Germany Calls on the EU to Form a ‘Counterweight’ to the U.S.
“The EU must become a cornerstone of the international order,” says the German foreign minister.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has laid out an ambitious plan to counter the United State at the world stage.
In an article titled “Making Plans for a New World Order,” Minister Mass talked about forming a “counterweight” to the US and called on the the European Union to become “a cornerstone of the international order.”
“[W]here the USA crosses the line, we Europeans must form a counterweight,” German Foreign Minister wrote on Wednesday. “The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her support for the plan. “The article by Minister Maas conveyed much of what constitutes the common stance of the government towards the United States,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a regular government press conference.
Writing for the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, Maas talked about Germany seizing “a historic opportunity to redefine the EU’s role.” He added:
Of course we can’ t fill all the gaps. But together with others, we can cushion the most damaging consequences of the thinking that says success is measured in dollars saved. That is why we have increased funding for relief organizations working with Palestinian refugees and sought support from Arab states.
Stressing that the proposed policy shift has little to do with the current US president, Mass added, “Not because Donald Trump is always setting new percentage targets [for NATO spending], but because we can no longer rely on Washington to the same extent.”
Germany’s state-run DW News explained the context behind the foreign minister’s drastic proposal:
Maas’ article comes amid strained relations between the US and its European allies after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU, and pulled out of a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
Europe has been scrambling to persuade Tehran to remain in the 2015 accord. But with European firms wary of far-reaching US financial penalties, it’s proving to be a challenge.
Iran called on Europe to speed up efforts to save the deal after French oil group Total formally pulled out of a major gas project on Monday.
The EU has vowed to counter Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.
“Given the circumstances, it is of strategic importance that we tell Washington clearly: We want to work together,” Maas wrote. “But we will not allow you to hurt our interests without consulting us.”
Mass proposed setting up of banking networks “independent” of the US in order to “save the nuclear deal.”
“That’s why it is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system,” Maas wrote. “Every day the deal is alive is better than the highly explosive crisis that would otherwise threaten the Middle East.”
Predictably, mainstream German media welcomed their foreign minister’s pro-EU pronouncements.
The German foreign minister’s plan amounts to a “reset on relations with Washington,” commented Handelsblatt in an editorial. “[Maas] is recasting the trans-Atlantic relationship. It’s high time. He wants Berlin and Europe to become a counterweight to the fake news and fury coming from Washington.”
“Maas Draws a Red Line for Trump,” said the headline in the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost. The German government “doesn’t want to endure and hope that Trump’s tenure comes to an early end. Government wants to push back.”
German weekly Der Spiegel broadly agreed with the foreign inister’s assessment. “Merkel has repeatedly said that she doesn’t consider the US to be fully reliable anymore,” wrote Der Spiegel. The magazine, however, urged the EU to “keep the door open for the US for it to revert to the international agreements [Iran Deal, Paris Climate accord].”
The strategy of propping up the EU to serve as a counterweight to the US or forming a “multilateral alliance” to counter the US in the international arena, as articulated by the German foreign minister, is a not a new approach, but a permanent feature of Merkel’s foreign policy. There are signs that she may be doubling down in this approach. Germany’s proposed financial aid to Erodgan’s Turkey following the US sanctions and the German chancellor’s backing of a multi-billion Russian gas pipeline to Germany, despite the US objections, shows Berlin’s intention to exploit Washington’s conflicts–with Turkey and Russia in this case–to earn diplomatic brownie points.
However, the “Plans for a New World Order” that Germany’s foreign minister proposes, might come at a high price tag for Germany. Berlin is already overstretched in wake of the European migrant crisis. Banking institutions within the eurozone are still reeling from the 2008 currency crisis. The German army, deployed in Afghanistan and other troubled spots, remains chronically undermanned, underfunded, and overburdened. Despite having been crowned the “Leader of the Free world” by the liberal media, Merkel’s position at home has been weakened following the 2017 Bundestag election. Globalist pipe dreams aside, the German leader can’t even bend ‘insubordinate’ eastern European countries to her will, let alone challenge the US at the world stage.
