WASHINGTON MARSHALS THE WEST

Negotiations between the United States and the European Union on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have started in Washington. The world's media have already dubbed the project the "biggest economic deal in history". Meanwhile, the FTA has a clear geostrategic context, which is that the West aims to maintain its global leadership.

As expected, the US-European agreement to be signed after the talks provides for the establishment of a trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership. Experts agree that the first motive of the project is the desire of the West to keep its dominant position in competition with China, India and others fast-growing states through the elimination of existing barriers to trade and investment cooperation between the US and the EU.

Although the initiative to create a free trade area was first put forward by Germany's Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2007, i.e. before the global economic crisis, its direct implementation acquired practical outlines only after the relevant statements of US President Barack Obama in February of this year. The US president did not deny the main economic focus of the project. According to him, the creation of the trans-Atlantic free trade area will help to ensure the interests of the United States and the European Union "on the growing markets of Asia".

The US and the EU - the two largest foreign trade partners in the world - account for nearly half of global GDP and one-third of the world's foreign trade. Last year, US and European companies sold products worth $ 646 billion, and if the Euro-Atlantic free trade area is created, this figure will grow by another 300 billion, and in the foreseeable future, as estimated by experts, it can total more than $ 3 trillion. In addition, the removal of customs barriers means many new jobs, which will prove to be very useful for both the United States and for the EU, in some countries of which the unemployment rate is already more than 20% of the able-bodied population.

Meanwhile, it is clear that "the greatest alliance of all time", as US strategists call the US-European project, may actually mean the formation in the area of the "golden billion" of a closed trade block, which is trying to isolate itself from the rest of the world with barriers. It is no accident that the world's media are talking about the beginning of a grandiose historical process that can significantly change the political and economic picture of the world.

However, there is no talk of a rapid breakthrough in the negotiations between the US and the EU. The trans-Atlantic trade process will not be easy, because both sides are interested in protecting their key industries from competition not to mention the fact that in Europe, there are serious fears that the establishment of free trade with the United States will significantly strengthen Washington's dominant position within the Western block. Some political circles in Europe believe that the wrong time has been selected for negotiations with the United States, as the EU is facing a severe debt crisis that leaves it no chance of gaining any advantage in the dialogue with Washington.

Also, EU countries do not anticipate single success in the implementation of the FTA project. For example, it is estimated that the UK economy will grow by 9.7%, while the French economy - only by 2.6%. Therefore, some of the French political elite detest the idea of a Euro-Atlantic free trade area (the Western media often call this project "economic NATO") like the return of Paris to the military organization of NATO. The French are annoyed by the fact that Europe has long lost its military sovereignty, and now it is time for the ultimate economic and even cultural subordination of the Old World to the United States. The French are particularly concerned about the fact that the FTA is likely to provide for the reduction of state aid to agriculture, and that means an end to the manufacture and export of famous French cheeses and wines. Defending their cultural identity, the French do not want Hollywood to finally crush French cinema.

Equally mixed feelings about the idea of the Euro-Atlantic free trade are tearing Germany. It should be noted that within the framework of Western institutions, especially NATO and the EU, Germany has always stood out for its greatest commitment to "trans-Atlantic solidarity" among the countries of Continental Europe. However, if before it affected mainly the manufacturing sector, fuelled by Berlin's role as the locomotive of the European economy, its claims to political dominance in the EU have been growing in the last couple of decades, which is undoubtedly due to the reunification of Germany. And this fact becomes a very obvious irritant in relations between Berlin and Washington, and not only with it.

In this sense, the "spy scandal" that erupted on the eve of the Washington talks on the FTA after the revealing statements of former CIA officer Edward Snowden is indicative.

Particular outrage at the surveillance of European diplomats and government officials has been expressed in Germany. This is primarily connected with Western media reports that the United States is cobbling together a global network called Five Eyes. In addition to the United States, it includes four other countries of "the Anglo-Saxon bloc" - Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. According to the disclosed information, most of the eavesdropping and interceptions of e-mails and faxes by the US National Security Agency fall on Germany. It turns out that the allies do not trust Germany for fear of the possible consequences of its leading role in the European economy and politics! Some representatives of the German public see this almost as an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy against the Germans and even call for the cancellation of the negotiations on the free trade area between the EU and the US.

However, despite the wave of criticism of US actions on the part of European circles, including officials, it is clear that all these revelations will not lead to fundamental changes in relations between the United States and Europe. Moreover, the scandalous attempt to capture the fugitive Snowden, who was allegedly supposed to fly from Moscow on the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales, showed the true price of European independence in the face of the powerful trans-Atlantic ally. At the request of Washington, the authorities of France, Portugal and Spain banned the flight of the Bolivian president's aircraft through their air space, while the Austrian leadership dared to check the aircraft at Vienna airport. Thus, the European states, at the request of the US, not only committed a flagrant violation of international law and subjected the life of the Bolivian president, all the passengers and crew of his plane to a grave danger, but, in fact, proved the imaginary sovereignty of their countries. In this respect, it is indicative that there was no coherent response from the European leaders to the outrage of Latin American states about the actions of the EU member states against Evo Morales' aircraft, which were illegal from the point of view of international law. Here is a mixture of neglect for the interests of "small" countries and appeasement to powerful Washington.

Meanwhile, the latest leaks available to Edward Snowden indicate that the US is actively cooperating with the secret services of the European countries, in particular the German intelligence service, within the framework of electronic surveillance programmes. And it is yet another argument in favour of the fact that no economic or even political differences between the Euro-Atlantic allies can have a serious impact on the strategic content of their relationship. This fully applies to the US-EU negotiations on the FTA, about the ultimate success of which there are no doubts on both sides of the Atlantic.