Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "What's the Future of the European Union? The EU Wants Your Ideas - TLDR News" video.

That's part of the problem, not enough knows about the in's and out's of the EU and the benefits of being a member as we saw in the UK which in a big part led to Brexit. What's needed is some kind of engagement with the public on pan-European things and I think we need pan-European politics with a lot more reporting on what's going on at European level. It's easy for the EU to seem distant to citizens of it's members but that's in big part because it doesn't get reported enough in the media and that is where a big part of the problem is. Basically, we do need more Europe with how the world is changing but the people of all the members need to be involved in that. I also do feel it needs more democracy, I know the EU is democratic but it needs to be more on the surface so the people can see that, that basically means more direct elections. It's ironic, I seem to have more interest in what's going on in the EU then I do in the UK which is funny considering I'm British, maybe because I think in the longer run, us Europeans need to band together if we are to compete with the likes of the US and China and the EU is likely our only option, regardless of what the UK might think with Brexit. Anyway, truth be told, if Europeans want the EU to be more useful to them, we need reforms and new treaties and that will likely mean more integration in some areas but I don't see what the alternatives are because we're not going to compete with the likes of the US and China if we don't get our act together and band together, that includes the UK once it gets it's act together on Brexit.
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@GoalOrientedLifting True that, especially in the UK, for decades, you rarely hear anything positive about the EU but you sure hear about the negative aspect of it, it's no wonder people think like they do when they only hear one side of the story, especially in the UK with the right wing media that's in control that hates the EU, Rupert Murdoch and co. But honestly, I think the EU are well rid of the UK, they were never really an EU member to begin with as many countries that are not EU members are more integrated in the EU than the UK was because of the op-outs.
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@ai-d3982 Unfortunately, that's the real problem with democracy, it's only as strong as people are in taking interest in it and that's the case at EU, national and local level, we do quite poor at that in the west, especially in the bigger countries, smaller ones seem to do a better job and maybe because they are more inwards looking.
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@Dash101 True and a big part of that was because of the media that reported all the bad but rarely reported the good on it, basically, we mostly heard the negatives about the EU and none of the positives that I'm actually surprised the Brexit results was as close as they were considering all the brainwashing going on. In any case, Brexiteers are of the same mindset even after Brexit, as in they always blame others for their misfortune in life, hence the reason why the UK government is desperate to keep the spotlight on the EU as the bad guy because they know eventually the Brexiteers will want solid results from Brexit, something the government can't deliver on because Brexit was a lie. The problem for the government, a lot of those Brexiteers will turn on them once they realize things are not getting better or have got worse, that's when the Tories really have to worry because the northern regions in England have borrowed the Tories the vote based on Brexit, that won't last unless things get much better in those regions, thats not likely to happen as the Tories have always been about the south and as Scotland and Northern Ireland might leave the UK union in the near future, the government will need more resources to make them happy, meaning the northern part of the UK gets thrown under the bus just like the fishing and farming industry are being thrown under the bus, the irony is that the sectors that voted for Brexit the most are being shitted on the most, I say irony but that was the plan all along by the government, Brexiteers didn't want to see that but now they'll find out the hard way. In any case, things are not going to get better in this country until this government is out of power, they've burnt too many bridges and will find it difficult to repair ties with the EU, in other words, we've got at least 4 or 5 years of decline and maybe more depending what the next government does.
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@jethamillionviews560 It's actually better for all it's members but poorer ones benefit the most.
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@harrypadarri6349 Everyone region benefits from EU membership to some degree or another be having easier access to trade. Have you ever wondered why most of the biggest companies in the world tend to also have a big market back home? the EU, US, China, that's the real advantage they have, it allows the people and companies to grow whiles having the advantage of the rules being more in their favour to allow them to grow at the expense of outside rivals. A big part of the reason the EU was created was to level the playing field with the US as the US used it big market to give it's own companies a leg up which they used around the world, so the EU did the same for it's own market, this is really where the UK could suffer the most because they don't have that advantage now. But yeah, truth is, the EU is needed for us Europeans, including the UK because if we don't integrate and work together, we're not going to compete with the likes of the US and China, the UK is likely going to find that out the hard way.
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@SgtAndrewM That's pretty much every government on the planet. But in any case, the good thing about the EU is the way it's being formed back to front, it basically takes time but it ends up making it a lot more accountable because members are not going to be willing to give power up unless it's very accountable and democratic. Shame as well because we could see more of that in the UK and US where too much power is being controlled too centrally.
