Youtube comments of Alex (@Alex-df4lt).

  1. American food is not considered edible in the EU
    1000
  2. Perhaps the plan could be simplified further into just two tiers: EU and Hungary.
    269
  3. Belarusians who can't stand living in dictatorship are welcome to immigrate to Poland, Czechia, Slovakia.
    60
  4.  @Chrischi3TutorialLPs  You don't understand we are on one way road now. He doesn't care about the economy or Russian people. He wants to conquer as much land as he can. The war in Ukraine is a genocide and Russia literally a fascist regime at this point.
    50
  5. In Czechia (EU) we go about our lives as usual. Nobody enforces the few remaining restrictions in place and nobody cares. Nobody snitches on people. Australia and New Zealand have the harshest measures in place.
    35
  6. I lived in London on skilled worker visa for 1 year before returning to the EU (not Poland). The project turned out to be terrible, company culture toxic so I resigned, took all the money I earned and left.
    32
  7. In Czechia like 80% of people want to revoke all restrictions immediately. Most of those in place are not enforced anyway. Nobody cares about tests in restaurants and nobody snitches on people. "experts" who advocate stricter measures are labelled as insane by people. Media aren't demonizing people who got infected. I'm quite certain it will turn out well over here.
    32
  8. Yup it is. I live in Czechia and stand 100% behind the EU on this matter.
    30
  9. Germany made an "excellent" choice by increasing its energy dependency on the eastern bear.
    29
  10. ​ @peterjobovic3406  Some people want to live in a prosperous modern country, others in Russian world.
    23
  11.  @iulianc9037  Nuclear launch codes are Hollywood. Even the US, for a long time, until recently could launch nuclear missles without any codes if needed. It relied on discipline, just like USSR.
    23
  12.  @MyVinnyp  Collaboration in the EU strengthens liberal democracy. PiS and Orban are corrupt and want to replace democracy with dictatorship, they must go.
    21
  13. Come to Europe.
    15
  14. Why did you move there? Move to Czechia, it's the better part of former Czechoslovakia.
    15
  15.  @Arpi982  Slovakia is a 2nd world country. 2nd world is the former communist bloc. Not as poor as the 3rd world and it looks like a civilized place when you visit it. It is also a safe country.
    14
  16.  @MyVinnyp  You will have to read ECJ ruling. It will have all the details on what EU treaties are being violated. Polish PM is a liar.
    12
  17. It's the western lefties who hate eastern EU members like Hungary and Poland most.
    12
  18. It's good they left, they wanted it. No more special deals.
    11
  19.  @joshuatree1577  Economic situation is much better in Eastern EU than it was 20 years ago. I live in Czechia and make £90k/pa, not as an HGV driver of course. It doesn't make any sense for drivers to return to the UK as they want stable long term employment without being discriminated.
    11
  20. Willingness to defend your country is not related to liberalism. On the contrary it is pro-Kremlin folks who are the biggest opponents of military spending as if preparing the region for new Russian occupation. These people are far right conservatives, not liberals.
    10
  21.  @TypeAshton  Same reason why Putin's approval rating is still high in Russia
    10
  22.  @invidusspectator3920  The problem is this region is of very little economic significance for the EU. Population is too small which means small markets, countries are too poor, too much corruption, too much nationalism. The EU needs a reform before it can admit new members as well, so both sides are not ready at the moment. Even if Balkan joins the EU it will be very difficult to catch up with V4 + Baltics. They sadly made wrong decisions after 1989.
    10
  23. Canada should join the EU.
    10
  24. The problem of tech is companies hire very clever people and if you're not good then you're going to suffer terribly and be overworked. A senior engineer can complete the same task in 1/3 - 1/2 of the time it would take for an associate engineer, not to even mention code quality. The difference between people who know the code base can be even larger. Working remotely is becoming more frequent which makes it even more difficult for beginners as they can't easily ask for help and it's more complicated to help them grow.
    9
  25.  @dirkgonthier101  Eastern EU citizen here. I disagree. Future of the EU is in close cooperation with Americans, Brits, Canadians, Australians not totalitarian countries like Russia or China. Seeding divisions between the US and EU is Russian agenda and those who pursue such policy fell for it. Own EU path policy won't ever gain my support. Nordstream 2 is just a small drop in reasons why.
