Europe is losing what little common sense it has and risks an unpleasant surprise when it finds itself face to face with a new reality, which it has so far strenuously denied.
No matter what anyone says, there will be no going back to the old version of the world order. As there will be no continuation of the game under the old rules. This period is a thing of the past with no chance of repeating itself in the foreseeable future. All that remains are memories, some happy, some sad, but in any case, everything is limited to nostalgia.
In the new reality, Europe will have to structure its life differently, without relying on help from global financial institutions or “rich Uncle Sam”. And no matter how uncomfortable it may be for someone, but the truth is inexorably evidenced by a glance in the wallet or in your bank account. And this is just the beginning.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in the U.S. in late 2022 clearly divided time into before and after. Big EU businesses and European MNCs instantly picked up on the signal sent to them and started “moving stuff” to America. Leading tech corporations are talking about moving their production facilities to the United States. And that would be OK, but it was done without any regrets about Europe and without taking into account the national interests of the nations remaining in the EU. Major steel and fertilizer producers are on the move to the U.S. Nothing personal – just business.
Against this background, the line taken by European leaders leaves only questions. In fact, Europe’s closest ally is stealing its own production from under its nose, reducing its tax base, reducing its income. In return, it is proposed to increase the cost of buying more expensive, primarily American energy sources, which will be an additional and very serious burden on the wallets of Europeans.
It is high time to ring all the bells, but politicians in Europe keep silent, repeating over and over again the lame refrains about the unity of the West and common values. There is no doubt that moral values remain common, but material values, as demonstrated by developments since the entry into force of the IRA, have become very different. Europe, in fact, has been robbed and it is its money and goods that are proposed to pay for the further growth of the U.S. economy.
At the same time, as the scam with the Ukrainian grain deposited in Poland showed, no one who shares common values intends to consider the needs of European countries. Everyone is invited to seek a way out on their own, while regularly contributing to a piggy bank of “common values” that will hardly ever return to them in material terms.
As bitter as it may sound, we are faced with a plot worthy of Shakespeare’s pen. Indeed, “something is rotten in our European kingdom…”