Now the dutch said “no” too. Actually, they said “nee” but you get the picture. It`s funny isn`t it? First they were all like “oh, look at the pretty colors and the stars and the EU4Life…” and now they are all like “this sucks, let`s get the fuck out of here!”
This sounds to me like a spoiled brats party. Seriously. Bunch of snotty kids, wearing dads neckties, acting posh with drinking alcohol and saying stuff like “You know, in Gstaad, they have a totally different blah blah blah” (yeah, I ripped this out of “Scent of a woman“). And then, as soon as poor kids show up with an invitation, the posh ones are like “Hey…this is not what we signed for! Where`s the elitism in this?”
The funny thing number two is the media spin. How they reacted. Three (UK inklusiv) of the important countries said “no” to the constitution of the EU. Did anybody say “domino effect”? And the media is all “Ah, no biggy, everything is going according to the plans and blah blah blah“. Even our politicias are balls-less. Instead of calling the dutch and the french traitors and curse them in the name of the holy union, they are going “Ah, the honey moons are over“. What the fuck does that mean???
What would I do? Throw them out. If the west-european countries are so insecure about the south-european countries joining, they should get the fuck out of dodge. Or stop being such cry-babies.
I think they’re damn right about it!
#1, the constitution is way to thick for anyone with average free time to read it.
#2, the expansion is going way too fast! I mean, Romaina and Bulgaria joining in 2 years? Come on! If it were the way it used to be with EU (or EEC for that matter), the first one to joing the EU-15 would be Slovenia, a few years later maybe Czechia, Slovakia, Croatia, and so forth. But no, the agenda is different now. Expand the empire.
Actually, the Brits haven’t said no yet… as for elitism, may the one with no sin cast the first stone – just take a look at Dr. Kruegell’s comment above.
I thought the brits said that if the dutch say “nee”, they are not going to bother in the first place. as for kruegell…what does constitution have to do with expansion? and constitution being thick? what are we…americans?
I didn’t say the constitution has anything to do with expansion — the others say it.
Alas, the Constitution should be simple and concise. But then again, the EU is already _the_ bureaucracy of the century. As someone once said, “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.”
the simpler the constitution, the more laws are needed afterwards. some things just are not simple. you cannot oversimplify everything.
Kruegell, perhaps you should familiarise yourself with the document before repeating what other people say: further enlargement will not be A SINGLE NOTCH easier under the terms of the Constitution. That said a) enlargement might have its setback but it’s definitely in the long-term interest of the Union and b) for what possible reason should Slovenia have first-entry rights, with the Czech Rep., Slovakia and Croatia (Croatia, he-llo!) next? I guess small and highly developed Estonia (for example) just doesn’t figure into your simple little equation, does it. Nah, let’s just stick to Slovenia and the few other countries we like to spend our summer / Xmas holidays in.
So I guess you are a fan of the Constitution, then? 🙂
What possible reason? I’ll tell you the reason. Very simple: GDP per capita! Out of all ex-communist countries, Slovenia was/is the most developed one. Followed of course by Czechia, Slovakia, maybe (just maybe!) Croatia (I haven’t been there since 1990, though). I forgot about the Baltic states, true.
It is obvious now that the expansion to include Bulgaria and Romania is merely of strategic interest, for the EU will then be joined with Greece by land, and the rest of the Balkan states will be an enclave surrounded by EU, also eventually becoming members. All that remains afterwards is expanding eastwards to ex Soviet states, eventually Russia, and Turkey. Chances are that North African states (as you put it: the few other countries we like to spend our summer / Xmas holidays in) might some day be in as well (after all, they were once a part of the Roman Empire).
“Out of all ex-communist countries, Slovenia was/is the most developed one”.
SO? GDP per capita is neither the only nor the most important criterion for entry into the Union. Respect for human rights being just one other example (yes, Croatia).
Supposing I agreed with your theory, what’s wrong with the Union having strategic interests? Every step of enlargement and every step in the proces of unification was a product of strategic interest, hello! And if Slovenian’s don’t want the Union to expand furhter they have every right to leave the club anytime they want.