President of the German Steel Federation (until 2008), Essen, Germany. 

Chairman of the Independent Greeks, Member of the Hellenich Parliament, Athens, Greece

Audio (French)

It is a great pleasure for me to be with you today, and I thank the organizers warmly for their invitation.

The subject of my speech is Greece and its role in the new Silk Road.

As you all know, what became manifest over the last five years, is what was being prepared since the 1970s: the domination of financial capitalism over countries’ economies and in particular over their national policies.

The economic crisis of 2008 became a humanitarian crisis which mainly hit the economies of most UE countries and the United States. My country, Greece, was already in a vulnerable economic situation.

My country became a member of the European Union on Jan. 1^st 1981. The creation of that Union was — and I insist on the past tense of the verb “to be “ — one of the greatest political and economic achievements of post-war Europe, because it focussed on the social state. The Second World War had had devastating effects on the populations of Europe, and reconstruction required creating a haven of peace under a capitalism that would favor the development of an egalitarian structure of society. That initial project should have reached a high point with the creation of a common currency, the euro, which was supposed to be the one factor that would advance the integration process in the EU.

However, the worldwide credit crisis of 2008 showed, most demonstrably, that the Eurozone had no line of defense and was not ready, politically, economically, and monetarily, to manage the crisis and the ensuing recession. The credit crisis turned into the debt crisis of the Eurozone. In other words, the Eurozone failed because the Treaty not only did not provide for, but in fact prohibited a member state from being rescued by its partners.

Of course, I am not the only one who has admitted that. The IMF itself stated in December 2013 that the Eurozone was in worse shape than in 2008, whereas the United States, where the crisis began, had overcome their problems in the meantime and begun an economic recovery.

The figures, Dear Friends, speak for themselves:

The unemployment rate in the Eurozone is over 12%, with the highest rates in Greece (27%), Spain, Portugal and Cyprus. More than half of the unemployed are under 25 years old. And most of them are long-term unemployed. In other words, we have an economy which is not producing extra jobs and which cannot, a fortiori, integrate the young people, with their skills and knowledge, into the structures of production.

The vision that European citizens had of a Union of citizens collapsed brutally in 2008. That is a sad observation, but is nonetheless frank. The European Union today is nothing but an autocracy which aims to sell off the economies of others member states to the banking system and to dismantle national sovereignty. In the European Union today, the bankers take political and economic decisions for the governments and the peoples.

Moreover, the unilateral management of the crisis in Europe by Germany “awakens the ghosts of history”, and its “hegemonic role threatens to lead to catastrophe.” Those are not my words, Dear Friends, but those of one of the greatest political thinkers, the German Jürgen Habermas, which he recently said in a speech at Université de Louvain in Belgium, while launching a call for greater “solidarity” and “more Europe”.

On this backdrop, the Independent Greeks support the following positions:

1. Respect for the sovereignty of Member States of the European Union. Instituting a European Union of equality, autonomy and solidarity, with full legal status of the institutions and activities of the national Member States;

2. Immediate abolition of the loan protocols and contracts;

3. Repositioning the European Parliament in the decision-making process,

4. Drawing up a European development project based on social justice;

5. Systematic fight against corruption;

6. Systematic fight against “tax havens”;

7. Definitive treatment of the debt crisis in the Eurozone, under a European agreement similar to that of London in 1953, which finally settled the German debt;

8.Immediate adoption and issuance of the Eurobond by the European Central Bank;

9. Immediate establishment of a European rating agency to assess the solvency of the Member States;

10. The introduction of the tax on financial transactions;

11.The separation of commercial banking from investment activities;

12 The systematic fight against unemployment, in particular among young people;

13 The restoration of the welfare state;

14. The fight against neo-nazis;

15. The repositioning of the problem of immigration by immediately changing the terms of the Dublin II Treaty.

My country represents a kernel of stability, energy security and peace in the greater region of Souther Europe and can be a bridge of communication and understanding between East and West.

Our membership in NATO and the EU does not prevent us from maintaining close political, economic and cultural relations with other countries, especially those with which we have historical ties such as Russia and China. We should develop those relations in the overall strategic interests of West and East.