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@SgtAndrewM Probably not and that's because in the end, it's the end result that matters, the UK started out of the gate fast but it's who finish and who does it correctly that matters. If you look at the numbers, it looks like the EU will catch up to the UK and might even overtake us by the end of summer and unlike the UK, they are using the better quality vaccine on more people which is trusted a lot more by the people, even in the UK. Also, lets not forget that some countries like the UK and US played games on the vaccine procurement process, the UK for instance delivered little to no vaccines out of the UK, the EU have delivered 200 million out of the EU, the EU is set to have 1.9 billion vaccines by the end of the year, enough for the EU population 4 times over. In other words, don't jump the gun just yet because it's still early days and with the talks of a third wave in the UK, if a third wave happens in the UK but doesn't in the EU, that will be seen as a disaster for the UK on a number of fronts, one it could mean the vaccine of choice isn't as effective, two it could be that the UK kept the door open with India for too long, that door should have been shut 4 or 5 weeks earlier than it was but you know our government, it's the economy above the well-being of the people, in other words, they wanted a good trade deal with India and was willing to put peoples lives at risk in the UK. If a third wave happens, this could blow up in the governments face because they are 100% responsible for that mess, after all, what was it they said, a jab per arm is a way to freedom?, basically, the government in the UK can't afford another lock down whereas other EU countries can and all because of how the government has conditioned the people, basically, this is one lie the government isn't going to be able to spin.
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@xythiera7255 A big part of why Brexit happen is the constant EU bashing in the UK from much of the media and governments, we always hear about the negatives of EU membership but rarely about the positives, it surprised me that the EU got so much support at all considering what the people are fed on the EU. Truth is, you ask most Brexiteers anything about the benefits of the EU, most can't answer it. Anyway, there are other factors involved xenophobia is clearly one of them, especially in England and that risks braking up the UK union.
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@asdf3568 The EU always has problems and yet it's still around, besides, wasn't Brexit suppose to desolve the EU? it seems to have made it stronger, if anything, if you look at it, the UK union is far more at risk than the EU union is with everything that's going on in Scotland and Northern Ireland and looking at all those trade deals which most are not that good as they are just making the numbers up not the quality of the deal, that could help to push Scotland to leave, not so much Northern Ireland as they are already in the Custom union being dragged away from the UK.
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@asdf3568 Italy always seems to be in crisis, it's remarkable they get anything done with all the corruption and inefficacy they have in that country but maybe thanks to the pandemic, they might turn a new leaf. As for the EU, I always seem to find they work best when in crisis, but overall, the EU are doing fine, better than I expected considering the pressures from the pandemic and Brexit. I do have to wonder about the financial crisis and not just for the EU but for all the west as we've all done a really poor job in handling this pandemic and are riddled with debts which is probably why the EU and US are seeing sense in working together, well that and China.
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@asdf3568 It's not perfect, but then again, what is? the idea was with the Euro was to get it on the market and overtime, integrate the economies into it, it takes time but that's pretty much what's happening and the reason they had to do that is because they were doing things back to front, bringing a currency out over many countries which is no easy task, still they made it happen and it's working. Now basically, it's in the interest of the Euro Zone countries to integrate more thanks to the Euro and that will in the long run make the EU and Euro much stronger.
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@asdf3568 Greece is an exception to the rule that lied to join the Euro and in a sense, Greece should have been kicked out of the Euro, the reality is, for most Euro Zone members, especially the northern countries, it's working quite well and the simple reason it's working is because they made the changes in the economy for it to work whereas some countries, two you mentioned above keep complaining and wanting bail-outs, that's not the faults of the Euro, that's those countries faults. After all, lets be blunt about this, those countries were slipping behind even before the Euro but the Euro became the easy scapegoat for some governments to blame because they don't want to take the blame themselves by doing the reforms needed. It's a bit like in the UK where they always blamed the EU for all the wrongs in the UK even thought most of what's wrong in the UK is because of the UK government, it's deflecting blame away, a lot of governments do it.
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@bonumdalek7107 The thing is with Italy, it's a country of two halves, you've got the northern part of Italy that functions quite well and competes will, then you've got the southern part which feels less developed, a lot more corrupt and a mess all around. As for the third wave, we've not really started it yet, but as we're seeing, infection rates are shooting up and death rates are starting to follow and as I'm sure you are aware, death rates lag a few weeks behind infection rates, in other words, we could be at the early stages of the third wave already and we'll know over the next month or so. Personally I hope it doesn't happen as it feels like we're going around in circles but it does look like it is happening even with so many people having the vaccine.
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@bonumdalek7107 Very true, I remember reading up about that with Italy where so many projects that get government cash ends up with much of that cash not going to the project at hand and in many cases, the money disappears. Corruption is the biggest problems in these countries down south but just like the UK government that likes to blame all the wrongs in the country on others, those countries do the same. What's really needed is some major reforms and a clean up of a lot of that corruption, until then, they are just going to keep blaming others for their own mess just like the UK did.
