The EU Experiment is Failing… Badly

Several weeks ago, following the Brexit and other uprisings throughout Southern Europe, I began to question the continued existence of the European Union. A combination of non-elected leadership, years of austerity measures, open borders policies, and Russian sanctions hurting European businesses have inspired the movement to leave the EU.

In Italy, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s referendum to amend the constitution has been rejected by the Italian people, and he has resigned his position. The proposal sought to provide stability to the Italian banking system and the government, which has gone through 63 administrations since the fall of Mussolini during World War II. Renzi’s opponents rejected the bill for being poorly drafted and somewhat vague, weakening democratic representation in Parliament, and centralizing power in the cities and away from the provinces.

Although this isn’t explicitly an anti-EU vote, it certainly rejects all of the centralizing, autocratic tendencies of Brussels. Furthermore, most of the votes garnered by these anti-EU movements come from the less-populated rural areas such as the provinces. If anything, it’s more of the same, and the Italians have rejected it.

Not long after the “Renzignation” the value of the euro plummeted.

“The euro was under the gun on Monday, skidding to a 20-month low after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign following a stinging defeat on constitutional reform that could destabilize the country’s shaky banking system.

…

“Opinion polls show Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD) is neck-and-neck with the 5-Star [Party], which has called for a referendum on Italy’s membership of the euro currency.”

Euro slumps as Renzi vows to quit after Italy referendum loss

Facing movements like the 5-Star Party, Marine Le Pen’s National Front, the Dutch Party for Freedom, and many other groups and leaders, the bureaucrats in Brussels have started to panic a little. This recent article shared by Dr. Joseph Farrell over at Giza Death Star quotes European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker advising European leaders against holding these anti-EU referendums.

“Regarding referenda on EU membership, I think it is not wise to organise this kind of debate, not only because I might be concerned about the final result but because this will pile more controversy onto the huge number already present at the heart of the EU.” – Jean-Claude Juncker

European president Jean-Claude Juncker pleads with EU leaders not to hold ‘in-out’ referendums – because voters will choose to LEAVE

Even Merkel in Germany has begun to soften her stances in response to her party’s drubbing in the last local elections. Formerly a staunch supporter of muslim refugees and multiculturalism, Merkel has now advocated for a burqa ban similar to France. Although I don’t agree with forcing women to cover their heads in public (or barring them from getting an education, income, and driving for that matter), I shudder at the thought of giving the government the power to decide what people can or cannot wear and the duty to enforce such laws with fines or imprisonment if necessary.

Russia, Turkey, and Israel Plot the End of the Syrian War

While President Obama uses his remaining time in office campaigning for Hillary Clinton, and possibly violating the Hatch Act, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry have been busy trying to mend bridges with Israel. After the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan natural gas reserves under the Mediterranean Sea, Israel now has the potential to become a player in the world energy markets. As Russian oil is being cut off from energy-hungry Europe via the battles over Ukrainian and Syrian pipelines, the Globalists want Israeli gas to fill the void in the market.

Russia, Turkey, Israel and a New Balance of Power – F. William Engdahl

But the division between the US and Israel has only widened since the passage of the Iran nuclear deal, which the Israelis were violently opposed to, even threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Washington has offered European energy markets in exchange for Israeli support for toppling Assad, but Israel has fashioned its own deal with – you guessed it – Putin.

“Imagine the horror then on John Kerry’s ashen stone face when he learned of another development involving Turkey and Israel. Erdogan, reportedly on Israeli urging, extended a public apology to Russia for the November, 2015 shoot-down of the Russian jet, and agreed to pay compensation to the Russian state and the family of the murdered pilot. Erdogan did the unexpected. He publicly apologized and met all Russian preconditions for restoring diplomatic relations. There is an old New York expression, ‘The fly in the soup,’ indicating some detail that ruins the broth. For Kerry, Washington and the oligarchs who run them, Putin has just become the huge Russian Brown Bear in the US Middle East soup.”

After Erdogan restored relations with Russia, Netanyahu welcomed Russian financial assistance and investment with the Leviathan and Tamar ventures. Now, Russia has replaced the US as the deal maker, and may have found a way to circumvent the West’s barriers to the European market. What’s more, Russia has also taken over Syrian air space with their S-series missile systems, so any attempt by Washington to interfere with the pipelines would precipitate a war. In order for Israel, Turkey, and Russia to fully benefit from this arrangement, the war in Syria must end, and joining with the US in their five year quagmire against Assad is antithetical to Israeli goals for the region. Since Turkey sits on the doorstep of Europe, how can this arrangement actually penetrate into the EU?

