Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza: The total number of Palestinians killed due to famine and malnutrition has risen to 313, including 119 children
Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip: 10 people, including two children, have died of starvation in the past 24 hours
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: US envoy Tom Barrack cancels his visit to Tyre and al-Khiam amid popular protests
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces carried out an explosion in the southern border town of Kfar Kila
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.

Germany's claim of 'protecting European unity' - Analysis

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen English
  • 25 Jul 2022 09:54
  • 4 Shares
4 Min Read

Do the German President's statements match the waning state of Europe's economy?

  • x
  • German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
    German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday that "the war President Vladimir Putin is waging against Ukraine is also a war against the unity of Europe."

"We must not let ourselves be divided, we must not let the great work of a united Europe that we have begun so promisingly be destroyed," he said in a speech. 

"This war is not just about the territory of Ukraine, it is about the double shared foundation of our values and our order of peace," he said.

According to the German President, defending these "values" also entails preparedness to "accept significant disadvantages." 

Read more: Russian gas will not be replaced, EU made a huge mistake - Former US colonel

"Are we ready for that? We are all facing this question – today and in the days, weeks, and months to come," Steinmeier said.

"Russia is not only questioning the borders, it is not only occupying the territories of an independent and sovereign neighboring state, it is even challenging the statehood of Ukraine," he added.

Evaluating Steinmeier's claims

Europe's actions against Russia have come to hurt Europe more than Russia - the comprehensive sanctions against Moscow have set Europe on a search-for-gas frenzy to no avail, but Germany takes the cake in the disaster that is coming for it. 

Related News

Orban accuses von der Leyen of capitulating to Trump after trade deal

Orban sounds alarm on global war, warns Europe already at risk

It is enough that experts are raising concerns that Russian gas is irreplaceable - the rhetoric in Berlin only seems to give off a macho silhouette, with consistent condemnation and embargoes against Russia in the media - however, the reality only seems to tell the opposite. Germany is costing itself years of a relationship build-up with Russia, only to bring itself to the brink of recession. 

The fact that 50% of German civilians believe that sanctions harm them more than they harm Russia, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's striking statement that "sanctions had no effect on Russia, whereas Europe lost 4 governments," paint a very different reality than the one Steinmeier is attempting to describe.

The strongest economy in Europe is bound to collapse. If the cornerstone of western European unity is on its way to a slow, painful economic downfall, what has been left for Europe's weaker economies?

Read more: Scholz demolished in 200 days what Germany built in 30 years: magazine

Last week, reports arose that large-scale German factories - such as ThyssenKrupp, BASF, and SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz - are weighing decreasing production or even shutting down amid the gas crisis in the country. 

Since the start of the war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions by the West, gas supplies to Europe have tightened and fuel costs have increased six-fold, leaving countries scrambling to refill storage and look for other supply channels. 

Orban, whose country is part of the EU, recently remarked, "Initially, I thought we had only shot ourselves in the foot, but now it is clear that the European economy has shot itself in the lungs, and it is gasping for air."

The Hungarian PM said European leaders should rethink their strategy, due to the widespread damage caused to the European economy.

"The sanctions do not help Ukraine, however, they are bad for the European economy and if it goes on like this, they will kill off the European economy," he said. "What we see right now is unbearable."

"The moment of truth must come in Brussels when leaders admit they have made a miscalculation, that the sanctions policy was based on wrong assumptions and it must be changed."

Read more: Embargo on Russian gas is devastating Europe

  • Viktor Orban
  • Frank-Walter Steinmeier
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Ukraine
  • European Union
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025
The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

The ‘Arab Façade’ for Israeli occupation in Gaza

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A scene showing an al-Qassam Brigades fighter during an ambush on July 7, 2025, in a video released by the al-Qassam Brigades on August 26, 2025 (al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam reveals Beit Hanoun ambush targeting Israeli forces

A Palestinian youth stands on a hill overlooking IsraelI Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP)
Politics

77 Palestinian prisoners killed in Israeli prisons since October 7

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a joint press conference with US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Tuesday, August 26, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy Barrack calls Lebanese journalists 'animalistic"'

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks (Photo by Mahdi Rtail)
Politics

Tom Barrack's imperial tantrum in Beirut: When entitlement speaks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

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