Suddenly, the idea put forth by French President, Emmanuel Macron, late last year does not seem so far-fetched or untenable after all. Following the US-Nato hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan, European countries are now forced to consider the once unthinkable: a gradual drifting away from US dominance.
When, on Sep. 29, 2020, Macron uttered these words: “We, some countries more than others, gave up on our strategic independence by depending too much on American weapons systems”, the context of this statement had little to do with Afghanistan. Instead, Europe was angry at the bullying tactics used by former US President Donald Trump and sought alternatives to US leadership.
The latter has treated Nato — actually, all of Europe — with such disdain, that it has forced America’s closest allies to rethink their foreign policy outlook and global military strategy altogether.
Even the advent of US President Joe Biden and his assurances to Europe that “America is back” did little to reassure European countries, which fear, justifiably, that US political instability may exist long after Biden’s term in office expires.
Read more at:
Is Europe politically drifting away from America? | Op-eds – Gulf News
Showing posts with label Sour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sour. Show all posts
11/16/21
3/26/21
Britain and the European Union - Hopes of a better post-Brexit relationship with the EU are fading
INCE BECOMING prime minister in July 2019, Boris Johnson has often referred to EU countries as “our friends and partners”. Many of his fans believed that, once Brexit was done, a more co-operative relationship between the two would be possible. Even those who criticised Mr Johnson’s December trade deal for its thinness hoped closer collaboration on issues ranging from the environment to foreign policy would allow Britain and the EU to build on it. Yet three months on, the relationship seems scratchier than ever.
Reas more At: Britain and the European Union - Hopes of a better post-Brexit relationship with the EU are fading | Britain | The Economist
Reas more At: Britain and the European Union - Hopes of a better post-Brexit relationship with the EU are fading | Britain | The Economist
3/18/21
Britain-Russia relations: Russia warns UK nuclear arsenal plan harms global security
ussia on Wednesday said it regretted the UK's decision to significantly bolster its stockpile of nuclear weapons by the end of the decade.
B
ritain says it plans to increase its arsenal from 180 to 260 nuclear warheads, reversing a previous commitment to reduce its stockpile. What was the Russian response?
Read more at: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-warns-uk-nuclear-arsenal-plan-harms-global-security/a-56899852
ritain says it plans to increase its arsenal from 180 to 260 nuclear warheads, reversing a previous commitment to reduce its stockpile. What was the Russian response?
Read more at: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-warns-uk-nuclear-arsenal-plan-harms-global-security/a-56899852
2/9/21
EU-'Russia Relations Sour: Merciless' Russia may face new sanctions, EU says - by Robin Emmott
The European Union’s top diplomat warned Moscow on Tuesday it could face new sanctions over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, describing the government of President Vladimir Putin as “merciless”, authoritarian and afraid of democracy.
Josep Borrell said his visit last Friday to Moscow had cemented his view that Russia wanted to break away from Europe and divide the West, in a speech marking the EU’s harshest criticism of Moscow since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“The Russian government is going down a worrisome authoritarian route,” said Borrell, who pleaded for Navalny’s release in Moscow and sought in vain to visit him in prison.
Read more at: 'Merciless' Russia may face new sanctions, EU says | Reuters
Josep Borrell said his visit last Friday to Moscow had cemented his view that Russia wanted to break away from Europe and divide the West, in a speech marking the EU’s harshest criticism of Moscow since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“The Russian government is going down a worrisome authoritarian route,” said Borrell, who pleaded for Navalny’s release in Moscow and sought in vain to visit him in prison.
Read more at: 'Merciless' Russia may face new sanctions, EU says | Reuters
9/14/20
China-Netherlands Relations:: How China Made the Netherlands Question the Free Market - by Diederik Baazil
When the Dutch government invested in home-grown chipmaker Smart Photonics this summer, it was a departure for a country with a hands-off approach to business.
A small company with big plans, Smart Photonics was struggling to attract financing to scale up production of its next-generation chips, whose applications include self-driving cars and datacenters.