    9
  26. Not possible with British sense of exceptionalism
    9
  27.  @IkeOkerekeNews  We Europeans see things from different perspective. It's a waste of life to hope for a change in the US. You will find out in 20-40 years.
    9
  28. The UK cannot outgrow its debt this time. You shouldn't have voted for Brexit.
    9
  29. Except that the German ruling had no practical effect. Constitution may come first, but country's laws cannot break EU treaties either. This is the problem of Poland and Hungary.
    9
  30. The EU needs to sort out problems with Hungary and Poland first before taking in more members. Internal reforms are needed to make punishment for breaking of EU treaties more effective.
    9
  31.  @colinsmith1288  I would oppose freedom of movement for youth only. No cherry picking of EU benefits.
    8
  32.  @hangingwithmygnomes2067  Strategically every country that mattered has joined the EU already. The rest in Balkans are very small countries with questionable benefits for the EU, therefore EU expansion doesn't need to be as rapid as in the case of former candidates. In late 90s it was vital to expand while Russia was weak. Despite problems with Hungary and Poland, it was a correct decision to admit so many new members.
    8
  33. EU membership is optional. You can leave at any time, unlike US
    7
  34. @MrLaci0110 You don't know what democracy entails. You wouldn't support Orban / PiS if you did. If you want a dictatorship that's fine, just don't lie to your countrymen.
    7
  35. No Hungary should join Russia
    7
  36. I live in Europe can confirm the trust has been lost and will not be restored.
    7
  37.  @DP-tf7qb  There are haters everywhere, in both east and west. In the east they hate west, in the west they hate east. The left particularly hates us because we are immune to their arguments - we didn't have colonies, didn't enslave people, we suffered in wars and communism, we don't owe anything to anyone. They don't know how to break us and that fires them up. Just like eastern communism failed to take roots in the west, so will western progressivism fail in the east. Every ideology eventually hits cultural barriers.
    7
  38. Election results are a major disaster for Pirates. Due to preferential votes their coalition partner STAN snatched most of the won seats, leaving only 4 for Pirates. Thank God Czechs were reasonable and resoundingly rejected these progressive leftists. Both socialists and communists are out of parliament which is a landmark victory for Czech Republic.
    6
  39. Congratulation!
    6
  40. As a European I'm against the youth mobility scheme.
    6
  41.  @TheArctofireHD  It may come as a shock to you but you're the problem. The West is so successful because it is more liberal than the rest of the world. Eastern Europe has been too conservative historically which lead to the region lagging behind in development. It is essential for Eastern Europe to learn English, travel and evolve culturally. That's why we joined the EU and it is now our fate. Most of your policies are totally wrong. 21th century is about the West cooperating closely and cultures coming closer. Conservatism = backwardness. Most conservative countries are also very backward - Afghanistan, Iran, Russia. That's not the club we want to learn from. Most conservatives in the West don't seem to realize they are the problem.
    6
  42. The problem is UK economy isn't growing after Brexit and population is aging.
    6
  43.  @stevencharnock9271  ECJ is the court that decides on EU treaty violations. All EU members signed up for it when they joined the EU.
    6
  44. It's definitely useful to know Python, but don't plan on it being your main focus. Large Python projects can be a nightmare due to buggy code, poor design patterns and lack of tests. Very difficult to migrate to the latest libraries. Refactoring can be problematic as people tend to use dynamic typing a lot. Java/C# code is a lot more maintainable.
    6
  45. It's about protection of freedom and democracy. That's why the EU slapped sanctions on Belarus and Russia.
    6
  46. The problem is individual European countries can't remain competitive on the world market in 21th century. Europeans united because they are good at organizing and hate being insignificant. So no, even great economic difficulties won't break the EU. It may be a good idea to have dual US-EU citizenship just in case.
    6
  47.  @parajacks4  There was almost no CO2 in atmosphere last time I looked - 0.04%. In Eastern EU we already had communism, we will not fall for the new version.
    5
  48.  @val-schaeffer1117  I don't see anyone defending racism here. It exists in every country, even English speaking ones.