Video: Putin and Merkel discuss gas pipeline [August 20, 2018]
[Cover image via YouTube]
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Comments
uh… what is with Germany wanting to rule the world? Charlemagne, Kaiser Wilheim, Hitler, Merkle….
I am starting to think that dividing Germany back into its tiny little princedoms might be a good idea. Instead of one all-powerful Germany, lots of tiny Germanic countries vying for power amongst themselves….
Germany and the EU are for the most part impotent, and becoming more so with each Muslim birth.
Germany should be offering incentives to Germans to have more children. It will not be long, and Germany will be Muslim and Germans still in the country will their own and the country’s collective gene pool rapidly degrading.
The problem is, when the Germans DO have children, they turn out to be clueless, chestless pencil-necked shit stains like this “Foreign Minister.”
That’s a good point. Germany’s real problem is cultural (and I’m not even including the Muslims in that).
I dunno, next time they want France I’m not going to stop them. They can ask their grandfathers: west to the Ardennes, make a left, Paris is right there.
And there is a really fast train to invade England, which is currently defended by rolled up newspapers and the half dozen “pointy things” they haven’t been able to track down.
Germany has about 5 working military aircraft left in the entire country – oh yeah they’re going to be a “counterweight”.
But if you read between the lines, the Germans are really mad that they don’t have the ability to stop Trump’s plan to knock down Iran, because Germany has long been counting on Iran to finally finish off their One True Fuhrer’s Final Solution – the old dream of theirs that they often deny, but they never forget.
I would say to Merkle;
You and what army. Oh that’s right you don’t have one.
Take a look at statistics on the German birth rate, it’s well below the population replacement value. This means that there won’t be enough young Germans to man a larger army, unless they induct migrants in which case their army will become muslim majority.
Their Army NOW is approaching 30% Muslim
So they want to save Iran and Turkey from the US’ displeasure and enrich Russia at the expense of Ukraine and other sections of Eastern Europe. All right then.
After all, for Germany to say this, it obviously has the means to bring these results about. No need for us to worry or lift a single finger. Let us know how that goes.
Europe a “counterweight?”
The European Union lacks firm executive powers and has no strong, united military to back them up. European nations are wisely reluctant to cede executive control to Brussels. It’s hard to see much coming of this talk.
Reality: the USA is withdrawing from the Global Management Business. (We would be doing the same thing under Hillary Clinton only slower.)
We will no longer bribe everyone to play nice. We will only be operating where US interests are directly involved.
The EU sees that no one will be looking after their interests. And, now they have to step up and do the job themselves. But, with every bank on the Continent insolvent or in trouble, it will take money they do not have.
Ever since WW2 we have been bribing countries to do things which they should do on principle. That is how we got to the point that trade deals are not equitable, because we kept bribing with economic concessions.
In a meeting about 20 years ago with USTR’s chief counsel, he admitted that the US was sacrificing economic advantage for policy reasons.
Those giveaways compounded like interest until we gave away much of our wealth. Trump is now trying to rebalance our economic interests.
That’s true, but an underappreciated fact is that we got something out of the deal: control. Our problem now is that control of the defense of Europe is worth much less without a pressing threat.
Making Plans for a New World Order
***********************************
gee thats not ominous…
I’m sure that there’s a Final Solution being discussed behind closed doors. And., it’s not about muslims.
Except that this time, the subject of their final solution has the capacity to wipe Germany and the rest of Europe off the map for 500 years.
In the space of 3 decades Europe triggered Two World Wars, devastated the continent twice and killed 100,000,000 people. So, in 1945 the US took over.
Now, the US is backing away, look for Europe to return to Colonialism and Regional Wars at the very least.
or to simply quit doing anything at all and turn into Canada with Castles.
Europe has allowed enough Muslims in that they will all turn into the same kind of shit holes that those Muslims are coming from. At some point we will need to take nukes away from countries in Europe to keep them from being inherited by Muslims. Either that, or use nukes to destroy those nukes.
Europe won’t return to colonialism any time soon. The leftist shame over that period of their history won’t allow it.
This is all that interests me:
I’ve read more than few times about how aggressive Iran is being about the 2015 “agreement” (it’s not even a treaty). That makes it clear how advantageous it is for them.
