Canada’s PM Carney welcomed the invitation to become the first “associate member” of the European Union, but emphasised that the intent is not to become a full member nor to cede sovereignty.
Canada’s PM Carney welcomed the invitation to become the first “associate member” of the European Union, but emphasised that the intent is not to become a full member nor to cede sovereignty.
Unanimous consent is intended to discourage countries from Brexit-ing over being a chronic minority member.
If anything, it’s worked against foreign influence in the long run, as EU member states have an incentive to spread the love equitably. If leadership was partisan, like in the US, you could easily have a “fuck all those Blue states for voting against me / Red states deserve what they get” situation, which very nearly broke up the ECB in the wake of the '08 financial crisis.
Putin has less pull in Hungary today precisely because Germany and France had to invest resources to win it back in the last election cycle.
If you had a rump Eastern Europe that Western states could piss off with impunity, they’d be awash in Nigel Farrage types by now.
“I don’t think the system works.”
“How would you have it work?”
“We need a system where the politicians sit down, and discuss the problem. Agree what’s in the best interest of all the people, and then do it!”
“That’s exactly what we do. The, the trouble is that people don’t always agree.”
“Well then they should be made to.”
A Beginner’s Guide to Stalinism