"Distinguished" French professor: French National Front and Dutch Freedom Party "maintain the anti-humanist, cynical, and racist worldview of their predecessors in the 1930's"

The academic world is full of people who think that their fine titles gives them the right to denigrate and belittle us "ordinary" citizens. One such academic is Dominique Moisi, Senior Adviser at the French Institute for International Affairs (IFRI), professor at L'Institut d’études politiques de Paris and currently guest professor at Kings College, London.

The professor does not like the alliance that the French National Front and the Dutch Freedom Party have formed ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2014. Of course M. Moisi has the right to criticize the alliance, but he should stop slandering the two parties and the vast majority of their supporters:

Likewise, though Europe’s populists use their opposition to “Brussels” as a rallying flag, their ideology retains the atavism that motivated their forebears. Today’s far-right forces may be more anti-Muslim than anti-Semitic – Wilders may even be sincerely pro-Israel – but they maintain the anti-humanist, cynical, and racist worldview of their predecessors in the 1930’s.

Euroscepticism on the rise - Will the Dutch again show the way for Europe?

"Dutch Euroscepticism is reaching unheard-of heights: a Gallup survey in early June found voters split evenly, 39% each, on whether to exit the EU entirely. Most recent political polls put the Freedom Party in a close scrum for the second-largest share of the vote, and one poll has it in the lead. The other strongly Eurosceptic party, the far-left Socialists, is doing nearly as well."
The Financial Times


The Dutch used to be the champions of European integration. Now it appears that they will again show the way for Europe:

Those days are gone, and in July Geert Wilders, a far-right politician known for calling on the Netherlands to ban the Koran and exit the euro, wrote them a piquant epitaph. Mr Wilders announced he would hold talks with right-wing parties in other countries about forming an anti-Europe bloc in the European Parliament elections this autumn. He has since spoken with Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, a party similar to Mr Wilders’s Freedom Party in many ways, and with the Lega Nord in Italy. Having shattered the multi-cultural Netherlands, which once brokered the integration of Europe, Mr Wilders is now proposing to undertake Europe’s dismantling.

Read the entire article here

Simon Hix, European politics professor at the London School of Economics, recently presented a report which confirms that things are looking good from an eurocritical point of view:

“My belief is that we will see a rise in eurosceptic votes,” Hix said, referring to strong surges by anti-European groups and poor performance of socialists in national opinion polls.

“Coalitions that we may think of as stable now may be very different with a different make-up of the Parliament in the future. If more anti-European than pro-European forces are in the Parliament, we could see a strong effect.”

This might pose problems for the other major EU institutions. “It is difficult to see how the European Commission and the Council are going to respond to what might a wave of euroscepticism,” he said.

The Germans have been able to create an artificial lull in the continuing euro crisis, but one thing is certain - the crisis will return with a vengeance after the September 22 elections in Germany. This will of course lead to increasing support for eurocritical forces all over the European Union.

Gazprom's belated birth day present to Putin: A loss making pipeline

The Russian government controlled energy giant Gazprom's boss Alexei Miller on Monday - the day after Vladimir Putin turned 60 - offered a rather strange birthday present to the celebrator - an underused, loss making gas pipeline: 

The second phase of the mammoth Nord Stream pipeline went into operation Monday, increasing Gazprom's options for selling its natural gas to Europe.Unlike for the first line, no country leaders turned out for the ceremony, but President Vladimir Putin received perhaps the biggest ever tribute for his distinct role in the Gazprom-led project.
Gazprom chief Alexei Miller described the completion of the second — and as yet the final — phase as a present to Putin, who celebrated his 60th birthday Sunday.
"There is symbolism in the fact that we're bringing the capacity to its fullest during the days of Vladimir Putin's anniversary," Miller said, addressing an audience that included former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, now chairman of Nord Stream's board. "It's a gift of sorts to the author of the idea."

What Miller did not tell, is that the first pipeline has been running only on 30-40% of its maximum capacity. Adding a second pipeline will make the situation even worse:

Analysts think that Russian pipeline gas, bound to the oil price, is too expensive, that’s a problem for the consumers, and for Gazprom itself. They explain the low level loading of the first branch of Nord Stream by the unflexible pricing policy. It was 30-40% of maximum capacity within the first 11 months of operation, the press-secretary of the pipeline operator Nord Stream Company, J. Mueller confirms. It transported within the period 9 billion cubic m.

Gazprom is likely to be dissatisfied with commercial results of the first year of the pipeline's operation. The risk of idling even increases with the launch of the second branch if the supplier disagrees to offer its products by lower prices, the expert for energy of the analytical center of Deutsche Bank, J. Auer thinks. In future the USA will start liquid shale gas supplies to Europe, maybe in 2015 when the liquefying device will start operation. It will damage the competitiveness of Nord Stream.

