Tensions between Southeast Asia and the European Union seem to be on the rise.

The EU is far from perfect, but there was a time when it at least supported a framework that guaranteed free and fair competition between member states. It is tragic to see the European Commission undermining this very thing.

The West should attempt to compensate for any trade destruction, justified on the basis of geo-security, by opening up trade with parts of the world that are broadly friendly with the West. Southeast Asia is most certainly such a region.

Greenpeace openly supports the ‘climate actions,’ pays the lawyers’ bills, and provides space, materials, and know-how. Direct funding comes from the US-based Climate Emergency Fund (CEF), which has already spent $5 million this year.

To abandon the CRT is not just a bad thing for traditional energy investments, but also for renewable energy investment. Clearly, for many greens, hatred for the private sector trumps their support for renewables.

Trade with hostile nations is always not a bad idea—after all, interdependence can increase the chances of peace. Yet some European countries were perhaps naïve to pursue a normalisation of relations with Iran so eagerly.

At the EU level, environmental policies are mostly being continued as if there were no Russian invasion of Ukraine or large-scale energy crisis.

Germany’s excessive energy dependence on Russia is not the outcome of a natural process, but rather the consequence of policies that have been irresponsibly made and artificially imposed.

The EU wants to reduce its dependence on imported semiconductors and has announced a new major spending programme: the so-called “Chips Act.”

There are a few things that the West can do. One is to follow the Latin motto “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” or “If you want peace, prepare for war.” This certainly applies to the Benelux, Germany, and Sweden, whose armed forces have been severely weakened over the past three decades.

A better strategy for the EU could be to clean up its own house first. The enormous amounts the EU spends on agriculture, a few hundred billion over seven years, heavily subsidize intensive agriculture, with 80% of EU cash going to 20% of the recipients.

Reporting on the link between palm oil and cancer is just one example of how the mainstream media avoids fair and balanced reporting, and squelches moderate voices. Some media, besides pushing an ideological agenda, try to make money by stirring up fear.