Although Europe and the United States are closely linked in terms of cultural heritage, the relationship between the two is not all smooth sailing. Especially with the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the differences between Europe and the United States are intensifying, and the appetite of the United States is gradually increasing - the wealth of the European Union becomes the next prey of the United States.
So, how did the United States achieve this plunder?
In the second half of the last century, European countries created the European Union in order to solve the economic malaise and restore the homocultural circle. However, the word "alliance" not only represents Europeans' expectations for the future, but also alludes to their painful memories of past wars and recessions.
In the aftermath of the Yalta Conference, Churchill's lonely figure was also a testament to Europe's decline. However, how could Europe stay out of the struggle for hegemony between the USSR and the United States?
From the Dutch "sea coachmen", to the Spanish "Armada", to the British "empire on which the sun never sets", Europe has always considered itself the center of the globe, and there is nothing they should be absent from.
However, the baptism of war left Europe's old powers lonely one by one. However, the creation of the European Union became the greatest hope of Europeans at that time.
The relationship between the United States and the European Union is an important issue. The development of the EU has gone through two phases of "support and harvest", and it is precisely these two stages that the EU has experienced the rise and fall. European reunification is the dream of philosophers, after the tortuous establishment, in 1950, France, Germany and other six countries talks, the European Union prototype was established, Eisenhower ** fully supported, and the soldiers of member states supported the Korean battlefield.
Since then, the EU has become a trend, and economic catch-up has become possible. With the unification of the currency, the abolition of tariffs, and the establishment of the Schengen Agreement, the EU once became the world's second-largest economy with a bright future.
While the EU has been seeking greater autonomy, its developed energy sector has caused problems for itself. In particular, too close cooperation with Russia appears to be at odds with US energy policy.
Before the shale gas revolution, the United States had been plagued by energy dependence. However, with the success of the shale gas revolution, the United States has become the world's largest oil and gas producer, which has added strength to America's energy hegemony.
Since then, the United States has become increasingly influential in the climate field, often using the pretext of climate governance to control the distribution of energy in other countries. U.S. energy exports have been climbing since the ban on exports was lifted in 2015, but it also raises the question: how can we sell more energy at a higher level?
At first, in order to seize the international market, the United States lowered taxes on domestic energy producers through the Inflation Reduction Act, showing a "discipline-abiding" side.
Over time, however, the US strategy began to change, with the spearhead pointing directly at the EU. The U.S. wants the EU to import energy from allies such as Canada and Norway, rather than continuing to import from Russia and Iran.
Here, Norway became a key pawn of the United States in its suppression of the European Union. The European Union's philosophy is one of mutual fulfillment and alliance, and the actions of the United States are clearly contrary to this philosophy.
Although the ports of Norway are frequent, the world's top five countries in terms of GDP per capita have never been a member of the European Union. What is the reason for this?
Mainly because of Norway's close ties with the United States. Norway is located on the edge of the European continent and has close ties with the United States. The Prime Minister of Norway has stressed more than once: "The United States is Norway's most important ally." ”
Norway has become an ally of the United States, and naturally it is more reluctant to accept the command of the European Union, so there is no hope of "joining the EU". Norway also has a very close relationship with the Brexit-leaving United Kingdom.
Britain has already left the European Union, and Norway is naturally even less likely to join the EU. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Norway, with the support of the United States, gradually increased its energy exports**, while the EU had to pay for it.
It turned out that the United States had set up energy barriers to limit the EU's space for energy choices, and even imposed a "super oil embargo" on it. In order to cope with this situation, the EU can only follow the lead of the United States and impose sanctions on Russia, making its own energy completely dependent on the United States and its allies.
However, this dependency has allowed the United States to hold markets and pricing power, thus keeping the EU's wealth in the hands of the United States. However, it is not enough to rely solely on energy to "play the game", and the EU needs to find other solutions.
The European Union is besieged by a wave of refugees created by the United States, another way for the United States to drain Europe's wealth and industry.
In 2015, a wave of refugees from West Asia and North Africa swept across Europe. The economic and social disparities between Africa and Europe in the post-war period are obvious, but they always intersect at some delicate point in time.
Due to geographical and historical factors, most refugees chose the Mediterranean Sea and southeastern Europe and poured into European countries for refuge, which made Europe under great pressure in this refugee crisis.
With the constant influx of refugees, the EU has suffered severely.
With the passage of time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 once again triggered one of the world's largest refugee crises. However, compared to the refugee crisis that erupted in 2015, this one is markedly different.
Ukrainian refugees are mainly Christians, white women and children, so the European Union-led Western countries have increased their solidarity with Ukrainian refugees than before.
The European Union and other Western countries have introduced a series of proactive policies to deal with the refugee crisis. The sheer number of refugees far exceeds the capacity of Ukraine's western neighbors, seriously increasing the economic and social pressures on European countries.
So, who is behind this refugee crisis? There is no doubt that the United States must be held accountable for this. On the surface, the deterioration of the security environment caused by frequent wars and conflicts in Europe's neighboring countries and regions is the direct cause of the influx of refugees into Europe.
But after going deeper, we will find that all this is the work of US hegemonism. Whether it is the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015 or the current influx of refugees due to the "Russia-Ukraine conflict", Europe has fallen into the worst refugee crisis since World War II.
The United States must bear primary responsibility for Europe's refugee crisis.
Since the 9/11 incident, the United States has been actively promoting the "Greater Middle East Democratic Transformation" plan in the Middle East, trying to change the political pattern of the region through war and political intervention.
However, this approach has not had the desired effect and has led to further instability in the Middle East. Many countries, such as Syria, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Iraq, have been major exporters of refugees.
Most of these countries have been colonized by Western powers in their history, and the United States is undoubtedly trying to replicate the Western model of democracy, but ignoring the cultural and historical background of these countries, which ultimately leads to irreparable consequences.
Although independence was achieved after the Second World War, many countries still faced the problems of poverty, backwardness and political instability, which posed great challenges to national development.
In the case of the Syrian civil war, which has caused enormous damage and forced more than 4 million people to leave, the European Union has become the main gathering place for these refugees, which directly led to the outbreak of the European refugee crisis in 2015.
In addition, since the outbreak of the Crimean crisis, the conflict in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine has also become an important source of refugee problems.
Since March 2021, the conflict in Donbass has escalated, and NATO's involvement has brought Russian-Ukrainian relations to an impasse. The United States and NATO rejected Russia's proposal, which led to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Now, with ongoing wars in Europe's periphery, the EU itself is facing a dilemma of high energy and enormous pressure from refugees. According to statistics, in 2023, the pressure on the EU's borders has reached its highest level since 2016, and the number of illegal entry incidents has exceeded 330,000.
Despite the huge economic price paid by European countries for taking in refugees, the real culprit is the United States. They use energy and conflict to their advantage, while staying out of it themselves.