American dominance 'becoming history,' Berlin can no longer simply react to US policy – German FM

[Muhammed45]

American dominance 'becoming history,' Berlin can no longer simply react to US policy – German FM
Published time: 5 Dec, 2017 12:17Edited time: 5 Dec, 2017 12:19
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Sigmar Gabriel attends the foreign policy panel in Berlin, on December 5, 2017. © AFP
‘We have other priorities’: German FM urges US to end sanctions policy toward Russia
Speaking at a foreign policy forum in Berlin on Tuesday, Sigmar Gabriel said “the global dominance of the United States is slowly becoming history.” He noted that the “withdrawal of the United States under Donald Trump from its reliable role as a guarantor of western-led multilateralism accelerates a change of the world order with immediate consequences for German and European interests.”

“Germany can no longer simply react to US policy but must establish its own position… even after Trump leaves the White House, relations with the US will never be the same,” Gabriel is cited as saying.

Gabriel accused the US of “no longer see(ing) the world as a global community, but as a fighting arena where everyone has to seek their own advantage,” Deutsche Welle reported. However, he noted that Europe has to step up to the plate and more strictly define its interests in order to be a major global player.

“As the US has withdrawn from the international stage, nobody has turned to the European Union,” Gabriel said. He claimed the bloc no longer stands for a specific set of values, and accused its members of treating the EU “as if they have a second one in their hip pocket.”

“We have to describe our own positions and, if necessary, draw red lines” which would be “based on our own interests,” he said, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

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Merkel takes aim at US policy ahead of G20 meeting with Trump
Gabriel said that although the US will remain Europe’s closest ally, differences with Washington need to be addressed and dealt with in strict terms, AP reported. He cited controversial moves by Washington, including sanctions on Russia which threaten European energy companies, and the increased risk of war if the Iran nuclear deal – dubbed the “worst deal ever negotiated” by Trump – collapses. He also noted the possibility of conflict in the Middle East if Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Today, this world has become far more uncomfortable and long since we realize that even with great economic prosperity, there is no comfortable place on the sidelines of international politics for us, neither for us Germans nor for us Europeans,” Gabriel said.

The foreign minister also said that he sees Germany and France as being the two driving forces in Europe. He added that he would like to see the French “become a bit more German” in financial matters, and Germany to “become more French in security matters.”

Gabriel’s Tuesday comments come after German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a similar statement earlier this year. “We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands, of course in friendship with the United States, in friendship with Great Britain, with good neighborly relations wherever possible, also with Russia and other countries – but we have to know that we have to fight for our future and our fate ourselves as Europeans,” she said following the G7 summit in May.


https://www.rt.com/news/411981-germany-gabriel-relationship-washington/

 

[Muhammed45]

OMG !!!

US looks like a dirty trash to hold more than ever

 

[Path-Finder]

Germany is a rising power and the heart of Europe. Its policy will have an impact.

 

[VCheng]

His words will have weight as soon as Europe is able to become responsible for its own security.

 

[sunstersun]

Germany is a rising power and the heart of Europe. Its policy will have an impact.

Germany is a terminal declining power.

Their demographics are so horrible it's not even funny.

 

[hussain0216]

Its the same everywhere

Military power is not enough, the U.S prestige has taken a battering over the last few decades

Trump is a absolute moron and no one wants to particularly listen to the goof

 

[fitpOsitive]

Germany is a terminal declining power.

Their demographics are so horrible it's not even funny.

Would you care to elaborate a bit more?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

His words will have weight as soon as Europe is able to become responsible for its own security.

We can only dream.
Plus let’s see how Russia likes a new Wehrmacht on their border again.

 

[sunstersun]

Would you care to elaborate a bit more?

same with Russia. terminal demographics. doesn't matter how much putin tries. a combination of aids epidemic, highest alcohol consumption in the world and post soviet fertility collapse means a storm is brewing.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

View attachment 441061

same with Russia. terminal demographics. doesn't matter how much putin tries. a combination of aids epidemic, highest alcohol consumption in the world and post soviet fertility collapse means a storm is brewing.

View attachment 441062

implying that power is based on population size

The age of automation means that humans are quickly becoming a less valuable resource, Japan and Russia have been declining for the last two decades and are still relevant. China's population is expecting to drop soon, and yet they are also projected to overtake the US as a global power.

 

[vostok]

Do not overestimate the importance of demography. African countries do not become neither stronger nor richer while the population growing at an accelerated pace.

 

[Muhammed45]

View attachment 441061

same with Russia. terminal demographics. doesn't matter how much putin tries. a combination of aids epidemic, highest alcohol consumption in the world and post soviet fertility collapse means a storm is brewing.

View attachment 441062

Meet the Nostradamus of PDF.

How did they managed to predict Germany's population in 2050 and Russian 2100 population???

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Would you care to elaborate a bit more?

Well, them willingly welcoming 1 million Arabs (Syrians) should tell you everything. Populations in Western Europe and Europe as a whole (the situation in Eastern Europe is even worse) are declining heavily and obviously a significant drop in population will have a significant impact on the economy longterm. You can take a look at future economic prognosis on this front.