The rest of what is going on in Europe is just a fantasy. The Brexit sentiment beyond the UK proves there is eroding unity to do much of anything. The suggested aligning for “world order” is a laughable fantasy.
The Counterweight-Continent. Hm. Perchance I’ve heard that phrase before. Seems it was filled with bureaucrats who had ossified into an unproductive stasis. Very fitting. Pterry would be proud.
“Making Plans for a New World Order”
NWO is of course code for World Government, the left’s chief and long-sought objective. NAFTA, the EU, the African Union, the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Central Asian Economic Union, and others are all building blocks (or “regional arrangements” to use the language of Section 52-54, UN Charter) which in time would “merge” into a single entity. All this outlined in “The Hard Road to World Order” (Richard Gardner, 1974). NAFTA was to have been used as the wedge to form initially the NAU (North American Union), then the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1974-04-01/hard-road-world-order
“The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe.”
Golly. I thought that was the mission statement for the EU the previous 45 years. Silly me.
As for Merkel, she’s a frog dancing 2 scorpions, Russia & Turkey. We all know how that ends.
Plus, it’s a small world, after all. Look to Central Asia and the bustling prosperity of Azerbaijan. It’s Baku oil & gas fields are estimated to be some of the largest in the world.
They’ve completed one pipeline all the way into southeast Europe, and are nearing completion of another into Italy. Russian gas is less crucial as a result.
It’s made the population of Azerbaijan quite wealthy, with a hunger for Western culture, plus they love Trump.
Finally, Azerbaijan is sprinting into the 21st century with its own independent space program. They’ve launched 3 comsats which they rent out to information hungry nations in Africa.
Young startups eager for Western prosperity are the global new normal. Merkel & Co. are old world commies still fighting the last century, and will soon be surprised at how backwater their feckless presence in the world will become.
The status quo is the status quo – until it isn’t.
Well put.
“In an article titled ‘Making Plans for a New World Order,’ Minister Mass talked about forming a ‘counterweight” to the US and called on the the European Union to become ‘a cornerstone of the international order.'”
I mean, hell; that’s one of the reasons given for the formation of the European Union from the European common market back in the 1980’s. The whole idea was that by wrapping Europe into a single political entity, it would have a GDP larger than that of the United States, with the economic clout to counter the United States and Russia, and who could (if they choose to) form a military and diplomatic presence to project European culture and European ideals across the world, much as the United States does today.
But there is no “there” there. The European Union formed–and gathered up a bunch of nations with a GDP higher than the United States, and watched as its GDP dropped from perhaps 20% larger than that of the US to today, where the same basket of countries has a collective GDP of around 12% **less** than the US.
The European Union is beholden to its members, to influence by Russia (which the EU planned to stand counter to), and seems incapable of dealing with political strife in their own back yard. (When Yugoslavia disintegrated, Europe played its fiddles; Yugoslavia literally bordered Austria, and the drive from the center of the worst fighting during the Yugoslavia civil war is about the same drive to the center of Austria as Boston is to Philadelphia.)
So if the EU wants to proclaim **yet again** that they want to be a “counterweight” to the United States and the existing world order, have at. Their track record here so far sucks.
Great point re: their shrinking GDP (relative to the US). Centralized control f’s things up yet again. When will the collectivists learn?
They want to make deals with our adversaries, I guess that means it’s time to dissolve NATO and pull our troops from Europe.
I guess we probably don’t do that because then Europe would just get swallowed up by Russia and China, and that would be worse than keeping it the way it is while the petulant children cry about Paris Accords and whatnot.
So we need a counterweight to freedom and a wealthy, free market society? We already have Democrat Socialists for that.
I presume this means that we can reduce our NATO involvement/money?
“German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has laid out an ambitious plan to counter the United State at the world stage.”
On the whole, it makes little sense. Germany and the EU have lost a major source of OTM (other people’s money) and they somehow imagine that the US will be competing with them to restore its lost opportunity for compassion and generosity.
Confused grandeur is what it is; all the US did was tell them to off the sofa and get to work.
