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There was a commentary in the German media in context of Brexit that I think really think sums the EU and her role in the world up nicely: "Brexit shows what w
by okket 8y ago
There was a commentary in the German media in context of Brexit that I think really think sums the EU and her role in the world up nicely:
"Brexit shows what we have in the EU. She clears up issues among neighbors, grating them into rules and sometimes unsatisfactory compromises. But she grates them small, in a civilized and peaceful way. That's her big achievement." (rough translation by me, sorry)
https://twitter.com/tagesschau/status/1105932622000209921 https://twitter.com/tagesschau/status/1105932622000209921 (in German)
- arethuza 8y agoWorth remembering that a lot of people in the UK, possibly a majority by this point, are perfectly clear as to what we stand to lose if the UK leaves the EU. :-(
- chewz 8y agoPack your bags and come over here. ;-)
- chronogram 8y agoOh agreed! And don’t forget the tea. Just skip the second referendum and let all the remain voters hang out over here, so we can have tea with baguette forever.
- est31 8y agoIn Germany we say that the EU has replaced the battleground with the negotiation table. That's what it's got the Nobel peace prize for and I think it deserved it.
- mattmanser 8y agoI don't think there was any prospect of war between the EU countries while the USSR was around, it seems folly to pin peace to an institution when it was a greater enemy that actually united us.
- flohofwoe 8y agoIMHO the EU is a direct result of the two World Wars, not the Cold War (we're only starting to see the results of the Cold War now).
- Nasrudith 8y agoYeah the League of Nations was the result of the first one and it failed. Given the sheer slaughter they needed a way to forge peace as it clearly was massively self destructive. I am not sure how true it was but I heard a theory that Europe lost much of its intellectual prominence due to so many young men dying in the trenches in WW1 - now Europe does good intellectual work now but it is more "neat thing out of Europe" as opposed to "the hotspot". I am not well equipped to evaluate the merits but the idea is interesting at very least.
- mamon 8y agoYes, after two failed attempts to conquer Europe by military force, Germans finally realized they can achieve the same effect much easier with their economical power and then created EU :)
- Scarblac 8y agoWW2 happened while the USSR was around.
- mattmanser 8y agoBefore they had a huge, modernized army that would easily win a land battle for Europe.
- freeflight 8y agoThat's a bit misleading because the EU we know today wasn't actually around back when the USSR was still a thing. It only became fully realized with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, which was shortly after the fall of the USSR in 1991.
- 8y ago