    5
  49. The major difference is Europeans refuse to fall in line and insist on voting for their favorite party even if the vote would be wasted. Americans always fall in line to vote for one of the two major parties.
    5
  50. I think the best thing Americans like you can do is move to Europe if they can. American government doesn't give a damn about its citizens because you guys are easily replaceable - there are countless wannabe Americans waiting to be legalized. If you're not happy, these people will gladly take your seat. That's how it works in the US. You will never achieve a change through politics in the US. Fortunately for you, it's much easier to live in a foreign country these days than 50 years ago. Americans don't see it but in Europe being bilingual is going to be a career advantage in 21th century. Kids would have dual citizenship...
    5
  51. Czechia is a much better choice. It doesn't have authoritarian tendencies.
    5
  52. I live in the EU and I'm against the youth mobility scheme.
    5
  53. The EU couldn't care less about the opinion of US
    5
  54.  @markonikolic7957  Eastern EU is decades behind in culture. Too many Putin sympathisers is an eye-opener, especially in Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
    5
  55.  @tomaszsitva3933  It is wrong to claim that Slovaks want Hungarians gone. It is always better to have minorities than ethnically pure country as it makes cross border cooperation easier, also better for children if they grow up with multiple languages. I have voted for candidates with Hungarian names on multiple occasions, it never played a role. Turkey or Hungary are not good places to live in the long term as these people tend to be on the lookout for a dictator. In Slovakia these people are in minority although they are a threat not to be taken lightly.
    5
  56. If I grew up in England to immigrant parents I wouldn't identify as English even if I was white.
    5
  57.  @PopescuSorin  Sounds like Romania already scooped up the cream.
    5
  58. You should move to a cheap place then like Mexico or Eastern Europe. Before it's too late!
    4
  59.  @cat67834  You just left the EU lol
    4
  60.  @val-schaeffer1117  This shouldn't be a problem for anyone who studied German in elementary school. You just need to lookup some vocabulary. B1 level should be sufficient to get started. A bigger problem is reaching C1 level, necessary for getting subsequent job. C2 level is luxury almost nobody will ever need.
    4
  61.  @Infomensch  Czechia here, we aren't facing these problems. We are like a different world.
    4
  62. US political system is unreformable. If you prefer multi-party political system and less divided nation then move to Europe. I say that as a European.
    4
  63. One of the biggest driving forces behind the backsliding are Facebook and Youtube.
    4
  64. Racism..
    4
  65. Germany and Austria-Hungary would have crushed Russia in 1914 had Germany gone full defense on western front and attacked east instead. This is the option Austria-Hungary always advocated. Italy would not have attacked. Britain might have joined the war, but it would have happened much later with defeat of Russia. The best case scenario for Germany is defeating Russia and then negotiating peace with France without invading it.
    4
  66. Having multiple passports is going to be an asset in 21th century plagued by covid restrictions.
    4
  67.  @casteretpollux  Populists want to dismantle democracy, but to do that they need to dismantle the EU first. The number of people they can fool is shrinking by the day. Nothing good will come out of populists.
    4
  68. @The Big Kiwi That's the goal. How far it gets depends on member states. In my opinion the American federation went too far and federal government is too powerful. EU members are obliged to abide by existing treaties.
    4
  69.  @memetopia5130  Half of USA isn't woke. European conservatives should be in close contact with that half instead of authoritarian Russia. We aren't going to undo democracy just because some people dislike woke culture.
    4
  70. EU membership is voluntary. A member state can leave if it wishes so, unlike the US.
    4
  71. I moved to the UK recently. Doesn't look like it's collapsing.
    4
  72.  @gregbeyer9507  Trust in Russia can only be restored if the clique currently in power there steps down which won't happen. Invasion of Ukraine was a wake up call for many. It solidified support for NATO and EU.
    4
  73. Don't make fun of Britain, it's childish. Britain is still a better destination for skilled workforce due to offering much more job opportunities.
    4
  74. 100% agreed. Be careful about trusting Americans.
    4
  75. I left the UK after living in London for 1 year on skilled worker visa and returned to the EU. The project was terrible and corporate culture toxic. My income was in the top 3%.
