EU in decline due to over-regulation, rise of populism and no chance of success of Nexit - Pieter Cleppe

In this episode, Yael Potjer speaks with Pieter Cleppe, a leading expert in the field of European politics and policy. Pieter shares his insights on the current state of the European Union and why he thinks the euro is the core problem.

According to Pieter, the currency union causes inflation and reduces Europe's competitiveness. He emphasizes that it is wise for individuals to protect themselves against this inflation. The political solution is a lot more difficult because it is very expensive to give up the euro, for example through the TARGET2 system.

However, the euro is not the only culprit. High energy costs, government interference and over-regulation also contribute to Europe's declining competitiveness. A concrete example we discuss is Volkswagen, which is currently considering closing factories.

We also discuss the rise of EU-critical and so-called 'populist' parties. Can they influence the direction of the Union? And how realistic is a Nexit? Pieter is critical and argues that attempts to reform the EU have so far failed. He foresees a future in which we continue to muddle through, with more joint debts and a growing EU bureaucracy. We discuss the possibility of opt-outs.

Another topic on which we continue to muddle through is the migration crisis. According to Pieter, the political mainstream has not yet been given the will to really tackle this problem.

He mentions the Australian model, which succeeded in significantly reducing the number of drownings. The censorship of X/Twitter that we saw in Brazil could also take place in Europe with the introduction of the Digital Services Act. Pieter says that the Belgian constitution is violated by compliance with this European law. He calls the tendency to censor hate speech and disinformation anti-European.

Finally, we will discuss the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and bitcoin. Pieter fears that the government will try to stop the use of bitcoin, and emphasizes: "if you want freedom, you should always advocate for it, there are no technological shortcuts"