Smart’s chief technology officer, said in an interview at the company’s offices outside Eindhoven, in the southern Netherlands. “The most serious interest came from Asia,” specifically Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and from China, he said.
In late June, just as it looked like Smart Photonics was about to be lured to Asia, the Dutch government stepped in with 20 million euros ($23.7 million). A similar sum came from a consortium including a government-backed agency, PhotonDelta, whose chief executive, Ewit Roos, raised the alarm at the Ministry of Economic Affairs as soon as he learned of the company’s predicament. “The government acted swiftly and decisively,” Roos said by phone.
he Dutch government says that its decision was taken to retain key technology and wasn’t driven by concerns over China. Even so, its investment was just the latest example of a more defensive economic stance that has accompanied a hardening of the country’s attitude to Beijing.
The shift has “been very noticeable, because the Netherlands has always been that kind of small, open, free-market economy that wanted nothing to be touched and everything to be open,” said Agatha Kratz, an associate director at Rhodium Group in Paris.
Beijing still regards the Netherlands as an important trade partner and investment destination, even though the Netherlands is getting “harsher” toward China, said a researcher with the government-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who asked not to be identified due to rules for speaking with media. One reason for that change is China is becoming more competitive economically with Europe, the researcher said.
On the political front, the Netherlands angered Beijing this year by changing the name of its representation in Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province. That prompted the Chinese embassy in The Hague to request clarification from the government. Taiwan’s president pointedly tweeted her gratitude to the representation’s outgoing head.
Read more at:
How China Made the Netherlands Question the Free Market - Bloomberg
9/3/20
German-Russian Relations: Angela Merkel says Novichok poisoning of Russia’s Navalny was attempted murder
Angela Merkel said there was "shocking information" that showed
"beyond a doubt" that the poisoning of Alexei Navalny was "an attempted
murder with nerve agent" after a toxicology test in Germany showed that
the opposition leader had been targeted with Novichok.
Merkel said Navalny was "the victim of a crime intended to silence him." She said the gravity of that fact made it important for her to "take a clear stance
Read more at :
Angela Merkel says Novichok poisoning of Russia’s Navalny was attempted murder | News | DW | 02.09.2020
Merkel said Navalny was "the victim of a crime intended to silence him." She said the gravity of that fact made it important for her to "take a clear stance
Read more at :
Angela Merkel says Novichok poisoning of Russia’s Navalny was attempted murder | News | DW | 02.09.2020
6/15/20
Donald Trump : Opinion: Resisting Trump, with grace and dignity
More and more Germans are turning their backs on the United States in
incomprehension, even disgust. But, says Ines Pohl, it's worth looking
closely at the situation because there is much to learn — especially
now.
Read more at:
Opinion: Resisting Trump, with grace and dignity | Opinion | DW | 15.06.2020
Read more at:
Opinion: Resisting Trump, with grace and dignity | Opinion | DW | 15.06.2020
2/6/20
Venezuela US Relations: Venezuela rounds up US oil bosses after Guaido meets Trump
Six US oil executives were abruptly taken by police in Caracas on
Wednesday, just hours after opposition leader Juan Guaido met with
President Donald Trump, their attorneys and families said.
The six men are executives of US refiner Citgo and were under house arrest.
They were awaiting trial on corruption charges. Prosecutors have accused them of engaging in corruption by benefiting from a proposed, though never executed, plan to refinance Citgo bonds through offering a 50% stake in the company as collateral.
But many believe the six executives, five of whom are naturalized US citizens, are being used political bargaining chips by Nicolas Maduro's regime, as relations between the US and Venezuela have soured.
They were arrested in 2017, after being lured to Caracas by officials of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA, Citgo's parent company, to attend a work meeting.
The men spent two years in a prison of Venezuela's intelligence agency Sebin until later last year, they were transferred to house arrest.
Veronica Vadell Weggeman, daughter of one of the executives, wrote on Twitter that her father was taken without warning.