    4
  76.  @ChristianoRodríguez-h3k  I don't want to generalise but in the company I worked at it wasn't too far from what you say. I had a pretty decent salary in the top 3% in the UK. It wasn't just me leaving, others followed after me.
    4
  77. Brexit was a major error. The rich have open borders everywhere. There are times when ordinary people can benefit from this privilege too, yet they gave it up.
    4
  78. I don't think you can have a true pan-European party as it will face still competition from established parties, therefore attract very little support.
    4
  79. I do not consider Switzerland a good choice. Once you reach senior level, you want options which a small country can't provide. There are only two large countries in Europe with good opportunities - Germany and UK. Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands will also work but only temporarily.
    4
  80.  @skyrask1948  He is right. There is a small and insignificant number of pro Russian nationalists in Slovakia who would love to leave NATO, EU just to have a pro Russian dictator installed as they also hate democracy. The major problem is everyone else around them is aware of the plot.
    4
  81. Why do you keep coming for more?
    4
  82. The UK is decline and the influx of immigrants keeps it afloat for now.
    4
  83.  @serebii666  Slovaks need to learn to deal with extremist elements in the society. Extremists and populists exist in every country. What is different is some societies deal with them while others let them grow. If extremism and populism prevails you end up in "Russian world".
    4
  84.  @marcbuisson2463  Young people are usually not pro Russian. It's the old communist generation that doesn't speak languages. Explosion in Vrbetice in Czechia orchestrated by Russian agents goes to show who are real and fake patriots. Overall expansion of the EU has been a success. People were naive not to expect some problems along the way. I would worry more about pro Russian sentiments in Germany and France.
    4
  85. Not really, there will always be failures when adopting liberal democracy. Look at Balkans, it's completely messed up and remained outside of the EU and NATO. Is it better off? No.
    4
  86. If you don't fight back in the corporate world then you get singled out as scapegoat and blamed for things that go wrong. People who stay silent get humiliated and terrorized psychologically. One must strive to find the right words to get their message across while staying civil. The correct response in her case would have been to apologize for not meeting employees expectations, that her performance reviews didn't reveal anything she could act upon, that she is eager to address her shortcomings and would like to ask for more specific reasons for her dismissal.
    3
  87. You could be subject to age discrimination, as companies may find it suspicious why someone so experienced is looking for a job in another country. Expect low response ratio, but if you persevere, it shouldn't be impossible. To get started, B1 level should be sufficient. After a few years of living in Germany you should be B2. That should qualify you for permanent residence. If you would like to move to another country, the easiest path will be to get employed by an international company and ask for relocation. Interestingly, I found my next job in the UK and will be moving there.
    3
  88. How is Switzerland being blackmailed?
    3
  89. Right, so countries bordering Russia have absolutely no right to decide for themselves. They should have consulted Kremlin first. That's what Putin apologists keep telling us.
    3
  90.  @val-schaeffer1117  It depends on occupation. Many jobs don't require C1 level of German. I find it natural that Germany wants you to learn German. It would be good to clarify language expectations during interview not to get a nasty surprise later.
    3
  91.  @pamietamGryWpodchody  Poland has one major disadvantage - location. When Russian army goes on a trip westwards, Poland's prosperity is over.
    3
  92. The future is unpredictable so you can't foresee whether the UK will be successful or not. It's best for people to have two citizenships just in case and ideally also speak another language. It actually makes sense for EU citizens to also have UK citizenship just for career reasons as it can be very difficult to get a work permit. It's good to have more options. One of way for Brits to move to the EU are international companies. You can get employed by one in the UK and ask to be transferred to the EU. They will arrange visa.
    3
  93.  @Lizard4678  Being both arrogant and clueless is a bad start for your career.
    3
  94. Orban and PiS need to go for 4 years. Do not be fooled.
    3
  95. Any EU country. Life is less stressful here than in the US.
    3
  96.  @onestrangeanimal3212  Lol you really had a lot of patience with that guy. I live in central Europe and it's these kind of people who vote for Orban, PiS are strongly pro Russian and praise dictators, yet refuse to move to dictatorships. They are usually 50+ years old (the old communist generation) and time is working against them. Exactly the same people who vote for AfD in East Germany.
