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Author Topic: The friendly and polite Europe related terrible jokes thread  (Read 1107087 times)

Loud Whispers

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8970 on: November 13, 2018, 05:58:57 pm »

Very much this.
Plot twist: Genghis Khan is reborn in Finngolia and uses the EU army to conquer the world, shore to shore, ushering in the new age of humanity. London is turned into a post-modern tower of skulls for rebelling

If the EU actually morphed into a federal governing body, do you think there would be more incentive to make the EU parliament more democratic?
Short answer: No
Long answer: No, because there exists no incentive for EU ministers to do anything but centralise the European Union. Making the EU even less accountable merely further removes them from the people they rule. If we look at the EU's past, even when member states were being forced by their electorates into halting EU integration without consultation, the EU responded by proposing further centralisation. Even when the UK was likely to leave the EU, the EU responded by promising further centralisation. Even when softer eurosceptics in other countries called for slower integration, not even a halt, the EU responded with promises of further centralisation. After the UK voted to leave, the EU responded to this crisis caused by resentment to EU centralisation by promising accelerated centralisation. Allowing the EU parliament to actually do anything would run the risk of allowing european voters to disagree with the EU, repealing and reversing EU laws & centralisation. It is a political entity you join and are never supposed to leave, the EU only centralises, it never relaxes its grip.

Centralising more power at the top, giving less accountability to anyone - the last thing on their minds is going to be devolving power when the objective is inherently about centralising European power under one polity. It would be like the United States of America's federal government forming in order to make every constituent state sovereign, the concept is inherently self-defeating. With as much money and power as is concerned with the European continent, it'd look like the American federal government's worse qualities on steroids translated through google 27 times

I ask because through my american viewpoint, the EU would feplace the national governing bodies as the highest law of the geographic area. Now, as the representatives for those bodies are elected, in a general speaking, would this tradition then transition to the new governing body?

Yes, I know they wouldn't want to hand over appointing power to the voters.
This one requires a bit of nuance to explain, since all of the European nations have their own democratic and constitutional ways of electing their leader, as a consequence it is unlikely that any one system would be imported into EU-level governance. The most likely outcome to result in a relation between voters and the Presidency of the EU would be the European Parliament electing President of the Commission from amongst their ranks, with the European Council becoming vestigial/ceremonial in its selection of whoever has the Parliament's confidence. The other thing it would need is the ability to propose, amend & repeal legislation, and you'd have something which would begin to resemble a Europe-wide parliament.

TD1

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8971 on: November 13, 2018, 06:12:04 pm »

As part of my desire to achieve the state of irony, I put 'the American federal government's worse qualities on steroids' through google translate between German, Latin and English (a promising mix of the imperial, the conquering, and the... integrating.) It actually didn't stray too far from its original.

The foederati regimen is a steroid.
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Loud Whispers

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8972 on: November 13, 2018, 07:28:51 pm »

As part of my desire to achieve the state of irony, I put 'the American federal government's worse qualities on steroids' through google translate between German, Latin and English (a promising mix of the imperial, the conquering, and the... integrating.) It actually didn't stray too far from its original.

The foederati regimen is a steroid.
Makes a good valentines card tbh
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RedKing

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8973 on: November 14, 2018, 02:18:17 pm »

EuroCorps is basically just NATO minus the US. And I suppose minus Britain too, if they insist on being Fortress Albion.

Given the very plausible potential for NATO to lose two of its biggest members, I can understand the drive towards an integrated European military.
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TD1

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8974 on: November 14, 2018, 02:26:19 pm »

Bah, the current NATO situation may make the EU Arm-me drive more palatable, but it would be foolish to suggest that NATO's situation is the cause of such further integration policies.

Merkel would be pushing this no matter if NATO could stomp the world into submission. More integration, more power held in Brussels, more happy Eurocrats.
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scriver

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8975 on: November 14, 2018, 03:24:17 pm »

EuroCorps is basically just NATO minus the US.

