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I have never heard this claim specifically. But it is clear that the rapid east expansion of the EU still causes friction with the other goal of having a tighly

I have never heard this claim specifically. But it is clear that the rapid east expansion of the EU still causes friction with the other goal of having a tighly integrated political and economic union. Some steps to strengthen the union may hurt the newer member states more than it would help them in their current state. It is really hard to balance this. This is why the inner union ideas get floated from time to time. I don't necessarily think it is a good idea. I am a firm proponent of the EU. In a world where the other major powers are many times bigger than any individual European country, Europe cannot defends its interests when every member country is on its own. There are many issues with the current shape of the EU, but I see it as a necessary step on a path to something better.

lukan 2y ago
A coordinated federation could also work, instead of a centralized union.
- gmueckl 2y ago
  No, it wouldn't work. The coordination and decision-making processes would be even slower than the EU's current glacial speed. In order to persevere, the European countries must coordinate quickly and act with decisiveness for the next couple of years or risk becoming vasalls to a strong Russia and China.
  - lukan 2y ago
    Well, I think to counter invasive countries military ambitions, a military defense pact is needed. Not central regulation of the size of cucumbers. And as for everything else, open borders, freedom of movement, standardisation of infrastructure etc. all can work without being mandated as well, if there is a common interest in them. The EU was designed, when there was no internet. Coordination can happen transparent and quickly without kafkaesk buerocratic institutions. And when there is no common interest to do things - then the EU in its current shape is not working so well either.
    - gmueckl 2y ago
      This take is shortsighted on many levels. Coordination without a fixed framework to do it in creates kafkaeque negotiations where every involve party can fight tooth and nail for their pet rule or exception and everything slows down to a crawl. A government like structure sets clear enough rules and processes that force results. European defense structures rely on economic collaboration as well. There are lots and lots of multilateral weapon R&D programs that are only really possible because cross border collaboration between the involved companies is trivial because of the EU.
      - lukan 2y ago
        "kafkaeque negotiations where every involve party can fight tooth and nail for their pet rule or exception and everything slows down to a crawl." That is pretty much how I see the EU as it is. Maybe you are aware of the luxory of moving the whole parliament once a month between Bruessel and Strassbourg? And calling my comment shortsighted is just inviting me to return the compliment and further degrade all debate btw.
        gmueckl 2y ago
        The EU has its warts. I'm not going to deny that. The EU parliament moving between Brussels and Strasbourg is indeed silly. Have you looked at the ridiculously long list of exceptions Britain had negotiated for their EU membership? These are the kind of compromises it took to construct a set of rules to create a framework for exceptionally close international cooperation between sovereign countries. Now that that framework is in place, there is no more room for further exceptions. If every little trifle of a thing had to be negotiated separately between all the EU member countries without any governance structure, can you even remotely imagine how slow, kafkaeque the process would be and how much each nation would try to inject their own petty interests into everythin? We probably wouldn't have a nice uniform rule for importing cucumbers(yeah, I said it...), but one with a myriad exceptions that are truly maddening. And it would have taken at least a couple of extra years to pass. I can't see how your vision is even the tiniest bit practical. It just ignores reality.

lukan 2y ago

A coordinated federation could also work, instead of a centralized union.

gmueckl 2y ago
No, it wouldn't work. The coordination and decision-making processes would be even slower than the EU's current glacial speed. In order to persevere, the European countries must coordinate quickly and act with decisiveness for the next couple of years or risk becoming vasalls to a strong Russia and China.
- lukan 2y ago
  Well, I think to counter invasive countries military ambitions, a military defense pact is needed. Not central regulation of the size of cucumbers. And as for everything else, open borders, freedom of movement, standardisation of infrastructure etc. all can work without being mandated as well, if there is a common interest in them. The EU was designed, when there was no internet. Coordination can happen transparent and quickly without kafkaesk buerocratic institutions. And when there is no common interest to do things - then the EU in its current shape is not working so well either.
  - gmueckl 2y ago
    This take is shortsighted on many levels. Coordination without a fixed framework to do it in creates kafkaeque negotiations where every involve party can fight tooth and nail for their pet rule or exception and everything slows down to a crawl. A government like structure sets clear enough rules and processes that force results. European defense structures rely on economic collaboration as well. There are lots and lots of multilateral weapon R&D programs that are only really possible because cross border collaboration between the involved companies is trivial because of the EU.
    - lukan 2y ago
      "kafkaeque negotiations where every involve party can fight tooth and nail for their pet rule or exception and everything slows down to a crawl." That is pretty much how I see the EU as it is. Maybe you are aware of the luxory of moving the whole parliament once a month between Bruessel and Strassbourg? And calling my comment shortsighted is just inviting me to return the compliment and further degrade all debate btw.
      - gmueckl 2y ago
        The EU has its warts. I'm not going to deny that. The EU parliament moving between Brussels and Strasbourg is indeed silly. Have you looked at the ridiculously long list of exceptions Britain had negotiated for their EU membership? These are the kind of compromises it took to construct a set of rules to create a framework for exceptionally close international cooperation between sovereign countries. Now that that framework is in place, there is no more room for further exceptions. If every little trifle of a thing had to be negotiated separately between all the EU member countries without any governance structure, can you even remotely imagine how slow, kafkaeque the process would be and how much each nation would try to inject their own petty interests into everythin? We probably wouldn't have a nice uniform rule for importing cucumbers(yeah, I said it...), but one with a myriad exceptions that are truly maddening. And it would have taken at least a couple of extra years to pass. I can't see how your vision is even the tiniest bit practical. It just ignores reality.