    3
  97. I hope you won't get drafted into Ukrainian army 🙂
    3
  98.  @TheRomanianfalcon  If you're unhappy with German taxation, compare it with Sweden or Canada. It is common in developed countries that social security systems help lift the poor by taking from the rich. If that's a problem for you, I understand those countries may not be a good fit for you culturally and you would be better off in US.
    3
  99. According to Kremlin trolls, sanctions have absolutely no effect and are hurting us, not Russia.
    3
  100. I moved to London one year ago and now returned back to the EU. I was in the top 3% income wise but the job was terrible and company culture toxic and not worth it so I quit. If not for Brexit I would have just switched job and moved on. Due to Brexit I took all the money I earned and left. I don't expect to return ever again. I'm not Polish.
    3
  101. Trump's goal is the same as Putin's - to destroy the EU
    3
  102. These countries are more level-headed than west nowadays.
    3
  103. No a chance, not in Canada, Australia, even US. If it turns out bad then you can always return back to Europe.
    3
  104. Varoufakis is a communist, no way I would ever vote for such a party. Best wishes from eastern EU.
    3
  105. Fortunately these opinions are in minority
    3
  106. Precisely. Slovakia would drag Czechia down and the benefits of a unified state evaporated.
    3
  107. I'm from the EU and moved to London recently, even though I needed skilled worker visa. London offers much better job opportunities than the rest of EU. Germany was at the bottom of my list.
    3
  108. US is a very bad place to retire.
    3
  109. That narrative is promoted mainly in fascist circles.
    3
  110.  @larrymcdonald8084  You sound like an alt-right supporter. Far right parties in Europe rarely have more than 10% support. They are fringe movements. They are the only ones talking about topics you mentioned. In America they call themselves Trumpists and are avid America First supporters. The most likely place Americans would go in Europe is Germany, France where cities are quite diverse. 21th century is going to be about close cooperation within the EU, where languages, mainly English is needed. This offers a chance for Americans to stand out, whereas in the US they would be one of millions of ordinary Americans.
    3
  111. Also take into account the immigration numbers. Conservatives barely managed to keep the ship afloat. Without immigration the UK would be in a serious recession.
    3
  112. The rest of us don't want to live in a backward, corrupt, Putin style despotism. We understand there are people like you who long exactly for that.
    3
  113. Czechia is the best choice from V4 countries.
    3
  114. Common market leads to more intense competition. East Germany could claim its industries have been completely taken over by the West Germany. In reality it doesn't matter. What matters is if you produce high quality goods and innovative products. If you don't, don't blame the West, you can only blame yourself. It's the same as if you immigrate to US and fail to take advantage of the opportunities it affords.
    3
  115.  @serebii666  Czech GDP growth after 2018 leaves a lot to be desired. Good luck with catching up with Western EU with GDP growth in 2.5-3% range. Babis's ANO party is leading in polls by a large margin and let's be honest his presidential campaign had more in common with Orban's policies than pro Western ones. With an aging population, popularity of such politicians will only increase. The current government was formed only due to Babis being too successful at stealing votes from his former coalition partner CSSD which didn't make it into parliament. He is coming back into power after the next parliamentary election. Czechia has almost no army to speak of, it is very poorly equipped, basically a country waiting to be conquered. It has underdeveloped infrastructure with populism being a huge problem in politics. Voters prefer handouts to investments. With an aging population and aforementioned problems, this country has a minimal chance to catch up with Western EU. I don't care what extrapolation from 1990s shows us as the current situation is not good at all.
    3
  116. Voting for AfD would be an insult to those who died defeating fascism. Always think of those people.
    3
  117. The whole pipeline was an extremely bad idea and Europe didn't listen.
    3
  118.  @za.monolit  Comment sections are very misleading. Go to see Tucker's interview with Orban and you would get impression all Americans love Mr. Orban due to all the praise he gets there. While Western EU tends to be quite socialist and anti-American, Eastern EU is the opposite.
    3
  119.  @memetopia5130  One huge issue with nationalist parties is they tend to be on friendly terms with Russia - they want sanctions abolished, play down the threat Russia poses, are often anti-American and want to have friendly relations with Russia instead. They are 5th column in fact - they serve Russian agenda. They are not reliable when it comes to issues of freedom and democracy. Europeans need to keep close relationship with Americans. Dictators seek to divide us.
