Draghi’s reforms are largely tailored to multinational corporations and globalism and are directed against the sovereignty of individual countries, while they do not address the real problems that the European Union is facing, according to economist Štefan Šumah. In addition to the reforms, Šumah also commented on the situation regarding the nomination of EU Commissioner-designate Marta Kos, saying that if she is elected, it will not be Slovenia that gets an EU Commissioner, but Switzerland.
For economist Štefan Šumah, the developments surrounding the selection of the Slovenian EU Commissioner remind him of the times when, in the 1950s or 1960s, senior executives of the United Fruit Company came to sort out the situation in “independent” South American countries, while the local prime minister servilely complied with all their wishes …
Šumah admits that he is not very familiar with the full Draghi report, which runs to over 400 pages, but – mainly on the basis of foreign articles – he sees it as a kind of “politically correct wishful thinking to please the EU population as well as the biggest competitors, such as the USA and China.” While he can agree with some of Draghi’s reforms, “in particular the reduction of red tape and more efficient decision-making (but not to the detriment of the sovereignty of individual Member States), and the reduction of dependence on suppliers outside the EU in key areas of importance to the industry,” he believes that “the green transition is once again an alien force that prevents the EU from maintaining its competitiveness vis-à-vis other countries.”
As we have already reported, Mario Draghi has presented a gloomy outlook for the future of Europe, arguing that an improvement of the current situation is unlikely. Europe is shrinking, he said, while the USA and China are gaining the upper hand. Draghi noted that the leaders in research and investment remain the same as they were 20 years ago – notably the automotive industry – while the USA and China are making progress in the digital sector. China is even overtaking Europe in areas such as the electric vehicle industry.
The EU is facing a number of challenges, such as weak financial markets, expensive energy and fragmented R&D. Draghi’s vision to tackle these problems includes a focus on clean energy, high technology and resilience, and he proposes reforming the energy market, relaxing merger rules and making changes to the EU’s regulatory processes.
Šumah does not doubt that EU Member States will be forced to spend more on military-related expenditure, that innovation and development are important, including digitisation, “but pushing ahead with the green agenda and decarbonisation (and EU countries are already, globally speaking, the least significant polluters on the planet) will only hamper development and raise energy prices, where the EU is already uncompetitive with China and the USA. And I would like to protect the European market, and European jobs and European gains in the social field, in the healthcare field … so a kind of European way of life. And that without protectionism, which will be hard. Borrowing? Again, only for the benefit of banks and funds,” said Šumah.
Draghi’s programme does not address the EU’s real problems
Our interlocutor pointed out that the programme is largely tailored to multinational corporations and globalism and is directed against the sovereignty of individual EU Member States. He warned that it does not solve the EU’s problems, and worse, it does not even address the real problems that Europe has, i.e. the problems of migration, low birth rates (which also have a direct impact on the economy), non-competitiveness due to expensive energy, the spending of EU funds on unproductive activities, and the crazy rules of the Euro-bureaucrats.
The blunder regarding the choice of EU Commissioner
As for the recent developments around the selection of the Slovenian EU Commissioner, Šumah noted that “the boss, Ursula von der Leyen, reminds him of a senior executive of the United Fruit Company in the 1950s or 1960s, when he came to make some order in some “independent” banana republic in South America, and the “independent” Prime Minister kowtows to him and obligingly fulfils his every wish.”
Who would the Swiss tax resident actually represent?
As we know, Marta Kos is a tax resident of Switzerland and does not pay taxes in Slovenia, which has raised questions about her links to Slovenia. Žiga Turk pointed out that Kos did not try to transform Slovenia into Switzerland but instead chose Switzerland as her homeland. The question arises whether someone who is not a tax resident and no longer has interests in Slovenia can properly represent Slovenia’s interests as a European Commissioner. An additional dilemma is whether, if Kos becomes Commissioner, she will pay taxes in Slovenia or continue to pay taxes in Switzerland. On the left, there is often criticism of athletes who change their tax residency, but this is apparently not a problem and does not need to be discussed when it comes to Kos.
As far as tax residency is concerned, that choice is up to each individual, says Šumah, who added that “it is ultimately about optimising profits. And tax residency is often a stronger link for a person to the country of residence than citizenship alone, because with tax residency, the whole focus of a person’s activity in all areas (economic interest, paying taxes, life itself, education) shifts. Citizenship is a formality, residency is substance. This is how Switzerland will get an EU Commissioner (if Ms Kos is confirmed).”
Tanja Brkić