Read the entire article here

However, what Miller told the press at the inauguration of the second Nord Stream pipeline was even more strange than the "birthday present":

Miller said that Nord Stream shareholders concluded earlier that day that it was feasible and commercially viable to add a third and a fourth line to the project. They agreed that a separate company would execute any further expansion, Nord Stream said in a statement. The shareholders will decide on their participation by the end of March, which will also be the deadline for incorporating that company.

Gazprom owns 51% of the Nord Steam shares, Germany's BASF and E.On Ruhrgas own 15.5 percent each, while Holland's Gasunie and France's GDF Suez split the rest. If the European power companies who own 49% of the shares really think that it is "feasible and commercially viable to add a third and a fourth line" (at the prices Gazprom charges), their shareholders have a real reason to worry about the professionalism of the top executives of these companies.

Dutch historian on Europe: Nationalism makes democracy possible

"You cannot have democratic accountability in anything bigger than a nation state"
Václav Klaus


The Dutch historian and lawyer Thierry Baudet has written a thought-provoking article about empire and nationalism in Europe. Baudet´s case for nation states and nationalism instead of Brussels empire is rather convincing: 

Partisans of the European project invariably argue that nationalism leads to war and while the development of Europe will safeguard peace – a noble objective that is more than sufficient compensation for any loss in democracy, sovereignty and transparency caused by Brussels. However, this theory is fundamentally flawed.

Nationalism does not lead to war. Attempts to build European empires lead to war. The urge to impose a straitjacket on the will of peoples will leads to war. In short, the European project will lead to war.

Fascism and Nazism were both focused on the creation of Europe. As early as 1933, Mussolini declared that Europe could once again exert its power in the world if it succeeded in establishing a certain political unity.

--

Oppression exerted by a centralised regime is a source of tension, and one of the major lessons of the First World War was the “principle of self-determination” – most notably promoted by Woodrow Wilson, who advocated respect for different nationalities, arguing that they should not be dissolved and integrated in larger entities.

If we look further back in history, once again we see that it was not “nationalism” but imperialism and the desire to unify Europe that led to wars. Take for example the Napoleonic Wars. For the well-being of Europe, Napoleon wanted the same principles to apply throughout the continent: a European law, a high court of European justice, a common currency, the same units of measurement, the same laws, and so on. Napoleon expected that thereafter Europe would rapidly become a single united nation.

The idea that nationalism leads to war while European unification promotes peace is therefore false. And let’s not forget that Europe has not been at “peace” over the last 50 years. During most of that period, the countries of Europe were engaged in a fight to the death with the Soviet Union, which was once again the expression of yet another anti-national philosophy – in this case communism. As the Communist Manifesto insisted, “Working men have no country.”

As you might expect, today’s attempt to bring about political unity in Europe is a major source of tensions. The political landscape in virtually every country in Europe has now been marked by the emergence of increasingly powerful parties that are opposed to the established order.

Nationalism makes democracy possible

Distrust of the South is increasingly prevalent in Northern Europe, and vice-versa. Here again, it is not nationalism but the European project which is the source of the conflict. It follows that we should seek to create a Europe that is radically different to the current EU.

What we need is a Europe without a central regime: a Europe comprised of nation states, which are not afraid of national differences, and willing to cooperate with each other. The authority of nation states over their own borders should be restored, so that they themselves can decide who they want to allow in their territory.

In the service of their economic interest, they should opt for flexible visa regimes, which will nonetheless allow them to keep control of crime and immigration. We will also have to dissolve the euro to give nation states some monetary breathing space so that they can once again set their own interest rates in response to local conditions. Finally, we will have to get rid of harmonisation which undermines diversity.

Far from being a source of conflict, nationalism is the force that makes democracy possible. Without this unifying force, parliaments would be unable to take legitimate decisions. As the example of Belgium has shown, a lack of national unity can make the administration of a country extremely difficult. The irrational fear of nationalism could ultimately result in the establishment of a restrictive empire in Brussels. The time has come to call a halt and restore the nation state.

Read the entire article here

Greenpeace activists arrested by Dutch police

Congratulations to the Dutch Police for a job well done:

Four Greenpeace activists who have been preventing an Australian-bound super-trawler from leaving a port in the Netherlands were arrested on Tuesday.

"THIS morning we arrested four people: two men and two women who were preventing the ship's departure," Evy Elschot told AFP from Ijmuiden, 30km northeast of Amsterdam.

The Lithuanian-flagged FV Margiris, which is to be re-flagged as Australian and deployed to catch baitfish off Tasmania, was stopped by the Greenpeace team on June 27 as it tried to leave the Dutch port.

The 143-metre, 9,500-tonne Margiris is one of the world's largest fishing trawlers, and has been accused by Greenpeace in the past of over-fishing off West Africa.

Activists hung on cables between the quay and the ship and put a chain around the trawler's propeller.

"We first asked the activists to leave the boat, which did not happen," said Elschot, adding the activists were then arrested "but remained calm."