    3
  120.  @memetopia5130  Stance to Russia is a key issue to me and I will never vote for a party that seeks closer relationship with it, while promoting anti-Americanism. That's a road to dictatorship as these people tend to admire them. The wave of democracy that reached eastern Europe in 1989 must continue eastwards - Belarus, Russia. Democratic countries should have free trade deals, dictatorships should face sanctions.
    3
  121.  @pavelsanda3149  A more accurate term is progressive or woke.
    3
  122.  @davidwuhrer6704  Yeah sure, lets just watch how Putin takes over Eastern Europe...
    3
  123. @Kohó Emese You are building a dictatorship. Everyone around Hungary sees it. Illiberal democracy is euphemism for dictatorship. Hungary will never prosper under one party rule, it is irrelevant whether it is communists or Orban.
    3
  124. @Kohó Emese No amount of tax deductions are worth living in a dictatorship. Hungary is sliding into that mire with Orban. Fortunately for Hungarians there is Slovakia with a sizable Hungarian minority where Hungarian is spoken in southern towns. In the worst case educated Hungarians who hate living in an authoritarian regime can move there. Slovakia unlike Hungary will be profiting from people who want to live in a free and democratic country. It is already a destination for young Ukrainians, Belorusians, Serbs.
    3
  125. I wonder how you want peace if Ukraine is taken over by Russia and the next large Russian military exercise is staged at the border with Slovakia. Most people like Orban are just closet Putin admirers afraid of admitting it openly.
    3
  126. Pirates are a disaster. Tax increases and tight lockdowns that's what liberal left is renowned for. People need to comprehend what they really stand for. Communists of 21th century.
    3
  127.  @Espada11777  I'm conservative and see it otherwise.
    3
  128. Turkey could join at some point, but Erdogan showed the EU doesn't really need another Hungary. Its willingness to respect EU laws is in question.
    3
  129.  @matic93t  It is ultimately people who voted Matovic in. Heger only worked with cards he was dealt, which were not good. He may be a good person with integrity but his failures makes his new party an unlikely success.
    3
  130. If you can find a good job in another EU country then do it. Multiple citizenships for children will come in handy and they will grow up bilingual. Keep voting for democratic parties at home though.
    3
  131.  @furetetka  It's clear beyond doubt PiS will not stand up for freedom and need to be voted out of office. Same for Orban.
    3
  132.  @doggieclaude  How was Ukraine war provoked by the US?
    3
  133.  @peterhutlas3572  Britain has much more opportunities than Czech Republic though. And nobody really wants to immigrate to Poland, it's too conservative.
    3
  134. I don't miss the UK
    3
  135. Lol no, this is Kremlin's plot to disintegrate the EU. No way this is getting my support.
    3
  136. Don't underestimate the UK. I was looking for a new job in the EU + UK and ended up choosing the UK and moved to London on skilled worker visa.
    3
  137.  @valshin  Good advice - keep rotating politicians and don't look for a perfect one. They do not exist. Do not let anyone stay in power for too long or corruption never ends. Most people want to fix these problems but with political crooks taking top positions it is very difficult, which is why rotating politicians is vitally important. Never let anyone stay in power as long as Orban or Putin. Greetings from Czechia.
    3
  138.  @valshin  Kremlin never treats Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs, Slovaks as equals, only as subjects who must obey. Unfortunately the ruling class there didn't evolve much over the last 100 years, they are ultra-conservative. We would love to have good relationship with them, but Kremlin keeps trying to undermine our democracy and EU membership in order to expand its power. Ukraine definitely needs a strong army if it is to survive. The alternative is mafia state like in Donbass region. That is exactly what will happen if you do not stand for democratic Ukraine.
    3
  139.  @AlexC-ou4ju  Western EU countries are definitely very pro Russian/Chinese and want to disentangle themselves from Americans politically.
    3
  140. Nobody in the east cares about LGBT rights if the EU seeks to discriminate people based on lack of vaccination. You have no moral right to criticize Hungary at this point.
    3
  141.  @Kafei01  Half of people in eastern EU countries are the old communist generation. They don't speak languages and believe Russian conspiracy theories. But they are on the way out.
