CHINA AND THE EUROPEAN RISKS

CHINA SEEKS HIGHER GROUND IN EUROPE

Francesco Sisci

Asia Times, October 4, 2011

BEIJING - It is clear, although little stated, that the present crisis in Europe might be a blessing in disguise for the political union. In a matter of weeks, all parties - previously hesitant if not in opposition to strengthening the European Union - have started calling for stronger measures from Germany (the strongest economy in the area) and Brussels to tackle the credit threat and move toward closer economic, and thus political, integration of the regional pact.

Voices from Britain, a member of the union but not of the euro, from America, once suspicious of the political unity of the European powerhouse, and from Germany, scared of its past ambitions to continental dominance, are now a chorus pushing for faster and closer integration of financial policies. These, paired with the already agreed upon monetary union of the European Central Bank, could push for some de facto greater political union.

Policies governing common taxation guidelines in fact touch on the basic relationship between the government and the people, and thus are the fulcrum of any political entity. The centralization of monetary and fiscal policies in Brussels (the seat of the European Commission) or Frankfurt (the seat of the European Central Bank) could quite easily also bring about the next centralization of trade policies (already pretty much centralized), and thus greater coordination in foreign affairs, and defense policy.

Here, there is a standing complaint from the ally America: at the beginning of the bombing offensive against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the spring, former American secretary of defense Robert Gates complained about the lack of European defense spending. In fact, the Europeans are spending quite a lot on defense overall; unfortunately, the European countries are spending each on its own, with no unified continental policy. Then there is a huge dispersion of resources and want of efficiency.

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