'Wider Europe' is a geopolitical tool to integrate the Balkans, Turkey, and the post-Soviet spaces with an entity chained to the EU, and thereby to NATO and the US
When people like me started calling it EUSSR 20 years ago, it wasn't as a joke. Neither did grandma joke when she called it Festung Europa 30 years ago. A fortress can keep people in as well as out.
Because the USSR and the PRC are the models by way of the germans thinking they'll be on the top of the heap and the french thinking they can 'guide' the germans, while the italians, spanish and greek just thinks "what can we grab" and the naive northerners actually believe the KoolAid being peddled from Brussels-Strasbourg.
You see, one of the conditions for being allowed at the table here is that a party drops its resistance to the EU - which all partys of the riksdag/parliament has done. Despite anti-EU sentiment sometimes being measured at 50% of adults.
But that's moot for us anyway, since "we" in 2010 made it constitutional law that EU-decisions supercedes swedish law in all matters, even before the EU has made a definitie decision: the existence of a suggestion is enough for the governement and the riksdag to push legislation through.
I think any anti-EU party would be quickly eviscerated; in Austria, the Freedom Party used to be against the EU but pro-NATO; the mainstream conservatives once were in favour of both (but have dropped the pro-NATO as of late as there's no support; the gov't has just signed another NATO treaty that allows for joint 'exercises'…); the Social Democrats are typically pro-EU and anti-NATO; don't ask the Greens where they may 'stand', though…
If you look around, all European politics showcases these 'options'; just ask Mme. Le Pen what she thinks about either option. Or Giorgia Meloni. This all goes a long way of confirming your though.
We'll get a 'MAGA' equivalent before too long, perhaps sooner than most anticipate--as the Syriza (pro-EU, agnostic about NATO) 'experiment' in Greece shows, I'd argue that if the left-wing anti-establishment option fails to deliver, next time anything like that crisis level comes around, people will swing towards 'the other' direction.
The important thing to remember is that the EU does not have its own military, which means that it cannot actually force member states to remain member states. The EU is essentially a gigantic bureaucracy, and its raison d'être is to increase prosperity for its member states. As it becomes more and more clear that it's no longer doing anything of the sort (I'm sure some will tell me it never did, but that's quibbling at this point), expect more and more member states to head for the exist, if not de jure, then at least de facto. The EU cannot do much of anything about it. The real threat comes from the United States and its military machine, which might just be able to enforce obedience. We already know they're willing to blow up European infrastructure. (Although it's actually not clear that the US blew up the Nord Stream: it may have been the UK. But the UK can, without too much inaccuracy, be thought of as the 51st American State, so it mostly boils down to the same thing.)
I cannot for the life of me understand why Western Balkan countries are still trying to join the EU. 20 years ago, it would have made sense. 10 years ago, it would have been an understandable mistake. But now?? It's like trying to parachute yourself onto the Titanic, when the iceberg is 100 meters away, and there's no stopping the collision. The only explanation I can come up with is that there's a lot of inertia in the Western Balkans, too.
Oh my, so far, there's not been much of an 'alternative', eh? I do share your (W Balkans) sentiment, as in, but then again, look around carefully: the Saudis are financing the Nemanja statue in Belgrade; China is building the subway (and the Peljesac bridge, too). Things are moving, and I suppose the weird thing is that one must not move too fast at-once--remember the US-led aggression against Yugoslavia over Kosovo was about Belgrade straying just a tad too far off the reservation…
It may actually be that the leadership has pretty much given up on the EU, but it keeps pretending because it would lose a lot of votes otherwise. Many ordinary Serbian citizens would like Serbia to join the EU for one very simply reason: it would make emigration easier. That's kind of it. Politicians have nothing to gain by openly telling them "nope, not gonna happen" (even though nope, not gonna happen).
Rikard has a point about grabbing what you can, while there's anything left to grab, but at this point, I'm far from convinced there's anything left to grab.
