@@foreignreacts WW3 will ot start becouse of some country in europe, no way, we made that mistake, twice, no if it comes its becouse of some fucked up superpower, like the US, think about it, you elected Trump....
"Our ancestors have been fighting for millenia! We do not just "vibe"! Hey, pass the salad, dude.You coming over with your sister later tonight for some beers?"
The EU has 27 members. If every member had a trade agreement with everyone, that would be 351 contracts. Instead, you have a single internal market with common rules, a parliament and a supreme court. This has unbelievably great advantages, for example a new drug only needs to be approved once and is then on the market in 27 countries. Workers can take jobs anywhere because their diplomas are recognized. In principle, it is about the four great freedoms: for capital (investments), goods, people and services.
@@jonathanhodgson2659 The thing about the vaccines was simply that the US, Israel and the UK paid more for the vaccines and were therefore supplied earlier. Today we see that those 6 weeks weren't crucial. The vaccination rate is higher in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France than in the UK and the USA.
@@heinedietiker4943 If this is a truth then it appears some countries are prepared to pay out to protect their citizens more that the EU is. Interesting.
@@jonathanhodgson2659 As the name suggests, a pandemic is a global event. The EU has refused to buy away the vaccines to other, poorer states. Instead, the EU President organized a fundraising event that raised 6 billion Euro to finance vaccines for poor countries. As we can see in India, Africa and Brazil, that was not enough to stop the development of dangerous variants. But at least the EU tried to show solidarity with the world. As the only one. Other nations are on an ego trip. As a result, the British are about as popular in the EU as the Russians.
@@heinedietiker4943 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in July that “Team Europe” - encompassing the EU institutions and the 27 member states - was “on track” to sharing 200 million doses with low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2021. That is 200 million divided by TWENTY SEVEN countries. The UK has pledged to donate 100 million vaccines overseas by June 2022, 80 million of which will go to COVAX …, that is 100 million divided by ONE country. I cannot believe for one moment that a country might just put its own citizens’ priorities above those of other countries....how mad would that be? I think the UK cares about being popular in the EU as much as the Germans and French care about being popular in the UK.
@@davidlonhol8016 Well you've got a long wait on your hand because people and thinking isn't a good combination when it comes to these kinds of things and most outside of Europe will see the EU as Europe, that's pretty much the reality of it and more so as the EU continues to expand further east.
EU is basically "we don't like each other much, most of the time we don't even speak the same language, but we will force ourselves to be friends, because we saw what happens when we are enemies."
Ah, that is not true. We like each other just fine. Most of us just have this terrible tendency to be afraid to get left behind because our neighbor owns one Euro more.
@@pascalheinrich3990 that's not a language you need to unite your different populations. English it's just a business language or something you can use when you talk to people from abraod.
I'm German, went to university in Italy and after that moved to Greece, where I since have been living. EU makes my life so much easier. Even though I'm not a Greek citizen, I have the right to vote in local elections on a regional level in Greece. So I could run for mayor of the town, I live in and even governor of the Southern Aegean Islands, because that's where I live. But I'm not allowed to vote or candidate at national elections of the government in Greece, as a German citizen I only can vote for the government of Germany. To vote for the German government though, I don't need to travel to Germany, it can be done by letter. It was very easy to have my university degree recognised and to get a permission to work in Greece. My children hold two passports, a German and a Greek one, because within EU people are allowed to have more than one citizenship. Me and my husband got married in Germany and after that our marriage got recognised in Greece by just taking a translation, issued by the Greek consulate in Germany, to our local authorities in Greece and they signed into their registers that now we're married. I enjoy all the rights Greek citizens enjoy, except the right to vote or candidate for the Greek government. In any other affair I'm treated like a Greek.
@@SchmulKrieger because of the horrors of the holocaust, right? If my children will give up their German passports, Germany will still exist and they still will be the great grandchildren of a Nazi. We can't give up our history, we can only learn from it. So I rather have children that stand up against racism and fascism wherever and whenever they come across it, because as Germans they are constantly remembered about where it leads to, than hiding their ancestry to avoid the racism us Germans face regularly for the actions of our ancestors.
@@helgaioannidis9365 First, I don't know what this has to do with the Holocaust, but well, I see how you are biased. I am not against Germany, lol, but I don't see any reason to keep a passport just out of lax and then voting for people in that country they don't live in themselves. Sorry to disappoint you, I am communist. The dub pass is just a huge mistake. Edit: Second, Nationalsocialism is not fascist.
The idea of a united Europe comes from the fact the we burned our continent twice in the last century and some smart people thought, huh, you know, might be better to not start from scratch every 20 years... fascinating history though, with simple beginnings (European coal and steel community). The idea in the beginning was that if Germany and France combined their steel industries war would be less likely. So when people complain about some rules from Brussels, it's probably justified, but most people have forgotten the stunning success the eu actually is, with no war between members for 75 years now. There has never ever been such a long peace time in Europe!
Actually we kept burning the continent to the ground since long before then, to the point that a "Treaty Establishing Peace Throughout Christendom" was proposed as early as around 1500, with a common diet (parliament). In the 1600s Rousseau wrote "A Lasting Peace Through the Federation of Europe", in the 1800s Victor Hugo and others advocated a United States of Europe, and in the 1920s Kalergi had predicted WWII and, you guessed it, advocated a European federation. If we include the more imperial ideas of European unity like that of Napoleon or rulers before him, not based on a common understanding so much as the rule of a single Emperor, then the idea goes back about as far as the fall of Rome itself.
Yeah - the EU is probably one of the most complex structures on an international level there is. I have a german law degree and even among lawyers, touching the EU law (however necessary it is) generally generates a lot of sweat.
@@fionafiona1146 well, it is not that bad. Most of the laws that people will deal with on a day by day basis are federal. Only governmental law is mostly state law. But the effects of these laws are very similar in different states. When you have to deal with these differences, you are already in a territory where a lawyer would be necessary
It's fun to watch this video. As a European, yes, it is difficult to understand the laws, but life is very easy here. We can travel wherever we want. The other fun is with languages. There are maybe 27 different languages here, but we all get along somehow. English, German, French. As a Czech, I can understand Slovaks and Poles without any problems, and I speak English with others.
@@MrMatavelhas Haha ! Not in Italy ! Health is free only if you're in a certain range of annual income. Otherwise you pay every single cent of drugs and services (in addition to the proportional health's taxes we already have to pay) It's what I call pseudo-public healthcare system. It's a joke.
@@bram8847 I can't speak for other countries, but in the Netherlands we all pay more or less the same, which isn't a whole lot when you compare it to insurance fees in the US. In the NL, if your salary is below a certain amount, you can get subsidised by the government in order to pay your mandatory health insurance. As a student I paid as little as €27 a month, and now that I have a proper full time job, I pay just over €100. There are many many nuances to this and monthly fees can definitely get more expensive and our system is by no means perfect, but all in all I think we've got a pretty even playground.
Here's the reason it looks complicated to an American. You are looking at the top end of the European reality. Yes there are a LOT of protocols in place as it is composed of plenty of different countries, each with its own culture, laws, foreign relations and some with a colonial past. In order to accommodate all of that, several exceptions had to be put in place to safeguard the previously mentioned aspects wherever possible. Unlike the USA, where it has been plenty of states united under one flag (and you guys still bump heads over some issues), the EU is not a single country. Although it does try to act as one while respecting its member states interests. Obviously, that takes a lot of diplomacy and commitment. Ask half of the Brits, and they will say it's evil incarnate, ask the other half, and they will say that half the citizens should be in a stray jacket. Now, when you come down to the citizen level, things were made to be as simple as possible. This allows a citizen from a member state to travel and trade easily with the other members as if it was within its own national borders. For a continent that has been in war for as long as history books can tell, this is an amazing feat. A feat that has allowed for the largest period in history of peace and prosperity I can think of, ever since WWII. We are fed up with wars over here, have been learning to live with each other as friendly neighbors, and although it's not always easy, we can't stop doing our best. Coming down to the citizen level, all you need to worry about is having your ID, you can ask for a European Health Card which allows you to travel to any of the member countries and get health care as if you were at home. That counts for leisure or work. You can get involved in both domestic and community politics as much as you'd like, but most people don't. It's a real nightmare of laws, rules, and regulations. As for the rest, same as everywhere else. Except, you are not allowed to carry weapons on you unless you have a license or are a law enforcement officer. You don't even need a passport to travel within the Union. All it takes is your national ID card and off you go. The most tricky thing about travelling over here are the language barriers, and that's mostly for the elders, just about anyone under the age of 50 speaks some form of broken English. As an American, you won't feel isolated wherever you go. Well, some places have more English speakers than others, but overall it won't be on account of the language that you will have a bad experience. Now don't get me wrong, the old rivalries are still in place. But by being more advantageous to keep them as rivalries instead of sliding off to brawls as in the past, we are much better off now. Trading and travelling in the EU is more affordable now, any old Joe that knows how to administrate his money can pretty much travel at least once a year to another EU country and experience some of our neighbor's culture. If it wasn't for some pig headed separatists who still think they can be better off on their own, things would be a bit smoother. Either way, people are entitled to their own opinion, that's part of what democracy grants each of us. Funny enough, while being a flawed political system, it's the only one that allows citizens to disagree with it. If you manage to travel over to Europe, please make the best of it by learning a bit about the history of the places you will be visiting. It will make your experience so much richer. Sometimes a bunch of rocks isn't just that, there might be an interesting story behind it. Without a story to tell, the Pyramids of Egypt would be no more than a pile of rocks neatly cut and piled in an orderly fashion. It's the story behind it that makes it become alive, we are an extension of it looking at the past, gazing at what our forefathers made, learning both from their feats and their mistakes.
If your expectation is "a bunch of countries vibing together", then anything will appear complicated. But yes I agree, the EU is complicated, and most Europeans have no real interest in finding out about these complications.
Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands have never been a colony, we have always been part of our respective countries. We are as European as those who live on the continent.
@@hamzapetridis206 First of all, smart man, Guanches are just the aborigines of Tenerife. So if you're referring to the ancient inhabitants of the islands, talk about Aborigines, not Guanches. Second, I have said that we have never been a colony and never have been, so we are Spanish and, therefore, European. Third, on three islands part of the maternal genetic inheritance of contemporary Canarians continues to be mostly indigenous (La Gomera, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, in that order), while on the remaining four there is more presence of European mitDNA (Gran Canaria, El Hierro, Tenerife and La Palma, also in that order). We are a mixture of genes, as is the rest of the country and Europe and, as far as I know, nationality is not determined by genetics. If you are a racist who thinks that all this genetic and ethnic stuff is very important, it is your problem, what you think is not going to make us stop being Spanish and, therefore, Europeans.
