France owed their freedom from the Nazis to USA and allies as much as the rest of Europe did. It is not a bad thing to have friends.
And yes Western Europe and USA have been very good friends for decades, that does nor mean European countries were vassals of USA.
But USA was by far the bigger economy, so they had and still have a lot of power, just like Germany was by far the biggest economy in the EEC, and had a lot of political power there because of it.
But the cooperation between the countries meant that all countries had a say, instead of things just being dictated by the strongest.
When USA threatened to invade Greenland it became very obvious that the European countries are from being vassals of USA, with several countries delivering military support to Denmark with actual troops to defend Greenland, and many more declaring their support, and EU declaring that EU would use the “bazooka” against USA if they invaded Greenland.
The Bazooka being by far the strongest measures ever used would be used against USA, for instance selling US bonds, which would absolutely upset the entire American economy.
This “Bazooka” is an anti coercion system EU developed to protect against China, but instead it turned out we needed it against USA. So EU was absolutely prepared against USA, that is the opposite of being a vassal state.
I think selling US bonds is not part of the Bazooka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Coercion_Instrument.
It would still be a possible option for the EU to react. But it also reveals that the EU kept huge anounts of bonds while the bonds were devaluating.
Unspent, the bonds are essentially a tax, allowing the US to invest the money into weapons and research. That can be seen as shared responsibilities but it can also be a hint that the dependency is mostly to the benefit of the US.
I think because after WW2 he was allergic to any kind dependency on anyone. If I remember correctly De Gaulle also pulled France out of NATO, and France developed their own nukes under him and started their own space program.
De Gaulle was hell bent on making France independent and a dominant power in Europe.
Still he favored cooperation, and was part in forming the EEC, and France was also a NATO ally.
France received about 20% of the total Marshall aid provided by USA, did that make France a vassal to USA? No of course it didn’t. I just think de Gaulle was hurt that France failed completely against the German invasion, much like Putin is hurt about the Soviet Union failed. De Gaulle wanted France to rise to its former level of prestige and international respect. And maybe he thought that Germany working closely with UK and USA, would mean that France would take a back seat?
When Germany started WW2, France was seen as nearly impossible for Germany to take, France was the shield that should prevent Germany from controlling Europe. That shield failed miserably.
France used to be considered a global power, after WW2 France was diminished to just a significant European power.
I think you may be right that the bonds are not an original part of the Bazooka, they were an addition.
I suspect the bonds owned by EU countries are placed as part of a normal economic spread of funds. I am not aware they should have been bought for the purpose of pressuring USA.
I have zero worries that the EU central bank is managed responsibly, it’s being monitored by all Euro countries which is about 20 countries, so I doubt they would get away with anything that doesn’t serve the Euro countries.
France used to be considered a global power, after WW2 France was diminished to just a significant European power.
But that was not due to WW2. Like Britain, they kept their colonies. The US helped to end the colonial rule of both of them afterwards.
I am not aware they should have been bought for the purpose of pressuring USA.
They inevitably come from a trade surplus. Why would Europe keep the bonds and not buy farmland and companies? Apple and Google could be European companies, or Chinese, who have the same trade surplus problem.
I have zero worries that the EU central bank is managed responsibly, it’s being monitored by all Euro countries which is about 20 countries
Another topic, but that structure will kill the Euro because the countries that need a weak currency have the majority.
France owed their freedom from the Nazis to USA and allies as much as the rest of Europe did. It is not a bad thing to have friends.
And yes Western Europe and USA have been very good friends for decades, that does nor mean European countries were vassals of USA.
But USA was by far the bigger economy, so they had and still have a lot of power, just like Germany was by far the biggest economy in the EEC, and had a lot of political power there because of it.
But the cooperation between the countries meant that all countries had a say, instead of things just being dictated by the strongest.
When USA threatened to invade Greenland it became very obvious that the European countries are from being vassals of USA, with several countries delivering military support to Denmark with actual troops to defend Greenland, and many more declaring their support, and EU declaring that EU would use the “bazooka” against USA if they invaded Greenland.
The Bazooka being by far the strongest measures ever used would be used against USA, for instance selling US bonds, which would absolutely upset the entire American economy.
This “Bazooka” is an anti coercion system EU developed to protect against China, but instead it turned out we needed it against USA. So EU was absolutely prepared against USA, that is the opposite of being a vassal state.
Why do you think de Gaulle had the opinion?
I think selling US bonds is not part of the Bazooka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Coercion_Instrument. It would still be a possible option for the EU to react. But it also reveals that the EU kept huge anounts of bonds while the bonds were devaluating.
Unspent, the bonds are essentially a tax, allowing the US to invest the money into weapons and research. That can be seen as shared responsibilities but it can also be a hint that the dependency is mostly to the benefit of the US.
I think because after WW2 he was allergic to any kind dependency on anyone. If I remember correctly De Gaulle also pulled France out of NATO, and France developed their own nukes under him and started their own space program.
De Gaulle was hell bent on making France independent and a dominant power in Europe.
Still he favored cooperation, and was part in forming the EEC, and France was also a NATO ally.
France received about 20% of the total Marshall aid provided by USA, did that make France a vassal to USA? No of course it didn’t. I just think de Gaulle was hurt that France failed completely against the German invasion, much like Putin is hurt about the Soviet Union failed. De Gaulle wanted France to rise to its former level of prestige and international respect. And maybe he thought that Germany working closely with UK and USA, would mean that France would take a back seat?
When Germany started WW2, France was seen as nearly impossible for Germany to take, France was the shield that should prevent Germany from controlling Europe. That shield failed miserably.
France used to be considered a global power, after WW2 France was diminished to just a significant European power.
I think you may be right that the bonds are not an original part of the Bazooka, they were an addition.
I suspect the bonds owned by EU countries are placed as part of a normal economic spread of funds. I am not aware they should have been bought for the purpose of pressuring USA.
I have zero worries that the EU central bank is managed responsibly, it’s being monitored by all Euro countries which is about 20 countries, so I doubt they would get away with anything that doesn’t serve the Euro countries.
But that was not due to WW2. Like Britain, they kept their colonies. The US helped to end the colonial rule of both of them afterwards.
They inevitably come from a trade surplus. Why would Europe keep the bonds and not buy farmland and companies? Apple and Google could be European companies, or Chinese, who have the same trade surplus problem.
Another topic, but that structure will kill the Euro because the countries that need a weak currency have the majority.