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Today, it is Western Europe that is
battling infiation, whi l.e the United
States has been able to pull its io–
ftation rate back to less than half
tha t of Europe's.
But future blowups over the dol–
la r a re virtually inevitable. Despite
tighter interna] controls, the United
States is still running a huge deficit
in its balance of payments. Worse
yet, this deficit has now been joined
by a pure trade deficit - more im–
ports to the United States than ex–
ports from the United States.
Excess, unwanted dollars, there–
fore, are continuing to pile up over–
seas. And worst of aU, the United
States may never again get into a fa–
vorable trade position due to ex–
pected heavy demands for foreign
energy sources - oil and natural
gas.
Will Western Europe, as an en–
tity, someday have to close its "win–
dow" to the dollar? This would
basten its own monetary union and
creation of its own common cur–
rency - and the political machinery
to run it.
Possibility number two:
This also
involves tbe United States. All in–
dications are that President Nixon,
now secure in another four-year
term, will, within a year or two,
yield to domestic pressure and an–
nounce a significant - not just a to–
ken - cutback of American military
forces
in
Europe.
This could basten Community co–
operation in the political and mili–
tary fields, not just in the economic
and monetary areas. Alastair Bu–
chao, professor of Jnternational Re–
lations at Oxford Univer-s ity, goes so
far as to predict that the military sit–
uation between the United States
and Europe "will be the core subject
of the next European summit."
Middle East
Possibility number three:
Events in
a nd arising out of the always vola–
tile Middle East could also be a
springboard for much more coordi–
na ted West European activity.
PLAIN TRUTH February 1973
Here, oi1 from the Middle East
and the Mediterranean countries,
without which Wes t European in–
dustry could not survive, assumes
utmost irnportance.
Common Market industrialists
are already very concerned about
pressures from oil -producing Arab
nations to obtain a controlling inter–
est in previously Western-owned oil
refining facilities in their countries.
The final communiqué issued a t
the end of the Pa rís conference con–
tained an interesting paragraph:
"The Heads of State and Heads of
Government deem it necessary to
invite the Community Jnstitutions
to formulate as soon as possible an
energy policy guaranteeing certain
and lasting supplies under sastisfac–
tory economic conditions."
' 'Qnly someth ing
truly shattering,
it seems, might
quickly produce the
uni ted Europe. . . .
Europe's natlons like
being themselves too
much, and feel little
compulsion to be any–
thing else."
The Economist
January
22, 1972
Possibility number four,
which is
conditional upon one of the above
factors (or any other factor)
is
the
inftuence of religion.
It
has not gone
unnoticed by sorne observers that
the European Community, since the
exclusion of Norway, is developing
into a largely continental, Roman
Catholic entity. A map in the Octo–
ber 23, 1972, issue of West G er–
many's news magazine,
der Spiegel,
labeled the Common Market as "an
heir to the Roman Empire." (Even
Britain was once part of the old Ro–
roan Empire.)
Adding to tbe religious equation
would be the eventua l membership
of Spain. France's Pompidou has
been championing the Spanish case,
but has been rebuffed by the Low
Countries. Spanish membership to
ñll out " the Ten" will obviously
have to await the passing from the
scene of General Franco, and at
least a partial redemocratization of
authority in Madrid.
Religion could be important as a
rallying point for a Europe threa t–
ened by other outside events.
Foretold Long Ago
ls
it
mere ly a coincidence that the
most neglected of all guides for
human events, the Bible, predicted
that there would ultimately .be, in
our time, a resurrection 6f the Ro–
roan Empire, consisting of ten king–
doms or governments?
Under great pressure, these " ten"
are predicted to give over their indi–
vidual sovereign power to sorne cen–
tral authority labeled, curiously,
" the Beast" in old King James ter–
minology (Revelation 17: 12-13).
An
Old Testament prophecy re–
ferring to the same system describes
it
as consisting of "part of iron, and
part of clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly strong and partly bro–
ken ... but they shaJI not cleave one
to anotber, even as iron is not mixed
with clay" (Daniel2:42-43).
In
other
words, Danie l describes a multi–
national mix of both strong and
weak states, each with different
viewpoints, not normally capable of
thoroughly combining their efforts.
What specific events will cause
the final, desperate fusion of West–
ern Europe? Wa tch world events
and keep the above four possibilities
in mind. And write for our free
booklets entitled
The Key to the
Book ofRevelation
and
The Book of
Revelation Unveiled at Last.
Former American Ambassador to
the Community, J. Robert Schaet–
zel, recently remarked that he per–
ceives "an inertial force which
moves Europe on." As to how fast
Europe moves on - and in what di–
rection - we'll have to wait and
see.
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