Anything between countries gets complicated real quick, and when you have a couple dozen countries those complexities multiply fast. Not even international sport events are simple. I saw you were a bit perplexed about the place in Greece where women are banned. It's a religious enclave with a lot of monasteries, mount Athos, the place oozes history. It's really tied with orthodox christianity and you have to be one to visit. The permits to visit are very limited too. Greetings from Slovenia.
It's complicated because the different parts of Europe have been fighting each other since the dying days of the Roman Empire about 1,800 years ago. It might seem complicated but the EU actually makes things a lot simpler than they were before. E.g. not invading and killing each other all the time.
The EU, and the EEC before it, are actually instruments of war. Both the Cold War and the immediate period after. Demonstrated by its continued expansion east.
@@may_68 Continued expansion east because countries that freed themselves from Soviet occupation wanted to join the EU and Nato. The fact that independent countries want to join the club means that the club is worth joining. There is no war like intent on the part of the EU. Unlike Russia which very definitely has a war like intent.
@@JohnSmall314 There is literally a war in the Ukraine as a direct result of the EUs meddling and support for the overthrow of a democratically elected government. The Balkans wars of the 90s were largely exacerbated by Germany's encouragement of Croatia and Slovenia which was very much a portent of what was to come. The EU supported and offered EUFOR troops to topple Gaddafi. The EU has been in lockstep with the US in Venezuela and Bolivia. I think you're are being naive or disingenuous if you think the move east was not a strategic endeavour.
@@may_68 Question, why are you justifying Putin's war mongering? I'll guess that you're signed up to all manner of conspiracy theories and you voted for Brexit. I find it very strange that Brexit supporters also defend Putin. So far Putin has been the only beneficiary of Brexit because it helps to undermine the resolution of Western nations to face up to Putin. Question you need to ask yourself. Why are you defending Putin? In the past the right wing parties in Western countries were always anti-Russian, but now they support Russian aggression.
Finnish person here, enjoying seeing your mind being blown by the complexity 😄 To tell you the truth, I didn't know most of this stuff, and I can't say that I understand the whole EU thing very well. I gave up on understanding a long time ago. I do believe it's very useful, and I love the freedom to travel for example. As for the rest, I try to do my part by voting a hopefully smart person to the EU parliament and trust that they know what they're doing so I can continue enjoying the benefits of being an EU citizen. Many have already explained why EU is so complicated, but I wanted to point out one more point of view. Understandably you would think, that it's just a bunch of Europeans saying "let's group together", in a similar way that the US states have decided to work together. But while people in the US feel that they're first and foremost Americans, Europeans feel allegiance first and foremost to their country (or possibly an ethnic group if they are not part of the majority in their home country). I'm Finnish to the core, and European only on some abstract level. So each country will fight for their best interest rather than working mainly for the good of the whole EU. Add into that mix all the history that Europe has, and nothing can ever be simple. EU was formed to bring some kind of unity to a continent devastated by wars. That was a monumental task that actually has been surprisingly successful, but simple and easy it could never be.
The US literally had a war over State's rights and a State's honour. They didn't just decide to 'work together'. By the way your MEP doesn't make laws in the EU. That's the role of the Commission which isn't elected but selected from a pool of vetted candidates. So it doesn't matter how smart MEPs are. The EU Parliament also votes by block… Your MEP's vote is collated into the block's vote with the majority decision being applied to all members of that block (this is a way to eliminate outlier votes and keep the status quo). And even at that point the Parliament can't stop a law, it can only send it back with proposed amendments which the Commission isn't obliged to take any notice of. Only the Council members (usually heads of state but not always) can veto a law. However, as more states join with very different socio-ecconomic backgrounds, the vetos are being replaced by QMV in many areas and will probably be replaced entirely.
@@may_68 you're definitely right that I very much oversimplified the background in the US. Still, the situation was massively different. They were creating a new country, and finding the balance in that, which I don't claim was easy or without bloodshed, but it was still a very different thing than getting a lot of established countries to collaborate. Also I am aware that my vote in the EU elections has a very tiny effect on that the EU will decide. I know that even if my candidate makes it to the parliament, their voice is going to be a tiny one in their block, and that all the decision making process are complicated. But casting that vote is really the only thing I can do, along with voting in national elections of course, so that's what I do. I don't choose who to vote randomly, but I also have decided to spend my limited time in other things than thoroughly understanding the EU politics. I've understood that many people do the same, even though even more people simply don't bother to even vote.
@@may_68 we had war since acient roman empire... 🤣 All the medieval period was England Vs France Vs Spain Vs Germany, Italy was born at the end of 1800, inside Italy was war between Milan Vs Venice Vs Genoa Vs Vatican (half Italy was Vatican, now is very small). The EU (and first EEU) are litteraly the only way for peace after ww2. Economic agreements a good reason not to make wars.
@@GitanoLuglio1986 We haven't had peace in Europe since WWII. We had the Cold War for much of it. Of which the EEC was a constituent part. Since then we've had multiple wars and conflicts starting with Yugoslavia in which Germany played role encouraging Croatia and Slovenia to secede and a portent of things to come as the EU was created to embrace Germany's eastward ambitions. Finally leading to the mess that is The Ukraine currently. The EU is there to support European capital in its competition, economically and militarily, with the other major powers. And we all know what happened last time major powers went to war.
@@may_68 cold war in my head is between Russia and USA, and wasn't a traditional war. In eastern Europe there was a lot of war but in fact (and i think it's wrong) most of europeans consider Europe only the Western side.
What makes it so complicated is fact that many of EU countries are at least millenium old and had a lot of time to form some sort of relationship with other countries and then change it multiple time, not to mention colonies and local customs and traditions. Meanwhile US when was forming had a clean start and still it doesn't have single set of laws but whole federal and state laws thing.
@@alexanderlipowsky6055 The Kalmar Union is the main reason we don't want to be in another. But it's true, the Euro-romantic did make a bed for us, but it's not monogamic.
@@annebritraaen2237 eurealists, kalmar was forced on you, eu you can or cannot join willingly or even just partially as you guy did. You still must follow eu laws and regulations, you just dont have a say in its laws and still pay to its coffers are parst of the planning and enjoy the 4 freedoms. But to each his own, i get why you dont want to join, at least the economic side. State capitalism seems a smart way to ensure oilwealt stability and you got alot of fishers (who have acces to european waters because of your memvership in the eec)
The european union is something like the overcomplicated prototype of a united european nation, it might become some day. I mean, there's already a european parliament, a european capital, a european president, a flag, european laws, the list goes on and on. A european military might be something coming next, it's in discussion.
@@satanklaux I don't think we will become a nation, but that a war breaks out, both now and 200 years from now, it seems very difficult to me. With all the pacifist demonstrations, the liberal ideologies and laws, and the contempt that there is everywhere in Europe for war, it would seem to me really a hypocritical thing at best, which would make no sense. Furthermore, we absolutely do not want a war, no one would want and would be happy to fight, even if maybe not everyone loves each other. I do not exclude internal conflicts or conflicts that involve a few nations, but a war on a European level seems to me really impossible, right now. I do not exclude, however, that in a very distant future, we can become a group of nations with an even more knowledgeable central government, which establishes the main laws of each country.
@@satanklaux If Europe fights in a war, then they fight together against a foreign enemy. Maybe Russia or Turkey (they have conflicts with Greece and Cyprus).
@@0000-z4z I will fight for Greece if necessary, Italy too, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia... Against foreign enemies or even internal (masons, globalist, etc..) but never for the burocratic leviathan that represents the UE. I think is a position shared for no few people in the union. Our strength as europeans is linked to ours national identities. If these identities are erased for a global govern, there is nothing left to fight for
I will try to clarify the situation on the overseas territories. I live in Reunion Island (near Madagascar), which is a French department, so I am French and European. In France, there is a distinction between overseas departments and collectivities, respectively named DROM (Département et Régions d'outre-mer) and COM (Collectivités d'outre-mer). Overseas departments are considered as simple French departments, therefore as being 100% French and part of Europe. Collectivities (like French Polynesia) are not considered as 100% French, they have a kind of autonomy, in this case they are not in the EU, but have privileged links.
Of course it is complicated. Can you imagine a semi-political union between such culturally diverse countries as the US, Paraguai, Haiti and Greenland?
@@OmarOsman98 they are not, that was my point. Some as as different as Canada and Paraguay. So imagine 27 of them trying to work together at this level :/ it can get slow and messy
@@OmarOsman98 Well, there ware Germany and France, two economical power houses and on the otherhand... e.g. romania, known for driving trucks around europe... Or ask southern europe, e.g. greece, how much they like german fiscal political ideas for reducing depts...
I am half french half polish and live in Germany I love the EU for that haha Also notice that when you're an EU citizen living in another country you can't vote for its national elections of course but you can still vote for local elections, which is pretty cool. So as a french citizen i could vote for the Berlin elections while not having the german citizenship lol
A bunch of countries vibing together is actually a great explanations of EU. But there are rules to everything... Are they complicated? Sure. Are they a problem?? No, not really. It's all because everything is voluntarily, all countries opted to join, each with their own uniqueness. And that is great.
Europe has a long and complicated history of wars and changing borders etc. The EU has allowed agreement on trade, movement of people and laws. For us in Ireland it has allowed us to expand our economy and a huge majority are very happy in the EU.
Well ireland abuses these rules in some cases for example the big tech companies like Apple and Amazon that have their the HQ for Europe and don't pay their taxes in other countries because HQ is in ireland. Ok thats reasonable and maybe a point to be reformed. But they also don't pay in ireland just because the country say so. The EU even issued a penalty for tax Reliefs. Thats crazy
There is one error in that video though. Sweden does not have an exception of joining the Eurozone. We just told the EU that we will join later. A lot of Swedes also seems to believe that our referendum on the matter actually matters. But when we signed the treaty to join the EU we also agreed on joining the Euro (at some point).
Thing is, we decide ourself when we do it. So we essentially make our own referendum matter by not fulfilling the requirements for the Euro. If we vote yes in the referendum then we will immediately fulfil these requirements and adopt the Euro. We don't have any time limit when we need to adopt it so we can literally postpone it forever if we want.
On the other hand, Sweden is rarely just a lunchbreak on the road while passing through, like for exemple Switzerland or Austria could be if you go by car from Germany to Italy. The Euro currency makes total sense on continental Europe where neighbours are close by in all directions, but up in the Nordic region it really doesn't matter that much. Also, Scandinavians never use cash anyway, so just bring a Visa or Mastercard and you're good to go! Exchange rates are usually around 10 kronor for 1 euro in Sweden and Norway. Denmarks kronor is a bit trickier to calculate fast due to a higher valuation, usually about 30% over SEK and NOK.
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4:20 European countries "just vibing together" has historically not worked out so well... ;)
It's worked out pretty well for most .. unless you're amongst the trouble making countries like Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.