    3
  142.  @marcbuisson2463  Illiberal democracy is a Russian political weapon in hybrid war to subvert western democracies. In eastern EU it finds supporters mostly among the old communist generation which is on the way out.
    3
  143. Those who want Slovakia to remain a backward country will vote for Smer for sure. Smer governments spanned 12 years and failed to uplift Slovakia economically. Some people see developed countries as a role model, others see role model in Russia, Iran, North Korea.
    3
  144. I know a person who learnt it at that age by himself and got a job. But you must do some reading and then do a small open source project to show your skills.
    2
  145. If not for freemasons you would be living in absolutist monarchy today dude
    2
  146. Those former Hungarian territories are happy not to be under rule of Orban. Hungary was always too conservative which is why it always lagged behind in development. This is true to this day.
    2
  147.  @almac9203  100% agreed. These vaccines do not cost a kidney. Even in poor countries people have cars, computers, mobile phones. Vaccines cost peanuts. It's a matter of priority of local governments. They are trying to have a free ride, that's all.
    2
  148.  @andrepolkstonia4728  Serbia is very pro Russian. Serbia joining likely means yet another Hungary.
    2
  149.  @r8rgtrs  Yes it should. Countries bordering the EU are a priority. Western political and economic model has proven itself to be superior to alternatives. Democratic countries need to cooperate and stand up to authoritarian regimes. Greetings from eastern EU.
    2
  150.  @SchwarzeKatter  I love it how people make assumptions in comments. I'm well aware that small countries are better at foreign languages, as that is a necessity to build a competitive economy. Netherlands is one of EU countries I would definitely recommend for immigration. There is one disadvantage for small countries though, as one reaches more senior position, the local job market may not offer sufficient opportunities. This will be more of a problem in smaller countries population wise such as Austria or Sweden and less so in Netherlands.
    2
  151. It's our communist generation causing those problems. It simply needs to die out.
    2
  152. You shouldn't have pursued far right agenda. Cancelling far right is justified.
    2
  153. You should stop demonising people of other religion. Your comment is full of prejudices.
    2
  154. I was in the top 3% in the UK and lived in Canary Wharf, London. I didn't feel rich, just middle class.
    2
  155. It's only a pretext to introduce massive regulations and socialism.
    2
  156.  @MikeGill87  In these times of pandemic it does. Australia and NZ are a cautionary tale for everyone for the pursue of their "new normal". We do not want that. We overthrew that in 1989. Liberal left in the US, Europe and Australia/NZ are the same. They decided to flush personal freedoms down the toilet and it's been an eye opening experience. In these times some people realize they have more in common with American conservatives than their own countrymen voting for Pirates. It seems these difficult times accelerate cultural exchange.
    2
  157.  @Lagiacrus1996  Both social democrats and communists are socialists. They differ in opinion on how socialism should be achieved. That was the reason of their split in early 20th century. Communists wanted to spread socialism through series of revolutions when proletariat would seize power and install communist party dictatorship. Social democrats took the more civilized option of reaching socialism step by step by democratic means. However as we see by now it isn't really working, which is why they swapped the class struggle narrative with green agenda and another issue that cannot even be discussed on Youtube.
    2
  158. he is Russian agent I suppose!
    2
  159.  @haltdieklappe7972  You seem to be conflating close partnership with submission. Americans are a lot more culturally compatible to be closer partners than Russians.
    2
  160. The justification for free movement of people is that there has to be a benefit for common people, not just for businesses to hold the EU together. As far as defense is concerned, EU members should spend 2.5% of GDP on defense with eastern members spending 3%. Poland together with Ukraine form an impenetrable barrier for Russia.
    2
  161.  @lilypacastsupper8922  Breaking it up would bring about its downfall. The American federation has gone too far though. The EU is thankfully a lot more decentralized at least for now.
    2
  162. Czechia is better in that regard.
    2
  163.  @женягуньков  I understand. I wouldn't stay there either. Czechia/Slovakia are much more friendly towards fellow Slavs from the east. I would recommend you give one of these two countries a try.
    2
  164.  @QUABLEDISTOCFICKLEPO  Czechoslovakia will survive in people's minds forever as it was Hitler's victim at the beginning of WW2.
