March 22 - What is the “European way of life”? For the working class, not just in Greece but across the continent, it means social misery—drastic cuts in jobs, wages, public services and living conditions—to satisfy the demands of the same banks, financial institutions and corporate giants that were responsible for the economic meltdown that erupted in 2008. In Ukraine, after two decades of capitalist restoration following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there is already widespread poverty and shocking health and social conditions. What are the “values” invoked by Merkel? They can be judged by the anti-Semitism and ultra-nationalism promoted by her Ukrainian allies. Three days before the ceremony in Brussels, a video on YouTube provided a glimpse of the reign of terror that pro-regime fascist thugs are unleashing in Kiev. Led by Igor Miroshnichenko, a Svoboda party MP notorious for his anti-Semitism, a gang broke into the offices of Ukraine’s state television, NTU, and forced its president to sign a resignation letter. To further undercut Russia, the EU said it would sign similar association agreements with Georgia and Moldova, two other impoverished territories once part of the Soviet Union. US President Barack Obama this week formally denied any plans for outright war with Russia over Crimea, after its people voted to join Russia. However, Washington and its European allies are continuing to exploit the crisis they created in Ukraine by targeting the Russian economy and conducting military exercises along Russia’s borders. As Obama and the European leaders announced new sanctions against Russia, credit ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor’s both revised Russia’s debt rating to negative. The latest US sanctions impose asset freezes and travel bans on 20 individuals, some regarded as close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and prohibit US citizens and companies from doing business with them, as well as a Russian bank, Bank Rossiya. Visa and MasterCard immediately stopped processing payments for Bank Rossiya. Shares on the Moscow stock exchange, which have lost $70 billion of their value this month, fell sharply after Obama threatened to target major sectors of the economy. Obama said he signed an executive order authorising such measures, even though they could be “disruptive to the global economy.” After a closed-door summit on Thursday, EU leaders then added a dozen more names to the list of mostly Russian and Crimean officials on whom they have imposed travel bans and asset freezes. They instructed EU officials to draft wider “stage three” economic sanctions. German Chancellor Merkel declared: “We are ready to start stage three if there is further escalation with a view to Ukraine.” The EU also provocatively imposed restrictions on goods from Crimea that pass through Russia. “From now on, goods from Crimea have to come through Ukraine or they’re going to get very hefty penalties and tariffs put on them,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. Despite concerns over the potential impact of wider sanctions on their corporate interests—such as German auto sales and energy investments in Russia, French arms sales to Moscow and the financial services of the City of London—the European powers are committed to the offensive against Russia. The US and its NATO partners are continuing to stoke military tensions, with Obama claiming that Russian military exercises inside its western borders carry “dangerous risks of escalation.” Read more: globalresearch.ca/eu-ukraine-trade-deal-paves-the-way-for-brutal-economic-austerity-imf-to-apply-the-greek-model/5374802
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:22:40 +0000
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