The European Project: the future of the EU.

You really are paranoid when it comes to Schäuble, it's rather pathetic really...

No, Schäuble wasn't the EU, he wasn't even Germany, he was one highly influential politician who held a specific view and did his job (which is to serve and protect HIS country). The EU made its decisions based on a whole lot of different nations being fully on board with the premise. Pretending that Schäuble simply could have pushed any decisions onto others is simply ignorant beyond belief. Guess what, more than one person can hold a position that doesn't agree with yours!
There was a whole bunch of (mostly northern) European nations that were sharing the same course. And not only that, some held far harsher positions than Germany ever held on that matter.

I also have zero idea where you got the idea from that he "owned trust funds". There isn't anything to support that theory. He was head of the supervisory council of the "Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau", but that is a given, considering that this position gets filled by the Secretary for Finance. That is the only connection to anything of that sort.

You sound awesome, so it really pains me that this is the last time I am hearing from you :lol:

Excellent insight though, it wasn't Germany, just vassals and microstates satelliting Germany, that forced austerity. Keep reading Bild.
 
Maybe some specific as well as not disputed examples of the how are in the very next sentence, which you curiously didn't feel like quoting?

I'll give you one specific: Merkel was the boss of Schäuble and could have reverted his actions if she had wanted to. She didn't want to and let Schäuble be the spokesman for her policy.
 
I'll give you one specific: Merkel was the boss of Schäuble and could have reverted his actions if she had wanted to. She didn't want to and let Schäuble be the spokesman for her policy.

Not sure what that is disputing. Care to comment on whether they had control of the main eu officials re economy or not? (eurogroup head and ecb head). Not that this is leading anywhere, you know the answer; just saying that it made no sense from you to claim that Schauble just wasn't an eu official so he didn't run the eu (obviously with the blessing of Merkel, duh).
 
Not sure what that is disputing. Care to comment on whether they had control of the main eu officials re economy or not? (eurogroup head and ecb head). Not that this is leading anywhere, you know the answer; just saying that it made no sense from you to claim that Schauble just wasn't an eu official so he didn't run the eu (obviously with the blessing of Merkel, duh).

I am disputing:
1) That it was Schäuble alone who had control of anything. First, he didn't have control of the German government and second, even Germany needs allies in the EU to decide anything. And in this case the others on Germany's side were there for their own political reasons - often very domestic reasons.

2) Eurogroup yes (the president is just the spokesman for the governments in the Euro zone), ECB no. The ineffective raging of German politicians against Draghi's policies shows that the ECB is not under German control at all.

3) My original point was that the most of the actual power is with the elected national governments. I am not sure what you trying to argue by using the example of a member of a national government who had considerable influence.
 
One of the trailers for the Kostas Gavras new movie (premiere is at the Venice film festival), based on the 2015 Eu charade and the subsequent closing of Atms in Greece:


The actor playing Varoufakis does really sound like him. Also the Geroen actor looks like that clown :p
 
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There are differences in societal, political and rule of law culture between the 28 EU countries.
Everybody has to deal with that.
North-South, West-East, small-big, developed or in catch-up phase, former empire or not, etc, etc.

With the East European countries added... and have them also sitting in formal functions... these differences will be expressed also in the profile and track record of the individual people proposed by East European countries.
They will need the genuine feeling that they are represented in those functions.

What I think should not be forgotten is the totally other political-economical history of these countries during the rebuild period after WW2, the build-up of the western european wellfare states,... and the totally other societal-cultural history compared to the liberalising cultural revolutions of the 60ies, 70ies, 80ies in the western EU countries.
 
Is it funnier than the Hungarian Commissioner being responsible for checking whether the candidates are democratic enough to become a EU member?

That isn't even funny :/

Someone tell me that the Commissioner for Protecting Our European Way of Life was a joke?

