Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "Which European Army is the Most Powerful?" video.
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Europe's or rather the EU's defence spending isn't the real issue, the real issue is that they are all pulling in different directions.
What is really needed is a single voice and a single military, and I can only see that being done at an EU level.
Yes, EU countries can spend more on their militaries but they are still going to be quite weak if they are all separated and worse yet, there are a lot of waste and duplications.
Now I know we have NATO, but come on, the US doesn't always have Europe's interest at heart and it's high time Europeans countries get together and pool their resources, otherwise they will get pushed aside by other powers like the US and China.
It's high time that people in Europe realize that yes the US is a friend but they are also a rival that anyone that threatens US power around the world, even friends, will see a different side to the US as Japan found out in the 80's.
So yes, the EU countries should continue to be friends with the US, they share a lot in common but it's high time Europeans wake up and start realizing that the US serves US interest not Europe's and only come to the aid of Europe if it's in the interest of the US.
So the real question is, how marginalized does the EU countries have to go before the penny drops that they need to combine their resources together to protect their political, economic and social interest, and I say social interest because the only reason EU countries can afford them is because of the backing of the EU economy but it will become harder and harder to protect those things, like workers rights, food standards and universal health care because we've seen it a lot over the decades how the US tries to lobby other countries to abide by their rule sets, the EU with its economic clout is the only thing keeping them at bay and that has a positive impact on other countries that want to maintain a social democracy with social benefits.
The truth is, even if individual EU countries do boost their military capabilities, they will still be miles behind the big players like the US and China because of economy of scale, in other words, European countries in the EU are going to have to pool their resources together a lot more over the coming decades or they are going to get pushed aside by the other powers.
As for countries that could rival or beat the UK and France, clearly Germany is one of them, they have the resources, the economy and population to be the biggest military power in Europe, it's weather they have the will to make it happen.
Poland is hard to say, their economy is still developing, its population growth is static or even shrinking, I do think Poland could be a reasonable size military power in Europe but personally, I think Spain has a better chance, they've got a more modern economy that's continuing to grow, its population is growing and as a country, it's got a lot more potential in the future, it also helps that Spain is pro EU and closer to France and Germany which could become a big deal if those 3 countries plus other work on many military projects together.
I would throw Italy in there but I feel Italy is a declining power, its population is shrinking, it's not very pro EU, it's got an unstable political system but more importantly, they keep blaming others for a lot of the flaws in their own system, which is a shame because I'm half Italian but I've got to see it for how it is.
On the plus side, cooperation among Germany, France, Spain, maybe even Italy and a few others will likely be strong on the military front going forward, Poland could be thrown into that mix but under the current government, I'm not so sure.
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@ce1834 It wouldn't surprise me but it will be at the expense of the people in cuts in other areas, unless the UK keeps up economically, but I doubt we will long term, France just has too many advantages over us.
But then again, the UK could end up rejoining the EU in 2 decades, support seems to be growing with it being at 59% of the public thinking Brexit was a mistake or that they want to rejoin the EU.
If that percentage keeps growing, the government will have to listen and Labour will find it hard to be silence on Brexit, question is, will they get the memo before Scotland and Northern Ireland leave the UK union.
On the plus side, I find all this Brexit lark comical over the last 5 or so years.
As for NATO, I think overtime the EU countries are going to build a single military, it's the only way for them to stay relevant on the world stage, but I don't expect it to undermine NATO, in fact, there's no reason why the EU couldn't be a member of it like the US is, just that the EU would have a lot more clout in it compared to the individual members.
If that was to happen, it would more or less push the UK aside in military aspects in Europe and make us less relevant, especially as the US will likely want something like the EU to back them up on the world stage with a rising China around.
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