A very fair point, esp. in light of 'sunk (political) investments' of yesteryear.
There's also the option of getting somewhat better treatment inside the EU than outside (e.g., investments, comfy jobs in Brussels, and the like).
Your point about wanting to get into the EU to obtain EU 'citizenship' to speed things up is very well taken: I know a bunch of people from what is called 'third countries' whose life inside the EU is quite something as their residency-and-work permit status is contingent.
That said, there's also official policies to 'welcome all refugees'.
Except uighurs, boers, ukrainians (you wouldn't believe how badly they've been treated by swedish authorities as opposed to say ISIL-volunteers returning to Sweden), and any other non-African or non-moslem refugee.
Get in and grab what you can while there's still anything to grab. Why let the greeks, spaniards, italians, and so on have their fill of EU-money without getting some yourself?
If the leadership feels that way, isn't it reasonable they have prepped their family/friends networks to be ready to start siphoning EU "investments" to their sphere of influence?
It's not like the EUs investments in Greece or Italy is doing anything bt feed the corruption there, so why not get it while there's anything to get seems a fully reasonable reaction, especially if it looks to be headed for a crash.
Spending too much time on the internet in lieu of preparing for catastrophe is an issue. If I lived close by I'd feed you to keep studying - find a permaculture person nearby, has to be one.
The thought occurred to me the Soviets want all Europeans, America by extension, to feel their pain of collapse. But you live in Europe, maybe a better nation closer to with resources, still. I am preparing to feed myself, which works nearly every where. Even good luck isn't going to help the European vacationites now. I envision the don't worry be happy crowd to settle in nicely to those gym cots, bowing their heads to that phone while they shuffle contently on through the line to get their free portion of bug soup.
Rick, at 61 degrees North, though, my outdoor time is limited by light availability, hence, I'm sometimes spending time online.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt that anyone actually 'needs' that much 'vacation' time, which is typically spent away from home getting wasted.
Also, you know I live on a farm and I'm planning my next moves carefully, incl. the setting up of the basement as a well-suited storage room as well as a chicken coop; I'm very much with you on these issues.
So, people, roll up your sleeves and prepare the next planting season.
As for the chicken coop, select breeds that can stand -25C and make sure you have back-up plans for how to keep the coop at at least -10C during winter. We mainly have cochins, a smaller breed but hardy when it comes to cold.
Also, look into how to make stukas. No, not the airplane. It's an old technique for building outdoors cold-storage that doesn't freeze.
Internet tells me it's called "miete" or "haufwerk" in german? Though a stuka here is typically buried or semi-buried, and built in such a way vermin and water is kept out/away. Link to swedish site about lots of things to do with "alternative living" (horrible phrase, language-wise):
Most of the time I am typing to whoever mostly to the internet crowd that does nothing. I used to post incessantly on Facebook, lots of followers in the beginning, but once I put them in a real place most disappeared into their internet fantasies. Now that the time is hitting them in the face I am no longer needed. Hahaha! But its nice to read your personal situation. Learn permaculture, within permaculture are also the internet souls, but there is a small continent who are actually performing quite independently.
61 degrees has long day garden advantages, as you are thinking just need to learn storage techniques. Work your ass off in the summer, type to the internet souls in the winter. More hahahaha!
Europeans must begin to see that the ultimate goal of global capital is dissolution of the nation states, at least the critical mass of their defining sovereignty. To counter this, Europeans will never succeed through political parties. Instead, there must be a political movement across political spectrum. This movement cannot be anti-European, or directly anti-EU; it must advocate a different EU. This has the highest chance of success. Other approaches will have a Balkanizing effect, with centralizing power easily neutering any attempts for even minimal reforms.
Time is of the essence. European economies are slated for significant reductions. The effects of this will be quick and will have profound effects on European standards of living.
When people like me started calling it EUSSR 20 years ago, it wasn't as a joke. Neither did grandma joke when she called it Festung Europa 30 years ago. A fortress can keep people in as well as out.