I don't know anything about Schoinas.
From an article in the Guardian:
"Margaritis Schinas, the vice-president given the role, isnot using the title in his Twitter biography, instead describing himself as commissioner designate for migration, security, social rights, education, youth and culture.

Schinas, who was the European commission’s chief spokesman until appointed Greece’s European commissioner, will be in charge of other European commissioners working on these policy areas, including the commissioner for home affairs."
 
There are differences in societal, political and rule of law culture between the 28 EU countries.
Everybody has to deal with that.
North-South, West-East, small-big, developed or in catch-up phase, former empire or not, etc, etc.

With the East European countries added... and have them also sitting in formal functions... these differences will be expressed also in the profile and track record of the individual people proposed by East European countries.
They will need the genuine feeling that they are represented in those functions.

What I think should not be forgotten is the totally other political-economical history of these countries during the rebuild period after WW2, the build-up of the western european wellfare states,... and the totally other societal-cultural history compared to the liberalising cultural revolutions of the 60ies, 70ies, 80ies in the western EU countries.

Yes, sure. You're very right. But you could have put literally anyone else from Eastern Europe in that particular seat and it would've been okay. From Latvia down to Bulgaria. It's just... well... strange.
 
Yes, sure. You're very right. But you could have put literally anyone else from Eastern Europe in that particular seat and it would've been okay. From Latvia down to Bulgaria. It's just... well... strange.

The principle is that every country has a Commissioner and gets some area of "responsibility".
(For readers here not familiar with the EU, a Commissioner is the watered down version of a Minister in a country government. Watered down because the EU is not a federation)

And there will be a learning curve there.

You refer to Laszko Trocsanyi
He is responsible for Neigborhood and Enlargement.
Focus will be West-Balkan and Turkey.
He is not member of the (Orban) Fidesz party, but certainly loyal to Orban, was a former Justice Minister of Orban (!!!) and heavily criticised by the main opposition party of Hungary.

Given that there must be a Hungarian Commissioner... would it uberhaupt be possible to find one acceptable for Orban that would not be controversial in any function for the EU ?

I digged up BTW the formal mission letter of von der Leyen to him to see what he got in more precise terms than what I saw from newsmedia:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/mission-letter-laszlo-trocsanyi_en.pdf

But I feel not happy with the chosen combi as well.
This guy is for sure going to send the wrong message (regarding democracy, press freedom, etc, etc) to new EU candidates like North-Macedonia and Albania, to "special" trading partners Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, to Turkey.
To me all grey and muddy areas regarding Rule of Law, corruption, press freedom, etc, etc.
And imo the EU made a grave mistake back in the 90ies by not formulating much sharper the minimum level of compliance to basic rights and standards to the East-European candidate countries.
In my industrial thinking, just as with a Quality Assurance System, we should have specced out better and have a regular audit system in place. Not until membership, but on a continuous base (for all members) to secure basic certainties for EU citizens and institutions. (NOT some fluffy EU constitution with all kinds of politics around it, but just down to earth specs. And... no certainty without control... without audits).

But considering that for this new 5-year term nothing much is going to happen regarding enlargement... well... it is an empty function in this case.
 
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But considering that for this new 5-year term nothing much is going to happen regarding enlargement... well... it is an empty function in this case.

So if the UK Parliament does force and grovel through a further extension,
what empty function do you think they will invent for the UK Commiissioner?
 
So if the UK Parliament does force and grovel through a further extension,
what empty function do you think they will invent for the UK Commiissioner?

A Commissioner to formulate a better Art 50 procedure ;)
 
The principle is that every country has a Commissioner and gets some area of "responsibility".
(For readers here not familiar with the EU, a Commissioner is the watered down version of a Minister in a country government. Watered down because the EU is not a federation)

And there will be a learning curve there.

You refer to Laszko Trocsanyi
He is responsible for Neigborhood and Enlargement.
Focus will be West-Balkan and Turkey.
He is not member of the (Orban) Fidesz party, but certainly loyal to Orban, was a former Justice Minister of Orban (!!!) and heavily criticised by the main opposition party of Hungary.

