Comments by "anotheranon" (@anotheranon3118) on "TLDR News EU" channel.

Albania has amazing people but the country is in very bad shape. It'd be very difficult to steer it in the right direction. More reforms are needed before accession takes place.
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Quite amusing to see old comments by Kremlinbots claiming that we'd freeze during the winter.
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I'd say so. Montenegro > NM > Albania > the rest, imho.
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Just send those Leopards already.
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@newfaith912 No one is putting into question the fact that non-EU Balkan countries have rich histories, cultures, great food and hospitable people. That said, we are concerned about the rule of law, corruption, freedom of the press, respect for minorities, a number of economic issues, etc. No minimum standards met = no membership. No EU membership does not mean that candidate/country X is uncivilized. Far from that. It just means that it is not ready for membership. That's all. Also, corruption is an endemic problem in these nations. The EU may at times contribute to these problems, for sure, but it is far from the main culprit.
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Diversify and win. The EU also has leverage over Turkey. As long as we have a multi-stream system, all is well. They key is to not to put all of our eggs on one basket.
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@LoisoPondohva If that natural fortress bordered Russia, things would be different. Look at South Ossetia, for instance.
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@jonizymberi6787 Certainly. I spent time in Albania last year and I met the nicest people ever, you have a gorgeous country. I hope more folks visit Albania and learn about it. But yes, hopefully reforms can help steer Albania in the right direction in the coming years. There's potential, but more work is needed. In terms of emigration, I suppose that if Albania was to join soon, you'd see many people leave in the short term, but as the country gets richer, it would stabilize at point.
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@RomanLavandos Tajikistan is Djibouti.
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As much as I dislike Erdogan, he did great things as mayor of Istanbul and he also did quite well during this first years leading all of Turkey. At a point though, all went down the drain.
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@LoisoPondohva The mines, bunkers, contingency plans etc. are man-made, though. I have not been to South Ossetia but I have seen the walled fences outside of Gori. As far as I am aware, the only crossing in that section of the Caucasus is the Roki Tunnel, is not it? The point that I wanted to make is that, for sure, natural geography helps, and so do precautionary measures, but they can only do so much if you border Russia and have beef with them.
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Italy has more influence within the EU than Spain, that's for certain. It's a larger nation, and it also has been democratic and part of global supply chains for much longer. Saying that said influence is 10 times larger is, well, an overstatement.
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That's what some were saying since the beginning - that we should let Russia pound Ukraine because the dictator at the Kremlin would get angry at us otherwise. WWIII is not happening. And we won't stand still looking at how Russia is tearing Ukraine apart.
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You sure? I don't think so. I don't think Mali, for instance, is set to become any safer in the coming years.
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Spot on comment.
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@filodoxos4337 Yes, but Sánchez has indicated that Morocco's plan for autonomy for Western Sahara is OK (idiotic move), so the Algerians have gotten pissed off and it is likely that most of these gas contracts will be awarded to the Italians instead (who btw visited Algiers recently).
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@filodoxos4337 Yes, we are on the same page here, just adding an extra bit of info. Also, oil is widely used for heating purposes, and quite a bit of it comes from Latin America.
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Meet Saudi Arabia, the new EU superpower MashAllah.
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Zaydan Naufal 😂😂
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@danielalexandre89 I abhor Putin and his regime, but my concern here is Ukraine, Ukrainians and the future of their country - which again, it is theirs, a flawed democracy, but a country that has the right to exist. Russia is essentially a quasi-fascist regime, should we tear it apart then? What's the end goal to this? It is the third time that Russia has invaded Ukraine in 8 years. Does it end with these 4 oblasts? Who assures you that they won't keep marching forward onto Kharkiv, Kyiv and beyond? And also, have you got any idea of what is happening within the occupied territories - forced deportations, war crimes, general abuse, erasure of the Ukrainian identity? Nah, screw that. The West should support Ukraine and what Ukrainians want to do. Public polls reflect that Ukrainians want to keep their country and wish to see a free Ukraine in the future, despite the associated costs. I respect their will and I think that we should support them. That's what I, as well as the majority of Europeans think. And remember. Ukraine is fighting for survival. Ukraine is being attacked yet again, under the most flimsy of pretexts by an imperialistic state stuck in the mentality of the 1800s. This all makes a difference. There are wars that are with fighting. This is one of them.
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@danielalexandre89 Conscription when your country is under attack and risks not seeing tomorrow =/= conscription to attack, invade and pillage a sovereign country. Nuclear threats in this case are clearly a bluff and they go against Russia's nuclear doctrine. When you see a bully in the school yard abusing a kid, you just don't look. You do something, with your friends. You do not embolden that sort of behavior. This is largely about Ukraine. But to an extent, it is also about sending a signal to Russia that we won't allow these actions to be made acceptable in our continent again.
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We have officially cancelled Russia. They are no longer part of Europe.
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@yurichtube1162 The EU is not finished. Russia is a pariah and keeps butchering Ukrainians, so we don't want anything to do with them.
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Can't Algeria and other sources help meet some of that demand?
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@tree330 They all moved to the Euronews channel.
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@puraLusa There's a bit of a kernel of truth to that, though. I say this as someone who finds what Russia is doing appalling.
