Momentous changes are in hand following the last EU summit. The EU, once the UK leaves or crashes out of the Union, will have its hands free of la Perfide Albion to move ahead with full integration of the eurozone or of the willing Member States.
This will leave behind several countries, including Malta, not willing to show solidarity or to share common foreign, fiscal, economic, defence and social policies, but it will strengthen those that join in all world bodies. It will strengthen Europe’s voice in foreign trade squabbles with the US and China.
The EU will improve its independent defences against Russia, slowly weaning itself away from the US which, until recently very loyal in its shared values, is drifting apart from Europe in its values and interests.
This is a pity since most Americans are fundamentally very close to European ideals and values. However, the control of the US by strong economic lobbies from Saudi Arabia, Israel, Wall Street, religious and white supremacist and gun lobby groups has produced Trumpism. Europe needs to react to these changes and the departure of the UK will be the catalyst for this.
I am truly confident that, as in 1957 with the creation of the European project out of the shambles and destruction of two world wars, we can recreate the European project, leading to the formation, in due course, of the United States of Europe.
The UK will also go through momentous change as it crashes out of the EU. I am convinced that it will not resolve the Irish border issue.
Two routes are open. The first would be to hold a new referendum which will strongly vote to remain within the EU now that all have understood how a small vociferous section of the Tory Party, backed by the votes of the majority of elderly small Englanders who harp constantly about the glorious days of Queen Victoria, steamrolled over the younger generation. They fell for the myths and well-oiled campaign of lies presented by the likes of fascist Nigel Farage and clownish Boris Johnson.
We can recreate the European project, leading to the formation, in due course, of the United States of Europe
The referendum will not be allowed by the present Prime Minister, so that route is barred.
The other route that would stop the crash would be the rapid evolution of the changes taking place in Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which still backs the London regime of occupation of the North, has begun to sense that their days are numbered. This is because the majority of Irish voters in Northern Ireland would rather leave the UK and join Ireland – and in this way stay in the EU.
If the DUP withdraw their vote, Theresa May’s government will fall and, in the ensuing confusion, Scotland and Northern Ireland will move ahead with their independence. This would solve the exit of England and Wales from the EU while leaving Scotland and Ireland within the bloc.
That would be the best result of the referendum for all concerned. It is the will of England and Wales to leave the EU since majorities in both these parts of the UK in the referendum signalled their willingness. It will also give those occupied areas of the UK which voted to remain in the EU a chance to break away from the centralised power of London and Westminster.
Since London has for a long time been a centre for money laundering, tax evasion and so-called fintech industries, it can make itself a declared tax haven and probably succeed economically. Has Malta not managed to do well economically by becoming a money laundering and tax evasion centre in the last 15 years? London, with so much more experience and free from the shackles of the EU, will also succeed.
Colonialism is wrong and will remain so, whether through occupation of land and extortion of national resources or through economic extortion of the poorer segments of populations by the oligarchies of economic power. The sooner colonialism comes to an end through democratic controls, through rules governing transparency, accountability and fair distribution of wealth, the better.
The former form of colonialism, through occupation of land like Crimea by Russia, Gaza by Israel, Scotland and Northern Ireland by England, Kurdistan by Turkey and others, will come to an end probably within our lifetime.
The other and more subtle form of colonialism – the economic colonialism as expressed by Trumpism, by Malta’s oligarchy of developers and corrupt politicians, by tax havens and passport selling countries blacklisted by the OECD – will take longer to come to grips with. The power of greed across the world is extremely strong. The bait placed on hooks before voters’ mouths by corrupt politicians, whether in the shape of nationalism, xenophobia, GDP growth, patronage, threats to journalists and whistle-blowers, murders of dissidents and so forth, are too attractive or frightening for the masses to revolt against.
The risk of a global revolt by the downtrodden is growing day by day. Guido de Marco used to say that the Middle East was like a bomb with an ever-shortening fuse. This analogy fits also for colonialism in whatever form it expresses itself.
John Vassallo is a former Ambassador of Malta to the EU.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece