Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "Why are some member states worried about Ukraine and other states joining the EU? | DW News" video.

Er, Erdogan happened. Under different leadership, Turkey would've been in the EU already -- and it would've had a solid economy firing on all pistons, giving its fellow EU members a run for their money.
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I smell copium. Let's face it, Britain's lost a great deal of gravitas after Brexit. So much so, in fact, that Britain should've vacated its permanent seat in the UNSC. There have been calls on France to transfer its permanent seat to the EU. Of course, French pride was hurt, but France does still pack a punch, and if not otherwise, then as a major EU member.
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@airhabairhab The Soviets' war in Afghanistan lasted ten years and took a whole superpower down. Russia is a mere shadow of the Soviet Union, and Russian losses far exceed what the Soviets endured in Afghanistan. 5 years max.
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I've heard that said for the better part of a century. There ought to be a tax on predictions of the EU's imminent demise. The proceeds could easily pay for rebuilding Ukraine.
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@sapatsuppa There's the unfounded claim of Ukrainian military aggression against Donbas civilians again. Not even Russian OSCE monitors managed to produce a shred of evidence to that effect.
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@dacian_1346 Actually, Belgium would be a net contributor to the EU budget if it wasn't compensated for the expense of hosting so many EU institutions. In other words, there's no free lunch for Belgium here.
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@krzysztofgorecki1667 You're effectively blaming the Rotterdam-Antwerp effect. It's a distortion in trade statistics due to transhipment. It's named such because Rotterdam and Antwerp are the busiest seaports in Europe. The same effect is at play in Gdansk and Gdynia, although to a far lesser extent.
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@neilnelson7603 You're kidding yourself. Russia has a poorly diversified economy -- something Putin has promised to fix time after time, but with little to show for. It's not for nothing that Russia is jokingly referred to as a gas station masquerading as a country. Foolishly, Putin has chased away his best customers, too. No one threatened Russian borders. Russia's sphere of influence, as it exists in Putin's imperialistic mind, was threathened, but that carries no weight.
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It's up to the EU's members to decide about military conscription, since there's no EU army. Some of us have retained conscription after the Cold War and we're all the better for it, too. Needs vary, however, and members are best positioned to decide what works for them.
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@sapatsuppa Russia should not have broken the UN Charter. For that alone, it deserves to be kicked out of the UNSC.
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@sapatsuppa Is whataboutism the best you can do? I happen to believe that the UNSC should be reformed, but still, there's no place for a rogue state like Russia at the top. Nor Britain, nor France.
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