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@puraLusa The take home message here is that many countries in the EU have been relying on cheap Russian gas to fuel their industries, including (but not exclusively) Germany. When the price of gas went up, these industries became less competitive in global markets. Generally, we find it hard to compete against other industrial powerhouses such as the US (since they do have abundant and cheap natural resources), but now it is even worse. Huge chunks of our economies (and jobs) relied on cheap gas inputs. You can't just transition overnight (into what? or rely on green energy inputs? it does not work that way). There will be pain ahead. This does not mean that Europe will de-industrialize fast, but many factories will move somewhere else. Just look at what many car brands in Germany are saying already.
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@arturobianco848 "Europa empieza en los Pirineos" 😛 Much of that comes from a place of self-hate. But it's also not cool to disregard the many economic/cultural/historical links that exist between Spain and North Africa.
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@arturobianco848 "Europa empieza en los Pirineos" 😛 Much of that comes from a place of self-hate. But it's also not cool to disregard the many economic/cultural/historical links that exist between Spain and North Africa.
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@marcspace5144 How old are you? 9? 8?
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Russia is going to continue to throw bodies at the problem. There many be more rounds of conscription moving forward. In that sense, the Russians have a comparative advantage. If Ukraine can't perform better in the battlefield - either due to better training, better weapons or a combination of these and other factors - things may get difficult after the winter is over, imho. This is a necessary move to support Ukraine in its fight for survival.
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@rcm926 Ukrainian controlled then, not occupied. Or nay?
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@clementyang3249 Into Europe
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@danielalexandre89 Ukraine is not in NATO but Ukrainians share many of our values and aspirations and have made it clear that they would like to be a part of the EU and the European democratic community. Ukraine is an EU candidate and works closely with us in many respects. Ukraine is in our continent and the connections among our countries run deep. I personally have visited the country and know many Ukrainians. This is the case for many people across the EU, especially the closer you get to Ukraine. "You have to let Russia conquer Ukraine" - so all of it then. Thanks for replying to my question. All of it, gotcha. We need to let the imperial rogue state to the east wreak havoc in our neighborhood. We need to let it do whatever, no matter what it is. Anything to appease the bear, even if it is just giving up on the large period of peace - with a few exceptions, ie Yugoslavia - that we have enjoyed since the 50s. War crimes in Ukraine? Destruction of civilian infrastructure? Unjustified aggression? All cool, man. If you cover your eyes, you won't see it. Kind reminder that Russia has lost large swathes of land which it controlled in March. Russia was going to take Ukraine in three days also, and look where we are at. It is a bad assumption to go by - that Russia will just conquer Ukraine. Look at the facts on the ground. Letting Ukraine fall means serious crimes against Ukrainians from now on - that is from now into the future. It means cultural genocide. It means torture in their own land. It means forced relocations and disposession. It means censorship. It means lack of political representation. It means erasure of their identity. Russia won't be a force for good, but a colonizer. They are not liberating anyone. See what they have been up to in the occupied territories. See for yourself. No one should have to go through this. Again, this is a war fighting for and worth supporting. Re. conscription, that is a different matter which can be debated. The fact that there is conscription in Ukraine - or corruption, or what have you - does not mean by any means that we should not support their plight.
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@danielalexandre89 1) Winning the war means different things for different people. 2) No one knows what the outcome of this war will be with certainty. There was a good article on FP today with a bunch of experts, their predictions and disagreements. But you seem to have figured all out in the face of uncertainty. Maybe time to write a column for The Diplomat? 3) This won't be dragging Europe into war. The no boots on the ground principle has not changed. We are not attacking Russia. We are supplying weapons to a partner so that it can defend itself. Putin's nuclear weapons talk is cheap and a bluff.
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@danielalexandre89 Check out Russia's military doctrine re. the use of nuclear weapons and consider what the international consequences of said move would be for Russia. Reading up on the so called nuclear taboo question is useful too - and I don't want to sound smug here. Don't believe the bluff.
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@danielalexandre89 That may be one of the several reasons why they organized the referendums, but it won't fly in this case, and they will not use them under that flimsy premise. They don't even control those oblasts entirely. The cost of using a nuclear weapon is enormous - if Russia is a pariah now, imagine what that would mean if they did use one. There's a lot of room for more sanctions and punishment, including from China. They will not do it. It is a bluff. This is the predominant view among experts at this point of time, to the best of my knowledge. You just cannot give in to every threat that they make, especially if largely unsubstantiated. What if tomorrow they demand that Ukrainian forces leave Kharkiv within 48h or else they will nuke Kyiv? Should they leave? What if they keep playing that game and where is the end line?
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Spanish Galicia?
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@efteridaqi3931 Do you think? I am not from the region, but I have spent time in both counties. NM seems to be doing very well when you compare it to Albania. But I'd be interested in hearing about your thoughts in this respect.
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Right. Because Spanish public employees retire age 55 as you claim, eh.
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@Fuhrerjehova Spain is a net beneficiary because it is less economically developed than central and northern Europe - not necessarily because their civil servants "retire at age 55." I will also be glad to see Spain becoming a net contributor in the coming years. Pro-European sentiment is really strong in Spain. I don't think said change - which is likely to occur soon - will have many people make up their minds about the EU. EU membership in Spain is not associated to being a new beneficiary - and I think the video does a good job at explaining that.
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It will in the coming years, for sure.
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