As an European, trust me, Trump has little to do with it.
We've been doing fine championing our nationalism instead of creating a strong internal market.
Because Hungarians decide in Hungary and Spaniards in Spain doing business across Europe is still very tough.
So to transport anything from Austria to Hungary you need to fill all the kind of paperwork and find the appropriate codes. And to sell it, even more complicated. And taxation? Don't get me started.
And it doesn't help most of our economies are all export economies, which is a broken economic model where you just keep hemorraging stuff and your people stays relatively poor.
And it doesn't help most of our economies are all export economies,
The worst part of all this is that becoming more export focused was pushed heavily by Germany during the euro crisis, and now its causing more problems.
Honestly, I'm coming round to the notion that Angela Merkel was literally wrong on everything she ever touched.
Mind you, German political culture consistently makes the wrong decisions (basically in hock to the ICE car industry, which has aged badly).
In a world where the Russo-Ukrainian conflict doesn't happen she was fine.
The German (so not just her) position on the post financial crisis reforms were wildly misguided, and her taking in of Syrian immigrants also didn't end well.
I think that shutting down the nuclear plants would also have been recognised as a bad idea, even without the war.
and her taking in of Syrian immigrants also didn't end well.
Syrian refugees.
They were escaping a civil war, they weren't looking for a job.
Most Germans supported taking the refugees as of 2015, less opposed it.
As for nuclear, Germany already had decided to phase it out before Merkel, in fact, her government partially reversed it. But Fukushima in 2011 was the nail in the coffin.
They started that path to economic suicide by deciding they don't want cheap gas as well as shutting down reactors. Well, depending on your geopolitical beliefs, entire situation was possibility coordinated to get Europe on American LNG and off the stuff piped from Rusland and the Middle East. This was all in play well before Orange Man, but wow did he push the gas pedal down and accelerate it (pun intended). BTW there's only one way out of it, but many Europeans aren't going to like the medicine nor the global primacy people running the USA.
You don't strengthen an enemy (Russia) by buying their products. Defence is more important.
as well as shutting down reactors
A German problem, not a wider European one.
The solution is to accelerate the transition into electric vehicles (including HGVs etc.), renewable energy, and nuclear. Oil is obviously still needed for materials production, air fuel, and so on, but extricating ourselves from situations where oil is becoming optional as fast as possible is the best course, not continuing to buy cheap gas from an aggressive neighbour that's fucking your elections and invading its neighbour.
Both of your statements are technically true (the cancelled pipeline was called South Stream).
Also true is that another pipeline called Balkan Stream connects to Turk Stream to transport the Russian gas into Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary, and went into operation in 2021.
Looking at physical markers Europe has been in degrowth for 20 years, less things produced, less sqm of new building, less tonnes transported by freight, the GDP is saved by maths tricks and hopium
Comments
It's quite funny how Trump is killing European industry. Literally everything America has been doing the last few years has benefited China.
The Chinese economy has real weaknesses make no mistake about it and a competent US leader could have worked with his global allies to exploit them.
As an European, trust me, Trump has little to do with it.
We've been doing fine championing our nationalism instead of creating a strong internal market.
Because Hungarians decide in Hungary and Spaniards in Spain doing business across Europe is still very tough.
So to transport anything from Austria to Hungary you need to fill all the kind of paperwork and find the appropriate codes. And to sell it, even more complicated. And taxation? Don't get me started.
And it doesn't help most of our economies are all export economies, which is a broken economic model where you just keep hemorraging stuff and your people stays relatively poor.
The worst part of all this is that becoming more export focused was pushed heavily by Germany during the euro crisis, and now its causing more problems.
Honestly, I'm coming round to the notion that Angela Merkel was literally wrong on everything she ever touched.
Mind you, German political culture consistently makes the wrong decisions (basically in hock to the ICE car industry, which has aged badly).
In a world where the Russo-Ukrainian conflict doesn't happen she was fine.
In a world where it does, suddenly an export economy hungry for materials and energy suffers the lack of Russia.
The German (so not just her) position on the post financial crisis reforms were wildly misguided, and her taking in of Syrian immigrants also didn't end well.
I think that shutting down the nuclear plants would also have been recognised as a bad idea, even without the war.
Syrian refugees.
They were escaping a civil war, they weren't looking for a job.
Most Germans supported taking the refugees as of 2015, less opposed it.
As for nuclear, Germany already had decided to phase it out before Merkel, in fact, her government partially reversed it. But Fukushima in 2011 was the nail in the coffin.
Hey, I supported it too! I actually thought it was her best decision.
It hasn't worked out politically, though.
Again, I'm aware, I just wish different decisions had been made.
They started that path to economic suicide by deciding they don't want cheap gas as well as shutting down reactors. Well, depending on your geopolitical beliefs, entire situation was possibility coordinated to get Europe on American LNG and off the stuff piped from Rusland and the Middle East. This was all in play well before Orange Man, but wow did he push the gas pedal down and accelerate it (pun intended). BTW there's only one way out of it, but many Europeans aren't going to like the medicine nor the global primacy people running the USA.
You don't strengthen an enemy (Russia) by buying their products. Defence is more important.
A German problem, not a wider European one.
The solution is to accelerate the transition into electric vehicles (including HGVs etc.), renewable energy, and nuclear. Oil is obviously still needed for materials production, air fuel, and so on, but extricating ourselves from situations where oil is becoming optional as fast as possible is the best course, not continuing to buy cheap gas from an aggressive neighbour that's fucking your elections and invading its neighbour.
Cheap gas from the Russians? No thank you
Orange Man was elected in 2015.
Europeans decided to construct Nord Stream 2 to completion (finished 2021, but never certified for operation).
Nord Stream 1 was shut down by Russia in 2022.
Turk Stream pipeline (from Russia to Bulgaria) finished construction/began operation in 2020.
Turk Stream goes to Turkey, original plans to Bulgarian were canceled.
Both of your statements are technically true (the cancelled pipeline was called South Stream).
Also true is that another pipeline called Balkan Stream connects to Turk Stream to transport the Russian gas into Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary, and went into operation in 2021.
https://n1info.rs/english/news/balkan-stream-gas-pipeline-op...
That's right, South Stream. Thanks!
Looking at physical markers Europe has been in degrowth for 20 years, less things produced, less sqm of new building, less tonnes transported by freight, the GDP is saved by maths tricks and hopium