No. A European military would be the equivalent of the US military forces as opposed to the military forces of the individual states.
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RedKing

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8976 on: November 14, 2018, 03:30:19 pm »

EuroCorps is basically just NATO minus the US.

No. A European military would be the equivalent of the US military forces as opposed to the military forces of the individual states.
I guess that would come down to chain of command. If the component militaries no longer have direct chain of command to their respective nations, then yeah. I'm guessing it would be something more like NATO where there's a dual authority, shared between national military command structures and a supranational command. Neither Merkel nor Macron is going to hand over the reins of the Landswehr or the FAF solely to Brussels.
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smjjames

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8977 on: November 14, 2018, 04:24:13 pm »

Centralising more power at the top, giving less accountability to anyone - the last thing on their minds is going to be devolving power when the objective is inherently about centralising European power under one polity. It would be like the United States of America's federal government forming in order to make every constituent state sovereign, the concept is inherently self-defeating. With as much money and power as is concerned with the European continent, it'd look like the American federal government's worse qualities on steroids translated through google 27 times

I assume you're talking about the Articles of Confederation, correct? It didn't work out too well for us. The main difference however is that the EU is made up of states which would be able to survive just fine both economically and politically outside the EU as both are fully mature, the newly independent colonies were still trying to get themeslves straightened out. Sure, they'd have been fine economically since England had long held the leash loosely, but they'd have been really vulnerable politically because they'd be individually taken advantage of by the Great Powers of the day.
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Doomblade187

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8978 on: November 14, 2018, 04:50:36 pm »

In addition, the EU already has solved two pf the biggest issues of the articles of confederation: they have a steady income stream from members (not quite taxation, but meh), and they have a universal trade and border rules, along with a standard currency.
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Loud Whispers

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8979 on: November 14, 2018, 06:38:05 pm »

Italy has rejected European Commission's austerity proposal, is now considering fining Italy for spending too much money (lol wat how you gonna increase someone's debt as punishment for increasing debt)

Quote
The Commission, worried by the impact of high spending on Italy's high levels of debt, had told Rome to revise the budget or face possible fines.
It had set Tuesday as a deadline to Italy's governing populist parties to respond to its objections.
The Commission's warning to Italy, the eurozone's third-biggest economy, is an unprecedented move with regard to an European Union member state.

Italy's government, made up of the populist Five Star Movement and right-wing populist League, came to power vowing to "end poverty" with a minimum income for the unemployed, along with promises of tax cuts and scrapping extensions to the retirement age.
Every time I see shit like this I get ptsd flashbacks to students screaming about how sovereignty is an abstract concept the UK can do without
2015 was a fucking amazing year

Also seriously the EU thinking is nonsensical here, Italy's economy will be more fucked in the long term if austerity measures allow further decay of its infrastructure, as with the bridge collapse. I honestly can't imagine how hellish it must have been to have your PM get replaced by technocrats appointed by the Commission

*EDIT
 
I assume you're talking about the Articles of Confederation, correct? It didn't work out too well for us.
No

MetalSlimeHunt

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8980 on: November 14, 2018, 06:42:13 pm »

pUt ThE pOoR bAcK tO wOrK
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TD1

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8981 on: November 14, 2018, 06:52:12 pm »

I just clicked on a few BBC articles concerning the Italian government.

The number of times the word "populist" was mentioned is making me dizzy.

Oh, also, it's possible that they don't care if Italy goes to the dogs. The current government isn't exactly 100% Europhile. A bit of misery during the....ah... "populist government" might help the EU in the long run.
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Loud Whispers

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8982 on: November 14, 2018, 06:57:08 pm »

How popular amongst people would populists prosper populated amongst populations if a populist polity pacified poorly a pauper's populace

TD1

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8983 on: November 14, 2018, 07:20:46 pm »

Ukip is calling Theresa May, after latest Brexit shenanigans, 'Treason May.'
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MetalSlimeHunt

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Re: The friendly and polite EU-related terrible jokes thread
« Reply #8984 on: November 14, 2018, 07:33:11 pm »

Ukip still exists?
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