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> The EU has an added issue that the COE requires unanimity amongst heads of state to pass EU wide legislation This is vaguely similar to the truth, at best.

> The EU has an added issue that the COE requires unanimity amongst heads of state to pass EU wide legislation This is vaguely similar to the truth, at best. The Council of Europe (CoE) has nothing to do with the EU, you're probably confusing it with the European Council (EUCO). But the EC is not normally involved in the legislative process. Instead, EU legislation is proposed by the European Comission (EC) and must be accepted by both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is the closest body to what you probably meant, but it's made up of heads of government of member states, not the heads of state. It also doesn't require unanimity to pass a law - it takes at least 4 countries to outright block legislation. There is a procedure in which a single country which is unhappy with a law passing can raise this to the EUCO for additional review, but it doesn't apply to ordinary legislation. So, no, Ireland can't unilaterally block any such legislation, it has to convince other countries to join in.

alephnerd 1y ago
> The Council of Europe (CoE) has nothing to do with the EU, you're probably confusing it with the European Council (EUCO) Yes! Thanks for the correction! I did mean the Council of Ministers > So, no, Ireland can't unilaterally block any such legislation, it has to convince other countries to join in Yep, but my point still stands. Poland, Romania, Czechia, and Bulgaria have overwhelmingly profited from FDI from American BigTech players - they were the largest winners in the GCC and outsourcing rush of the early-to-mid 2020s due to very pro-business subsidizes and tax incentives. Ireland has also continued to overwhelmingly profit from it's very American business friendly tax legislation. All these countries have enough pull together to push back on any attempts at coercing American tech companies in a manner that other EU members may want. Furthermore, they themselves have shown how the EU can better attract American companies to build a European presence - they need to become friendly to FDI and foreign players potentially dominating a market. The issue is Germany and France (logically) tend to oppose this as their own domestic competitors are getting undercut.

alephnerd 1y ago

> The Council of Europe (CoE) has nothing to do with the EU, you're probably confusing it with the European Council (EUCO) Yes! Thanks for the correction! I did mean the Council of Ministers > So, no, Ireland can't unilaterally block any such legislation, it has to convince other countries to join in Yep, but my point still stands. Poland, Romania, Czechia, and Bulgaria have overwhelmingly profited from FDI from American BigTech players - they were the largest winners in the GCC and outsourcing rush of the early-to-mid 2020s due to very pro-business subsidizes and tax incentives. Ireland has also continued to overwhelmingly profit from it's very American business friendly tax legislation. All these countries have enough pull together to push back on any attempts at coercing American tech companies in a manner that other EU members may want. Furthermore, they themselves have shown how the EU can better attract American companies to build a European presence - they need to become friendly to FDI and foreign players potentially dominating a market. The issue is Germany and France (logically) tend to oppose this as their own domestic competitors are getting undercut.