Carlos
Anez, one of the executives' stepson, said he was told the men were
being taken to Venezuela's intelligence agency Sebin for medical exams,
but that they have not heard from them since.
"Police came to the apartment, told my father that they had to take him, to bring a change of clothes, they took his GPS off his ankle and took him away," Anez said.
"At this time we know that they are in the Helicoide (Sebin headquarters), all together in the same cell, even though the house arrest has not been revoked by the court," said Jesus Loreto, one of the men's lawyers.
Hours before the men were taken, Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido was in Washington, where he attended Trump's State of the Union address and later visited the Oval Office.
While the executives were in prison, Juan Guaido entered into a political clash with Nicolas Maduro, leading months-long protests and garnering the support of 50 nations for his unsuccessful bid to dislodge Maduro from power.
Among these efforts was Guaido's move to take control of Houston-based Citgo and name a new company board, after Washington recognized him as the country's legitimate president.
Maduro blasted both Guaido and Trump shortly after the two met.
"Trump offends and disrespects the Venezuelan people by proffering violent threats against its integrity and against the constitutional, legitimate and democratic government of President Nicolas Maduro," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Caracas.
In a separate statement, Maduro's regime said Guaido was a traitor, denouncing the "shameful complicity of those dedicated to selling their homeland for humiliating crumbs tossed to them by their boss, Mr Trump."
Read more at: Venezuela rounds up US oil bosses after Guaido meets Trump | News | DW | 06.02.20
The six men are executives of US refiner Citgo and were under house arrest.
They were awaiting trial on corruption charges. Prosecutors have accused them of engaging in corruption by benefiting from a proposed, though never executed, plan to refinance Citgo bonds through offering a 50% stake in the company as collateral.
But many believe the six executives, five of whom are naturalized US citizens, are being used political bargaining chips by Nicolas Maduro's regime, as relations between the US and Venezuela have soured.
They were arrested in 2017, after being lured to Caracas by officials of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA, Citgo's parent company, to attend a work meeting.
The men spent two years in a prison of Venezuela's intelligence agency Sebin until later last year, they were transferred to house arrest.
Veronica Vadell Weggeman, daughter of one of the executives, wrote on Twitter that her father was taken without warning.
"Police came to the apartment, told my father that they had to take him, to bring a change of clothes, they took his GPS off his ankle and took him away," Anez said.
"At this time we know that they are in the Helicoide (Sebin headquarters), all together in the same cell, even though the house arrest has not been revoked by the court," said Jesus Loreto, one of the men's lawyers.
Hours before the men were taken, Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido was in Washington, where he attended Trump's State of the Union address and later visited the Oval Office.
While the executives were in prison, Juan Guaido entered into a political clash with Nicolas Maduro, leading months-long protests and garnering the support of 50 nations for his unsuccessful bid to dislodge Maduro from power.
Among these efforts was Guaido's move to take control of Houston-based Citgo and name a new company board, after Washington recognized him as the country's legitimate president.
Maduro blasted both Guaido and Trump shortly after the two met.
"Trump offends and disrespects the Venezuelan people by proffering violent threats against its integrity and against the constitutional, legitimate and democratic government of President Nicolas Maduro," Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Caracas.
In a separate statement, Maduro's regime said Guaido was a traitor, denouncing the "shameful complicity of those dedicated to selling their homeland for humiliating crumbs tossed to them by their boss, Mr Trump."
Read more at: Venezuela rounds up US oil bosses after Guaido meets Trump | News | DW | 06.02.20
12/1/19
China- USA Relations: China condemns US bills supporting Hong Kong protesters - by Grace Shao,Christine Wang, and Evelyn Cheng
China’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday the U.S. has “sinister
intentions” and its “plot” is “doomed to fail,” after President Donald
Trump signed two bills supporting Hong Kong protesters into law.