Forget Germany. Germany has not been responsible for a single war since 1914. Since the end of WWI, Germany has served as the main European vehicle for globalist empire. In WWII, the nation of Germany was not supposed to be in control of the Third Reich, or the Fourth. The NAZIs were. The NAZI Party was a globalist group which owed loyalty only to itself, not the nation of Germany. Nothing has changed. The elite leadership of Europe is all globalist, owing no loyalty to their nations of origin, only to the NEW global Reich. To accomplish their goals, this group developed the EU and gradually cajoled the nations of Europe into joining. North America, including the US, was supposed to be another globalist economic enclave, run by members of the same group. Asia has long been dominated by China, economically. The Chinese leadership is also composed of Economic Globalists. They were expected to fall into line when their consumer base was controlled by the globalist elite. It was all supposed to be one big happy cabal, meeting for oysters, caviar and champagne and counting their money. Then *drum roll*, along came Trump.
The most powerful nation on the planet, which was supposed to fall solidly into the globalist camp in 2016, charges off, like a rouge elephant, pursuing goals which are beneficial to it’s citizens’, interests not those of the global elite. And, now the globalists are desperately trying to salvage their plan. It is doubtful that it will work.
And someone’s crazy uncle has escaped and is now posting on the Internet
Wow.
And No.
While the “Germans” and “NAZI”s were two different groups, the first didn’t do enough to stop the second. Yes, the first group, by allowing the second, gets responsibility for the sins of the second. Yes, Germany did start World War II. Yes, Germany did murder millions because they were Jews, or faithful Catholics or Protestants, or homosexuals, or prostitutes, or blind, or handicapped, or whatever reason came to mind.
I love the “rouge elephant” allusion…!!!
I keep telling y’all this guy’s a nutter, and he keeps posting additional evidence.
“I keep telling y’all …”
Good one. Dude in a straight jacket claims everyone is a “nutter”.
I think Italy is easing toward the door with the ascendance of their M5S party. Italy got in too much trouble playing footsie with the Germans once before.
Today, Italy told the EU that they will blow off their 20 billion (Euro) contribution if they don’t get help with their “refugees”. The EU has got almost insurmountable problems. Eastern countries are getting in their faces about accepting a ruinous culture, now Spain and Italy are getting riled up seriously. Nationalism is running rampant in every EU country, just look at the recent elections. They’re dreaming this NWO crap, talk about living in a bubble.
For centuries Germany and France have tried to conquer Europe, with military force. After multiple failures they have decided to try, politically,through the EU. I think the rest of Europe is catching on
Hello General,
Did you attend high school there?
Germany is far too busy ushering in the replacement of it’s native population and the islamatization of it’s country to do anything else.
“Germany” isn’t calling on anyone to do anything. Not only does this bozo not speak for the German people he probably isn’t speaking for the German government either. He’s just a typical Euro politician talking out of his stink hole.
Whatever. Their main problem is, they’re kind of like your kid going off to college. He thinks he’s become independent, but he can’t survive without us supporting him. We stop feeding them dollars, they become insolvent.
This is the Foreign Minister’s party:
“The Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) is a social-democratic political party in Germany. … Established in 1863, the SPD is by far the oldest extant political party represented in the German Parliament an”d was one of the first Marxist-influenced parties in the world.”
Yeah, he’s a lefty, but those terms kind of lose meaning when talking about German politics. The Germans have a choice from the Left, the Further Left, the Looney Left, and the Extreme Left, and that’s the way they like it. What THEY call the Right isn’t the Right at all… their Right are merely National Socialists as opposed to International Socialists.
Great. So let us know when we can take our kids home and Europe can spend the money to defend itself. After all, since they can’t “depend” on the US, they should depend on themselves. Who knows, maybe they will fix the four workable tanks they have, gas up the nine planes, and dare Russia to mess with them.
By the way, the US has had the most reductions in carbon emissions of all the nations in the Paris Accord. So there.
Don’t you have to have some “weight” to be a “counterweight” 😉
Germany does not have ONE working submarine
Not ONE
That statistic blew me out of the water when it came to light during Trumps recent European tour.
Screw them
also NO night vision military jets neither bombers nor fighters.. and tanks? of the 100 on record only a few platoons deplorable that’s 3 per platoon so 9 tanks actual.. smh
Is any of this new?
