### Reader’s letter to The Guardian, 3rd September 2024 ###
** Key People: Jennifer Rankin, Valerie Hayer, Mattia Bagherini, Maurice Stierl, Tarik Abou-chadi **
Dear Editor,
I read Jennifer Rankin’s article (The Guardian, 3rd September 2024, link below) on the AfD’s success, the “pressure on a fragmented EU” and “The European Project” and, unfortunately have to say that this project is little more than carte blanche for corporate greed and systematic dismantling of civil society. As shown by Jean Claude Juncker, the architect of Luxembourg’s ultra-low-tax business-model, being maneuvered into the EU presidency.
The massive shift towards the AfD is a worrying development but it is wrong to view this in a binary manner with the AfD being “Baddies” while Brussels are “Goodies”. You only need to look at the EU’s policy of giving mind-boggling handouts to north African dictators (for them to employ thugs to “keep the migrants away”) to know that there isn’t much difference between Brussels and the AfD.
And when it comes to climate and environment, the EU is a great source of frustration: Their rhetoric is green but the policies are either massively watered down or are “cherry-picked” for maximum publicity but minimum disruption to business. For instance the “Nature Restoration Law” seeks to protect 30% of nature (which 30%?) while business and industry ravage the rest. Then we have Glyphosat, a highly dubious pesticide which, despite widespread public and state resistance, has been licensed for a further ten years.
As for business, I see online multinationals, with minuscule overheads and offshore tax-arrangements (e.g. in Luxembourg), “cleaning up” as local traders and businesses close down and urban decay sets in. With both Brussels and national governments unable or unwilling to take action.
And the war in Ukraine should have been resolved long ago: Defeating Russia is simply not an option as we need them inside “the European family”. So why aren’t we talking and arriving at compromises (e.g. give Russia a corridor to the Black Sea)?
All very sad.
Yours,
Alan Mitcham
Link to original article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/03/afds-success-in-german-elections-piles-pressure-on-a-fragmented-eu
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