To say that Europe is in crisis is neither a revelation nor a condemnation. The European dream was the region’s attempt at setting a new course following the horrific conflict fought mostly on European, including Russian, soil, which saw the rise of a new superpower across the Atlantic on the one hand, and an old continent torn apart by the ravishes of war on the other.

The 2007 financial crisis seems to have set us off course. Then came conflict in North Africa and the Middle East that triggered a mass exodus of people fleeing conflict zones and economic collapse, into fertile European lands that were, however, going through a period of economic drought. Europe had long started to cosy up to the idea of having Big American Brother pay for its own military presence on the continent, without actually questioning its need.

While Washington was pulling itself out of recession by conjuring up dollars out of hats like there was no tomorrow, describing this euphemistically as ‘quantitative easing’ (QE for short), Brussels opted for another beauty, taking more money from people’s pockets, which in turn was marketed as ‘austerity measures’, in the hope of somehow creating economic growth by reducing debts, although the measures were also shrinking the economy.

Meanwhile, on both sides of the Atlantic, the bankers have been laughing all the way to their own plush office suites and private vaults, wondering how they could possibly have pulled it off. How indeed, swinging from virtual bankruptcy to becoming ever more powerful purse holders, courtesy of Joe tax-paying citizen?  A notable exception was Iceland, who opted to throw the bankers overboard to right the ship of State, rather than feed their own people to the ravenous and merciless sharks. But no one talks about Iceland, the embarrassing success story that challenged and broke the ‘honour thy money lenders’ commandment!

Any disagreement over Ukraine should be taken up at the UN’s International Court of Justice at The Hague

Europe has recently also opted for QE, having seen the American economy bounce back, at least in theory. But this can only work if we think out of the box. The printing of euros should never carry additional debt, and should be used to create a special fund to serve all of Europe where it is needed most, and where it could kickstart the region’s economy. The EU targets to have 20 per cent clean energy production within three years.

If this pipe dream is ever to make it into reality, we should use QE to build clean energy power stations all across Europe that would become part of Europe’s common infrastructural heritage, feeding one energy grid. This will inject massive capital and employment in the energy sector with all its spin-offs, as well as cost-cutting in oil, climate and health-related issues. Malta, presiding in Europe, should take the lead in such an initiative, and place it high on the EU agenda.

Italy has recently taken Brussels to task for its refusal to allow it a special dispensation to extend its deficit beyond EU levels by spending what was needed for immigration and earthquake recovery, which, it was argued, were extenuating circumstances. The QE Fund could be used for alleviating refugee hosting costs and disaster relief, thus addressing two factors most likely to increase over the years.

Then we face the problem of economic warfare, second only to the military one as being the most senseless and destructive policy known to humankind. While Europe has long prided itself with its vision of economic integration and breaking down borders, it has gone down a bipolar route by building an economic barrier between the EU and Russia, citing Crimea and Eastern Ukraine as the casus belli.

Any disagreement over Ukraine should be taken up at the UN’s International Court of Justice at The Hague, and not be used by governments to justify economic sanctions which are backfiring and causing great strain on European commerce. Again Malta could step up to the plate here and lead a move away from such destructive sanction-based policies, which would no doubt be supported by European commerce. Our limited size should reduce neither our voice and eloquence, nor our convictions at the European Forum.

It is being said that TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, is dead in the water. Maybe it is. It beggars belief that at a time when there is so much free trade already, with so few barriers, the transnational corporations (TNCs) are trying so hard behind closed doors to push yet another treaty that could only serve to bring in a Trojan horse in the form of the ISDS, a tribunal system through which said TNCs can sue countries to the detriment of tax-paying citizens. This will further erode the sovereignty of nations to the exclusive benefit of oligarchs and TNCs, whose loyalties lie not with countries, labourers, the environment or legitimate tax regimes. Such trade deals will only serve to sell the rest of us short. They should be avoided like the plague.

However, while we were busy trying to keep  TTIP at the gates, a similar treaty with Canada, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), also negotiated in secret, has slipped through the net and past the sentinels, and is well on its way into Europe’s law books, following its recent approval by the European Parliament. CETA establishes yet another corporate court that would allow an already powerful TNC sector to sue governments. Malta should not ratify it!

For every problem there is a solution. But finding real solutions requires lateral thinking, integrity, vision and courage, rather than hanging on to the status quo, or worse still, yielding to the enormous lobbying power of powerful corporations, nations and banks.

Rodolfo Ragonesi is a lawyer and researcher in international affairs.

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