It was a complex web of intrigue, that EU summit last week. But in the end, the deals struck strengthened the hands of Rome/Berlin at the expense of France. In fact, this was the latest in recent moves to strengthen the Rome/Berlin axis at the expense of Germany’s long-time Berlin/Paris postwar alliance.

Students of Bible prophecy should not find this outcome surprising, for the alliance between Rome and Berlin was foretold in Bible prophecy two millennia ago. Now it stares us in the face.

But you have to dig deep, with a true prophetic perspective, to perceive all this.

If one only had media reports as a guide to the outcome of last week’s summit, one would be very confused indeed. Here’s a sample of the headlines:

EU summit deal leaves many questions open. A leap forward. Italy and Spain get “breakthrough deal” on bailout funds. Merkel’s tactical victory. How Italy and Spain defeated Merkel at EU summit. Are we heading for a “half-Europe”? What really happened at the European summit?

Well, what really did happen at last week’s EU summit?

Few, if any, of the media pundits really caught it, but the wash up of the whole affair is that the Rome/Berlin axis was strengthened, to France’s continuing demise as an influential power in the EU combine.

With Germany’s Angela Merkel having met behind closed doors with the Italian, Spanish and French prime ministers before the summit of 27 EU nations convened on Thursday, June 28, one would have to assume that if a deal was not then struck between these leaders then at least their tactical positions were discussed.

As it happened, when a deal eventually seemed imminent following many painful hours of sometimes acrimonious debate, it was three of these leaders—Italy’s Mario Monti, Spain’s Mariano Rajoy and Germany’s Angela Merkel that stood in the way of its conclusion. This forced the final tactical play by each. Merkel appeared to concede a key platform in her euro stance, while the impression was given that Monti and Rajoy were granted concessions to ease their respective bailouts.

But what really did happen to enable European Council President Herman van Rompuy to issue an official statement Friday morning seemingly affirming agreement by the 27 EU member nations to quell the euro crisis?

Well, three key players were strengthened in their positions—Italy’s Monti, the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi, and Angela Merkel. One was significantly politically weakened—France’s Hollande.

Among the plethora of confusing views that flowed in the summit’s wake, Spiegel also carried its share. But one, in particular, was most astute and the clearest of all summations of this crucial summit.

Christian Rickens, the 41-year-old managing editor of Spiegel, in his most balanced overview of the EU summit made the following keen observations:

“[A]id will only begin flowing to the banks once an effective European banking supervision mechanism, under the auspices of the ECB, has been put in place” (June 29, emphasis added throughout). That move effectively adds to the regulatory power of Europe’s chief banker, European Central Bank chief, that son of mother Rome, Mario Draghi.

“If the ratification process goes smoothly, the fiscal pact will grant Merkel the tool she needs to impose strict austerity measures on highly indebted states” (ibid). Thus, Germany’s position is also further strengthened in steering the outcome of the crisis in favor of its own imperialist motives.

“It is also clear to Merkel that she can do no better in the euro crisis than prime ministers Mario Monti in Rome and Mariano Rajoy in Madrid. Both have pushed through far-reaching reforms, to the point that they have come under strong domestic resistance. In Italy, elections are scheduled for next spring. As such, it was vital that Merkel allow Monti to land a punch or two” (ibid).

That was the deal concluded between Merkel and Monti—with Rajoy in support—in Rome a week before the summit was convened. Monti was always going to get his political concession out of this summit. The fact that it was carried out with such high drama, in the wee small hours of the morning last Friday, only added to the impression in Italy that Monti had held out for a deal in Italy’s best interests at Germany’s expense. This should give Monti much political capital in the run-up to the Italian elections.

Finally, France’s Hollande came away from the summit a patent loser. Rickens correctly observes that, in yet another deal struck by Merkel in the Rome pre-summit meeting, “Merkel’s concession [to Monti] is more than compensated for by a diplomatic victory she scored in the run-up to the summit: Late last week, she managed to get new French President François Hollande to sign off on her fiscal pact, which is deeply unpopular in Paris” (ibid).

It was thus symbolically fitting that the only real deals of consequence affecting the 27-nation European Union amid recent crisis talks, apart from the expected strengthening of the hand of Mario Draghi, were concluded not in Brussels, but in Rome, spiritual headquarters of this resurrecting Holy Roman Empire. For the upshot of the events surrounding and involving the latest EU summit is that clearly the power of Rome and Berlin is enhanced, and that of France diminished.

As we have recently observed, this will be the trend in Europe from here on. France is destined to increasingly be led on the leash to dance to the tune of Rome/Berlin.

Watch for this trend to continue at the next vital EU summit in October. As you watch, realize that what you are actually seeing amid this ongoing euro crisis is the 27-nation European Union evolving toward its destined structure of a 10-power combine, under the aegis of Rome/Berlin, in exact fulfillment of the Bible prophecies for our time!