Given that there must be a Hungarian Commissioner... would it uberhaupt be possible to find one acceptable for Orban that would not be controversial in any function for the EU ?

I digged up BTW the formal mission letter of von der Leyen to him to see what he got in more precise terms than what I saw from newsmedia:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/mission-letter-laszlo-trocsanyi_en.pdf

But I feel not happy with the chosen combi as well.
This guy is for sure going to send the wrong message (regarding democracy, press freedom, etc, etc) to new EU candidates like North-Macedonia and Albania, to "special" trading partners Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, to Turkey.
To me all grey and muddy areas regarding Rule of Law, corruption, press freedom, etc, etc.
And imo the EU made a grave mistake back in the 90ies by not formulating much sharper the minimum level of compliance to basic rights and standards to the East-European candidate countries.
In my industrial thinking, just as with a Quality Assurance System, we should have specced out better and have a regular audit system in place. Not until membership, but on a continuous base (for all members) to secure basic certainties for EU citizens and institutions. (NOT some fluffy EU constitution with all kinds of politics around it, but just down to earth specs. And... no certainty without control... without audits).

But considering that for this new 5-year term nothing much is going to happen regarding enlargement... well... it is an empty function in this case.

I like that you never stop arguing in favour of the Eu, literally regardless of what is going on. The entire new set of Eu heads is ridiculous, but worst of all is their leader, just a failed and corrupt middle-ranking german politician & not even elected by the Eu parliament this time. Couldn't spell more clearly what the Eu has become even if they tried to :(
 
You sound awesome, so it really pains me that this is the last time I am hearing from you :lol:

Excellent insight though, it wasn't Germany, just vassals and microstates satelliting Germany, that forced austerity. Keep reading Bild.

Ah yes, everyone who doesn't share your opinion is automatically a vassal and satellite of Germany, that makes a whole lot of sense. It couldn't possibly be true that nations shared the same ideals as Germany or even went much further in their approach, no, such a position doesn't comply with your opinion, therefore it is impossible that it could be true. Anyone who shares the same opinion as Germany must by definition be a vassal of it. Boy, you really are delusional when it comes to Germany and the EU.

I don't read Bild, but thanks for proving further what an ignorant person you are. Keep believing in conspiracy theories while ignoring reality, maybe one day one of them might actually turn out to be true...
 
I like that you never stop arguing in favour of the Eu, literally regardless of what is going on. The entire new set of Eu heads is ridiculous, but worst of all is their leader, just a failed and corrupt middle-ranking german politician & not even elected by the Eu parliament this time. Couldn't spell more clearly what the Eu has become even if they tried to :(

I can say a lot of negative things as well on the EU (as it is now) :)

My terrible bias ofc that I would prefer an EU of 28 members with at least 25% of them similar to my own country culture and more in the direction of my own personal political taste.

It's always paddling in the direction you want with the oars you've got.

And as Mao once said (freestyle): if you swim as little fish in the big river, and the river is going in another direction than you want, and you persist, you end up dry and high dying snapping for air.
 
Yes, @Hrothbern was more realistic than praising above. It's quite a nuanced take on the situation while I only made a joke...

But I do think there could have been other posts more suitable for the Hungarian commissioner. Fishery and High seas for example.

And have a UK-phile country poking into delicate deals on fishing quotas :p

(the track record of Hungary in UN votes is interesting, when it concerns controversial positions of the UK)
 
Yeah, my joke only works if you don't think to hard on it as fishing quotas are actually one of the hottest topics of the EU. And I actually have nothing against Budapest. But I confess I'd be rateful for a bit more context on that UN votes of Hungary thing. Do they tend to vote with the UK?
 
Is it funnier than the Hungarian Commissioner being responsible for checking whether the candidates are democratic enough to become a EU member?

It's less surprising... I think they are actually mocking us all.
 
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