Vitalik Buterin Pushes For Quicker Ethereum 2.0 Launch, Demands November
July 10, 2020 4:22 pm
Do repost and rate:
Germany, the aspiring rising power has been dealt a full plate as it begins its European presidency, and to open it is none other than the balkans.
In a virtual meeting Emmanuel Macron of France and Angela Merkel of Germany, heard Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia’s newly re-elected (third time) President Aleksandar Vucic.
It’s the first talk between these two countries since 2018, and it’s the first test of Germany since it began to effectively politically merge with France last year or so and to claim one Europe.
On his way to France, Vucic was addressing his own people who have taken to the streets in Belgrade, shouting “we won’t give up Kosovo.”
Vetvendosja, self determination, had taken to the streets a couple of weeks before in Prishtina against the court appointed new Kosovo prime minister, Hoti, who replaced their election winning candidate Albin Kurti.
Hashim Thaci, a name that rings the ears of any and all Albanians across the globe, had been slapped by an iron hand just days before in late June.
A most peculiar court, Kosovo Specialist Chambers & Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, that operates under Kosovan law but claims to be international and has its seat in Hague when it has not the authority of the Hague courts, made a most shocking announcement.
Some 15 years after all high level prosecutions of any Serbs involved in the atrocities of the 90s Balkan Wars, and close to 15 years after Kosovo declared independence, this ‘special’ court found it fit to open what you’d think was settled history.
Presided by Ekaterina Trendafilova, a Bulgarian judge that out of hand potentially makes her biased due to significant Russian influence in Bulgaria, the ‘special’ court did not confirm but suggested that there may be charges against the sitting president of Kosovo, Thaci.
The timing of course was extremely political and even geopolitical. Thaci was to meet Vucic in Washington.
The day before, Putin’s second in command in international matters, Sergey Lavrov, had gone to Belgrade to meet Vucic where the message was clear: give them nothing.
Who interfered in that special court is not known. If it was Russia, then it indicates a complete failure on the part of both Germany and France. If it was Germany itself, then you’d think it would send shivers across much of Europe.
Germany, The Third Way?
As a fairly new actor in the continental stage let alone the international stage, little is known about the real Germany.
The effective coronation of Putin as a new czar just a few days ago, leaves little doubt in most reasonable eyes about what is modern Russia, the first country of note in the world to effectively declare itself a dictatorship and in this Europe.
Of France, Macron has stated his ambitions. A sovereign Europe, run by Europeans and for Europeans.
Germany however is kind of a blank slate. It’s not clear whether even they know what they want, or what exactly is their aim.
Therefore until they reveal at least hints, one has to be neutral for they are a very civilized and a very cultured people, electing their kings 700 years before the so called birth of modern democracy, England.
But necessarily questions will begin to rise about their relationship with what is now effectively a dictatorship, Russia, which poisons people even in Berlin.
The muted response by Germany to that violation of its own territory, must have raised some eyebrows.
It needs gas of course, and in many diplomatic fronts, any independent observer would only watch for Germany has navigated the waters fairly well.
Yet the question, as it now at least perceptibly begins to rise, is whether it can be trusted to have in mind the interest of all Europe first, or whether it is tempted at times to not quite see a Europe.
Chips Stacked Against Kosovo
Despite the hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of Kosovans and Albanians that have found a home in Germany for decades since they were welcomed in the 90s after the fall of communism, it is perhaps understandable for Germany and other continental powers to not quite have a full grasp of the region.
Yet the appointment of someone from a country that does not even recognize Kosovo to mediate EU’s Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, is perhaps not fully a lack of grasp of regional complexities.
The question is then who appointed him, with the European Union being a union of 27 countries through its own process, rather than the continental administrative arm of Germany and France.
Yet you’d expect East Frankia and West Frankia, and Middle Frankia once it wakes up, to be attuned to the potential loopholes that can facilitate under the veneer of process the engagement in undue process.
That’s especially the case after Kosovo itself made it known the appointment of Lajcak was biased.
To say nothing of EU’s lack of reprimand towards Serbia after the latter in 2018 launched a campaign to de-recognize Kosovo, bringing to a frost the relations between the two neighbors.
It took Washington to get them to even think about talking again to each other and Washington is not without its own criticism in courting allegations that it toppled Albin Kurti, who was elected prime minister of Kosovo in late 2019 and resigned in June 2020.
That said, just what is going on in this region and what is truth and fiction is a difficult endeavor, especially here from London, but it is difficult to not perceive at least a tinge of bullying, and in the entire Balkan region not just on the matter of Kosovo.
Busy Putin
The Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, called on the Bulgarian people to take to the streets yesterday and some of them did do so today.
The German state media, DW, in its not so subtle showing of complete bias, gave only Radev’s narrative that “the raids targeted the president in order to deliberately delay corruption investigations.”
They did however give one sentence for the other side, before going on to parrot Radev’s narration, by saying:
“Prosecutors said the raids were part of two separate probes into influence-peddling and disclosure of state secrets.”
What they did not mention is that Radev is perceived to be at least allegedly under Russian influence, and therefore if they are alleging “disclosure of state secrets,” then at best an independent reporter should tread very careful to be very neutral.
What they also failed to mention at an appropriate level is the fierce rivalry between the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov, who is pro-Europe, and their president, who is more not just pro-Russia, but he condemmend for example the Bulgarian Government’s recognition of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, he criticized French strikes on Syria, and condemned and called for an end to the EU sanctions against Russia imposed after their chopping up of Ukraine.
The honed social media propaganda skills of probably Russia have also kind of flooded some social media like r/europe, with certain narrations that present a deflective view, by arguing about matters agreeable in polite society, to hide the raw geopolitical agenda of the consequences of blikendly fermenting such opinions for completely uninformed bystanders.
This sort of thing is of course what led to many things that are now thankfully in the history books, but Europe needs to decide, and Russia needs to decide, just what relationship they want with each other.
Putin is on the attack and has been for a decade or more. The best defense is of course attacking. Thus if much tolerated Russia really wants to be on the attack instead of part of Europe, then there is no Europe if it doesn’t attack in response.
That same Putin ‘tortured’ Merkel by having a massive dog walk almost right up to her, showing of course how strong he is. The barbarian self-crowned dictator that poisons in our own lands thinks some dog gesture is strength.
And we just look as he chops up Georgia, Ukraine, sells off all the stanis, kills American soldiers, and now dares play in the Balkans!
If Germany wants to roll over again and give half of Europe on a plate to Russia, then that half of Europe and the other half you’d think would stand to make ‘never again’ not just words on a paper, but facts on this European ground.
For Germany is exercising almost no influence on Russia, despite being its biggest customer and thus the biggest propping up of this self-declared dictator.
So raising the title question, and the other one: how much does Germany see Europe first, and how much does it not quite see a Europe?
Comments
Related posts
Ethereum 2.0 Launch Pushed to January “At The Earliest”
July 10, 2020 2:38 pm
China and America Enter Sanctions War, Bitcoin Affected
July 10, 2020 1:36 pm