It’s exactly the same thing French and German politicians were saying for most of W’s Presidency.
They were only marginally less blunt about it when Reagan was President and the Soviet Union was an imminent threat and Europe was still divided by an Iron Curtain.
You’re right about that. Germany has always been rabidly anti-American. Every problem in the world is the fault of the USA according to them, back to the Fall of Rome and beyond. During the Cold War, they just did a better job of hiding it and pretending to be allies. Once Schröder became Chancellor, all the wraps came off, and they never went back on.
Their counterweight is an anvil they have created out of socialism and tied around their necks with Islam. How long can they tread water?
Since Wilhelm II Germany, and later with their creation the EU, have been irredeemably hostile to this country. This is just an open declaration by the Foreign Minister of Germany of that fact and THAT should be taken note of officially and unofficially.
Erdogan pines for the glory of the Ottoman Empire, Putin for the days of the Russian (and later Soviet) Empire. And Merkel … for the Europe before 1914, when people still spoke of European “Great Powers”?
Have these doors not closed for good? Most of us would think so (even if Germany never did quite find its “own place in the sun”).
WTH? Germany has 1 operating submarine (they think it might operate), 100 tanks, 5 or so frigates and a unionized military, and 38 fighter craft. It would lose a war to Andorra.
The Iranians are pressuring the EU to stay in “the deal” and they have leverage. Remember the pallets of cash? LOTS of folks got paid off. The Iranian Defense Minister sent out a tweet, when we were pulling out, that said, basically, the EU stays in or we publish everybody’s name that took a cut. That’s why the EU is desperately trying to do a work around.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the EU was a giant fraud from the beginning. Its real purpose was to aggrandize Germany and a handful of the elite European bureaucrats at the expense of everyone else.
the GOP should make Several Midterm 2018 elections ads of these globalist new world order chumps
Good luck with that, Germany, meine hubsche madchen.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/germanys-military-dying-13748
This article is from 2015. Things have only gotten worse.
“It won’t be a loss on the battlefield that destroys Berlin’s armed forces, but rather massive underfunding.”
As I understand it 2/3rd of German armor and aircraft are inoperative. So it’s not even a paper tiger. Oh, and looking beyond the land and air forces at the Kriegsmarine…
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/germany-does-not-have-one-working-submarine-23688
So, again, good luck with that whole counterweight thingy. I don’t mean this as a disparaging remark because I have the highest regard for the Coast Guard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QgLuIqmSqs
“Rough Sea Coast Guard bar crossing”
They work every day. My dad was a senior chief radioman in the USCG. In bad weather we in the Navy stop flying a loooong time before they will. My credit union is Sea West Coast Guard FCU. My dad is gone now, but I still have the accounts he opened for me.
As far as the Marines go, I wouldn’t be a Naval officer if a few drill instructors didn’t thing it was permissable.
Semper Paratus.
Semper Fidelis.
Sic Semper Tyrannus.
What it all amounts to (I bet you were wondering) is if all we had were those two services, two services that don’t even exist in Europe in anything like the form we have, we’d still have a larger and more capable army, navy, and air force than the entire EU.
Meet my DI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=415HQ1t2ZNI
“Pressure Point (1990)”
He was so awesome we nicknamed the anti-Christ. I guess I can name him as he volunteered for the video. Gunnery Sergeant Holt was and is (as far as I know he’s still with us) an absolute gentleman. But he was an animal when he wanted to be. He toned things down for the video. A lot. In real life he was scary as f***. And I’m not easily intimidated.
If I were, I’m sure he wouldn’t have allowed me to make the grade. The DIs at P’Cola are pretty confident about their ability to make men quit. There was only one time I witnessed when they doubted their ability. An enlisted EOD diver. Nearly all of the officer candidates they had dealt with were straight out of college. There were some who were prior enlisted. This was the first EOD diver they had dealt with. I had filled up plenty of circles of chalk they drew for me with my sweat. The EOD diver wore THEM out. They had to take him aside and say, “Look, we know you’re tough. But work with us as we have others to train as well.” He did, but only after he made his point.