As Washington has expected in its use of migration flows to damage its political and economic rival, the European Union, the influence of this factor has indeed been increasing of late. And it is becoming increasingly dependent not only on the state of armed conflicts already unleashed by the United States in the world, but also on the energy war, which Washington has now actively embraced to consolidate its overall dominance.
Just yesterday, the main debate was about the migration crisis tearing Europe apart because of the increasing flow of refugees and illegal migrants from North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, suffering from chaos and starvation due to the armed aggressions of the West in recent years. Today, however, the picture is changing day by day. First, the flow of migrants to Europe from the so-called “Third World” countries is declining slightly. Above all because of Europe’s demonstrated racism and its preference for assistance to those from Ukraine, at the expense of the noticeable reduction of funds for refugees from North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
Second, in Europe, due to the influx of millions of Ukrainians in recent months and its own economic difficulties, unemployment is rising sharply, which is deterring many migrant workers from looking for work in the EU as well. It is quite remarkable, however, that against this background, not only the influx of migrants into the EU has recently gained momentum, but also an increasing outflow of Europe’s own residents seeking refuge from the financial and economic crisis, which has been amplified by the energy collapse that the US has brought upon Europe.
Thus, Lukas Siebenkotten, head of the German Tenants’ Association, told the Tagesspiegel that there are fears millions of people in Germany may not be able to pay their heating bills because of rising gas prices. Wolfgang Schedl, head of the Central Association of the German Pawn Loan Industry (ZDP), told DPA that as a result of the rising gas prices in the country, pawnshops are becoming increasingly popular, with Germans pawning their jewelry in droves to get money as quickly as possible. Lukas Siebenkotten had earlier pointed out that a third of the country’s residents with low incomes would not be able to pay their rising energy bills because of skyrocketing gas prices. The German media warned on August 6 that record inflation and rising fuel prices could lead Germany into a wave of widespread protests this autumn, and now such protest activity is already visible in Berlin, Bavaria and Saxony.
The situation in the UK is not developing in the best way for the reasons mentioned. Thus, according to a report on Sky News, British experts have concluded that the kingdom’s timid attempts to solve people’s problems with a set of current subsidies and tax breaks cannot lift the British out of poverty and despair this winter, when fuel prices are expected to rise again. “We are facing a humanitarian crisis that Britain hasn’t seen in decades,” the paper quotes former Prime Minister Gordon Brown as saying. And Brown’s words are backed up by the latest forecast from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) indicating that inflation in the UK will soar to “astronomical” levels in the very near future. And the NIESR is not alone in its negative assessment of the outlook for the British economy: the Resolution Foundation analysts think that inflation in the kingdom could reach a record 15% by early 2023.
To avoid raising prices and angering customers, many manufacturers reduce packaging, thus providing consumers with a smaller product at the same price. This phenomenon is called “shrinkflation”, the Swedish Dagens Nyheter writes.
Sanctions against Russia by Western countries are “leading to the suicide” of the European Union, the Daily Express wrote in late July. “Europe will face maybe the biggest financial crisis of its history,” Generation Frexit leader Charles-Henri Gallois pointed out to the paper. “Some European countries, such as Germany and Italy, are very dependent on Russian gas. …Other European countries, including France, will suffer as well because Russia was an important oil supplier. …Now, we are buying the same oil but through India or Saudi Arabia with a mark-up and in dollars. As the euro is falling, this becomes even more costly. It’s quite hypocritical,” Gallois stressed.
An economic war against Russia is “ineffective” and has negative consequences for the West itself and for the people of Europe, The Guardian reports.
The West, under US pressure, imposed sanctions against Russia in order to destroy the Russian economy, but in fact it has turned out to be the opposite. Russia has not suffered, while European countries have faced a double problem: they are now short of fuel due to the West’s restriction of supplies from Russia, while rising energy prices are boosting inflation and impoverishing the population, The National Interest reports.
In the circumstances, the people of Europe are looking for their own solutions to the current crisis, without relying on their governments, which, in the wake of the US, are being accused of total disregard for national interests. A very effective way not to go bankrupt and stay warm in winter because of heating costs has been found by German pensioners who have started actively booking winter tours to the south of Europe and warm African and Asian countries, as an all-inclusive trip will cost them many times less than heating costs. According to German media reports, this vulnerable segment of the German population today prefers to choose all-inclusive hotels, where they can spend the winter without having to pay for heating and groceries at home. In this regard, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Senegal, Thailand and the Caribbean have become the most popular destinations.
However, the rise in migration flows in the current increasingly difficult conditions caused by the West is also manifesting itself in the direction of energy-stable countries. And the main one here is Russia. Thus, according to the analytical service of the FinExpertiza audit and consulting network, in the second quarter of this year the number of migrant workers entering Russia amounted to 3.12 million people, a third more than last year and a record quarterly figure for the past six years. It is noted though that a significant number of them came from former Soviet republics: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine (without the DPR and LPR), as well as Moldova. However, in the second quarter, Russia was also a destination for people from far abroad – Europe and America. In particular from Serbia, Germany, Italy, the UK, France, the USA, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Romania, the Netherlands, Brazil, Greece, Austria, Canada, Slovakia, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Hungary and other countries.
Vladimir Danilov, political observer, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