By 2050, only the UK, France and Germany will have a bigger economy than KSA for instance. And not by much. You can't defeat demographics on the long run. Where would China or India be today economically if they had 1/10 of their current populations? Nowhere to be seen.

And you can only develop for so much more once you have reached the living standards that Western Europe has reached. That is why growth is slow in most of Western Europe or non-existent by large.

The few European countries with great growth figures in Europe are all former Iron Curtain countries that were unwillingly a part of the USSR yoke. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria etc. But demographics limit them and already have.

This century and the many next centuries will be "made in Asia" centuries like throughout most of recorded human history. And soon Africa will follow as well once they solve their mess and eventually they will, regardless of how hard it is to believe today. You can already see signs of that but you don't hear much about it in Western media. I have a cousin in his early 30's who is earning big money due to investments in Ethiopia and Kenya. You have no idea.

Do not overestimate the importance of demography. African countries do not become neither stronger nor richer while the population growing at an accelerated pace.

Once they get their house in order as China did, they will. You will see that. Numerous Arab and other Asian countries with quickly growing and substantial populations have already proven this and that is despite historical unrest and obstacles that few nations have to face. Let us talk with each other in a few decades. You probably sound like we Arabs sounded when we controlled the largest empire in the world and most of the economy and the major trade routes. Thinking that the backward Europe would never rival us. Look what happened. Now historically "barbaric" Germany with no ancient civilizations or any historical imperial history, is the driving motor of Europe's economy. Or what about that tiny island called Great Britain? Or the likes of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland? Human history has proven such prognosis wrong time and time again.

I am not saying that the likes of Ethiopia will be super powers but I can guarantee you that in 40-50 years time that country alone will have a bigger economy than most European countries and that is thanks to demographics largely but not only. Similar to how the rapid population growth helped Europe during the Industrial Age.

 

[vostok]

Once they get their house in order as China did, they will. You will see that. Numerous Arab and other Asian countries with quickly growing and substantial populations have already proven this and that is despite historical unrest and obstacles that few nations have to face. Let us talk with each other in a few decades. You probably sound like we Arabs sounded when we controlled the largest empire in the world and most of the economy and the major trade routes. Thinking that the backward Europe would never rival us. Look what happened. Now historically "barbaric" Germany with no ancient civilizations or any historical imperial history, is the driving motor of Europe's economy. Or what about that tiny island called Great Britain? Or the likes of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland? Human history has proven such prognosis wrong time and time again.

I am not saying that the likes of Ethiopia will be super powers but I can guarantee you that in 40-50 years time that country alone will have a bigger economy than most European countries and that is thanks to demographics largely but not only. Similar to how the rapid population growth helped Europe during the Industrial Age.

Europe only needs a powerful shake-up to abandon the liberal system and return to expansion and growth. In history, there have been cases when seemingly perishing civilizations got a second wind.
About your predictions what will happen in 40-50 years - this is absolutely senselessly. May be, in 50 years almost all the lands south of the 40th parallel will turn into deserts.

 

[ValerioAurelius]

Well, them willingly welcoming 1 million Arabs (Syrians) should tell you everything. Populations in Western Europe and Europe as a whole (the situation in Eastern Europe is even worse) are declining heavily and obviously a significant drop in population will have a significant impact on the economy longterm. You can take a look at future economic prognosis on this front.

By 2050, only the UK, France and Germany will have a bigger economy than KSA for instance. And not by much. You can't defeat demographics on the long run. Where would China or India be today economically if they had 1/10 of their current populations? Nowhere to be seen.

And you can only develop for so much more once you have reached the living standards that Western Europe has reached. That is why growth is slow in most of Western Europe or non-existent by large.

The few European countries with great growth figures in Europe are all former Iron Curtain countries that were unwillingly a part of the USSR yoke. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria etc. But demographics limit them and already have.

This century and the many next centuries will be "made in Asia" centuries like throughout most of recorded human history. And soon Africa will follow as well once they solve their mess and eventually they will, regardless of how hard it is to believe today. You can already see signs of that but you don't hear much about it in Western media. I have a cousin in his early 30's who is earning big money due to investments in Ethiopia and Kenya. You have no idea.



Once they get their house in order as China did, they will. You will see that. Numerous Arab and other Asian countries with quickly growing and substantial populations have already proven this and that is despite historical unrest and obstacles that few nations have to face. Let us talk with each other in a few decades. You probably sound like we Arabs sounded when we controlled the largest empire in the world and most of the economy and the major trade routes. Thinking that the backward Europe would never rival us. Look what happened. Now historically "barbaric" Germany with no ancient civilizations or any historical imperial history, is the driving motor of Europe's economy. Or what about that tiny island called Great Britain? Or the likes of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland? Human history has proven such prognosis wrong time and time again.

I am not saying that the likes of Ethiopia will be super powers but I can guarantee you that in 40-50 years time that country alone will have a bigger economy than most European countries and that is thanks to demographics largely but not only. Similar to how the rapid population growth helped Europe during the Industrial Age.

Its more likely that in 50 years the entire middle east will be without any population because climate change makes life impossible there. Same counts for most of africa.