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@@davidhuett3579 erhm.. you should probably read some western European history.. UK, France, Spain, Netherlands etc. Spent the better part of the last 1000 years beating up on each other..
@ erhm ... that's why the EU is worthwhile. For far too long, many of these countries were at war with each other. The EU is not perfect, but it is better now than what it has been.
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@@davidhuett3579 I'm sorry, but when did I make an argument against the EU? If anything, my comment pointed out the need for a framework of cooperation for european countries that was more than just "just vibing together". How about instead of making assumptions that just makes you look like an illiterate fool, you might want to read the things you are responding to more carefully in the future.
Well, we have to consider centuries of history about these countries (some friendly relationships and very often some not very friendly ones) and the nationalisms of the 20th century... Basically, the EU started with some ideals (es. France and Germany trying to put a stop to the hostilities that caused 2 WW), the need to manage the money US sent us for the reconstruction after WW2 together, a shared culture, and a common market. But of course, many countries only want to share just enough to get back what they need for their own purposes, hence the complications...
(3:50) False. You don't need a _passport,_ since a national ID is sufficient. Plus he implies you don't need ID when going to a different country. _You do,_ there's just no border checks, but you still have to bring it with you. Some countries requires you to always have an ID on you.
Actually, it was only two years after begging to join that they held a referendum to decide whether to stay or leave. Their departure was long due, and it would always be the UK leaving, hoping to drag enough countries with it to break the Union apart. It hasn't worked to far, and it only seems to have brought the union closer together. I wonder what the UK will be saying in a decade or two.
@@Ferreira019760 what are you talking about? There was never a vote to join the EU. There was a vote in the 1970s to join the EEC and over the last 30 years that agreement has been stretched as Brussels gained more power and expanded culminating in the EU. Since then the U.K. has contributed billions in bailing out countries like, Ireland, Greece and France so the the Euro was protected. The U.K. contributed the second largest amount to the EU after Germany and were treated as outsiders by France, Germany and Spain, the founding members of the EEC. Britain’s economy is growing and the pound is in a strong position against the Euro. It will take at least a decade to recover from the damage to U.K. agriculture and fishing caused by EU policies.
The EU may be complicated, but as a frustrated British remain voter who works in procurement, I can categorically say that being outside of it is even more complicated :/
The look on your face when you realise just how much more there is to being a country in Europe, I'm not trying to claim that it is anything special or purposely complicated to keep people like yourself from understanding it, I like that you are interested, I wish that more people of your calibre were interested, if you are contemplating visiting Europe you will be surprised at how easy it is to get about between countries and by public transport too, also I can't imagine that you would regret visiting either, the UK would be a good place to start as we speak English so no barrier there, just remember that England is much more than London and travel away from London to cut down on the cost of everything, take a look at International Carl he is an American living in the UK and he has some good videos that will give you a better idea of what to expect :)
@@giupetr968 You can stay for up to 90 days in any EU country without a visa including when visiting from the UK. That doubles in the UK so he could stay for up to 6 months without a visa. As a US citizen, he would be required to go through non-EU passport control which he would do regardless of the UK's status as a non-EU country.
What this video shows me is how the US educational system shortages even obviously smart and curious people like this young man. European young people of his calibre learn the basics of American history and politics pretty early on. In this day and age, schools really should have a world-embracing vision.
Whenever I see someone reacting to these kind of videos, I am asking myself every single time dude where have you been the last 20 years. Have followed any news about Europe in that time frame. Amazed over and over again how little the world nows about each other. And I can't say I am different if it comes to other parts of the world.
I watch some US , German (DW) and japanese (NHK) news because English language public broadcasting is accessible but the perspectives taken aren't particularly intuitive
People dedicate their lives to learn history and still don't understand everything. There is so much data through centuries,and averege person has to live their life, we barely remember things from 40 years ago or less.
Just 3 points (speaking from Italy): 1) How could you expect a couple of dozens of sovereign countries approaching half a billion of peoples deciding on anything (even just the colour of the wall paint!) being anything simpler than this? ;) 2) Most of the points in the video you comment upon are just marginal details. For instance, Italy includes two other sovereign states, the Republic of San Marino and the State of the City of Vatican: they are not officially part of the EU but have deep relationships and extensive formal treaties with Italy which in turn has deep relationships and extensive treaties "with" the EU. This makes the relationships between this two States and the EU very involved (just an example: they both use the € without being in the EU, as it would be highly impractical for them to use another currency than Italy, but of course this requires regulations, agreements, ....); so the situation is really complex but both States together are less 70km2 wide and with little more than 33k peoples: so from the continental perspective the impact of this complexity is almost irrelevant. Same for Andorra, Principality of Monaco, Gran-duchy of Liechtenstein and some other I am surely forgetting! 3) "It is like a treaty" you comment. Oh no! It is MANY TREATIES TOGETHER!! The EU is the result of a process started in the late '40 (yes, almost 80 years ago), through many steps, changes, additions, not only of new countries but of new functions as well, each of them requiring a new treaty among the members, often involving a formal referendum in most countries, of course on a specific legal text and so on and so on! But anyway, THANKS for your interest on our continent!
It started as a trading idea... a protective idea ( after years of pointless wars) an idea to spread wealth evenly, along with the ability to live and work freely in other countries .. I have lived and worked within the EU for over 30 yrs and have literally seen countries pull themselves up out of poverty .because they were within the EU and benefitted from the money they received for being a member. This I think is the reason that once independent and strong empirical countries like Britain ( or actually the old school Tory leadership) despised it and created a bogeyman out of it in order to force a withdrawal from the pact... America also saw it as a threat .. and I believe has done a lot behind the scenes to discredit it... Theres' no doubt it is now a huge unwieldy organisation. with corruption ( where hasn't got that ? ) but on the whole a wonderful thing for the ordinary peoples of the world
Hi there from Romania (EU). Yes, it is complicated. So intricate that not even the EU citizens know exactly what's going on and why- at least the majority of us. Sure, we know the basics, we know as much as we need to make our ways around EU. It's a complex Empire of some sort.
With overseas territories, dependencies, and the outer reaches, its easier to think of historically. So you have empires. They break up in one way or another, or don't technically but have to acknowledge that it's no longer the done thing to crush local political forces. That means that each territory will have a different relationship with the imperial power. They're governed by different sorts of treaties, agreements and conventions. And bear in mind each imperial power will have different conventions and legal frameworks to work from in the first place. So the former imperial powers come together, some more reluctantly than others. They agree that in theory, closer economic and political ties will help Foster both peace and prosperity. Then you have the difficulty of coming up with something that not only works for all of them, but is understood by all of them. A larger and more powerful country, like Germany or France can, to a limited extent, throw its weight around about what it will and won't accept, especially to territories where the presence or absence of EU law or authority is less tangible by virtue of distance. If an island thousands of miles away, that is technically subject to EU law, with 20 000 inhabitants, has local laws that do something against EU law, then unless it's something that would violate the fundamental rights under the EU charter, it would be unlikely to be at the top of the priority list. A less powerful nation, such as Malta, can't negotiate quite so hard. However, once in the bloc, the smaller nation will have vastly increased power globally and access to much much better trading arrangements.
Proud to be EU citizen, lived and worked in Italy (where I was born), Spain, UK (before Brexit), Ireland and now Germany. It is complicated and there are a lot of never-ending internal frictions but we are more United than ever. And last but not least, we stopped making war each other, after more than 1500 years
Its actualy top of the ice berg , as there is also the Benelux union(Belgium /Netherlands /luxembourgh) that predates the european union but is a founding member with German France and Italy . The history of these 6 nations well dates back almost 2000 years to the carolingian and Franconian empire as that is roughly the area what the Start of the EU looked like. Almost 2000 years of simular history and event makes it a lot easier to unite as a new empire .
@@carlosdiazgarcia1445 we're quite happy thank you. As we are first country yo be nearing end of pandemic as we decided our vaccination programme we are more than OK see you when you finally catch up. 🤪
@@niven834 You must be permanently high... Far from the truth your statement. You're collapsing... I hope you get the taste of your fullish medicine. Such an arrogance from that side
@@msdream-cloud absolutely not the arrogance was all yours. When were you last in UK? We are thriving love. First country to have economy as pre covid . Word of advice be careful not to believe all you read in the propaganda press whose very job is to stop you following us in making the choice to be free to run our own country. We are very nearly out of all covid restrictions don't take our word for it research see WHO on how well we're doing. So unless you live here and unless you look passed the propaganda don't talk about us like you have a fucking clue. Clearly you don't. Best decision we made and as I said we will wait for the rest of you to catch up.
Grey makes nice educational video's that explain things well. And its nice to see an amercan that really is intersted in something else then the states.
The problem with american explanations of e.g. European stuff is they probably haven’t experienced or seen things they talk about but they just google, try to understand and explain in simple language. While it’s nice they want to learn and teach others, they make mistakes in process which results in videos like seen in this video and chanels like (no hate, love them but they do make mistakes) Geography now who say some things that are offensive or untrue. In highschool, our geography teacher played us a Geography now video and for homework we had to find errors (there were 3 or 4 big ones and few smaller ones we don’t need to bring up).
Whoever made this video is obviously NOT a fan of the EU and it is telling in the complex and 'boring' manner he presented it. How terrible to have a continent where people can freely travel between countries and have a common currency. I'm sure they'd ALL prefer to have borders every hundred kilometers with checkpoint 'armed guards', vehicle searches, body frisks .. not to mention a different currency in every country. The EU offers many benefits such as combined trade agreements and easily accessed diverse manufacturing facilities and shared technologies .. not to mention shared security.
The maker is CGP Grey, and this style of presentation is what he does, making short video's that explain in a very short time some rather complex topic, all with exactly that tone of voice. I don't think it shows if he is pro- or anti-EU, he is just doing his thing here. But as a Dutchman, I agree with the rest of your comment; there are more pro's than con's in this arrangement.
Also in some of the countries in European continent that aren't part of EU you can use both their Money but also Euro! In the future it will slowly be like you thought, all countries in the European continent (that are in total 52 ) will be part of the EU, they are working on it by making some internal political changes in their countries that are required from the EU!!! The situation will be better in the future, for now it is a work in progress...
Honestly, the things with the overseas territories reminds me of what remains of the U.S.-American empire, what with Costa Rica, Guam, American Samoa... Where on some of them, you don't get born a U.S. citizen, but a U.S. _national_ with all the same obligations but not the same rights as a citizen, which elections you can vote in depends on which of the territories you live on, and on and on and on.
@@desperateswabianhousewife8317 Well, you do have a point - but at least those parts (excluding the reservations) have full statehood. They're about on the level of empire as Algeria used to be for France, except the US succeeded (in large parts) with _their_ "assimilation/replacement", to put it euphemistically, while France lost an independence war instead.
The only time in the past 5,000 years when Europe hasn’t been generally at war is the past 60 years, since the end of WW2 and the beginnings of the EEC.
