Swiss Franc Soars, Euro Plummets—World Wonders if the European Union Is Doomed (Source thetrumpet.com) The biggest question in Europe may soon be answered: Who controls Europe? On January 14, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) declared legal preeminence over Germany. For the past decade, the German Constitutional Court has asserted that it ultimately decided all matters integral to its sovereignty. It was an opinion reasserted time and again—stating that various policy areas “must forever remain German,” or else the country must “refuse further participation in the European Union.” It was a position that the European courts never accepted but never challenged—until now. According to the ECJ, those days are over. It is time that Germany becomes fully European and submits to European rule. The Telegraph’s Ambrose Evans-Pritchard explains: The European Court of Justice has declared legal supremacy over the sovereign state of Germany, and therefore of Britain, France, Denmark and Poland as well. The ECJ’s advocate general has not only brushed aside the careful findings of the German Constitutional Court on a matter of highest importance, he has gone so far as to claim that Germany is obliged to submit to the final decision. The opinion is a vaulting assertion of EU primacy. Age-old economic truths are reasserting themselves. Truths like, he who has the gold, makes the rules. On January 19, the German Bundesbank announced that it had repatriated 85 tonnes of gold from New York and 35 tonnes from Paris. In 2013, Germany decided to take custody of 675 tonnes of gold stored in the United States and France. It followed a surprise announcement last year by the Netherlands indicating that the bank had secretly brought home 122 tonnes of its gold(approximately 20 percent of its reserves), which was stored at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. Bringing gold back from New York and London, the world’s two leading financial centers, is gaining momentum. Politicians from France, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Romania and Poland have all publicly discussed repatriating their gold reserves. Meanwhile, central bank gold sales of European nations have come to a screeching halt. Other central banks have become big buyers. “There is a giant secret stirring under today’s market,” says 90-year-old market veteran Richard Russell. “China, India, Russia and almost every central bank is buying physical gold. I’m guessing that within another year, physical gold will be swept off the market.” Europe is a mess and is in need of strong leadership. The battle between the German and European constitutional courts, the battle between the German and European central banks, the unprecedented market volatility, Europe’s persistent high employment, the euro debt crisis, and the rise of nationalistic parties across the Continent are conspiring to potentially turn 2015 into a momentous year.