now are happening for a reason. And yes, there is a logical sequence to the madness even if you don’t recognize it.
But one thing you can be sure of. The intended destination is not your friend.
Juncker said he wouldn’t work with him then he lost by such a small percentage it was unbelievable. That small percentage was postal votes, that were very, very, suspicious.
Hence, 2nd vote once it went to court and the result was considered.
Very suspicious.
Not just suspicious.
The smoking gun.
The French can pick back up all the rifles they threw down on the ground in WWII, when they surrendered and use them again. That will help save some $ in taxes, especially since Hollande spends 12,000 Euro on his hair each month.
“Problems with Glue?”
Now it makes perfect sense.
Re the EU and their unusual policies ……. SNIFFFFFFF
Look,
I’m starting to think the old Benny Hill Show needs a sequel, only Benny is the smart guy who keeps outsmarting The EU and ECB. It would be side splitting with reality based satire. It could almost write itself.
VALLS AND HOLLANDE REPRESENT 20 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION IN FRANCE
CIVIL SERVANTS AND LEFTISTS UNWILLING TO WORK MORE THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK AND EXPECTING TO RETIRE AT 60 YEARS OLD
FRENCH GOVERNMENT IS SOCIALIST AND PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR THEM EXPECT EVER OR EVEN MORE WELFARE STATE ALLOWANCES PAID BY THE TAXPAYER
80 % OF THE MUSLIMS IN THE FRENCH SUBURBS NOT TO SAY GHETTOS VOTED FOR HOLLANDE DURING THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
THERE ARE 6 MILLION UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN FRANCE ON A POPULATION OF AROUND 68 MILLION RIGHT NOW AND IT KEEPS INCREASING
ALL SOCIALIST DID IN FRANCE WAS CREATING AND RAISING NEW TAXES
IN 2017 THE SOCIALIST WILL LOSE PRESIDENTIAL AND GENERAL ELECTIONS AND WE THE CONSERVATIVE WILL COME BACK TO POWER TO SHOW THE WORLD THE FRENCH TOUCH AND HOW WE ARE GREAT
Now bankers want an army to force someone to bail out bankers.