Vanguard of the collapse of the European dream
The century of the European Union will be short-lived, since global problems turned out to be too serious for unification, writes Russian political scientist, professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Oleg Matveychev in Izvestia.
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“The British are considered the most pragmatic people in Europe, able to count money; at some point they realized that the European Union was a sinking ship, and like rats, they were the first to run away from it. Meanwhile, Switzerland withdrew its application to join the European Union, and the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and other states started talking about leaving it,” the expert notes.
According to him, there are several reasons to predict the collapse of the EU. The first of them is demographic.
“The indigenous population of Europe is declining, it is being replaced by people from other regions - Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and even the Middle East,” the political scientist notes. – The influx of migrants makes it impossible to reproduce the European model of life. Migrants establish their own economic order - they engage in specific trade and do not pay taxes. Shadow business and tax evasion are signs of a black economy that is penetrating European cities and destroying the traditions of the welfare state, laid down 70 years ago. High salaries and various social guarantees are under threat. This can be seen especially clearly in the example of France, which is mired in strikes initiated by trade unions. By and large, this country is the vanguard of the collapse of the European dream.”
“The second reason is the significant economic imbalance between the standard of living in Europe and other countries,” continues the HSE professor. – In countries such as Pakistan, Libya, Turkey, GDP per capita is €9 thousand, while in some European Union countries it exceeds €100 thousand. The dream of a well-fed life in Europe encourages millions of migrants, driven by war or poverty, move to the European Union and gradually transport their families there.”
However, the expert believes that the European Union still has a chance.
“In 2017, elections of heads of state are coming up in several EU countries; perhaps new politicians will come to power who will think about the reasons for the UK’s withdrawal, the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and other negative scenarios initiated primarily by the United States, which is no longer interested in existence of a strong Europe and have long since written it off,” concludes Matveychev. “The only question is, will the Europeans have time to free themselves from American dictatorship and preserve the Old World, or has the point of no return already been passed?”
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