Read more at: China condemns US bills supporting Hong Kong protesters
Read more at: China condemns US bills supporting Hong Kong protesters
8/16/19
EU-US Relations: Trump Seems to Hate the EU. Is It Because He Already Had a George W. Bush Florida Orange Juice Moment?
Trump and his administration have been
especially hateful of the EU with respect to Brexit, and their impudent
encouragement of the UK to leave the Union, and on top of that to even
do so without a Brexit deal, the so called hard or no-deal Brexit.
The latest of the Trump Administration’s EU bashing came this week
from Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton who advertised a
no-deal Brexit with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the British
public with the prospects of a fast US-UK trade deal.
Bolton,
however, also shyly admitted that such a deal wouldn’t probably take
the form of a comprehensive all-out agreement but would likely be
negotiated “in pieces” and stages.
Critics have reacted that to get even that, the UK would have to give the Trump Administration a lot of concessions and backing on all sorts of top-level global political issues.
Diplomatic tone and manners aside, it
has got to be pointed out categorically that downgrading, diminishing,
or even destroying the EU does not make sense from the point of view of
America’s best interests. This is so self-explanatory that there is no
need go into much detail here. It suffices to remind everybody that the
West rests on two pillars – North America and (Western) Europe – the USA
and the EU, respectively. And if one of those two pillars sabotages or
undermines the other, that could lead to the collapse of the entire
structure.
The fact that Brexit could
actually prove a blessing, rather than a curse to the EU but
effectively removing the countless British vetoes to the deepening and
widening of EU integration is a whole other story.
Trump
first seriously raised eyebrows on the other side of the Atlantic with
his campaign speeches, and his first post-inauguration interview in
January 2017, in which he openly bashed the European Union.
For additional information, including advertising rates - e-mail:Freeplanet@protonmail.com
5/30/17
US Congress versus Turkey: Erdogan No Longer Wanted In America - by Abdullah Ayasun
In a unanimous vote, the Committee also separately condemned Turkey
for the violent attack on peaceful protesters outside Turkish
Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., during President Erdogan’s
entrance to the building.
The congressmen at the subcommittee hearing even went on to say that President Erdogan should never be allowed to visit the United States again, and pressed for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador, echoing the earlier call of Senator John McCain.
The sharpness of discourse and recriminations against the Turkish president was a testimony of the state of bewilderment among American politicians.
“To have the president of another country who watched his bully boys beat Americans into the ground and bloody them and for him to protest our people, that is the supreme insult,” Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, said during his opening remarks. “We don’t need people like you visiting the United States any more.”
“When we want to talk to the Turks, we want to talk to Turks who want to have a democratic society, and not to their oppressor, a man who is trying to create Islamofascism in his own country with him as the head fascist … Erdogan should never again be invited to the United States.”
“He is an enemy of everything we stand for, and more importantly, he is the enemy of his own people,” he said, reflecting a widely-shared sentiment among the American public.
The incident prompted swift condemnations from infuriated members of the both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to waive any claims to immunity for security detail of foreign delegations. They also pressed for holding bodyguards accountable for their actions, making them available for interviews with the U.S. authorities.
If Turkey overturns the American demands, the senators argued, that Mr. Tillerson should revoke diplomatic credentials of Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic and reconsider visas for other government officials.
Read more: US Congress: Erdogan No Longer Wanted In America | The Globe Post
The congressmen at the subcommittee hearing even went on to say that President Erdogan should never be allowed to visit the United States again, and pressed for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador, echoing the earlier call of Senator John McCain.
The sharpness of discourse and recriminations against the Turkish president was a testimony of the state of bewilderment among American politicians.
“To have the president of another country who watched his bully boys beat Americans into the ground and bloody them and for him to protest our people, that is the supreme insult,” Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, said during his opening remarks. “We don’t need people like you visiting the United States any more.”
“When we want to talk to the Turks, we want to talk to Turks who want to have a democratic society, and not to their oppressor, a man who is trying to create Islamofascism in his own country with him as the head fascist … Erdogan should never again be invited to the United States.”