You did good to choose a CGP Grey video to try and explain in a short, lighthearted but also informative manner the complicated mess that is Europe. Nevertheless, we could see your confusion grow with each passing minute, poor guy 🙃😉... Yes, history played (and still plays) a huge factor that complicates things... Know that it is equally confusing for people who actually live there, although most are rarely bothered by it (unless your job or livelihood depends on import/export or some other economic or diplomatic relation with other EU countries). Btw, CGP Grey has loads of good videos on other interesting topics as well!
The stuff about the special relationships with those far off mostly island territories is just to make the EU look more complicated than the US. As if the US does not have those kinds of special arangements: Guam, Virgin islands, Puorto Rico, Samoa, Native American territories, etc.
The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and officially left the trading bloc - its nearest and biggest trading partner - on 31 January 2020. However, both sides agreed to keep many things the same until 31 December 2020, to allow enough time to agree to the terms of a new trade deal. It was a complex, sometimes bitter negotiation, but they finally agreed a deal on 24 December 2020.
@@Isleofskye You misspelled "FUCKED". We are no more free now than before but have less job opportunities, funding, negotiating power, fishing rights, export/import opportunities etc., etc.
@@Isleofskye As a Brit, I actually feel less free now we've left the EU then I did before and now with the loons in power, it doesn't look good lol. Still there is the silver lining, everything is going up in price so at least it hits the Brexiteers the hardest lol.
Yes politics are complicated welcome to the real world of the planet earth. He really thought countrys are some high high-school kids vibing together 😂😂
😂 I think it’s way more simple in America. Just think of each state as their own country but owned by a empire So each state has their own laws and various tax rates but are all bound to the empire For example when Texas tried to leave! Their aim was to be a country and leave the empire If that makes sense.
The European Union is more similar to the United States in structure than most Americans realize but it's a much younger version and on a different continent. I myself am also an American with British and German family members.
I kinda feel good when foreigners find out for the first time how connected the EU actually is. One might successfully argue that in many areas it's more of a federation than the US is. And unlike the US, it works. :-)
EU was born as a result of WW1 and WW2, to create common interests among former rival nations, so that they would never fight each others again. At the start it was the Union of coal and steel, but it gradually evolved in a co-prosperity sphere where a european citizen can do whatever the hell he wants as long as he respects law. Being a part of a supranational organization means that your country’s laws are second to european laws. This is why nationalism and sovranism are such a thorn in the side and this is why Poland and Hungary are having problems with the EU, because they don’t respect human and civil rights. In the EU the weaker countries are supported by the richer. Hungary and Poland in particular are given A LOT of money every year, but they are not the only ones
In Europe, every now and then somebody remembers that the hill over there used to belong to lord Whatshisface von Whocares and then we have a decade long festival of nationalistic genocide. Its a real laugh riot... Seriously though, any cooperative treaty is a really thin ice due to local history. Due to general distrust between nations here, every eventuality needs to be covered by law because "the good will" just isn't enough. Every treaty is both a friendly hug and a restraining order. Ironically this rigid system provides security upon which the trust is being build and its starting to bring centuries old rivals closer and closer together. Step by step
@@henrythomasbarthram6065 No, never said that. but people care about US politics because they make it "sensational". I hate that omg. Lucky I live in the EU!
it was Persons like president Charles de Gaulle in france or *chancellor Konrad Adenauer in germany, and a lot of other women and men who bring the first step to european integration. I'm so, so happy about the establishment of the Rome and Maastricht-Treaties. Thank you Konrad Adenauer, for the investigate in my future. Political System in Germany: *(Chancellor - Head of Government) *(Head of State)
Have you considered reacting to the 5 part video series from Extra History on The Irish Potato Famine? It's sad but it's an important part of history people need to know about. There's also the lengthy video on the Irish War of Independence, the video on the Irish Civil war, and two videos on the Trouble, all important comparatively recent history.
No as it was done by population not by countries within that Union. The U.K was part of the E.U so therefore the whole U.K voted as a whole also Scotland/ Northern Ireland were not in the E.U as individual nations. The U.K was part of the E.U.
it is even more complicated. Because not all state forms respond to a single nation. As is our case, we are Catalans (Catalonia nation, and Spain State), which also generates internal conflicts (we have our own language, and a particular economic system). For this reason, some of us think that Europe should definitely take the step from the form of a State to that of a Euroregion, which responds better to the economic-social-cultural realities. For example, the Euro-Mediterranean. It would also provide a great strategic asset to the entire EU. We, from Barcelona, can connect you the gas pipe that we receive from Algeria, and you could cut with Putilandia quickly, without problems.
i dont know if EU is the only union...... Well, i know a rather well known union, the USA..... And to make it even more complicated, since the morons in the UK left the EU and they now starting to understand that this was a huge mistake Northen Ireland, who is a part of the UK, are still in the EU No one seams to realy know how that happend and why the brittish conservative think its bad but in the long run it actually can lead to Ireland reunite, and if that happend, why should Scotland stay, couse the population of Scotland voted to stay in the EU
The EU ist very complicated at the moment. I wish that the EU becomes a federal republic one day. Could you react to "Kurzgesagt - Is the European Union worth it or should we end it"? It explains very well why it would be great for the EU members to work better together. We could be a global super power. Greetings from Germany.
Federal republic😂 Britain have just left, the Polish hate all of you and the French are starting to speak of a FREXIT. Of course it's a German who wants to see this. I would say you're disgrace to your ancestors but considering what horrid ancestors you had I'm sure they would have enjoyed the idea of a unified Europe. God bless British sovereignty and God save the Queen🇬🇧
small note: When the UK was in the EU it was not in Schengen and indeed you needed ID to get in there BUT the border agents could only verify your IDs, and as long they were valid, they could not ask further questions
Thanks for this, m8. Being from a former communist country, our membership in the EU (allowing us to get to previously unreachable west just by passing the sign 'Bundesrepublik Deutschland') is a reason for me to love the end of the 20th century.
UK nationals commenting under videos about the EU: Our archnemesis! The opposite side of the same coin! Glorious and eternal friend/enemyness! EU citizens: I wonder what Russia is doing right now.
while this is a gross oversimplification: the EU can actually be pretty well compared to the US; where you have one large over-arching government making decisions for a union of smaller countries/states, which in turn have their own laws and jurisdiction. EU is quite a bit more complicated but I'm just saying they're generally similar concepts. Just like EU citizens have citizenship in their country and the EU, Americans have citizenship in their state as well as the US. The primary difference comes in terms of government structure and that the nations in the EU might have slightly *more* rights to make decisions than US states, and it would be a bit easier for a country to leave the EU than it would be for a State to secede from the US
![How I See the US After Living Abroad for 15 Years [CULTURE SHOCK]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DO5x_tJBn7w/mqdefault.jpg)
![How I See the US After Living Abroad for 15 Years [CULTURE SHOCK]](/img/tr.png)
Europe is never simple. Our geopolitics and history gets more compliacted as time goes on.
Scary
@@foreignreacts WW3 will ot start becouse of some country in europe, no way, we made that mistake, twice, no if it comes its becouse of some fucked up superpower, like the US, think about it, you elected Trump....
@@Ivan234-d4q 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
@@Ivan234-d4q Yeah i know, you all gone insane since Tito died
@@Ivan234-d4q
And politicians aren't people.....?
Only someone from outside the EU could think it was a just a bunch of countries vibing together. That put a smile on my face.
"Our ancestors have been fighting for millenia! We do not just "vibe"! Hey, pass the salad, dude.You coming over with your sister later tonight for some beers?"
Nah.. only a 'murican would think that.
lol why
The bunch of countries vibin together is Eurovision
He is pretty naive
The EU has 27 members. If every member had a trade agreement with everyone, that would be 351 contracts. Instead, you have a single internal market with common rules, a parliament and a supreme court. This has unbelievably great advantages, for example a new drug only needs to be approved once and is then on the market in 27 countries. Workers can take jobs anywhere because their diplomas are recognized. In principle, it is about the four great freedoms: for capital (investments), goods, people and services.
They seemed to have a few issues rolling out a particular vaccine in a decent timeframe if I recall.
@@jonathanhodgson2659 The thing about the vaccines was simply that the US, Israel and the UK paid more for the vaccines and were therefore supplied earlier. Today we see that those 6 weeks weren't crucial. The vaccination rate is higher in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France than in the UK and the USA.
@@heinedietiker4943 If this is a truth then it appears some countries are prepared to pay out to protect their citizens more that the EU is.
Interesting.
@@jonathanhodgson2659 As the name suggests, a pandemic is a global event. The EU has refused to buy away the vaccines to other, poorer states. Instead, the EU President organized a fundraising event that raised 6 billion Euro to finance vaccines for poor countries. As we can see in India, Africa and Brazil, that was not enough to stop the development of dangerous variants. But at least the EU tried to show solidarity with the world. As the only one. Other nations are on an ego trip. As a result, the British are about as popular in the EU as the Russians.
@@heinedietiker4943
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in July that “Team Europe” - encompassing the EU institutions and the 27 member states - was “on track” to sharing 200 million doses with low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2021. That is 200 million divided by TWENTY SEVEN countries.
The UK has pledged to donate 100 million vaccines overseas by June 2022, 80 million of which will go to COVAX …, that is 100 million divided by ONE country.
I cannot believe for one moment that a country might just put its own citizens’ priorities above those of other countries....how mad would that be?
I think the UK cares about being popular in the EU as much as the Germans and French care about being popular in the UK.
EU and Europe are two very different things.
Thank You
True but with time, Europe is being seen as the EU from the outside world, especially as the EU keeps expanding.
@@paul1979uk2000 that will be forgotten the moment people start thinking or rather actually learning and not getting fed rubbish.
The EU is a political entity ..... Europe is the continent.
We left the EU only.
@@davidlonhol8016 Well you've got a long wait on your hand because people and thinking isn't a good combination when it comes to these kinds of things and most outside of Europe will see the EU as Europe, that's pretty much the reality of it and more so as the EU continues to expand further east.
EU is basically "we don't like each other much, most of the time we don't even speak the same language, but we will force ourselves to be friends, because we saw what happens when we are enemies."
Ah, that is not true. We like each other just fine. Most of us just have this terrible tendency to be afraid to get left behind because our neighbor owns one Euro more.
Just invent a new common language...
@@giupetr968 we use English. So why?
@@pascalheinrich3990 that's not a language you need to unite your different populations. English it's just a business language or something you can use when you talk to people from abraod.
@@giupetr968 Nothing unites people more than the pursuit for more money.
I'm German, went to university in Italy and after that moved to Greece, where I since have been living.
