Europe needs an independent foreign policy: Professor Jeffrey Sachs at European Parliament

#ThePrintUncut In a 21 February speech in the European Parliament, renowned professor Jeffrey Sachs said, ‘When the Soviet Union ended in 1991, the view became even more exaggerated. The view was that we [the US] run the show. We will clean up from the former Soviet Union. We will take out any remaining Soviet-era allies. Countries like Iraq, Syria, and so forth will go. And we’ve been experiencing this foreign policy for essentially 33 years. Europe has paid a heavy price for this because Europe has not had any foreign policy during this period. No voice, no unity, no clarity, no European interests, only American loyalty.’ He added that the European Union should be the main trading partner of Russia. ‘Europe and Russia have complementary economies. The fit for mutually beneficial trade is very strong. The Trump administration is imperialist at heart. Trump obviously believes that the great powers dominate the world. The US will be ruthless and cynical, and yes, also vis-à-vis Europe. Don’t go