“He is an enemy of everything we stand for, and more importantly, he is the enemy of his own people,” he said, reflecting a widely-shared sentiment among the American public.
The incident prompted swift condemnations from infuriated members of the both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to waive any claims to immunity for security detail of foreign delegations. They also pressed for holding bodyguards accountable for their actions, making them available for interviews with the U.S. authorities.
If Turkey overturns the American demands, the senators argued, that Mr. Tillerson should revoke diplomatic credentials of Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic and reconsider visas for other government officials.
Read more: US Congress: Erdogan No Longer Wanted In America | The Globe Post
7/19/16
Turkey: US denies involvement Coup as tensions rise between Turkish and US administrations - by Siobhan Fenton
Tensions between Turkey and the US have escalated following the
attempted coup against the Erdogan administration, with the country's
leader demanding the extradition of a US-based cleric accused of
orchestrating the violence. Another senior official has directly blamed
the United States.
The Obama administration has strongly denied any involvement or responsibility in recent events in the country. In a phone call to his counterpart in Turkey, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations."
The warning came after Turkey closed its airspace, thereby effectively grounding US warplanes which have been targeting Isis forces in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
Earlier today, Turkey's justice minister Bekir Bozdag announced that some 6,000 people have now been detained in a government crackdown on suspected opponents and dissenters following the coup.
In a television interview Minister Bozdag said: "The cleansing [operation] is still continuing. Some 6,000 detentions have taken place. The number could surpass 6,000."
Read more: Turkey coup: Tensions between US and Erdogan administration rise after failed power grab | Europe | News | The Independent
The Obama administration has strongly denied any involvement or responsibility in recent events in the country. In a phone call to his counterpart in Turkey, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations."
The warning came after Turkey closed its airspace, thereby effectively grounding US warplanes which have been targeting Isis forces in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
Earlier today, Turkey's justice minister Bekir Bozdag announced that some 6,000 people have now been detained in a government crackdown on suspected opponents and dissenters following the coup.
In a television interview Minister Bozdag said: "The cleansing [operation] is still continuing. Some 6,000 detentions have taken place. The number could surpass 6,000."
Read more: Turkey coup: Tensions between US and Erdogan administration rise after failed power grab | Europe | News | The Independent
5/21/14
Russian US Relations Sour: U.S. Petition to Brand Russia a 'Sponsor of Terrorism' Reaches Target
A petition
on the White House website to designate Russia as a "state sponsor
of terrorism" for its purported actions in Ukraine has garnered the more
than 100,000 signatures required for the U.S. administration
to respond.
The appeal, which accuses "armed operatives of Russia, acting under disguise" of applying "intimidation or coercion" in Ukraine, topped 102,000 signatures on the "We the People" segment of the website by Wednesday morning, two days ahead of the deadline.
Moscow has denied allegations that its troops are engaged in the conflict in Ukraine.
Alex Konanykhin, a Russian-born U.S. businessman, said in a separate statement earlier this month that he had posted the petition out of "embarrassment" for the policies of his native land's government and hoped to prompt tougher U.S. action, PR Newswire reported.
Though U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is obliged to do nothing more than respond to the petition, supporters of tougher sanctions against Russia could cite its popularity to call for additional measures.
Read more: U.S. Petition to Brand Russia a 'Sponsor of Terrorism' Reaches Target | News | The Moscow Times
The appeal, which accuses "armed operatives of Russia, acting under disguise" of applying "intimidation or coercion" in Ukraine, topped 102,000 signatures on the "We the People" segment of the website by Wednesday morning, two days ahead of the deadline.
Moscow has denied allegations that its troops are engaged in the conflict in Ukraine.
Alex Konanykhin, a Russian-born U.S. businessman, said in a separate statement earlier this month that he had posted the petition out of "embarrassment" for the policies of his native land's government and hoped to prompt tougher U.S. action, PR Newswire reported.