EU makes my life so much easier. Even though I'm not a Greek citizen, I have the right to vote in local elections on a regional level in Greece. So I could run for mayor of the town, I live in and even governor of the Southern Aegean Islands, because that's where I live. But I'm not allowed to vote or candidate at national elections of the government in Greece, as a German citizen I only can vote for the government of Germany. To vote for the German government though, I don't need to travel to Germany, it can be done by letter.
It was very easy to have my university degree recognised and to get a permission to work in Greece.
My children hold two passports, a German and a Greek one, because within EU people are allowed to have more than one citizenship.
Me and my husband got married in Germany and after that our marriage got recognised in Greece by just taking a translation, issued by the Greek consulate in Germany, to our local authorities in Greece and they signed into their registers that now we're married. I enjoy all the rights Greek citizens enjoy, except the right to vote or candidate for the Greek government. In any other affair I'm treated like a Greek.
Hopefully they give up the German passport.
@@SchmulKrieger because of the horrors of the holocaust, right?
If my children will give up their German passports, Germany will still exist and they still will be the great grandchildren of a Nazi. We can't give up our history, we can only learn from it. So I rather have children that stand up against racism and fascism wherever and whenever they come across it, because as Germans they are constantly remembered about where it leads to, than hiding their ancestry to avoid the racism us Germans face regularly for the actions of our ancestors.
@@helgaioannidis9365 First, I don't know what this has to do with the Holocaust, but well, I see how you are biased.
I am not against Germany, lol, but I don't see any reason to keep a passport just out of lax and then voting for people in that country they don't live in themselves.
Sorry to disappoint you, I am communist.
The dub pass is just a huge mistake.
Edit: Second, Nationalsocialism is not fascist.
@@SchmulKrieger 😂😂😂
@@helgaioannidis9365 typisch bürgerliche Antwort.
The idea of a united Europe comes from the fact the we burned our continent twice in the last century and some smart people thought, huh, you know, might be better to not start from scratch every 20 years... fascinating history though, with simple beginnings (European coal and steel community). The idea in the beginning was that if Germany and France combined their steel industries war would be less likely. So when people complain about some rules from Brussels, it's probably justified, but most people have forgotten the stunning success the eu actually is, with no war between members for 75 years now. There has never ever been such a long peace time in Europe!
Actually we kept burning the continent to the ground since long before then, to the point that a "Treaty Establishing Peace Throughout Christendom" was proposed as early as around 1500, with a common diet (parliament). In the 1600s Rousseau wrote "A Lasting Peace Through the Federation of Europe", in the 1800s Victor Hugo and others advocated a United States of Europe, and in the 1920s Kalergi had predicted WWII and, you guessed it, advocated a European federation.
If we include the more imperial ideas of European unity like that of Napoleon or rulers before him, not based on a common understanding so much as the rule of a single Emperor, then the idea goes back about as far as the fall of Rome itself.
The idea came from Nazi Germany's SS. Which is why it's first President was a Nazi.
@@markjohnson9476 WTF???
Don't forget that in the European Coal and Steel community, France and Germany weren't the only countries involved
And then came Putin and said "Aj dont lajk staбylyty in west, it mejks mí luk wík"
Yeah - the EU is probably one of the most complex structures on an international level there is. I have a german law degree and even among lawyers, touching the EU law (however necessary it is) generally generates a lot of sweat.
German amounts of federation allredy sound bothersome, I don't want to imagine how that works
@@fionafiona1146 well, it is not that bad. Most of the laws that people will deal with on a day by day basis are federal. Only governmental law is mostly state law. But the effects of these laws are very similar in different states. When you have to deal with these differences, you are already in a territory where a lawyer would be necessary
It's fun to watch this video. As a European, yes, it is difficult to understand the laws, but life is very easy here. We can travel wherever we want. The other fun is with languages. There are maybe 27 different languages here, but we all get along somehow. English, German, French. As a Czech, I can understand Slovaks and Poles without any problems, and I speak English with others.
And if you get ill, you have free/nearly free access to health no mayter the country where you are!
@@MrMatavelhas Haha ! Not in Italy ! Health is free only if you're in a certain range of annual income. Otherwise you pay every single cent of drugs and services (in addition to the proportional health's taxes we already have to pay) It's what I call pseudo-public healthcare system. It's a joke.
@@heric_ Wait so does that mean that really rich people have too pay a lot pr really poor people do?
@@bram8847 I can't speak for other countries, but in the Netherlands we all pay more or less the same, which isn't a whole lot when you compare it to insurance fees in the US. In the NL, if your salary is below a certain amount, you can get subsidised by the government in order to pay your mandatory health insurance. As a student I paid as little as €27 a month, and now that I have a proper full time job, I pay just over €100. There are many many nuances to this and monthly fees can definitely get more expensive and our system is by no means perfect, but all in all I think we've got a pretty even playground.
Here's the reason it looks complicated to an American. You are looking at the top end of the European reality. Yes there are a LOT of protocols in place as it is composed of plenty of different countries, each with its own culture, laws, foreign relations and some with a colonial past. In order to accommodate all of that, several exceptions had to be put in place to safeguard the previously mentioned aspects wherever possible. Unlike the USA, where it has been plenty of states united under one flag (and you guys still bump heads over some issues), the EU is not a single country. Although it does try to act as one while respecting its member states interests. Obviously, that takes a lot of diplomacy and commitment. Ask half of the Brits, and they will say it's evil incarnate, ask the other half, and they will say that half the citizens should be in a stray jacket.
Now, when you come down to the citizen level, things were made to be as simple as possible. This allows a citizen from a member state to travel and trade easily with the other members as if it was within its own national borders. For a continent that has been in war for as long as history books can tell, this is an amazing feat. A feat that has allowed for the largest period in history of peace and prosperity I can think of, ever since WWII. We are fed up with wars over here, have been learning to live with each other as friendly neighbors, and although it's not always easy, we can't stop doing our best.
Coming down to the citizen level, all you need to worry about is having your ID, you can ask for a European Health Card which allows you to travel to any of the member countries and get health care as if you were at home. That counts for leisure or work. You can get involved in both domestic and community politics as much as you'd like, but most people don't. It's a real nightmare of laws, rules, and regulations. As for the rest, same as everywhere else. Except, you are not allowed to carry weapons on you unless you have a license or are a law enforcement officer. You don't even need a passport to travel within the Union. All it takes is your national ID card and off you go. The most tricky thing about travelling over here are the language barriers, and that's mostly for the elders, just about anyone under the age of 50 speaks some form of broken English. As an American, you won't feel isolated wherever you go. Well, some places have more English speakers than others, but overall it won't be on account of the language that you will have a bad experience.
Now don't get me wrong, the old rivalries are still in place. But by being more advantageous to keep them as rivalries instead of sliding off to brawls as in the past, we are much better off now. Trading and travelling in the EU is more affordable now, any old Joe that knows how to administrate his money can pretty much travel at least once a year to another EU country and experience some of our neighbor's culture. If it wasn't for some pig headed separatists who still think they can be better off on their own, things would be a bit smoother. Either way, people are entitled to their own opinion, that's part of what democracy grants each of us. Funny enough, while being a flawed political system, it's the only one that allows citizens to disagree with it.
If you manage to travel over to Europe, please make the best of it by learning a bit about the history of the places you will be visiting. It will make your experience so much richer. Sometimes a bunch of rocks isn't just that, there might be an interesting story behind it. Without a story to tell, the Pyramids of Egypt would be no more than a pile of rocks neatly cut and piled in an orderly fashion. It's the story behind it that makes it become alive, we are an extension of it looking at the past, gazing at what our forefathers made, learning both from their feats and their mistakes.
So when will you publish this novel?
Very well said!
Beautifully said :)
If your expectation is "a bunch of countries vibing together", then anything will appear complicated. But yes I agree, the EU is complicated, and most Europeans have no real interest in finding out about these complications.
Most of this "asteriks" bother only the people directly afectted by them......It`s complicated, but somehow, it works.
Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands have never been a colony, we have always been part of our respective countries. We are as European as those who live on the continent.
yeah, I never considered these as not being part of Europe ... which is kind of wierd when I realize how much closer to Africa they are XD
Exactly, these were never colonies, nor were treated as such!
I mean the Guanches in the canaries were North African amazighs natives not Spaniards. But yeah you are as European as the rest of us
@@hamzapetridis206 First of all, smart man, Guanches are just the aborigines of Tenerife. So if you're referring to the ancient inhabitants of the islands, talk about Aborigines, not Guanches. Second, I have said that we have never been a colony and never have been, so we are Spanish and, therefore, European. Third, on three islands part of the maternal genetic inheritance of contemporary Canarians continues to be mostly indigenous (La Gomera, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, in that order), while on the remaining four there is more presence of European mitDNA (Gran Canaria, El Hierro, Tenerife and La Palma, also in that order). We are a mixture of genes, as is the rest of the country and Europe and, as far as I know, nationality is not determined by genetics. If you are a racist who thinks that all this genetic and ethnic stuff is very important, it is your problem, what you think is not going to make us stop being Spanish and, therefore, Europeans.
Yes.
Anything between countries gets complicated real quick, and when you have a couple dozen countries those complexities multiply fast. Not even international sport events are simple. I saw you were a bit perplexed about the place in Greece where women are banned. It's a religious enclave with a lot of monasteries, mount Athos, the place oozes history. It's really tied with orthodox christianity and you have to be one to visit. The permits to visit are very limited too. Greetings from Slovenia.
wow that's crazy
I'm interested in visiting most of the places I have learnt about!
As a Greek I couldn't explained better myself, kudos!
It's complicated because the different parts of Europe have been fighting each other since the dying days of the Roman Empire about 1,800 years ago.
It might seem complicated but the EU actually makes things a lot simpler than they were before. E.g. not invading and killing each other all the time.
F' Romans!
We were fighting each other long before Romulus and Remus were sucking wolf's tits!
The EU, and the EEC before it, are actually instruments of war. Both the Cold War and the immediate period after. Demonstrated by its continued expansion east.
@@may_68 Continued expansion east because countries that freed themselves from Soviet occupation wanted to join the EU and Nato.
The fact that independent countries want to join the club means that the club is worth joining.
There is no war like intent on the part of the EU. Unlike Russia which very definitely has a war like intent.
@@JohnSmall314 There is literally a war in the Ukraine as a direct result of the EUs meddling and support for the overthrow of a democratically elected government. The Balkans wars of the 90s were largely exacerbated by Germany's encouragement of Croatia and Slovenia which was very much a portent of what was to come. The EU supported and offered EUFOR troops to topple Gaddafi. The EU has been in lockstep with the US in Venezuela and Bolivia. I think you're are being naive or disingenuous if you think the move east was not a strategic endeavour.
@@may_68 Question, why are you justifying Putin's war mongering?
I'll guess that you're signed up to all manner of conspiracy theories and you voted for Brexit. I find it very strange that Brexit supporters also defend Putin. So far Putin has been the only beneficiary of Brexit because it helps to undermine the resolution of Western nations to face up to Putin.