The question which arises is the following: is it possible that the maritime and land silk roads will contribute to the economic recovery of the European continent, and of South-East Europe and North Africa?

Ancient Greece played an historical role in the economic, cultural and political development of the then known world. It was the centre of world trade routes and of economic development from the Balkan peninsula to the Baltic Sea in the North, to Russia and the Indian sub-continent to the East, and the Mediterranean countries and the African continent to the South.

Today, we are witnessing the resurrection of the Silk Road, both on land and on sea. Implementation of this majestic plan presents Greece with the opportunity to once again assume its historical role in the region and to consolidate quasi-permanently, its geopolitical position as a pillar of economic development in respect to the above-mentioned regions.

The development of these new trade routes would spur a boom of different means of transport, because of the increased amount of goods to transport. That means the almost certain development of Greek infrastructure, for railways, roads and ports.

The future of Greece would be better if a strategic orientation were taken to establish links with some of the most dynamic economies of the world, and to find thereby new sources of economic support. One of these countries, besides Russia, is China.

Those who know China and its needs know that Greece plays a preponderant role in the region for this gigantic country. Not only for historical and cultural reasons, but also economically, because Greece is the most economical conduit for Chinese exports shipped to the rest of Europe, the Arab peninsula and North Africa.

Dear Friends,

At this point, I would like to inform you that China is already in Greece.

When I was state secretary for the Merchant Marines, I signed, in November 2008, an agreement between the Piraeus Port Authority and the Chinese COSCO Group, for a 30 year concession of part of the container station in the port of Piraeus.

This port has become a link for East-West trade and allowed Greece to consolidate its role as an economic center of south-east Europe, and in particular of the Mediterranean, during a particularly precarious period for Middle Eastern and North African countries. Moreover, the port is taking on a strategic role in cargo transport from China to Europe and vice-versa.

A few months ago, in July 2014, a new agreement was signed with the COSCO group, which will invest 230 million euros in the port. With that investment, the port of Piraeus will effectively become the largest in the Mediterranean and will be able to increase its capacities from 3.7 million containers to 6,2 million per year.

Meanwhile, a recent study shows that the turnover of companies headquartered in Piraeus will reach 1.5 billion euros per year, while the guaranteed income of the port is 3.4 billion euros. Finally, 800 jobs will be created thanks to that investment.

In that perspective, linking the port with the railway infrastructure, which was done last year, ensures that goods arriving in Piraeus will be routed quickly to the markets of Central Europe. Similarly, goods from factories in Europe can go faster and at lower cost to all other destinations worldwide.

I would, at this point, add that China’s commercial interest focuses on the expansion plans of Cosco for the port of Piraeus and the development of the rail network. However, that does not exclude the possibility of future investment in similar infrastructure elsewhere in Greece (eg. Patras).

Piraeus was thus established as a gateway for East/West trade and its role as economic center of the Mediterranean and South East Europe has been strengthened by it.

But Greece is more than Piraeus. There are other Greek ports that can benefit from the Silk Road. A prime example is the port of Igoumenitsa, on the Adriatic, one of the most important ports in the region with a passenger transit of about 200,000, and 120,000 trucks per year. Thanks to its easy access to the Egnatia Odos highway linking Greece to the Balkans, the port of Igoumenitsa gives Chinese goods access to these countries.

Moreover, should the Chinese study to link the Danube port of Thessaloniki via Belgrade materialize, then we will have direct access from Thessaloniki to the heart of Europe, and then by taking the Rhine, to the ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg.

Another strategic positioning could be the link of the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) across the Caspian Sea, and then to Central Asia and Siberia on the one side, and to Iraq, Iran and the Indian subcontinent on the other.

Finally, in the near future, when the Strait of Suez is enlarged and together with the Chinese plan for the Danube, Greece will be the transit hub for Chinese products, while reducing costs and travel time .

Dear Friends,

The party that I have the honor to lead, the Independent Greeks, has already developed a national reconstruction and development plan which calls, among other things, for:

– Upgrading the Greek Railway Authority so that all of Greece is covered by modern infrastructure to allow cheaper, faster and above all safer transport. The Patras-Athens–Thessaloniki-Promachonas is outdated and needs to be urgently modernized.

