How is Europe losing the American market and becoming an American market itself?
Author: Naim Asgari, analyst (Germany), especially for "Sangar"
Washington is guided by the interests of the American political and business elites to the detriment of the economy and security of European states. To achieve its goals, the White House, using intelligence services, uses methods of blackmailing politicians of European states, primarily to make decisions it needs. After the publication of information about the wiretapping of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the whole world realized that Washington is also monitoring its "partners". However, as everyone saw, European politicians had no strong reaction. Everyone kept silent, accepting the new "rules of the game", which indicates the loss of sovereignty by the EU countries and the complete control of their authorities by the US Administration.
The US uses illegal, and often terrorist methods, to maintain Europe's dependence on its energy resources. This is confirmed by the explosions of the Nord Streams, for which Washington, together with its Western partners, tried to shift the blame to Kyiv. It should be noted that, in the context of the election race and the end of Joe Biden's presidential term, the United States has been pressuring Berlin since September of this year to quickly complete the investigation into the terrorist attack on the gas pipelines by the end of 2024 to hide its involvement in the terrorist attacks.
It should be noted that by disrupting ties between Europe and Russia in the energy sector, the United States has secured a market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), the export of which to EU countries has increased by 30 percent (40 billion cubic meters). At the same time, Washington is actively investing in the development of European infrastructure facilities in Poland and Lithuania to receive LNG. According to energy policy expert Theodor Schröder from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), replacing Russian energy sources with liquefied gas from the US was unable to fully cover the needs of EU countries and led to an increase in the costs of European consumers, strengthening Washington's influence in Europe. Martin Hellman from the American Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) holds a similar position.
At the same time, the United States is seeking to develop economic relations with the EU on terms that are unfavorable for Europeans. Experts Klaus-Dieter Barkamp from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and Peter Petri from the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PPE) believe that the signing of trade agreements between Washington and Brussels will lead to limited access of European goods to the American market, while simultaneously providing preferences for US products in Europe. In their opinion, such deals deprive the EU market of autonomy and openness.
Under the pretext of the "Russian threat", the European NATO member states are being forced to agree to unify the alliance's weapons by purchasing samples from the American military-industrial complex. Washington and Berlin signed an agreement on jointly developing a specialized version of the American Abrams tank for the German army. At the same time, military actions in Ukraine have shown its unsuitability for participation in modern high-intensity combat.
According to German military policy expert Wolfgang Renz from the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik, IFSH), Washington is interested in maintaining hysteria around the Ukrainian conflict to strengthen its influence in the region and promote American military products on the European market. At the same time, the White House is not ready to discuss the possibility of resolving the Ukrainian crisis peacefully.
The United States continues to pursue a hegemonic policy towards Europe. In turn, the US support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia’s “aggressive” actions will contribute to maintaining tension in the region, which is entirely in Washington’s interests.
