Chapter 962 Difficulties facing European integration

Since the European integration process was officially launched in the 1950s, it has made remarkable achievements.

On the one hand, the number of member states continues to increase, and the process of integration and expansion continues. On the other hand, the difficulties and resistance to European integration continue to emerge.

To be honest, the European integration movement is a great innovation.

Most scholars around the world believe that although European integration faces resistance and difficulties, and although it will encounter crises, there are reasons to believe that the road is tortuous and the prospects are bright. As long as Europe's political elites have the determination not to let go, and as long as the European people have the perseverance to stay true to their original aspirations, unite to protect, be good at compromise, and have the courage to explore, European integration will surely be achieved.

Even Liu Tao has to admit that European integration is generally positive and is of great benefit to the prosperity of European countries and the stability of the world. It is also conducive to the multipolarity of the world that China has been working hard for.

Even more, European integration can promote the formation of a multi-polar world structure!

For China, most countries in the EU are developed countries with high per capita consumption levels. They are a very important market. China needs this huge market. As long as China signs a trade agreement with the EU, it will apply to all member states.

This is an economic account and can be easily calculated.

As for the political aspect, EU integration can restrict the EU and the Polar Bears to a certain extent. As long as the EU is strong and integrated, the EU and the Polar Bears will inevitably increase their energy investment in Europe and alleviate the pressure on China from both sides.

To be honest, China and Europe are thousands of miles apart and are not as distinct as land. In a sense, they are natural allies. The two sides can only engage in a war of words and point their fingers at each other's noses.

But it is different from Eagle Sauce and Polar Bear.

It is true to say that Europe and the United States wear the same pants, because Europeans are not idiots. The purpose of the establishment of the European Union is to serve European interests, not to represent the interests of the United States.

However, the current optimism of most scholars on European integration is actually based on the EU, but they have forgotten the biggest factor - the United States!

After World War II, the Americans became the biggest winners and did not hesitate to station troops in various European countries. The establishment of NATO made the United States the leading brother in the West. However, this leading brother showed no mercy to Britain and France. He teamed up with the Soviet Union to dismember the British and French colonies, which caused the huge colonial system of Britain and France to collapse. It was difficult to recover as quickly as it could from the huge colonies after World War I.

When the colonial system collapsed, it was not just Britain and France that lost a large number of colonies. Many countries in Europe that originally had colonies lost their colonies.

Thus, the European powers became history.

So far, most of the European powers in history have become countries with general force, and their status in the world has declined significantly.

Americans will never allow European integration. If Europe is really integrated, then Europe's economy, politics, military, and technology will be no less than or even stronger than the United States. In that case, will the United States still need to station troops in Europe? ? Can the United States still be the leader in the West?

impossible!

Not to mention the true integration of Europe in the future, even now the European Union is jumping very fast.

Since the polar bears have been divided into two camps, the reformists and the conservatives, the polar bears have eased relations with Europe. They transport large amounts of energy to Europe every year to earn a lot of foreign exchange and improve internal people's livelihood. Europe, which has greatly eased its military pressure, is now constantly hearing about vetoing NATO. sound.

The Warsaw Pact is gone, why do we still need NATO?

The necessity of NATO's existence has been greatly questioned in Europe.

The United States was slapped in the face in Somalia. Who dances the most happily in the world?

Europe!

Europe is gloating about its misfortune, and the media continues to question the United States and complain about the combat effectiveness of the US military.

In the Gulf War, the United States showed great strength, but it suffered a large number of casualties and failed to establish its prestige, or in other words, its prestige was limited.

While the United States is focused on pursuing high economic development and continuously cutting military spending, it actually has a lot of tricks against Europe.

Those who deserve sanctions will be punished, and those who deserve blame will be criticized.

Liu Tao said: "The situation in the Balkans is not good now. Maybe the day the EU launches the euro will be the time when war breaks out in the Balkans."

The Balkan Peninsula is one of the three major peninsulas in southern Europe. It is located in the east of Southern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the east, the Ionian Sea (a bay in the Mediterranean) and the Aegean Sea to the south, and Asia to the southeast across the Black Sea. It is bounded by the Danube and Sava rivers in the north and Trieste in the west.

The entire Balkan Peninsula is located between the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is a land bridge connecting Europe and Asia. It is adjacent to the important shipping routes of the Mediterranean to the south, and to the east is the Bosporus Strait and the Dardanelles Strait, which strangle the throat of the Black Sea. Its geographical location Extremely important.

Historically, wars have often broken out in Europe in the Balkans.

After the 2nd century BC, the Balkan Peninsula was successively ruled by empires such as Rome, Byzantium, Alva, and Ottoman Türkiye. From the 4th to the 7th century AD, the Huns, Avars, Lombards, Bulgarians, Romans and Slavic peoples fought fiercely for the dominance of the peninsula. The rule of the Ottoman Empire lasted for more than 500 years.

From the early 19th century, Tsarist Russia was eager to open a passage south to the Mediterranean. The Austrian Empire attempted to expand southward to the Adriatic Sea. Britain and France wanted to protect the transportation lifeline to the Indian Ocean and the Far East. Therefore, the Balkan Peninsula became the center of Russia, Austria, and Russia. The area was fiercely contested by Britain and France, and wars broke out many times. It was known as the "European Gunpowder Store".

The main wars include the two Russo-Turkish wars in 1828~1829 and 1877~1878, and the two Balkan Wars in 1912~1913 and 1913.

The war intensified the antagonism between the peninsula countries and the conflicts among the great powers. As a result, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered the outbreak of the First World War.

During World War II, the Balkan Peninsula was also a key area of ​​contention between the two camps.

It can be said that as long as the war in the Balkans continues, Europe will be unstable and will suffer a big blow.

And now Europe is not only facing the risk of war in the Balkans. Liu Tao directly raised the question of Africa, which is located south of Europe: "Don't forget, the war in Africa has not stopped, the situation is out of control, the war is overflowing, the French It is no longer sustainable in Africa, and it is only a matter of time before it is squeezed out of Africa. European countries that have interests of varying sizes in Africa are bound to suffer a lot in Africa.”

The war in Africa has now spread to seven countries. Melees between government forces and opposition armed forces, warlords, and tribes are taking place every day.

In war-torn places, human life seems to be the least valuable. A large number of people die every day, and the original order is destroyed by the war.

It is difficult to build but quite easy to destroy.

No matter how well built it is, all it takes is one war to destroy decades of construction.