Though U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is obliged to do nothing more than respond to the petition, supporters of tougher sanctions against Russia could cite its popularity to call for additional measures.
Read more: U.S. Petition to Brand Russia a 'Sponsor of Terrorism' Reaches Target | News | The Moscow Times
3/31/14
EU-Turkish Relations: Erdogan victory puts icy Turkey-EU relations in deep freeze - by Luke Baker
Sunday's
resounding victory by the ruling AK Party in Turkey's local elections,
undiminished by what some call an authoritarian turn by Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan, is likely to put already cool relations between Ankara
and Brussels in the chiller.
After months of revelations of high-level corruption and the furore caused by the government's blocking of Twitter and YouTube, Turkey finds itself at sharp odds with the European Union, which it has been negotiating to join since 1999.
Too much has been invested in the process to call talks off - trade, energy and infrastructure links make it as hard to break off as to push ahead. But the EU is very unlikely to nudge Ankara's accession hopes along until Erdogan shows he is prepared to protect civil liberties, justice and the rule of law - and govern like a mainstream European prime minister.
As if to underline that point, the European Commission delivered a terse statement within hours of final results showing AKP won 46 percent of the nationwide vote, a significantly higher tally than many expected.
"Following the overall worrying developments which have taken place over the past three months, Turkey ... now urgently needs to re-engage fully in reforms in line with European standards," a Commission spokeswoman said.
"It also needs to reach out to all citizens, including those which are not part of the majority vote, in order to build the strongest possible engagement on reforms needed to make progress on EU accession."
There is scant evidence Erdogan is listening, or feels he needs to. As leader of a country of nearly 75 million people which acts as an energy and trade hub and an anchor in an often unstable region, he sees Turkey as holding an upper hand.
His attitude to EU membership since coming to power has been summed up as "Europe needs Turkey more than we need them". That self-confidence will only have been reinforced by Sunday's results, which give him a powerful
mandate.
"He'll be feeling 500 feet tall today, which makes him ruthless and able to do anything," said Amanda Paul, a Turkey expert at the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think-tank.
"It's a lot of power in the hands of a man who has become increasingly unpredictable and authoritarian," she said, suggesting it would have an impact on EU relations.
Read more: Erdogan victory puts icy Turkey-EU relations in deep freeze | Reuters
After months of revelations of high-level corruption and the furore caused by the government's blocking of Twitter and YouTube, Turkey finds itself at sharp odds with the European Union, which it has been negotiating to join since 1999.
Too much has been invested in the process to call talks off - trade, energy and infrastructure links make it as hard to break off as to push ahead. But the EU is very unlikely to nudge Ankara's accession hopes along until Erdogan shows he is prepared to protect civil liberties, justice and the rule of law - and govern like a mainstream European prime minister.
As if to underline that point, the European Commission delivered a terse statement within hours of final results showing AKP won 46 percent of the nationwide vote, a significantly higher tally than many expected.
"Following the overall worrying developments which have taken place over the past three months, Turkey ... now urgently needs to re-engage fully in reforms in line with European standards," a Commission spokeswoman said.
"It also needs to reach out to all citizens, including those which are not part of the majority vote, in order to build the strongest possible engagement on reforms needed to make progress on EU accession."
There is scant evidence Erdogan is listening, or feels he needs to. As leader of a country of nearly 75 million people which acts as an energy and trade hub and an anchor in an often unstable region, he sees Turkey as holding an upper hand.
His attitude to EU membership since coming to power has been summed up as "Europe needs Turkey more than we need them". That self-confidence will only have been reinforced by Sunday's results, which give him a powerful
mandate."He'll be feeling 500 feet tall today, which makes him ruthless and able to do anything," said Amanda Paul, a Turkey expert at the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think-tank.
"It's a lot of power in the hands of a man who has become increasingly unpredictable and authoritarian," she said, suggesting it would have an impact on EU relations.
Read more: Erdogan victory puts icy Turkey-EU relations in deep freeze | Reuters
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