Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "How the EU Failed the Western Balkans" video.

  1.  @SimonMester  The problem is, you can't really have an economic union without a political union enforcing the rules on its members, without the political side enforcing a level playing field, members would make their own rules up and eventually, boarders would go back up on trade. Also, before the UK joined the EEC, there were a lot of debates on the EEC at the time, some arguing that it was an economic only union and some arguing that it's an economic and political, in truth, the project has always been about political and economic integration in areas that makes sense and this was the case even before the UK joined the EEC. As for the EU coercing countries, it really depends on the policy and how it's done, but if it's one or two countries trying to hold the rest to ransom and there are attempts to resolve the situation but they won't budge, then honestly, the EU has a legitimate reason to get a bit tougher on the country in question, especially if the country in question is using the veto to carry favour in other areas that are not related to the policy at hand. At the end of the day, if we truly want to live in a democracy, then majority rules, but I can understand having some safeguards in areas that are sensitive to some areas in all the EU countries. In any case, the way the EU is now is that EU members can use the veto to block too much, imagine if each US state could block the rest or imagine cities in a country could block the rest from progressing, nothing would get done, and it's why the veto rule will change to change at some point.
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  2. Yes and no on if the EU has failed the Balkans, yes in the sense that the EU should have been more encouraging in giving these countries hope that they can join, which likely would have helped them do the reforms needed to join, and also that the EU should have done reforms to its self years ago, especially on veto rules, which is probably the main reason why it would expand until there are reforms to the EU. But no in the sense that the EU isn't really the issue, some of the members in the EU are, some big reforms to the EU are needed and are long overdue, but there needs to be the political will from the EU members for real change to happen, momentum seems to be building on pushing for reforms, but that could take years and might not achieve much and honestly, too much time has been wasted over the last decade, that many countries that want to join have been losing hope, seeing the EU door firmly shut. Personally, I think reforms to the EU are needed before 2030 at the latest, with serious talks starting after the European Parliament elections later this year, and ideally, the talks should be concluded within two years, with them being implemented on the next European elections. If there are no real signs of change that countries that want to join, especially the ones doing the reforms to join, if there are no real signs they can join, many could look for alternatives away from the EU, something the likes of China and Russia will likely take advantage off. I do also wonder with Ukraine, if the EU and NATO were more open to encouraging reforms in the country, if they could have been much closer to being a member of the EU or even being a member of NATO, which likely would have prevented the war that's going on now. I also do think the EU should open more talks with the Balkan countries, being that they've opened the door with a few other countries recently like Ukraine, that could help to get things moving, but there is still a lot of work to do in those countries that want to join, a lot of reforms are needed, a reduction in corruption and so on, and there is also reforms of the EU that are needed, especially on the veto rules before any country can join, but at least if the EU shows signs of reforms and encourages those countries that want to join that they can with the reforms being done, it could go a long way politically and with the public in those countries in getting the reforms needed, whereas, if they lose hope, it becomes a lot harder for them, or worse, they could look at alternatives like Russia or China.
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  3. Pretty much all countries that join the EU have done well out of it, some more than others, but we should remember that the EU is like a guide, it helps its members create political stability, economic growth, whiles having open access to a big trading block, but ultimately, it's up to the national government of each member to do it's part, hence why some do better out of the EU then others, southern countries for instance have erratic policies, too much red tape and too much corruption, whereas eastern EU members are much closer in line with norther western EU countries and hence why they are catching up fast. The EU does a lot of good, but in the end, a lot of the work is done at a members level.
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  4. It's a double edge sword, on the one hand, it takes resources to help develop countries that want to join, but on the other, there are a lot of benefits in helping them, it creates stability in the region, it creates economic growth, which in turn will create jobs in those regions and in the EU by having more trade with richer countries, long term, it's a win win for both sides, but we are talking decades of long term. Also, you have to wonder if the EU and NATO were more open to Ukraine, would the war have started? Putin after all attacked Ukraine because they are one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a lot of natural resources and are an easy target by not being an EU or NATO member, if there were more progress in those areas, maybe the war never would have started, and regardless of whether you think the EU should help or not with Ukraine, the reality is, we are involved, whether we like it or not, countries that are so close to us have a direct impact on us, politically and economically, and even if we didn't do the right thing in supporting Ukraine, what do you think will happen? Russia will take over Ukraine, consolidate it's power there and look for other targets in the region, most of which are smaller countries so are likely easier targets. In the end, by not helping, it could escalate the war into something much worse, and I feel it's kinda the same thing with the countries that want to join the EU, help to create political and economic stability, that over the long run will make life easier for EU countries and will in the long run create economic trade as those countries become richer, a lot of that trade will be with EU members, so it's a win win for both sides if done right.
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