Question you need to ask yourself. Why are you defending Putin?
In the past the right wing parties in Western countries were always anti-Russian, but now they support Russian aggression.
Finnish person here, enjoying seeing your mind being blown by the complexity 😄 To tell you the truth, I didn't know most of this stuff, and I can't say that I understand the whole EU thing very well. I gave up on understanding a long time ago. I do believe it's very useful, and I love the freedom to travel for example. As for the rest, I try to do my part by voting a hopefully smart person to the EU parliament and trust that they know what they're doing so I can continue enjoying the benefits of being an EU citizen.
Many have already explained why EU is so complicated, but I wanted to point out one more point of view. Understandably you would think, that it's just a bunch of Europeans saying "let's group together", in a similar way that the US states have decided to work together. But while people in the US feel that they're first and foremost Americans, Europeans feel allegiance first and foremost to their country (or possibly an ethnic group if they are not part of the majority in their home country). I'm Finnish to the core, and European only on some abstract level. So each country will fight for their best interest rather than working mainly for the good of the whole EU. Add into that mix all the history that Europe has, and nothing can ever be simple. EU was formed to bring some kind of unity to a continent devastated by wars. That was a monumental task that actually has been surprisingly successful, but simple and easy it could never be.
The US literally had a war over State's rights and a State's honour. They didn't just decide to 'work together'. By the way your MEP doesn't make laws in the EU. That's the role of the Commission which isn't elected but selected from a pool of vetted candidates. So it doesn't matter how smart MEPs are. The EU Parliament also votes by block… Your MEP's vote is collated into the block's vote with the majority decision being applied to all members of that block (this is a way to eliminate outlier votes and keep the status quo). And even at that point the Parliament can't stop a law, it can only send it back with proposed amendments which the Commission isn't obliged to take any notice of. Only the Council members (usually heads of state but not always) can veto a law. However, as more states join with very different socio-ecconomic backgrounds, the vetos are being replaced by QMV in many areas and will probably be replaced entirely.
@@may_68 you're definitely right that I very much oversimplified the background in the US. Still, the situation was massively different. They were creating a new country, and finding the balance in that, which I don't claim was easy or without bloodshed, but it was still a very different thing than getting a lot of established countries to collaborate.
Also I am aware that my vote in the EU elections has a very tiny effect on that the EU will decide. I know that even if my candidate makes it to the parliament, their voice is going to be a tiny one in their block, and that all the decision making process are complicated. But casting that vote is really the only thing I can do, along with voting in national elections of course, so that's what I do. I don't choose who to vote randomly, but I also have decided to spend my limited time in other things than thoroughly understanding the EU politics. I've understood that many people do the same, even though even more people simply don't bother to even vote.
@@may_68 we had war since acient roman empire... 🤣 All the medieval period was England Vs France Vs Spain Vs Germany, Italy was born at the end of 1800, inside Italy was war between Milan Vs Venice Vs Genoa Vs Vatican (half Italy was Vatican, now is very small). The EU (and first EEU) are litteraly the only way for peace after ww2. Economic agreements a good reason not to make wars.
@@GitanoLuglio1986 We haven't had peace in Europe since WWII. We had the Cold War for much of it. Of which the EEC was a constituent part. Since then we've had multiple wars and conflicts starting with Yugoslavia in which Germany played role encouraging Croatia and Slovenia to secede and a portent of things to come as the EU was created to embrace Germany's eastward ambitions. Finally leading to the mess that is The Ukraine currently. The EU is there to support European capital in its competition, economically and militarily, with the other major powers. And we all know what happened last time major powers went to war.
@@may_68 cold war in my head is between Russia and USA, and wasn't a traditional war. In eastern Europe there was a lot of war but in fact (and i think it's wrong) most of europeans consider Europe only the Western side.
What makes it so complicated is fact that many of EU countries are at least millenium old and had a lot of time to form some sort of relationship with other countries and then change it multiple time, not to mention colonies and local customs and traditions. Meanwhile US when was forming had a clean start and still it doesn't have single set of laws but whole federal and state laws thing.
the Eurozone is much preferred over basically warring endlessly against each other.
Except for nutsos and gbr, where the lines are nowadays idk.
As a Norwegian, I beg to differ. You don't need to share a bed to be friendly.
@@annebritraaen2237 kalmar union anyone?
And you still share our bed, mostly. You just dont have a say in what we do with you.
@@alexanderlipowsky6055 The Kalmar Union is the main reason we don't want to be in another. But it's true, the Euro-romantic did make a bed for us, but it's not monogamic.
@@annebritraaen2237 eurealists, kalmar was forced on you, eu you can or cannot join willingly or even just partially as you guy did.
You still must follow eu laws and regulations, you just dont have a say in its laws and still pay to its coffers are parst of the planning and enjoy the 4 freedoms.
But to each his own, i get why you dont want to join, at least the economic side.
State capitalism seems a smart way to ensure oilwealt stability and you got alot of fishers (who have acces to european waters because of your memvership in the eec)
And this video would have been even more complicated if it had been made more recently, since the UK left the EU 😭
I miss my European Comrades.
The background music of the video is Beethoven's "Ode to joy", the official anthem of the European Union.
The european union is something like the overcomplicated prototype of a united european nation, it might become some day. I mean, there's already a european parliament, a european capital, a european president, a flag, european laws, the list goes on and on. A european military might be something coming next, it's in discussion.
We already have Frontex for border control.
A new war on the continent, in the manner of the first and second world wars, is more likely than a union of Europe as a nation state.
@@satanklaux I don't think we will become a nation, but that a war breaks out, both now and 200 years from now, it seems very difficult to me. With all the pacifist demonstrations, the liberal ideologies and laws, and the contempt that there is everywhere in Europe for war, it would seem to me really a hypocritical thing at best, which would make no sense. Furthermore, we absolutely do not want a war, no one would want and would be happy to fight, even if maybe not everyone loves each other. I do not exclude internal conflicts or conflicts that involve a few nations, but a war on a European level seems to me really impossible, right now. I do not exclude, however, that in a very distant future, we can become a group of nations with an even more knowledgeable central government, which establishes the main laws of each country.
@@satanklaux If Europe fights in a war, then they fight together against a foreign enemy. Maybe Russia or Turkey (they have conflicts with Greece and Cyprus).
@@0000-z4z I will fight for Greece if necessary, Italy too, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia... Against foreign enemies or even internal (masons, globalist, etc..) but never for the burocratic leviathan that represents the UE. I think is a position shared for no few people in the union. Our strength as europeans is linked to ours national identities. If these identities are erased for a global govern, there is nothing left to fight for
I will try to clarify the situation on the overseas territories.
I live in Reunion Island (near Madagascar), which is a French department, so I am French and European.
In France, there is a distinction between overseas departments and collectivities, respectively named DROM (Département et Régions d'outre-mer) and COM (Collectivités d'outre-mer).
Overseas departments are considered as simple French departments, therefore as being 100% French and part of Europe.
Collectivities (like French Polynesia) are not considered as 100% French, they have a kind of autonomy, in this case they are not in the EU, but have privileged links.
Of course it is complicated. Can you imagine a semi-political union between such culturally diverse countries as the US, Paraguai, Haiti and Greenland?
Are all of these European countries really that similar?
@@OmarOsman98 they are not, that was my point. Some as as different as Canada and Paraguay. So imagine 27 of them trying to work together at this level :/ it can get slow and messy
@@OmarOsman98 ofcourse they aren't, every country in Europe has thousands of years of history, it's not that simple
@@OmarOsman98 Well, there ware Germany and France, two economical power houses and on the otherhand... e.g. romania, known for driving trucks around europe...
Or ask southern europe, e.g. greece, how much they like german fiscal political ideas for reducing depts...
I am half french half polish and live in Germany
I love the EU for that haha
Also notice that when you're an EU citizen living in another country you can't vote for its national elections of course but you can still vote for local elections, which is pretty cool. So as a french citizen i could vote for the Berlin elections while not having the german citizenship lol
A bunch of countries vibing together is actually a great explanations of EU. But there are rules to everything... Are they complicated? Sure. Are they a problem?? No, not really. It's all because everything is voluntarily, all countries opted to join, each with their own uniqueness. And that is great.
Europe has a long and complicated history of wars and changing borders etc. The EU has allowed agreement on trade, movement of people and laws. For us in Ireland it has allowed us to expand our economy and a huge majority are very happy in the EU.
Well ireland abuses these rules in some cases for example the big tech companies like Apple and Amazon that have their the HQ for Europe and don't pay their taxes in other countries because HQ is in ireland. Ok thats reasonable and maybe a point to be reformed.
But they also don't pay in ireland just because the country say so.
The EU even issued a penalty for tax Reliefs. Thats crazy
There is one error in that video though. Sweden does not have an exception of joining the Eurozone. We just told the EU that we will join later. A lot of Swedes also seems to believe that our referendum on the matter actually matters. But when we signed the treaty to join the EU we also agreed on joining the Euro (at some point).
As i understand the same thing goes for Denmark
@@TheJonasbz denmark never has to. they have an actual opt out agreement with the EU.
@@hullmees666 Ops, i see
Thing is, we decide ourself when we do it. So we essentially make our own referendum matter by not fulfilling the requirements for the Euro. If we vote yes in the referendum then we will immediately fulfil these requirements and adopt the Euro. We don't have any time limit when we need to adopt it so we can literally postpone it forever if we want.
On the other hand, Sweden is rarely just a lunchbreak on the road while passing through, like for exemple Switzerland or Austria could be if you go by car from Germany to Italy. The Euro currency makes total sense on continental Europe where neighbours are close by in all directions, but up in the Nordic region it really doesn't matter that much. Also, Scandinavians never use cash anyway, so just bring a Visa or Mastercard and you're good to go! Exchange rates are usually around 10 kronor for 1 euro in Sweden and Norway. Denmarks kronor is a bit trickier to calculate fast due to a higher valuation, usually about 30% over SEK and NOK.
4:20 European countries "just vibing together" has historically not worked out so well... ;)
It's worked out pretty well for most .. unless you're amongst the trouble making countries like Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.
@@davidhuett3579 erhm.. you should probably read some western European history.. UK, France, Spain, Netherlands etc. Spent the better part of the last 1000 years beating up on each other..
@ erhm ... that's why the EU is worthwhile. For far too long, many of these countries were at war with each other. The EU is not perfect, but it is better now than what it has been.
@@davidhuett3579 I'm sorry, but when did I make an argument against the EU? If anything, my comment pointed out the need for a framework of cooperation for european countries that was more than just "just vibing together".
How about instead of making assumptions that just makes you look like an illiterate fool, you might want to read the things you are responding to more carefully in the future.
@ Sorry Patrik .. I didn't notice the reference to a 'time' in the video that you were referring to. My apologies.
