The war in Ukraine and the future of Europe

Is it in Europe’s interest to prolong the war in Ukraine indefinitely? While few seem willing to do so at the moment, that is the question to be asked.

What is certain, at least, is that this is primarily something that concerns the United States, which, though not directly involved in this conflict on European soil, holds the strings through NATO.

Washington’s initial goal – even its president Joe Biden has said – is to weaken Russia so that it does not embark on new military adventures like in Ukraine, or even a regime change.

Currently the only beneficiary of the war is the United States: it has found new markets for its oil and liquefied gas, more expensive and more polluting than Russia, and also, thanks to NATO expansion, to its advanced military technology.

Only some countries, such as Hungary, whose government does not exactly have the best reputation in Europe, have decided to oppose Western sanctions against the Kremlin. Other allies chose to follow the line set by Washington.

But the United States pursued another goal: to maintain its strategic hegemony over Europe, which it has enjoyed since the end of the Second World War, and has been in question for some time, thanks to NATO’s cohesion.

For this, it was necessary to prevent any rapprochement between Western Europe and Russia, as implied by the energy dependence of its greatest industrial power on Germany, Putin’s country.

The decisive Western response to the war in Ukraine, as everyone fears, will force Europeans to face deep economic and social sacrifices if the war continues.

This is something that an experienced and well-known Italian businessman like Carlo De Benedetti, who recently gave an interview to the newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, sees perfectly.

As the reader will know, De Benedetti was responsible for major companies such as Fiat or Olivetti as well as founding the publishing group “L’Espresso” and the Round Table of European Industrialists.

In his statements, Benedetti said he wanted nothing in the world to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin: “He is a criminal and, along with thirty thieves, is a thief who stole Russia from the Russians.”

However, he added, “the interests of the United States and Great Britain on the one hand, and those of Europe, especially Italy, on the other, are completely different.”

De Benedetti recalled that Biden had the US Congress approve an aid package for Ukraine totaling $33,000 million, 20,000 of which was for weapons.

“It’s a huge disaster for a country like Ukraine, which means the United States is preparing for a long war,” said the senior businessman.

According to De Benedetti, Europe, by contrast, has a “common interest” in “stopping war rather than fueling it”. And if Biden wants to use Ukraine to bring about Putin’s downfall, that’s up to them.” ”

“Europe’s interest is to find its own place in the world as the rich continent on which it is located (…). We really think that we can export democracy with weapons. Democracy is exported through the social and economic success of democratically organized societies».

On the other hand, according to De Benedetti, it is absurd to think that Putin can rebuild the Soviet empire: “With a population of 140 million, Russia’s GDP is lower than Spain’s – if energy resources are excluded. And his army also showed terrible inefficiency, absolute disorder».

The businessman says that NATO was born in a very different context from the current one: there was no European Union and China had not yet appeared on the world stage.

He says there is a need for a European army where Europeans can take responsibility for their own security.

But this must be contested, it seems impossible at the moment: the former Warsaw Pact countries, especially Poland, seem to rely solely on the American shield and will do anything to hinder Europe’s military autonomy.

Source: Informacion

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