• Immediate aid for commercial trade by opening up new markets and a attracting of investor interest through realistic and achievable economic incentives.

• The establishment of a stable and investment-friendly environment, thanks to a stable fiscal framework (with a constitutional term of ten years), the fight against bureaucracy and corruption, the reduction of tax ratios and the reduction of the time needed to implement investments.

• The creation of a free zone for the merchant marine, safeguarded in the constitution, and the establishment in that free zone of a Merchant Marine center.

• Concession of inactive industrial areas to investors outside the EU, based on low tax ratios, provided the investors propose a 20-year plan for employment of the unemployed.

I would also like to draw attention to the fact that, besides the economic and trade relations that will develop around the Silk Road, cultural and political relations will also be enhanced. We will finally be able to speak of a new world based on mutual respect, dating back to ancient times and which is being revived in this first half of the 21st century.

“Silk Diplomacy” is only a question of time and all the things I just mentioned will just be the symbol of this expanded cooperation, which will contribute its share toward global stability and the promotion of peace.

Thank you for your attention.

member of the Italian National Council of Universities, Venice, Italy – Mediterranean Bridging

former advisor to the General-in-Command of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), former international relations advisor to the French Foreign Ministry

Audio (French)

In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on 24 September 2013, the newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had some crucial things to say on how to improve relations among the nations of the world. He called for moderation in the demands made by states, and suggested to do away with “the military option is on the table”, and to adopt the attitude “peace is always possible”. He proposed the formula: “The world against violence and extremism”.

The world, he said, is not the result of a balance between two blocs, nor is it dominated by one single power, it is multipolar and all states whose power basis depends on the ballot box are entitled to the same respect of their specific characteristics and their legitimate interests. No culture is superior to the others and none should seek to impose itself.

Such a plain common-sense program is apparently not applied today, since ongoing conflicts have broken out everywhere, especially in the Mideast, leading to horrendous dramas committed by fanatics, fueled by the major powers which are striving to reach their strategic objectives by maintaining regional crises , since nuclear weapons prevent direct confrontations.

That is the case of the combat waged by the Islamic State (IS). The United States has now built an international coalition against IS, whereas we know that the U.S., together with their Arab and Turkish allies, are responsible for creating that breed of Islamic terrorists.

While air strikes may be useful in defeating the IS, all military experts know that only troops on the ground will be able to eradicate the extremists, who are well armed and trained thanks to the complicity they were afforded, in particular from Western intelligence services. Those troops cannot come only from the countries where the extremists are operating and which urgently need to be supported in this fight. Given that the creature has escaped from its creator, the coalition now says that it intends to do so, and let’s hope it does. But as President Bashar al Assad said during a meeting with a high-ranking Iranian official: the states which created terrorism are not the best ones to fight it. As we have seen, Turkey is reticent to join the coalition because it benefits from the IS conquests against the Kurds.

The ad hoc alliances which IS has struck with the Baathists and Saddam’s former military men, and with the Sunni tribes dissatisfied with their fate in al Maliki’s Iraq, will be undone as soon as the interests of all the elements of Iraqi society are recognized by the government. It seems that the new PM Haidar al Abadi is attempting to forge a national consensus around that objective, and is considering giving important positions to certain Baathists and to other minorities which are part of the Iraqi mosaic. As President Putin said in a 2007 international conference in Munich, in a democracy, the legitimate claims of minorities are not negated, they are taken into account by an enlightened majority.

But once Iraq and Syria are hopefully rid of this scourge, what will happen to all those lost fighters, who were enlisted thanks to massive propaganda and dollars? They will spread out to different countries where they will attempt to pursue their deadly deeds: some will go to Central Asian countries such as Afghanistan, and others will go back to their native countries to carry out terrorist attacks, like the thousands who come from European countries.

