• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Europe
  4. Economic failure of EU unavoidable: Greece's Varoufakis
Europe

Economic failure of EU unavoidable: Greece's Varoufakis

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Oct 2022 20:33
  • 5 Shares

The European Union following the US directions has led it into a deep ditch that will see the bloc, except for Germany, collapsing.

  • Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
    Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis

The German business model failed due to the ongoing crisis impacting the energy sector in the European Union, and the latter's economic failure is unavoidable, former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Dutch broadcaster NTV during an interview.

Seeing the European economy with a highly pessimistic scope, the former Greek official explained how Germany's economy was built around "cheap energy from Russia, the sale of products in China, and low wages in Germany."

However, Varoufakis saw that the status quo was vastly different: "Inflation has made it impossible to lower wages, gas has become expensive and China is disappearing as a market for Germany due to a new cold war between China and the United States, which the Biden government is intensifying."

"The constant insistence of the current German federal government - and previous governments - to act unilaterally and thereby support the fiscal strategy to achieve an export surplus - is a neo-mercantilism that Germany prevents the rest of the eurozone from implementing," the financial expert underlined.

He also stressed that Germany was not taking into consideration the competitive equality within the European Union when it came to its own economic structure.

According to Varoufakis, Germany's €200 billion aid package for the German people is "a double standard. Germany insists on a single market and a supposed level playing field while pushing through state aid for its industry and consumers."

The German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported earlier in the month that some 7,000 protesters took to the streets in more than 15 cities around the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state of Germany, asking that the government provide an affordable standard of life and stop providing weaponry to Ukraine.

In an effort to get ready for a winter without Russian energy supplies, Germany announced on Friday that its gas reserves have been filled up to 95% faster than anticipated as the rest of the European Union struggles with energy resources.

To add insult to injury, Germany may have to temporarily curtail its electricity exports, including to France. The Financial Times quoted Hendrik Neumann, chief technical officer of Germany's main grid operator Amprion, saying that this could be Germany's "last resort", despite Berlin being a key electricity exporter for Europe.

"The problem with the European Union is that there is no European Union at all. As a name, yes, but not in reality. [...] Failure is guaranteed," Varoufakis underscored.

"We are already witnessing rapid deindustrialization in Europe. EU companies pay ten times more for gas than their US or Chinese competitors. Production is already down and very soon we will see factories looking for new locations in the US or elsewhere," he added.

According to the co-chair of the opposition right-wing party, Alternative for Germany party (AfD), Tino Chrupalla, Germany won't be Europe's gas hub for the sale of hydrocarbons - instead, it will have to purchase Russian fossil fuels from other countries, including Turkey.

Speaking to Sputnik, Chrupalla said "If Germany refuses Russian gas, then it is quite natural that Russia is looking for other partners, such as Turkey or China. And, in the end, we will probably have to buy gas from these countries, but at the same time, it was and remains Russian. We will never be able to compensate for it." 

"The EU is in a deep crisis. You will probably not see it this winter, only the next one. The gas storage tanks have been filled this summer, but this will have significantly higher costs only next summer," Varoufakis concluded.

  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Yanis Varoufakis
  • Greece
  • European Union

Trending Now

All
European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen

EU states intend to ask for exemptions from plans to reduce gas demand

Most Read

US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen

US dollar may lose status as global reserve currency: Yellen

  • US & Canada
  • 22 Mar
Rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

Peace rallies held in Washington DC to protest US militarism

  • US & Canada
  • 18 Mar
Iran–Saudi Deal: Not a Diplomatic Normalisation, But An ‘Architecture’

Iran–Saudi Deal: Not a Diplomatic Normalisation, But An ‘Architecture’

  • Analysis
  • 19 Mar
Poland

Poland may end up 'joining' Ukraine war: Polish Ambassador to France

  • Europe
  • 20 Mar

Read this

All
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a crater after an explosion hit a building, in Deir Ezzor, Syria, March 8, 2023 (AP)
MENA

Iranian advisor reveals how US shelled Deir Ezzor, Syria

  • Today
Crewmen enter Bradley fighting vehicles at a US military base at an undisclosed location in Northeastern Syria, on November 11, 2019 (AP)
MENA

US occupation bases under fire in Syria for second day in a row

  • 24 Mar
Muslims offer prayer on the first Friday of Ramadan outside the Dome of Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Al-Qud's Old City, Friday, March 24, 2023 (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestine

Despite IOF restrictions, 100,000 Palestinians attend Al-Aqsa prayers

  • 24 Mar
TikTok ban in US; News worth $431bn for Alphabet, Meta and Snap
US & Canada

TikTok ban in US; News worth $431bn for Alphabet, Meta and Snap

  • 24 Mar
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS