Do small countries in Europe not need to be protected? I think the issue is that small states and countries would not join if they would be subject to whatever

Do small countries in Europe not need to be protected? I think the issue is that small states and countries would not join if they would be subject to whatever large states decided. So the option would be to have a country without Vermont and stuff or to have them in the current config. Because that’s the math that was done 250 years ago that resulted in NY and VA choosing to accept it, and also smaller states.