In that respect, Syria, which has been under assault from these barbarian hordes for more than three and a half years, must be assisted in its fight, and rather than advocating absurd support for “moderate Islamists”, who are non existent on the ground, and whom we are trying to train in camps in Jordan and elsewhere, we should recognize that Syria’s knowledge of Islamist movements is indispensable for us. We must at long last establish genuine cooperation to fight them. We have to stop referring to a dictatorship and untruthfully equating the current regime with the previous regime, which did have the immense advantage of stopping the Islamists. By the way, all other countries talked to the previous regime.

The Constitution voted up in the middle of the crisis in 2012 by the Syrians is totally democratic, it preserves fundamental freedoms, and the government, while fighting the jihadist fanatics, is trying to reconcile all moderate tendencies in the nation, and successfully so, since many opposition forces now support the legal government, knowing that it is the last bastion against the terrorists.

Moreover, striking alliances with countries with terribly backward political and religious traditions, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar where the ballot box is unknown in order to promote democracy in the world, is another one of today’s paradoxes which border on the absurd.

We should follow the wise precepts indicated by President Rouhani at the United Nations, to build a more reasonable world, in which the powers will settle their conflicts of interest through dialogue and moderate demands, rather than by war. The future of humanity is at stake, because men may now wield a power which allows them to blow up our planet in a fit of madness. Deterrence has worked until now, and has saved us from a cataclysm. The balance of terror has so far stopped those who might have wanted to destroy their enemy by launching a nuclear salvo, because they knew they would be annihilated in automatic retaliatory strikes. Certain war-hawks, however, would clearly like to persuade us that the United States has an anti-missile shield to protect it from nuclear second strikes, which gives it total military supremacy and does away with the concept of deterrence. That is obviously not true, since no shield or “iron dome” is entirely impermeable and none will be in the middle-term.

The peoples of the world, whatever their economic and cultural wealth may be, must be equal before the law. No culture can claim to be preeminent and believe it is the beacon of the world. The Liberty whose statue lights up the world at the entrance to the Hudson Bay belongs to all nations, and none may claim to be superior, even it does momentarily enjoy economic and military superiority over the others.

France would do well to remember her intellectual heritage of the Enlightenment, and the level of worldwide prestige which General de Gaulle brought her to, by refusing to align France with any bloc – at a time when it was much more difficult to leave NATO than now — and by defending the right of all peoples to decide their own destiny, and advocating understanding among all the nations of the globe that welcomed him during his many trips around the world, because he knew the various cultures and proposed everywhere he went – in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America – to respect all men and women with their differences. That is also what guided his wish to build a Europe of nations that would preserve their specific characteristics and their sovereignty. That Europe, in his view, was supposed to open up to wide-ranging cooperation with Russia and beyond.

For us Frenchmen, who have the second Exclusive Economic Zone, thanks to our overseas territories on all five continents, everything should incite us to follow a policy of world citizens, by maintaining relations based on respect, confidence and cooperation with all nations.

I will leave the final conclusion of my presentation to General de Gaulle who, in a speech to Mexican academicians during his visit to Mexico in 1964, delivered a philosophical and political message that is strikingly topical, 50 years later, showing once again how visionary he was:

“Indeed, beyond the distances that are shrinking, beyond the ideologies that are weakening, and the political systems that are losing their breath, and unless humanity destroys itself some day in a monstrous self-destruction, the fact that will dominate the future is the unity of our universe; One cause, that of man; one necessity, that of world progress, and consequently of assistance to all those countries that desire it in order to develop; one duty, that of peace; these constitute for our species, the very basis of existence.”

]]> https://schillerinstitute.com/portfolio/colonel-alain-corvez-un-monde-contre-la-violence-et-lextremisme/feed/ 0 https://schillerinstitute.com/portfolio/ray-mcgovern-how-long-will-the-sovereign-republics-of-europe-keep-dancing-to-washingtons-tune/ https://schillerinstitute.com/portfolio/ray-mcgovern-how-long-will-the-sovereign-republics-of-europe-keep-dancing-to-washingtons-tune/#respond Wed, 22 Oct 2014 04:30:11 +0000 http://newparadigm.schillerinstitute.com/?post_type=portfolio_cpt&p=21826 Ray McGovern

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), USA

Audio

Managing Director of “Art Assemblee Agency,” Russian Culture Days