Big Crisis = Big Change: Watching The EU

We've been repeating the mantra "big crisis = big change" as pertaining to the EU (aka "revived Roman Empire") for a variety of reasons. To summarize:

- We know from Daniel 2 and 7 and Revelation 17 that the Roman Empire would come together in the last days, and would somehow morph into a "10 kings" stage.

- Biblical prophecy doesn't mention any interim state between the revival of the Roman Empire and the evolution into the 10 kings phase, therefore, once the empire is regathered, we can anticipate some transformation into the 10 kings.

- The 10 kings will produce the antichrist (Daniel 7:19-25) and this last formation of the Roman Empire (10 kings supporting the antichrist) will produce a world-wide financial system under central control (Revelation 13:16-18).

As a result of the above, we watch the developments in the EU, not only financially, but in terms of any big changes which could lead into the 10 kings phase.

With that backdrop we turn to today's news, and we see more and more efforts to establish a system of central control over all finances within the EU, as a result of the "big (financial) crisis":

Banking Union To Put 6,000 Banks Under ECB Supervision

The European Central Bank will have the "ultimate decision-making authority" on supervising 6,000 euro-area banks, with some day-to-day tasks delegated to national bodies, a commission spokesman has said.

"There is a clear need to cover all banks through a single supervisory mechanism, for all 6,000 banks of the euro-area," Stefaan De Rynck, spokesman for financial issues said during a press conference on Friday (31 August).

The commission will table proposals on 12 September on granting the ECB sweeping supervisory powers

The commission spokesman, however, said it was important to have all banks under the new supervision scheme, because in recent years "we have seen non-systemic banks popping up and posing systemic risks."

As for resolution - who takes over loans and assets of banks gone bust - it will remain the competence of national bodies for now. But plans are being drafted to set up a European resolution authority and a joint fund financed by the banks themselves.

EU Commission Gears Up For Banking Union Legislation

Legislation to establish a banking union for the eurozone will be tabled on 12 September, European Commission President Jose Barroso said in a speech Thursday (30 August).

Speaking at the Aspbach Economic Symposium in Austria, President Barroso described the step, which is expected to see the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank given extensive powers to supervise and intervene in the European banking system, as "the next concrete and immediate deliverable of our vision to generate confidence in the future of the euro area".

Merkel is expected to support centralised oversight control of the banking sector before allowing the EU bail-out fund, the European Stability Mechanism, to directly refinance weak banks. While the ECB is expected to be given the "prudential supervision" powers included in the EU treaty, the London-based European Banking Authority is expected to keep its role of monitoring the compliance of European banks with EU financial regulation.

The Commission chief also revealed plans to overhaul the EU's Single Market legislation commenting that the Commission would prepare a "Single Market 2" in the coming weeks. Barroso said that the reforms would "build on the momentum" of the twelve bills making up the Single Market Act, currently being discussed by MEPs and governments.

Below, we see a description of the "big crisis" aspect of this mess:

A Fig Leaf Of Continental Proportions

As focus moves from arguments between Greece and its EU partners to a possible bail-out for Spain, it is becoming clear that in efforts to solve the eurozone crisis EU leaders are missing the wood for the trees.

There is no denying that Greece’s predicament is perilous and its place within the eurozone under intense scrutiny. Efforts of Herculean proportions are required for the country to pay off its debts and reform its economy.

Spain's challenges might not be of an existential nature to the same degree but the structural faults in its economy can have systemic consequences, not least due to its size. Nevertheless, the debt problems of individual member states are, in the grand scheme of things, only the side-show and unfortunately a distraction from the real issues.

With growth figures all over Europe in depressingly low levels, investor confidence deflated, the banking sector in a permanent state of insecurity and the public exhausted by competitive austerity across the EU, the eurozone and the EU as a whole is in need of brave, pan-European solutions.

Dealing with the immediate economic problems of certain eurozone member states is of course important but the real emphasis must be put in constructing the foundations of a new political union.

That must include fiscal integration as well as economic and monetary union. In the context of such integration the mutualisation of debt will be made possible and the sooner that happens the better. This new union must feature pan-European supervision of the banking sector and the proposals currently on the table are an important development to that end.

Note the prophetic implications of the last statement:

The eurozone needs European politicians to deliver European solutions to European problems. It needs pan-European political leadership. Who is up for the job?

Indeed. Someone will step forward - it is just a matter of time.

Also see:

Exclusive: U.S. Scales Back Military Exercise With Israel, Affecting Potential Iran Strike

The reductions are striking. Instead of the approximately 5,000 U.S. troops originally trumpetedfor Austere Challenge 12, as the annual exercise is called, the Pentagon will send only 1,500 service members, and perhaps as few as 1,200. Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, but the crews to operate them will not. Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships being dispatched to Israeli waters, the new plan is to send one, though even the remaining vessel is listed as a “maybe,” according to officials in both militaries.

But the American retreat coincided with growing tensions between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations on Israel’s persistent threats to launch an airstrike on Iran. The Islamic Republic would be expected to retaliate by missile strikes, either through its own intermediate range arsenal or through its proxy, the Hizballah militia, which has more than 40,000 missiles aimed at Israel from neighboring Lebanon.

In the current political context, the U.S. logic is transparent, says Israeli analyst Efraim Inbar. “I think they don’t want to insinuate that they are preparing something together with the Israelis against Iran – that’s the message,” says Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. “Trust? We don’t trust them. They don’t trust us.

Inside Israel, reports persist that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense chief Ehud Barak are determined to launch a strike, and American officials continue to urge restraint. Israeli analysts say Netanyahu wants Obama to send a letter committing to U.S. military action by a specific date if Iran has not acceded to concessions, but the U.S. administration does not appear to be complying.

Iran To Hold Major Air Defense Drill