Because the USSR and the PRC are the models by way of the germans thinking they'll be on the top of the heap and the french thinking they can 'guide' the germans, while the italians, spanish and greek just thinks "what can we grab" and the naive northerners actually believe the KoolAid being peddled from Brussels-Strasbourg.
You see, one of the conditions for being allowed at the table here is that a party drops its resistance to the EU - which all partys of the riksdag/parliament has done. Despite anti-EU sentiment sometimes being measured at 50% of adults.
But that's moot for us anyway, since "we" in 2010 made it constitutional law that EU-decisions supercedes swedish law in all matters, even before the EU has made a definitie decision: the existence of a suggestion is enough for the governement and the riksdag to push legislation through.
Just like in the Soviet Union or China.
I think any anti-EU party would be quickly eviscerated; in Austria, the Freedom Party used to be against the EU but pro-NATO; the mainstream conservatives once were in favour of both (but have dropped the pro-NATO as of late as there's no support; the gov't has just signed another NATO treaty that allows for joint 'exercises'…); the Social Democrats are typically pro-EU and anti-NATO; don't ask the Greens where they may 'stand', though…
If you look around, all European politics showcases these 'options'; just ask Mme. Le Pen what she thinks about either option. Or Giorgia Meloni. This all goes a long way of confirming your though.
We'll get a 'MAGA' equivalent before too long, perhaps sooner than most anticipate--as the Syriza (pro-EU, agnostic about NATO) 'experiment' in Greece shows, I'd argue that if the left-wing anti-establishment option fails to deliver, next time anything like that crisis level comes around, people will swing towards 'the other' direction.
That's the trick how to benefit or at leats not get too badly hurt from collapse:
Don't be the one standing underneath hammering at society's fundations: sell hammers.
The important thing to remember is that the EU does not have its own military, which means that it cannot actually force member states to remain member states. The EU is essentially a gigantic bureaucracy, and its raison d'être is to increase prosperity for its member states. As it becomes more and more clear that it's no longer doing anything of the sort (I'm sure some will tell me it never did, but that's quibbling at this point), expect more and more member states to head for the exist, if not de jure, then at least de facto. The EU cannot do much of anything about it. The real threat comes from the United States and its military machine, which might just be able to enforce obedience. We already know they're willing to blow up European infrastructure. (Although it's actually not clear that the US blew up the Nord Stream: it may have been the UK. But the UK can, without too much inaccuracy, be thought of as the 51st American State, so it mostly boils down to the same thing.)
I cannot for the life of me understand why Western Balkan countries are still trying to join the EU. 20 years ago, it would have made sense. 10 years ago, it would have been an understandable mistake. But now?? It's like trying to parachute yourself onto the Titanic, when the iceberg is 100 meters away, and there's no stopping the collision. The only explanation I can come up with is that there's a lot of inertia in the Western Balkans, too.
Oh my, so far, there's not been much of an 'alternative', eh? I do share your (W Balkans) sentiment, as in, but then again, look around carefully: the Saudis are financing the Nemanja statue in Belgrade; China is building the subway (and the Peljesac bridge, too). Things are moving, and I suppose the weird thing is that one must not move too fast at-once--remember the US-led aggression against Yugoslavia over Kosovo was about Belgrade straying just a tad too far off the reservation…
It may actually be that the leadership has pretty much given up on the EU, but it keeps pretending because it would lose a lot of votes otherwise. Many ordinary Serbian citizens would like Serbia to join the EU for one very simply reason: it would make emigration easier. That's kind of it. Politicians have nothing to gain by openly telling them "nope, not gonna happen" (even though nope, not gonna happen).
Rikard has a point about grabbing what you can, while there's anything left to grab, but at this point, I'm far from convinced there's anything left to grab.
A very fair point, esp. in light of 'sunk (political) investments' of yesteryear.
