BERLIN/LONDON (Own report) - Fierce attacks by politicians and media in Germany against Great Britain are flanking the ratification of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatens punitive measures, if London fails to scrupulously comply with the agreement. Punitive tariffs are being discussed in Brussels. Germany's main media outlets are fueling the old prejudice against Great Britain of the "perfidious Albion." German government advisors warn that the severely "strained" relations "limit" the urgently desired EU-UK foreign and military policy cooperation. "Trust" could be built through exchanges in "bilateral and minilateral formats," for instance in the "E3" framework (Germany, France, Great Britain) to lay "the foundation for long-term institutionalized cooperation." At the same time tensions are growing in the dispute over cooperation in the financial sector, threatening to deepen the rift between the two sides. Read more

BERLIN/PORT MORESBY (Own report) - In the tussle with China over influence, Germany is enhancing its position using aid in combating the Covid-19 pandemic in strategically located Papua New Guinea. The Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe ("St. John Accident Assistance"), a partner in Germany's foreign policy, recently sent a group of doctors and nurses to that Oceanic country to support its health system, which is currently moaning under the increase in severe Covid 19 cases. This operation is among the efforts being undertaken by Germany and other western governments to counteract China's growing economic influence. The USA, for example, seeks to upgrade the Lombrum Naval Base on Papua New Guinea's island province of Manus. Papua New Guinea is strategically located at the maritime trade routes leading from Australia into the Pacific. Until the Second World War, the country's north had been a German colony. The German colonial power's activities have an impact even today. The German government is drawing on colonial traditions, such as the work of missionaries. Read more

BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) - Just in time for the beginning of the large-scale Defender Europe 21 maneuvers, a retired senior US general presented a Twelve-Step Program aimed at weakening Russia at the Black Sea. The Black Sea region is the focus of this year's Defender Europe exercise, with also German Bundeswehr participation. As former Commanding General of the United States Army Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges writes in a current strategy paper, NATO's attaining "sea control" of the Black Sea is not feasible given Russia's strength there. NATO should aim for making the Russian Black Sea Fleet "vulnerable." At present, some 28,000 soldiers from 21 NATO countries and from five countries affiliated with the alliance are practicing the deployment of large contingencies of forces to the Black Sea within the framework of Defender Europe 21. Last year the exercise was focused on the Baltic region, which is gaining geostrategic significance because of the growing tensions between the West and Russia. The exercise has escalated these tensions. The Black Sea region will be faced with a similar problem. Read more

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Own report) - Berlin-supported US sanctions along with calls for other sanctions by German politicians are accelerating the escalation spiral in the conflict between the West and Russia. Last week, the new punitive measures taken by the Biden administration target not only officials and organizations in Russia, but also the country's financial sector, prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from buying Russian government bonds beginning in mid-July. This measure is causing alarm within the German branch, because of Biden's threat to expand the sanctions. Representatives of companies point out that sanctions against Iran had initially targeted US enterprises, before Washington extraterritorially expanded them. Countermeasures are being discussed in Russia. US experts warn that measures against a "national economy like the Russian" could cause enormous "collateral damage." In Washington, not only devastating sanctions targeting Nord Stream 2 are already being demanded, even sanctions targeting the purchase of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine are being considered. Read more

BERLIN/WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Own report) - China's countermeasures to recent EU sanctions is spurring a debate over further punitive measures and the possibility of closing ranks behind the United States. The renunciation of the recently concluded investment agreement with the People's Republic of China, for example, is now in discussion. This agreement had been reached through considerable efforts, particularly by Berlin, because major German companies are dependent on business with China for their very existence. Volkswagen and Infineon, for example, generate around two-fifths of their revenues in China. Transatlantic-oriented political advisors are now demanding that Germany "wake up" and take up position against "China's economic might." An influential commentator calls for "closing ranks" with Washington and speculates on Berlin's stance in the case if a war between the United States and China. For years already, US experts have been contemplating such a war. Today however, they are no longer sure that the United States can win that war. Read more