BALTIC, the Future of Europe?

I am happy to share excerpts and important facts and ideas from a book, that I just finished, by Oliver Moody, who is Berlin correspondent at The Times and Sunday Times, covering Germany, Scandinavia, central Europe and the Baltics.

BALTIC, the Future of Europe tells us essentially about the geopolitics of the region, that could blow up to a full scale European war with Russia, if things turn badly. This is definitely not well understood by the populations of Continental European countries south of the region, nor the level of preparedness that the 8 European countries that are bordering this sea have accomplished and continue to build up. By NATO’s article 5, any military aggression on any of its member countries would be met, in return, by a military reaction.

It is very comfortable to leave it to the Northern European countries, in a belief, that any aggression of the kind would never happen (just as the majority of Europeans never believed that Russia would invade Ukraine…). Accusing our leaders of warmongering because we need to reallocate budgets towards defense to create a new deterrence and show Russia Europe is serious with its will to resist any blackmail or aggression is either very naive or in my view close to treason when it comes from certain politicians. I am thinking of the extreme left (LFI) and right (RN) parties in France or Germany (AFD). Both LFI and the RN in France suggest a « non-alignment » of France, knowing how both parties have been close and even financed by Russia at times… I am very curious to see how they will respond on this topic in the coming run-up of the Presidential election that will take place in April 2027 ?

The other topic developed in the book, which is also very little known, is the level of pollution in the Baltic sea, which is a process that came from industrialisation and more recently the dumping of huge amounts of chemicals (weapons and others) in the sea after WWII by the Allies. Today, Russia is, though, the last country on its borders continuing to dump waste into it deliberately.

The book takes a look at specificities of the different countries around the Baltic sea, focused on their common priority around future security and their inspiring and supporting each other in more and more fields.

I have chosen some bits and pieces, that I found particularly interesting from a continental European point of view.

Below, is a summary of the excerpts I have chosen, that you can read by following the link below or directly in the « State of the World » part of our Main Themes.

The Baltic's time has come. It is not only critical to Europe's security and increasingly a centre of political and military power in its own right ; it is a reservoir of ideas and experiences that could shape the continent's future.

The Baltic offers by far the most successful examples of the reintegration of Europe's old capitalist and communist blocs. It abounds in pioneering environmental initiatives, ranging from the world's first geological "forever" storage facility for nuclear waste in Finland to its first "zero waste" community, on the Danish island of Bornholm. Brutalized by the 20th century, the rebounding economies of Poland, Finland and Estonia are case studies in the mobilisation of social resources and the transformative power of technology.

This book explores the history, their culture, their peculiarities and national dilemmas of all nine Baltic countries. At its core is a search for fresh answers to Europe's problems, at a point where the continent's previously dominant powers appear tired and divided. It is structured around reports from 13 places in the hinterland of the Baltic sea, each of which embodies a conundrum of wider relevance but is also fascinating in its own right. Baltic is based on well over a hundred interviews with heads of state and government, ministers, politicians, retired political leaders, military commanders, diplomats, NATO and intelligence officials, scholars, analysts and ordinary citizens. It leaves the people of the Baltic countries to speak for themselves, suspending the twin tendencies to either judge or romanticize them. Now more than ever, the rest of the West needs their perspectives.

Read the full summary and excerpts in the "State of the World" part of our Main Themes below (around 15 pages) :

https://www.thegoalisthepath.blog/projects/l'état-du-monde