This is an old video. In 2016 the UK held a referendum (Brexit) and voted to leave (52%/48%) they are no longer an EU member.
Well, we have to consider centuries of history about these countries (some friendly relationships and very often some not very friendly ones) and the nationalisms of the 20th century... Basically, the EU started with some ideals (es. France and Germany trying to put a stop to the hostilities that caused 2 WW), the need to manage the money US sent us for the reconstruction after WW2 together, a shared culture, and a common market. But of course, many countries only want to share just enough to get back what they need for their own purposes, hence the complications...
(3:50) False. You don't need a _passport,_ since a national ID is sufficient. Plus he implies you don't need ID when going to a different country. _You do,_ there's just no border checks, but you still have to bring it with you. Some countries requires you to always have an ID on you.
"So, about the last 500 Years or so...lets just cobble it together!"
"UK thirty years later: Bugger off!"
Lmao 🤣
Actually, it was only two years after begging to join that they held a referendum to decide whether to stay or leave. Their departure was long due, and it would always be the UK leaving, hoping to drag enough countries with it to break the Union apart. It hasn't worked to far, and it only seems to have brought the union closer together. I wonder what the UK will be saying in a decade or two.
@@Ferreira019760 Most "lets leave EU" voices in other countries have silenced after seeing the mess that's brexit.
@@darkiee69 i know. Kind of backfired didn’t it?
@@Ferreira019760 what are you talking about? There was never a vote to join the EU. There was a vote in the 1970s to join the EEC and over the last 30 years that agreement has been stretched as Brussels gained more power and expanded culminating in the EU. Since then the U.K. has contributed billions in bailing out countries like, Ireland, Greece and France so the the Euro was protected. The U.K. contributed the second largest amount to the EU after Germany and were treated as outsiders by France, Germany and Spain, the founding members of the EEC. Britain’s economy is growing and the pound is in a strong position against the Euro. It will take at least a decade to recover from the damage to U.K. agriculture and fishing caused by EU policies.
The EU may be complicated, but as a frustrated British remain voter who works in procurement, I can categorically say that being outside of it is even more complicated :/
The look on your face when you realise just how much more there is to being a country in Europe, I'm not trying to claim that it is anything special or purposely complicated to keep people like yourself from understanding it, I like that you are interested, I wish that more people of your calibre were interested, if you are contemplating visiting Europe you will be surprised at how easy it is to get about between countries and by public transport too, also I can't imagine that you would regret visiting either, the UK would be a good place to start as we speak English so no barrier there, just remember that England is much more than London and travel away from London to cut down on the cost of everything, take a look at International Carl he is an American living in the UK and he has some good videos that will give you a better idea of what to expect :)
I totally heard most of the things you said in videos I have reacted to!
UK is Europe, but it is not EU anymore. You need of a Visa to visit Europe from London.
@@giupetr968 You can stay for up to 90 days in any EU country without a visa including when visiting from the UK. That doubles in the UK so he could stay for up to 6 months without a visa. As a US citizen, he would be required to go through non-EU passport control which he would do regardless of the UK's status as a non-EU country.
you can go from lisbon to the finland-russian border without showing you passport, crossing more than 8 borders in the process.
What this video shows me is how the US educational system shortages even obviously smart and curious people like this young man. European young people of his calibre learn the basics of American history and politics pretty early on.
In this day and age, schools really should have a world-embracing vision.
Whenever I see someone reacting to these kind of videos, I am asking myself every single time dude where have you been the last 20 years. Have followed any news about Europe in that time frame. Amazed over and over again how little the world nows about each other. And I can't say I am different if it comes to other parts of the world.
I watch some US , German (DW) and japanese (NHK) news because English language public broadcasting is accessible but the perspectives taken aren't particularly intuitive
People dedicate their lives to learn history and still don't understand everything. There is so much data through centuries,and averege person has to live their life, we barely remember things from 40 years ago or less.
If you think that is complicated, try US taxes...
Btw the map is kind of wrong, as the UK left the EU officially in 2019.
And the complications is the reason some of us are not satisfied with the EU.
11pm January 31st 2020 actually not 2019
Just 3 points (speaking from Italy):
1) How could you expect a couple of dozens of sovereign countries approaching half a billion of peoples deciding on anything (even just the colour of the wall paint!) being anything simpler than this? ;)
2) Most of the points in the video you comment upon are just marginal details. For instance, Italy includes two other sovereign states, the Republic of San Marino and the State of the City of Vatican: they are not officially part of the EU but have deep relationships and extensive formal treaties with Italy which in turn has deep relationships and extensive treaties "with" the EU. This makes the relationships between this two States and the EU very involved (just an example: they both use the € without being in the EU, as it would be highly impractical for them to use another currency than Italy, but of course this requires regulations, agreements, ....); so the situation is really complex but both States together are less 70km2 wide and with little more than 33k peoples: so from the continental perspective the impact of this complexity is almost irrelevant. Same for Andorra, Principality of Monaco, Gran-duchy of Liechtenstein and some other I am surely forgetting!
3) "It is like a treaty" you comment. Oh no! It is MANY TREATIES TOGETHER!! The EU is the result of a process started in the late '40 (yes, almost 80 years ago), through many steps, changes, additions, not only of new countries but of new functions as well, each of them requiring a new treaty among the members, often involving a formal referendum in most countries, of course on a specific legal text and so on and so on!
But anyway, THANKS for your interest on our continent!
The Europeans have benefited greatly from the EU, the largest trading block and political block in the world. Greetings from Poland 🇵🇱🇪🇺
I don't know how long ago this video was produced, but it is clearly before Brexit. The UK is no longer part of the EU, but is shown here.
It started as a trading idea... a protective idea ( after years of pointless wars) an idea to spread wealth evenly, along with the ability to live and work freely in other countries .. I have lived and worked within the EU for over 30 yrs and have literally seen countries pull themselves up out of poverty .because they were within the EU and benefitted from the money they received for being a member. This I think is the reason that once independent and strong empirical countries like Britain ( or actually the old school Tory leadership) despised it and created a bogeyman out of it in order to force a withdrawal from the pact... America also saw it as a threat .. and I believe has done a lot behind the scenes to discredit it... Theres' no doubt it is now a huge unwieldy organisation. with corruption ( where hasn't got that ? ) but on the whole a wonderful thing for the ordinary peoples of the world
Someone should made 2.0 version of this video. This one has some mistakes, some things changed and it's a bit confusing.
Hi there from Romania (EU). Yes, it is complicated. So intricate that not even the EU citizens know exactly what's going on and why- at least the majority of us. Sure, we know the basics, we know as much as we need to make our ways around EU. It's a complex Empire of some sort.
With overseas territories, dependencies, and the outer reaches, its easier to think of historically. So you have empires. They break up in one way or another, or don't technically but have to acknowledge that it's no longer the done thing to crush local political forces. That means that each territory will have a different relationship with the imperial power. They're governed by different sorts of treaties, agreements and conventions. And bear in mind each imperial power will have different conventions and legal frameworks to work from in the first place. So the former imperial powers come together, some more reluctantly than others. They agree that in theory, closer economic and political ties will help Foster both peace and prosperity. Then you have the difficulty of coming up with something that not only works for all of them, but is understood by all of them. A larger and more powerful country, like Germany or France can, to a limited extent, throw its weight around about what it will and won't accept, especially to territories where the presence or absence of EU law or authority is less tangible by virtue of distance. If an island thousands of miles away, that is technically subject to EU law, with 20 000 inhabitants, has local laws that do something against EU law, then unless it's something that would violate the fundamental rights under the EU charter, it would be unlikely to be at the top of the priority list. A less powerful nation, such as Malta, can't negotiate quite so hard. However, once in the bloc, the smaller nation will have vastly increased power globally and access to much much better trading arrangements.
Proud to be EU citizen, lived and worked in Italy (where I was born), Spain, UK (before Brexit), Ireland and now Germany.
It is complicated and there are a lot of never-ending internal frictions but we are more United than ever. And last but not least, we stopped making war each other, after more than 1500 years
Its actualy top of the ice berg , as there is also the Benelux union(Belgium /Netherlands /luxembourgh) that predates the european union but is a founding member with German France and Italy .
The history of these 6 nations well dates back almost 2000 years to the carolingian and Franconian empire as that is roughly the area what the Start of the EU looked like. Almost 2000 years of simular history and event makes it a lot easier to unite as a new empire .
wow
Yeah but past empires were built on blood, this one is built on economic and social advantages for everyone.
@@viper8908 most empires in history are built from blood my friend
As of January first 2020 the UK isn't a member of the EU anymore.
So, that simplifies it a bit.
That simplifies it a bit for all EU members... and complicates it quite a lot for UK citizens. But that was their choice!
And i preffer england out europe its better let them stay in the rain
@@carlosdiazgarcia1445 we're quite happy thank you. As we are first country yo be nearing end of pandemic as we decided our vaccination programme we are more than OK see you when you finally catch up. 🤪
@@niven834 You must be permanently high... Far from the truth your statement. You're collapsing... I hope you get the taste of your fullish medicine. Such an arrogance from that side
@@msdream-cloud absolutely not the arrogance was all yours. When were you last in UK? We are thriving love. First country to have economy as pre covid . Word of advice be careful not to believe all you read in the propaganda press whose very job is to stop you following us in making the choice to be free to run our own country. We are very nearly out of all covid restrictions don't take our word for it research see WHO on how well we're doing. So unless you live here and unless you look passed the propaganda don't talk about us like you have a fucking clue. Clearly you don't. Best decision we made and as I said we will wait for the rest of you to catch up.
I don’t know how u thought that the semi-federative relationship between EU member states are gonna be more simple than a bank contract.
Greetings from Luxembourg!🇱🇺✌🇪🇺
Hey 👋
Guten Tag aus Deutschland 🇩🇪
Grey makes nice educational video's that explain things well. And its nice to see an amercan that really is intersted in something else then the states.
Someone tell this guy that everything he saw about the UK in the EU is no longer valid
The problem with american explanations of e.g. European stuff is they probably haven’t experienced or seen things they talk about but they just google, try to understand and explain in simple language. While it’s nice they want to learn and teach others, they make mistakes in process which results in videos like seen in this video and chanels like (no hate, love them but they do make mistakes) Geography now who say some things that are offensive or untrue.
In highschool, our geography teacher played us a Geography now video and for homework we had to find errors (there were 3 or 4 big ones and few smaller ones we don’t need to bring up).
Ah yes, the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union. That easily dates this video.
Greetings from Slovakia, love your channel bro! Keep it up.
The United Kingdom was so stupid to leave the European Union.
the savage zoom in Greece at 4:30 😂 i feel attacked but i cant deny it lol
Whoever made this video is obviously NOT a fan of the EU and it is telling in the complex and 'boring' manner he presented it.
