Galactic Hero

The EU after Brexit – A Vision for Success

Much has been written about the effects of Brexit on the UK, but there has been little thought given to the future of the EU itself.

The problems of the EU are well known. What Europe needs is a Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon or a Bismark (or all of them). Angela Merkel showed hints of European leadership, until her disastrous error in allowing unlimited numbers of “refugees” into Germany. Even though there is the lack of leadership, clear common goals and periodic crises, the EU muddles through, in spite of the British press gleefully predicting the imminent break-up of the EU and the collapse of the Euro

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Where Will Putin Strike Next?

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia has become more assertive, trying to regain its status as a superpower.

Every time Russia has made a strike, it seems that the West was caught completely by surprise. Clearly, the Western intelligence services (CIA, CSIS, MI6, Surete) have failed spectacularly.

In view of the failure of the Western intelligence services, I shall try to help them by identifying a couple of probable targets for Putin’s next strike.

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Taxing the Multinationals

Recently, the EU has ruled that Apple owes Ireland €13 billion in back taxes. The CEO of Apple reacted with the sort of indignation only an American can achieve when dealing with non-Americans. Columnists tended to side with Apple on the basis of their ideological biases.

Yet the central issue of taxing corporations is that globalisation and the rise of mega-corporations has not been mirrored by a rise in inter-governmental co-operation. Only such co-operation can deal with the problems.

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The Hypocrisy of Angela Merkel

The chief reason the British voted to leave the EU was the issue of immigration. Before the vote, David Cameron (Britain’s Prime Minister) “re-negotiated” the relationship of Britain with the rest of the EU. However, he was unable to get any concessions on EU immigration because it is one of the “four freedoms” which is central to the EU.

Could there be a conspiracy at work?

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Is Boris Johnson’s Optimism about London’s Financial Centre Justified?

In his first trip to the US, Boris Johnson, Britain’s new Foreign Minister and a leader in the Brexit campaign, claimed that UK financial firms will keep EU ‘passporting’, which allows banks to sell their services to clients across the EU. He claimed that the “City” (as London Financial district is called) offers the deepest pools of liquidity, talent and skill for the capital formation needs of businesses across Europe (Julian Ambrose, in Daily Telegraph, July 23^rd).

The “talent and skill” is crucial. As someone who was brought up in the UK, I cannot shake the suspicion that, for every financial whizz-kid in the City, there are ten upper-class twits (good example of an upper-class twit – John Cleese in the Monty Python sketch “The Ministry of Silly Walks”).

Is Johnson’s optimism justified? Several reasons suggest that it is not: Continue reading “Is Boris Johnson’s Optimism about London’s Financial Centre Justified?”