Surely what Russia have done over the past 11 yrs and more has removed their rights to that money, under any law.
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That’s my first reflex too, but on the other hand, if the EU won’t respect the international law, who will?
In any case, I understand now why EU officials say they are ‘working on it’. Surely, they are trying to find a solution to use the money legally. Not simple.
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There is very much a case of taking the moral high ground in terms of building soft power. On the other hand, should they have been party to what was essentially money laundering in the first place?
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Of course not. This is a complicated case, but as I wrote above, I understand now why they don’t take that step lightly.
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It’s not lightly, they have been talking about this for 3 years. It has been researched, talked about and debated. Now, it is just more of a hurry to make a decision (really in 2023, when the war turned into a stalemate but that’s details I suppose). The legal opinion on it is divided, most favour that it is technically illegal according to International Law, others argue it is legal. Which is a fig leaf after the far more serious crime of the actual invasion (these are after all, counter meassures), but .
Anyway, I am more interested in what Macron has to say tonight. I suspect he will follow Germany’s lead, in some shape or form. Those are the main events and what we must place our hopes in.
Then, other states will follow. Obviously, the EU plan (but let’s be honest, certain states are behind that) to lift the Deficit limit regarding defence investments will be a huge help for many states. Lifting the deficit limit, is probably the most important aspect of Van Der Leyen’s message.
The invasion of Ukraine has made me more and not less, skepitical of the EU (at the same time, being outside is painful). It has shown itself to be catastrophically dysfunctional when Hungary alone, can block every single security initiative during a terrible crisis. It needs a reform and I doubt this is enough. During the entire war, the EU has been completely paralysed and at the mercy of Victor Orban and later, Robert Fico. Only individual states have been able to act.
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Gosh, like sending ships to cut pipelines and telecom cables in the Baltic?
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https://x.com/vonderleyen/status/1898005658357625137
I guess she had to say it
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Well I am guessing that saying, “up yours you orange fart”, would have been regarded as somewhat less than diplomatic.
I’m just wondering what the US arms manufacturers are doing behind the scenes, because they are probably going to miss out on this spending bonanza.
Just compare, for example the Rheinmetall share price, which has doubled from the start of the year, compared to Northrop Grumman, which has actually dropped.
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I’m very happy to see that there is a willingness to buy European weapons, but as you ask, what are they doing behind the scenes? Surely some dark and filthy stuff, but the quickest way to address their problem would be to put some real pressure on the orange cunt and his croonies to stop with their little chaotic games.
I’m actually stunned that they have allowed him to go that far already. It’s bad for their business, 100%.
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Found this here quite interesting:
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And the horse has already bolted. He has shown that the US is a fundamentally unrealiable partner. The only way that they could regain that trust is to reformulate their entire constitution against the actions of bad actors.
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Just love this. Every decision that orange turd takes the US backwards.
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