The loss of Britain from the EU means that the only remaining economic counterweight to the German powerhouse is Italy. As it turns out, Italy has suffered severely under the Russian sanctions over Crimea as well as the Syrian refugee crisis, and now Italian, French, and German politicians have discussed and met with their Russian counterparts to put an end to the sanctions. Part of that effort may involve the deals already being made by Israel and Turkey, and Italy could be a part of that deal as it lies between Europe and the Middle East.

And there are some very, very tenuous clues that Italy is wandering off of the reservation. If you read the previous article concerning Obama’s executive order on space weather, I speculated that both the Globalists in Washington as well as the Russians have sparingly used covert tectonic weaponry as a means to overcome the nuclear deterrent. If, and it’s a very big if, this type of covert warfare has extended into Europe, then it might explain why Italy has been ravaged by four destructive earthquakes in just three months. And if Italy has been attacked covertly, it probably wouldn’t have been at the behest of the Russians.

EU Leaders Fear Brexit Might Still Be Contagious, Nationalist Movements

The backlash towards the EU’s Syrian refugee policy that first motivated the Brexit has not subsided at all. The results of recent local elections also indicated a palpable shift in support towards parties opposed to taking in refugees, showing that the movement has garnered enough followers and voting power to significantly alter elections and the balance of power in regional politics.

After the departure of Britain, the EU’s balance of power experienced a shake-up with Italy probably taking the UK’s place as the economic power second to Germany in the bloc. As soon as Britain left, the Italians threatened to leave the bloc due to its own greivances. After being bailed out by the EU Central Bank in 2009, Italy has suffered under austerity measures, high unemployment, and a banking crisis requiring more bailouts. Now, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is holding a national referendum on those bailouts, and the failed, Keynesian economic strategy put forth by the Globalists running the EU. The last time somebody ran a referendum against EU policies, the results were poor for Brussels.

Will Italy be Europe’s next casualty as Renzi risks all on referendum?

A member of the French parliament has also cautioned the EU bureaucrats on the rise of  nationalism, referring to it as “euroscepticism” and populism, and that nearly all EU member states are tempted to follow the example set by Britain.

Hungary has been particularly outspoken about refugee policy, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban didn’t mince any words when he threatened to leave the EU over the issue. After EU bureaucrats refused to recognize a referendum against refugees that received support from 98% of Hungarian voters, pro-Brexit Nigel Farage made a fairly damning point.

“More people yesterday voted against migrants quotas than voted originally for Hungary to join the EU, and I’m beginning to think that that perhaps the Brexit vote is having a big knock on effect across the rest of the Europe.”

EU politicians mull Hungary referendum result

I would agree with Mr. Farage, as the refugee crisis is now being lumped together with other long-standing grievances, such as austerity measures, into something similar to a nationalist political platform. The leaders of the EU recognize that the Brexit can still become contagious, and how dangerous this is to their globalist policies and their power structures.

 

Merkel’s Brexit Reprisals an Effort to Snuff Out a Contagion

As China is establishing their own economic union in the South China Sea, the economic union of Europe is still experiencing the aftershocks of the British referendum to leave. The EU’s response to the Brexit came from Angela Merkel:

Merkel throws down gauntlet to May: No free market access while curbing immigration

The immigration issue, particularly in relation to Middle Eastern refugees and migrants, was a major point of contention between the EU bureaucracy and British conservatives and possibly the royal family. The fact that Merkel continues to demand EU control over this policy is somewhat surprising considering that the Chancellor herself admitted that the immigration policies in contention undermined domestic security this past Monday. Other serious criticisms include loss of national sovereignty and rule by non-elected committees, but increasingly unpopular economic policies (and sanctions preventing trade with Russia in particular) are bringing the wealthier entrepreneurial classes into the dispute against the EU. The fact that many member nations are voicing identical grievances should be concerning as the Brexit could spur a contagion of new national referendums to leave. By withholding trade privileges from non-members, Merkel is attempting to establish additional consequences for leaving.

“We will make sure that negotiations will not be carried out as a cherry-picking exercise. There must be and there will be a palpable difference between those countries who want to be members of the European family and those who don’t,” [Merkel] said.

And those additional consequences may be necessary as Italy has rejected the renewal of the Russian sanctions that have affected the Italian economy as much as Russia. Italy’s pro-EU prime minister may be ousted in a fall referendum, and Italian ministers have stated that they will let the EU disintegrate further if there are no reforms.

‘The Unthinkable Is Happening’: Italy Demands EU Reform, Warns Over Full Collapse

Judging from Merkel’s reaction, the fall of the EU, albeit unlikely, is a very real possibility. If Italy leaves, you can expect other southern European nations to leave as well. Both Greece and Spain were subject to repressive austerity measures and both are major trade partners with Italy, and their departures could easily spell the end of the union. The Italians may have forced the EU into making a concession or two, but if we were to see it all come crashing down around the head of Merkel and the European bureaucrats, expect to see Germany picking up the pieces to start over again.