Should America be exempt from the
International system of laws
it largely put in place and that applies to other
nations? Christophe
Germann says no.
Europe's Price for Trade Talks Must Be End to U.S. Impunity (Le
Temps, Switzerland)
"Former Khmer Rouge cadres are now facing justice for crimes against humanity in Cambodia. In contrast, Henry Kissinger will never be bothered by the judges. ... Must we wear blinders and limit ourselves to liberalizing
trade, leaving Europe and the world to further suffer the influence
of Washington, Wall Street and Hollywood for the next 50 years - blindly
worshiping the 'WashWallWood' trinity,
digitally merged in Silicon Valley by Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook &
Co - and under the spying eyes of the NSA? Barroso
should tell his colleague Obama that talks and the conclusion of a free trade agreement requires
prior signing and ratification of the Rome Statute, the Convention on
Biodiversity, the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, as well as the Convention
on Cultural Diversity."
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso: What concessions should Europe extract from Washington in return for a free trade deal? Lawyer and analyst Christophe Germann argues that the U.S. must first agree to abide by rulings of the International Criminal Court, global climate regimes and those protecting biological and cultural diversity.
Lawyer
and analyst Christophe Germann criticizes the "spiritual and material
colonization" imposed by the leading superpower, as well as the lack of
resistance on the part of Europe.
Geneva University's European Institute
celebrated its 50th anniversary in the presence of one of its leading alumnus, José Manuel Barroso. In a speech entitled What Will Europe Look Like in 50 Years, the current president of
the European Commission referred to the "European mission" in the
world. He praised European values and called for these to be taken urbi
et orbi[to the world], first and foremost
the commitment to peace and justice, the environment and cultural diversity. He
also welcomed the fact that the European Union is now one of the major commercial
powers in the world. In this context, he marked the beginning of negotiations on
a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States.
In the same fit of enthusiasm, Barrosa recalled
the notable role played in support of culture, by Denis de Rougemont, the venerable founder of the Jubilee Institute [in
Amman, Jordan]. Barrosa rejoiced in the Community's
achievements in this are, at no time making the slightest reference to his
American friends. He therefore omitted any mention of the stubborn refusal of
the United States to ratify the UNESCO
Convention on theDiversity of Cultural
Expressions, and the relationship, at best described as strained, between that
country and the U.N. agency responsible for promoting culture, education and
science [UNESCO].
In the area of peace and justice, Barroso was
proud of the results of European construction, which were recognized in 2012 with a Nobel Peace
Prize. But he ignored the shameful "no", unworthy of the United
States, to accede to the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court. Former Khmer Rouge cadres are now
facing justice for crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes in Cambodia.
In contrast, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will never be bothered by the judges. He was the zealous executor of President Richard Nixon
when he ordered massive bombing of that country from 1970 to 1973, causing hundreds
of thousands of civilian casualties. By its rejection of the Rome Statute, the
world's leading military power provides its leaders with impunity for the most egregious
crimes and endangers peace: "The Rome Statute is based on the conviction
that only peace based on justice can be sustainable in the long term, that
justice is essentially based on law, and that the law requires it be
applied," wrote the [Swiss] Federal Council in 2000, in its message to the
Chambers [the legislature].
Barroso also failed
to recall that the United States has obstinately refused to sign or ratify the
majority of international treaties to protect the environment, notably those
concerned with climate change and biodiversity.
It is indifference to these treaties, combined
with the inequities of the global economic order, that contribute to the
migration from South to North, causing deaths like those at Lampedusa.
Must we wear blinders and limit ourselves to liberalizing
bilateral trade, leaving Europe and the world to further suffer the influence
of Washington, Wall Street and Hollywood for the next 50 years - blindly
worshiping the "WashWallWood" trinity,
digitally merged in Silicon Valley by Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook &
Co - and under the spying eyes of the NSA? It's a sad vision that should be
opposed in a truly coherent and effective manner by the "European
mission" so celebrated by Barroso. It is through its market power that
Europe must uphold its values.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
The lingua franca of the European Union today
is American, and this single language dominates the thoughts and emotions of
our children. Should we help reinforce this spiritual and material
colonization, or finally resist it to create a better world? However the
recipe, which seems to have escaped the European Commission president, is simple:
Barroso should tell his
colleague Barack Obama that negotiations and the
conclusion of a free trade agreement between the European Unions and United
States requires prior signing and ratification of the Rome Statute, the
Convention on Biodiversity, the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, as well as
the Convention on Cultural Diversity. Without cultural and biological diversity,
without peace and justice, there can be no commercial rapprochement. In other
words, refuse unconditional free trade and reinvent the functionalism of
European integration, this time in reverse.
It is a good bet that if this famed former
student of the European Institute follows such a path, when he gives his next
speech in Geneva he will be received by the same large crowd that cheered Noam Chomsky. While the
Piaget Auditorium was almost full to hear the politician, the linguist managed
to attract an audience three times as large when he came the previous month.
Popularity is also goes along with good ideas ...