Read the entire article here

The illegal Greenpeace activities should be condemned. There is absolutely no justifiable reason to sabotage the Australian bound fishing vessel:

 Australian Fisheries Management Authority has dismissed over-fishing concerns, saying the Margiris would have little if any impact on the broader eco-system with strict catch limits in place.

According to AFMA the trawler will be allowed to catch just 10 percent of available fish - a highly precautionary figure it says is well below international standards.

The eurozone´s northern paymasters increasingly frustrated by bailouts

One after one, the eurozone´s southern member countries are joining the club of beggars. Yesterday Cyprus was the fifth country to request financial aid from its eurozone partners. Italy is still missing, but it cannot take long before it also applies for "membership" in this less and less exclusive club. However, there are clear signs that some of the few remaining northern paymasters are beginning ask whether it is worth to continue pretending that the current bailout policies are working: 

Although the Netherlands was one of the six founder members of the European Economic Community in 1957, the Dutch have soured towards EU integration over the last decade and voted down a European Union constitution in a 2005 referendum.

Taxpayers who pride themselves on frugality and clean government have been outraged by having to pay for fellow euro zone countries' perceived overspending and sleaze.

They are particularly allergic to the idea, driven by Germany and France, that the best and possibly the only way to save the euro is through much closer fiscal and political union.

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A Maurice de Hond poll published on June 10 found that 64 percent were against Merkel's proposal to gradually move towards political union, and just 20 percent felt the only way to overcome the crisis was to transfer more power to Brussels.

About four-fifths, or 82 percent, said the issue of Europe would play a major role in the coming election, while 70 percent wanted to see less saving and more economic stimulus next year.

RETURN TO THE GUILDER?

Previous polls have found that a substantial minority hanker for a return to the guilder. That has fuelled the populists.

The Netherlands is going through its own economic crisis, and has been in recession since the middle of last year.

The Dutch are nowhere near as badly off as the Greeks or Spanish, but many are feeling the pinch and this is hurting consumer confidence and spending.

Read the entire article here

Last week Finland´s finance minister ruled out a full financial union: 

Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen says Finland cannot support the idea of a full financial union to save the euro as put forward by the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde.

“Our view is that we cannot share common responsibility for existing southern European debts,” Urpilainen affirmed.

Dutch professors solve the euro crisis: "Get rid of those debts with sun and wind"

The eurozone is on the brink, with Spain now asking for bail-out money. But no reason to worry. A group of Dutch professors know how to solve the euro crisis

The countries most affected by the Eurocrisis could reduce their debts substantially with concessions for renewable energy. Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland have excellent conditions for harvesting energy from the solar energy, wind power and geothermal energy sources. They could give their creditors concessions for large scale investment programs in renewable energy that offer enough long-term financial profit.

This 'renewable-energy-concessions-for-debt-reduction-plan' was introduced by a group of renowned economics and energy professors and proposed in the Dutch daily 'NRC Handelsblad' last Monday. A thirty percent debt reduction is possible if Ireland gives less than one percent, Portugal about one percent and Greece about two percent of its total surface into concession for renewable energy production. The authors emphasize that 'the energy projects don't have to exclusively be large-scale and on a few big pieces of land. They could capitalize on vast opportunities for decentralized energy locally as well'.

The involved countries would be able to pay off a substantial part of their debts to the creditors and at the same time they will also receive a positive stimulus for their economy and employment from the construction and maintenance of the projects. 'Especially the young generation in these countries who now face a tremendously high unemployment rate will enjoy a new perspective for a debt-free future with many opportunities for healthy growth. And Europe will have more renewable energy with which to contribute to a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for its citizens', according to the professors.

The professors have obviously not noticed that governments in a number of countries have been forced to cut  the subsidies to ineffecient, unreliable and expensive wind and solar energy projects:

This plan only has winners. The concessions allow the creditors to get their money back, which is quite uncertain in the current situation. The indebted countries will not only be paying off a substantial part of their debts, but they will also receive a positive stimulus for their economy and employment from the construction and maintenance of the projects. Especially the young generation in these countries who now face a tremendously high unemployment rate will enjoy a new perspective for a debt-free future with many opportunities for healthy growth. And Europe will have more renewable energy with which to contribute to a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for its citizens.

Source: this opinion article was published in NRC Handelsblad (The Netherlands) on June 4th by Prof. Dr. Klaas van Egmond (Professor in Geosciences – Utrecht University), Prof. Dr. Sylvester Eijffinger (Professor Financial Economy – Tilburg University), Prof. Dr. Herman Wijffels (Professor Sustainablity and Societal Change – Utrecht University), Prof.  Dr. Wim Sinke (Professor Sustainable Energysystems – Utrecht University) en Marco Witschge (initiator of this article and Director of the New Energy for The Netherlands Foundation)

Read the entire article here

One´s first reaction when reading the Dutch academics´ article is that this must be a joke. But regrettably these professors appear to be serious when they suggest that huge investments in solar and wind energy could solve the eurozone crisis. How detached from reality can you be as a Dutch academic?