Europe Capitulates To Reality

posted by Allan J. Feifer at American Thinker 

The European veil of leftist intellectual and moral superiority is starting to crumble. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Europe begin to take responsibility for its defense, the climate crazies seeing many of their goals collapsing under the weight of the twin realities of science and economics, and the rise of conservative politicians who are seeking an end to the immigration invasion. Zeitenwende in German means the end of an era or turning point in history. Europe’s possible return to sanity will be our story today.

Europe is now fully awake to the fact that the U.S. is not their on-call military, and they are now genuinely worried, not just performatively so, about Russia. European nations know now that they are, for all intents and purposes, at war, primarily armed with a checkbook and too little actual military hardware. Thanks to decades of cradle-to-grave benefits, in addition to their reliance on the U.S. for their defense, Europe essentially has no functional militaries.

As just one example of how this works, in 2014, when a hijacked aircraft was about to fly over Swiss territory, Switzerland was unable to police its own territory, relying instead on the French and Italians. In fact, when the French military called the Swiss to have them intercept the airliner, they got an answering service saying they were closed for the weekend and asking them to leave a message. That one anecdote explains so much more.

Another aberration: Germany, Denmark, and Sweden allow their soldiers to join labor unions! You can’t make this up. Reality Bites.

When it comes to funding their defense, EU countries have two fundamental problems: 1. They all have low birth rates within their established native populations. 2. Their ability to provide those cradle-to-the-grave benefits has meant that European nations do not have money for guns and butter. Today, Europe is a paper tiger unable to wage modern sustained warfare.

European nations are trying to change, but it may be too little, too late. Germany has approved a €1 trillion spending package, marking its most ambitious defense initiative since World War II. EU-wide efforts include the “ReArm Europe Plan,” which aims to mobilize €800 billion for defense by 2030. This plan focuses on enhancing military readiness and supporting the European defense industry. NATO nations have increased their defense budgets, with 23 out of 32 members meeting the alliance’s 2% GDP spending guideline by the end of 2024.

As another example of the European leftist mindset, one unanchored to reality, let’s talk about the grand pronouncement from government-subsidized Airbus and the EU that, by 2050, new aircraft would be required to be zero emission. To those knowledgeable about airplanes and their development, this was always nonsense. Aviation Week published as much in its Viewpoint editorial.

After Europe and the rest of the world have spent tens of billions of dollars/Euros on electric, hydrogen, and clean fuel initiatives such as SAF, the balloon is bursting with the realities of science and economics. Airbus is giving up on hydrogen, and several other electric/battery technology companies are declaring bankruptcy.

The reality is that less than 2% of aviation fuels are SAF today, and the cost is as much as 4-10 times more than the jet-A fuel it replaces. Europe, being Europe, doesn’t see a problem. Reduced to its essentials, the Europeans said, “We’ll tax tickets to subsidize SAF.”

French authorities have admitted this will cause a massive drop in passenger traffic. Tres bon! Fewer passengers mean fewer flights and planes and further the green crazies who want to see an end to taking trips by plane anyway. Predictably, this nonsense is reaching its natural point of failure. The Emperor is now standing naked in front of all.

Finally, although those in power are fighting viciously, the European people are moving from center-left to center-right, especially regarding immigration. The center-right victor in Germany’s recent elections, Friedrich Merz, promised a radical crackdown on migration during his campaign, proposing that all illegal aliens be turned away at the border. Jens Spahn, a German parliament member, emphasized the need to “secure Europe’s external borders“ and strengthen Frontex’s mandate to ensure freedom within the Schengen area.

Greece and Croatia have been accused of forcibly returning migrants, a practice known as “pushbacks.” The Poland-Belarus border reports highlight systemic pushbacks, with migrants being forcibly returned to Belarus under harsh conditions. This reflects Poland’s firm stance on controlling illegal crossings. Some European nations have introduced laws to expedite deportations and limit asylum applications, signaling a shift towards stricter immigration policies.

One last thing. Trump’s recent tariff moves have scared Europeans. With a trade imbalance of over $200 billion, Europe has little choice but to negotiate from a position of weakness. Europe is dependent on a lot of U.S. tech, banking, and military hardware—Europe’s inability to rise to challenges further cements America’s advantage.

Say what you will, but you can thank President Trump for getting Europe on the move!