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@asdf3568 One thing I've learned over the years is that countries in the south of the EU find it harder to adapt, northern European countries are adapting to it much better and making the Euro work for them, the excuses are starting to run out with the southern countries, especially as the eastern countries join the Euro and make a success of it. We should also remember that these countries had major structural problems in the economy before the Euro, many I suspect thought that by joining the Euro, the other countries would keep bailing them out, that's true to a degree but as we saw recently, a lot of that bail-out money will get tied down to major reforms, in other words, the other EU countries are willing to help just as long as those countries that need help are willing to help themselves, in other words, their time is running out. In other words, the Euro isn't the problem, some members in it are and that's why Mark Rutter was playing hard ball recently in not wanting to bail them out unless it's tied to major reform, they are seeing what I've been seeing for years.
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@bonumdalek7107 I agree with you but clearly it's not a easy problem to solve and they've been trying in Italy for decades, many Italians have got to the point where they want to split Italy in two, north and south because the south is a drain on the north. I think Italy needs a strong government that pushes really hard over a term or two to clean up corruption and the south but that would have to be one brave leader. I think the UK is going to continue to go downwards until we get rid of this Tory government, too much bad blood from them and the EU to normalize relations now and this government is too fanatical in blaming the EU for everything wrong in the UK, the irony is, the UK keeps signing one bad trade deal after another that it wouldn't surprise me if a future government re-joins the single market and/or custom union, that would be one easy way for a future government that has nothing to do with Brexit to wipe out all these bad deals and get the same deals the EU has. As for the northern EU state, all they have to do with the EU is have much tougher rules on cash for reforms, that's probably the best way to get the countries down south to do real reforms, otherwise, if they keep getting free hand outs with no cost, they'll never change and end up being a burden on the north.
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@asdf3568 They were never forced into it, they choose it, some even broke their own rules to join the Euro like Greece, the rest is just excuses for them not doing the major reforms needed for the Euro to work effectively for them, the northern countries did it, so can the countries down south. The real proof is in the pudding as we are seeing with eastern European countries that are slowly joining the Euro, they are not having the same problem the south is having and for good reason, the way of thinking in those countries is different then the south and more in line with the northern European countries.
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@asdf3568 Partly, that does help but I think a big part of it is the mentality of the people which for the most part think like northern western Europeans do which makes it easier for them to develop and it won't surprise me if they suppose the countries down south of Europe. It's a tricky one with Greece, they shouldn't have been allowed in but it was too late when it was all found out and I doubt the EU wanted to kick them out so they muddle through, as for the Euro, it's not the problem for them but it's an easy scapegoat to blame for all the wrongs in the country, in truth, these countries would get left behind even if they were not in the Euro or EU, the problem is more deep-rooted in those countries and that's whats needed to change, in other words, some major reforms are needed in those countries, something Italy and Spain are trying to do but it's not always easy. As for the Euro overall, it's a lot more stable than it was a decade ago and clearly isn't going anywhere as some predicted but there is still some work to do in integrating the economies more in line with it, that basically means Euro Zone countries will have to integrate more to get the real benefits of the Euro, that's happening but it's happening slower than it should and again, a big part of that problem is the countries down south not pulling their weight.
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@bonumdalek7107 I think in time, The Tories, the media and people in the UK will stop blaming others and the EU for all the wrongs in the UK but I suspect that's only going to happen once this Tory government is out of power, they've set themselves up to blame the EU for everything wrong in the UK, hence why even thought the UK is out of the EU, they can't help but to blame the EU for all the wrongs in the UK, it's sad if not laughable. The problems in the UK are deep-rooted and most are caused by UK governments, something the British people are going to see over the next decade which by then they might start to warm to the EU again. Problem is for the UK, there is little to no chance of the EU letting the UK back in for decades, especially the England part which is where the problem is, Scotland and Northern Ireland have a much better chance of rejoining the EU as they didn't want to leave in the first place. The only other alternative for the UK is to re-join the single market and/or custom union, the irony being is that will solve many problems, the Northern Ireland boarder for one, but it will also solve the trade problem, the UK government is signing one bad deal after another around the world to make up the numbers, how easy would it be for a future government to come in that's got nothing to do with Brexit and say, right that's it, we're trading in all these bad deals for good ones with the EU, in a sense, wiping out all those bad deals and replacing them with the deals the EU has around the world, I suspect that could be quite tempting for a future UK government, especially if things keep getting worse in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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@bonumdalek7107 I think the odds of England getting back in the EU is more or less zero, at least for the next decade or two as I can think of 2 or 3 EU members that would block that whereas Scotland and Northern Ireland if they left the UK, they likely could join pretty quickly because they voted to remain in the EU and was pulled out against their will. Realistically, if the UK wanted to get back in, the single market and custom union is the best option they've got but first, the UK needs to learn by getting screwed over around the world and especially from the US, you don't want a UK back in unless they've really changed. In any case, the UK is already seeing early signs of what many countries around the world think of them, they are being taken advantage off by even weaker countries than the UK and are pretty much being put under the thumb of the US, so much for independence.
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