There's also the option of getting somewhat better treatment inside the EU than outside (e.g., investments, comfy jobs in Brussels, and the like).
Your point about wanting to get into the EU to obtain EU 'citizenship' to speed things up is very well taken: I know a bunch of people from what is called 'third countries' whose life inside the EU is quite something as their residency-and-work permit status is contingent.
That said, there's also official policies to 'welcome all refugees'.
Talk about contradictions.
Welcome all refugees indeed.
Except uighurs, boers, ukrainians (you wouldn't believe how badly they've been treated by swedish authorities as opposed to say ISIL-volunteers returning to Sweden), and any other non-African or non-moslem refugee.
Or:
Get in and grab what you can while there's still anything to grab. Why let the greeks, spaniards, italians, and so on have their fill of EU-money without getting some yourself?
If the leadership feels that way, isn't it reasonable they have prepped their family/friends networks to be ready to start siphoning EU "investments" to their sphere of influence?
It's not like the EUs investments in Greece or Italy is doing anything bt feed the corruption there, so why not get it while there's anything to get seems a fully reasonable reaction, especially if it looks to be headed for a crash.
Spending too much time on the internet in lieu of preparing for catastrophe is an issue. If I lived close by I'd feed you to keep studying - find a permaculture person nearby, has to be one.
The thought occurred to me the Soviets want all Europeans, America by extension, to feel their pain of collapse. But you live in Europe, maybe a better nation closer to with resources, still. I am preparing to feed myself, which works nearly every where. Even good luck isn't going to help the European vacationites now. I envision the don't worry be happy crowd to settle in nicely to those gym cots, bowing their heads to that phone while they shuffle contently on through the line to get their free portion of bug soup.
Rick, at 61 degrees North, though, my outdoor time is limited by light availability, hence, I'm sometimes spending time online.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt that anyone actually 'needs' that much 'vacation' time, which is typically spent away from home getting wasted.
Also, you know I live on a farm and I'm planning my next moves carefully, incl. the setting up of the basement as a well-suited storage room as well as a chicken coop; I'm very much with you on these issues.
So, people, roll up your sleeves and prepare the next planting season.
As for the chicken coop, select breeds that can stand -25C and make sure you have back-up plans for how to keep the coop at at least -10C during winter. We mainly have cochins, a smaller breed but hardy when it comes to cold.
Also, look into how to make stukas. No, not the airplane. It's an old technique for building outdoors cold-storage that doesn't freeze.
Internet tells me it's called "miete" or "haufwerk" in german? Though a stuka here is typically buried or semi-buried, and built in such a way vermin and water is kept out/away. Link to swedish site about lots of things to do with "alternative living" (horrible phrase, language-wise):
[https://handbok.alternativ.nu/Mat/Gr%C3%B6nsaker/Bevara/Lagring_i_stuka.html]
Most of the time I am typing to whoever mostly to the internet crowd that does nothing. I used to post incessantly on Facebook, lots of followers in the beginning, but once I put them in a real place most disappeared into their internet fantasies. Now that the time is hitting them in the face I am no longer needed. Hahaha! But its nice to read your personal situation. Learn permaculture, within permaculture are also the internet souls, but there is a small continent who are actually performing quite independently.
61 degrees has long day garden advantages, as you are thinking just need to learn storage techniques. Work your ass off in the summer, type to the internet souls in the winter. More hahahaha!
Europeans must begin to see that the ultimate goal of global capital is dissolution of the nation states, at least the critical mass of their defining sovereignty. To counter this, Europeans will never succeed through political parties. Instead, there must be a political movement across political spectrum. This movement cannot be anti-European, or directly anti-EU; it must advocate a different EU. This has the highest chance of success. Other approaches will have a Balkanizing effect, with centralizing power easily neutering any attempts for even minimal reforms.
Time is of the essence. European economies are slated for significant reductions. The effects of this will be quick and will have profound effects on European standards of living.