Foreign Digest: European Union, Switzerland, Communist China and Venezuela

European Union: The 27-member European Union reached an agreement recently for a migration pact. The measure provides solidarity for countries of entry through financial support. Most migrants have been entering Europe from the south from North Africa or Asia. Italy, Spain, Greece and Malta have had to accommodate the most migrants, even though most migrants do not necessarily settle in those States. The deal also includes accelerated procedures for asylum for refugees and faster deportations. The pact is thus focused mostly on security and economics than on the freedom of migrants. It is intended not only to share responsibilities among members and to discourage human trafficking, but to take away some of the political exploitation of the migrant issue by populist nationalists on the xenophobic far right ahead of elections for the European Parliament. Even though the measure is tough on migrants, the authoritarian anti-migrant Hungarian Government opposes it because it is not restrictive enough. Other than Ukrainian refugees, the self-described “illiberal” Hungary is not attractive to migrants, but the ruling party demagogues migrants, like other far-right parties and politicians in Europe and America. Switzerland: Switzerland has joined the European air defense system. The Helvetian Confederation has long had a policy of neutrality, but the move is a counter to the Russian Federation because of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Switzerland is engaged in the partnership program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the defensive pact led by the United States, which the Swiss Government has said it would side with in case of an attack by Russia on NATO territory. Switzerland had placed economic sanctions on Russia. Finland and Sweden abandoned their longtime policies of neutrality to join NATO because of Russian aggression, as I have posted. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, ex-Soviet intelligence officer, is trying to restore the Soviet Union Communist China: The United States, Australia and Japan recently established a defense pact. It is the latest of many security agreements negotiated by the U.S. in the Pacific to counter Communist China that I have been posting about. Venezuela: Chile recently accused the Socialist regime of Venezuela of murdering a Venezuelan exiled opposition politician in February on its soil. The U.S. imposed additional economic sanctions on Venezuela for the unfairness of the presidential election, in which the opposition candidate was barred, and other opposition leaders have been attacked or prosecuted. The Venezuelan opposition has united behind a new candidate, a former ambassador, for the election scheduled for July. As I have posted, the Socialists were elected in 2002, but have become authoritarian to remain in power ever since by denying free and fair elections, only conducting them to make themselves appear legitimate by ensuring their own victories, in the same manner as Russia and Turkey.