How terrible to have a continent where people can freely travel between countries and have a common currency.
I'm sure they'd ALL prefer to have borders every hundred kilometers with checkpoint 'armed guards', vehicle searches, body frisks .. not to mention a different currency in every country.
The EU offers many benefits such as combined trade agreements and easily accessed diverse manufacturing facilities and shared technologies .. not to mention shared security.
The maker is CGP Grey, and this style of presentation is what he does, making short video's that explain in a very short time some rather complex topic, all with exactly that tone of voice. I don't think it shows if he is pro- or anti-EU, he is just doing his thing here.
But as a Dutchman, I agree with the rest of your comment; there are more pro's than con's in this arrangement.
Please do not forget the most importent one : Peace
Also in some of the countries in European continent that aren't part of EU you can use both their Money but also Euro! In the future it will slowly be like you thought, all countries in the European continent (that are in total 52 ) will be part of the EU, they are working on it by making some internal political changes in their countries that are required from the EU!!! The situation will be better in the future, for now it is a work in progress...
Honestly, the things with the overseas territories reminds me of what remains of the U.S.-American empire, what with Costa Rica, Guam, American Samoa...
Where on some of them, you don't get born a U.S. citizen, but a U.S. _national_ with all the same obligations but not the same rights as a citizen, which elections you can vote in depends on which of the territories you live on, and on and on and on.
Why should you consider Guam "rest of Us Empire" but not Hawai or literally most of the West of Continental USA?
@@desperateswabianhousewife8317 Well, you do have a point - but at least those parts (excluding the reservations) have full statehood. They're about on the level of empire as Algeria used to be for France, except the US succeeded (in large parts) with _their_ "assimilation/replacement", to put it euphemistically, while France lost an independence war instead.
UK is no more in UE.
The only time in the past 5,000 years when Europe hasn’t been generally at war is the past 60 years, since the end of WW2 and the beginnings of the EEC.
You did good to choose a CGP Grey video to try and explain in a short, lighthearted but also informative manner the complicated mess that is Europe. Nevertheless, we could see your confusion grow with each passing minute, poor guy 🙃😉... Yes, history played (and still plays) a huge factor that complicates things... Know that it is equally confusing for people who actually live there, although most are rarely bothered by it (unless your job or livelihood depends on import/export or some other economic or diplomatic relation with other EU countries). Btw, CGP Grey has loads of good videos on other interesting topics as well!
The stuff about the special relationships with those far off mostly island territories is just to make the EU look more complicated than the US. As if the US does not have those kinds of special arangements: Guam, Virgin islands, Puorto Rico, Samoa,
Native American territories, etc.
Being American but not represented, not in the house of representatives, nor in the senate, paying taxes though...
It's funny seeing you watch while you chill eating what looks like ice cream. So casual 😂 Btw, great video
You should react to a video explaining all the parts of the EU
could not find a video like that :-(
@@foreignreacts there’s this channel with videos explaining how the European institutions works: ua-cam.com/users/Ciceroni1
The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and officially left the trading bloc - its nearest and biggest trading partner - on 31 January 2020. However, both sides agreed to keep many things the same until 31 December 2020, to allow enough time to agree to the terms of a new trade deal. It was a complex, sometimes bitter negotiation, but they finally agreed a deal on 24 December 2020.
Isn't the US basically like the EU? except for countries you have opted out for states, with their own laws while still having federal law.
thnx for providing the link to the original keep up the good work
For sure
Always gotta give credit to the original content!
European Laws are more likely a standard level, not precise legislatives acts
CZ/SK squad!
the UK has left now
Colloquially known as... BREXIT! :)
So sad
@@foreignreacts WE ARE FREE....We LOVE Europe and Europeans but LOVE our Independence, My Friend :)
@@Isleofskye You misspelled "FUCKED". We are no more free now than before but have less job opportunities, funding, negotiating power, fishing rights, export/import opportunities etc., etc.
@@Isleofskye As a Brit, I actually feel less free now we've left the EU then I did before and now with the loons in power, it doesn't look good lol.
Still there is the silver lining, everything is going up in price so at least it hits the Brexiteers the hardest lol.
Yes politics are complicated welcome to the real world of the planet earth.
He really thought countrys are some high high-school kids vibing together 😂😂
😂 yes I thought Europe were chilling together like the continent we’re Europe so let’s build a union to help each other ✅
06:42 same compicated like every US state are differend taxes and local laws in USA.
😂 I think it’s way more simple in America. Just think of each state as their own country but owned by a empire
So each state has their own laws and various tax rates but are all bound to the empire
For example when Texas tried to leave!
Their aim was to be a country and leave the empire
If that makes sense.
The European Union is more similar to the United States in structure than most Americans realize but it's a much younger version and on a different continent. I myself am also an American with British and German family members.
I kinda feel good when foreigners find out for the first time how connected the EU actually is. One might successfully argue that in many areas it's more of a federation than the US is. And unlike the US, it works. :-)
EU was born as a result of WW1 and WW2, to create common interests among former rival nations, so that they would never fight each others again. At the start it was the Union of coal and steel, but it gradually evolved in a co-prosperity sphere where a european citizen can do whatever the hell he wants as long as he respects law. Being a part of a supranational organization means that your country’s laws are second to european laws. This is why nationalism and sovranism are such a thorn in the side and this is why Poland and Hungary are having problems with the EU, because they don’t respect human and civil rights.
In the EU the weaker countries are supported by the richer. Hungary and Poland in particular are given A LOT of money every year, but they are not the only ones
03:29 I live in Estonia (Tallinn is capital city).
In Europe, every now and then somebody remembers that the hill over there used to belong to lord Whatshisface von Whocares and then we have a decade long festival of nationalistic genocide. Its a real laugh riot...
Seriously though, any cooperative treaty is a really thin ice due to local history. Due to general distrust between nations here, every eventuality needs to be covered by law because "the good will" just isn't enough. Every treaty is both a friendly hug and a restraining order. Ironically this rigid system provides security upon which the trust is being build and its starting to bring centuries old rivals closer and closer together. Step by step
Countries do NOT vote on laws. a select few people (MEPs) get told what to vote on and if they disagree they are ignored
But on a lot of issues every one of those representatives have veto right, so a single vote can prevent trade deals, statements, directives, etc.
Elected, not Selected. And it works like in any other parlamentary democracy.
Countries, via the Council, participate in forming these laws together with the Commission.
I’m a European and this video educated me …thanks for sharing.
Like my history teacher said: Europe's politics are so boring it's genius!
and you think America's are interesting? LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
@@henrythomasbarthram6065 No, never said that. but people care about US politics because they make it "sensational". I hate that omg. Lucky I live in the EU!
Yes, boring politic is actually a very good thing. When it's not, it usually means there are big problems.
Hey! I'm from Poland, small country in the centre of the Europe. Aaannnnddd it's hidden gem. Trust me. With Geography now! Poland. xoxo
it was Persons like president Charles de Gaulle in france or *chancellor Konrad Adenauer in germany, and a lot of other women and men who bring the first step to european integration.
I'm so, so happy about the establishment of the Rome and Maastricht-Treaties.
Thank you Konrad Adenauer, for the investigate in my future.
Political System in Germany:
*(Chancellor - Head of Government)
*(Head of State)
interesting
Have you considered reacting to the 5 part video series from Extra History on The Irish Potato Famine?
It's sad but it's an important part of history people need to know about.
There's also the lengthy video on the Irish War of Independence, the video on the Irish Civil war, and two videos on the Trouble, all important comparatively recent history.
Definitely was crazy to lean all this
Having no idea it was so complicated! 💥
And now the UK is out of the EU, despite Scotland and North Ireland havong voting to stay in the EU so they are out of the EU against their will.
No as it was done by population not by countries within that Union. The U.K was part of the E.U so therefore the whole U.K voted as a whole also Scotland/ Northern Ireland were not in the E.U as individual nations. The U.K was part of the E.U.
The UK is not a member of the EU.
No longer!!!!
The EU has the most scientific publications per capita worldwide
That's interesting. Do you have the source for that ?
it is even more complicated. Because not all state forms respond to a single nation. As is our case, we are Catalans (Catalonia nation, and Spain State), which also generates internal conflicts (we have our own language, and a particular economic system). For this reason, some of us think that Europe should definitely take the step from the form of a State to that of a Euroregion, which responds better to the economic-social-cultural realities. For example, the Euro-Mediterranean. It would also provide a great strategic asset to the entire EU. We, from Barcelona, can connect you the gas pipe that we receive from Algeria, and you could cut with Putilandia quickly, without problems.
i dont know if EU is the only union...... Well, i know a rather well known union, the USA.....
And to make it even more complicated, since the morons in the UK left the EU and they now starting to understand that this was a huge mistake Northen Ireland, who is a part of the UK, are still in the EU
No one seams to realy know how that happend and why the brittish conservative think its bad but in the long run it actually can lead to Ireland reunite, and if that happend, why should Scotland stay, couse the population of Scotland voted to stay in the EU
The EU ist very complicated at the moment. I wish that the EU becomes a federal republic one day. Could you react to "Kurzgesagt - Is the European Union worth it or should we end it"? It explains very well why it would be great for the EU members to work better together. We could be a global super power. Greetings from Germany.
Federal republic😂 Britain have just left, the Polish hate all of you and the French are starting to speak of a FREXIT. Of course it's a German who wants to see this. I would say you're disgrace to your ancestors but considering what horrid ancestors you had I'm sure they would have enjoyed the idea of a unified Europe. God bless British sovereignty and God save the Queen🇬🇧
small note: When the UK was in the EU it was not in Schengen and indeed you needed ID to get in there BUT the border agents could only verify your IDs, and as long they were valid, they could not ask further questions
Thanks for this, m8. Being from a former communist country, our membership in the EU (allowing us to get to previously unreachable west just by passing the sign 'Bundesrepublik Deutschland') is a reason for me to love the end of the 20th century.
UK nationals commenting under videos about the EU: Our archnemesis! The opposite side of the same coin! Glorious and eternal friend/enemyness!
EU citizens: I wonder what Russia is doing right now.
The moment I noticed you eating I felt like we were just hanging out. Subbed!
It's shocking that they don't discuss such things at American high schools. It took 8 minutes :)
I love how in the beginning he says he doesn't know if it's the biggest union...bro...it's a alliance
while this is a gross oversimplification: the EU can actually be pretty well compared to the US; where you have one large over-arching government making decisions for a union of smaller countries/states, which in turn have their own laws and jurisdiction.
EU is quite a bit more complicated but I'm just saying they're generally similar concepts. Just like EU citizens have citizenship in their country and the EU, Americans have citizenship in their state as well as the US. The primary difference comes in terms of government structure and that the nations in the EU might have slightly *more* rights to make decisions than US states, and it would be a bit easier for a country to leave the EU than it would be for a State to secede from the US