    2
  165. Same in Czechia and Slovakia. You need to find a way to force them not to vote or vote differently than for PiS. They have been ruining our countries ever since they were born. They have to vote the way you want.
    2
  166. Even less after war in Ukraine started. Brexit and Putin ended up strengthening the EU.
    2
  167. Depends on industry. During my short one year stay in London I was in the top 3%.
    2
  168. I wonder what country you're from?
    2
  169.  @bluechip297  It's incredible how much hatred the Irish hold against Britain.
    2
  170. Not only that, but by discriminating people based on vaccination status the EU flushed EU values down the toilet. People couldn't care less about them right now.
    2
  171.  @jacobbordenkircherr.s.b.ia5679  Czechia is free too.
    2
  172. Do your research before going anywhere, Aaron made a really poor choice. Now that Russia is amassing army on Ukrainian border war could break out there again. Some eastern European countries are not in the EU because they haven't met the required standards for democracy and corruption. Most of eastern EU countries should be fine.
    2
  173. News flash, cultural differences tend to grow with geographical distance. Half of their population is communist generation, no wonder they do not share your values. It's an extremely slow process. Had the EU waited too long, there was danger of Russia recovering some of its influence in the east.
    2
  174. 100% agreed. Some of the old generation raised in communism are beyond help and hold unbelievably backward opinions. They bash the EU and offer partnership with China and Russia as a replacement. Anyone who cares about democracy cannot take such proposals seriously. It's all Russian propaganda. Poles and Hungarians need to confront it.
    2
  175.  @americaball1719  Any eastern EU country is fine. Those eastern countries outside the EU are still a mess unfortunately. I'm glad to be living in Czechia, I don't need to move anywhere in the next 50 years for sure.
    2
  176. @EugVR6 I lived in London, had no problems with the non English. I would say other characteristics matter more.
    2
  177. It was the old Romanian communist generation that did that damage. Same elsewhere in eastern EU. I don't buy this bs about blaming west for it or leaving the EU. First this generation was building a failed system and then looted what they could. Now they want to do more damage by destroying the EU. They are totally untrustworthy!
    2
  178. Is Mr. Orban and Putin your role model?
    2
  179. Just move over the border to Czechia.
    2
  180. Russian invasion of Ukraine was the best thing that happened to greens. They no longer have to push transition to green energy with taxation. The justification now is Russia being a threat and thus cannot be source of Europe's energy. Only the far right will argue against that. It also needs to be accelerated.
    2
  181.  @kureciparatek2838  Mr Babis ran his presidential campaign on Kremlin propaganda. Not yet the same category as Orban and Fico, but heading there.
    2
  182. That is a poor excuse. Russians living abroad could speak their mind freely but they don't too.
    2
  183. EU is club of liberal democracies.
    2
  184. To grow professionally you need to live in a country with plenty of opportunities. Germany is definitely such a country. I would recommend to work on your self-promotion skills to stand out in interviews. It is very different when you're competing against 50 or more applicants. You would not improve your situation by moving to another EU country. Companies preferring younger workers to pay them less is a common practice everywhere. You need to make sure you're in the top 20%.
    2
  185. Not interested
    2
  186. 100% agreed. Don't believe Mike's propaganda :-)
    2
  187.  @TheRomanianfalcon  Wait until Russia invades Moldova. IT specialists may be earning good salaries in Eastern EU, but not other professions which makes it a poor choice for life in the long term. If you want to live in a country that will always be well off, where decisions will be made then that country is Germany, not Romania.
    2
  188.  @marcoac-sx6lq  Germany may be worth it for future opportunities though.
    2
  189.  @TheRomanianfalcon  In 2022 Germany had $64,000 GDP (PPP) per capita while Romania had $38,000. It's even worse in nominal value. This means an average German worker is much better off than a Romanian one. In certain sectors such as IT it may be reversed, but not every child of yours is going to work in that sector. Available data doesn't support your statement.
    2
  190.  @TheRomanianfalcon  If you believe Romania will ever catch up with Germany you're mistaken. It's too conservative and conservatives are slow to innovate. Millions of people would like to move to Germany but few to Romania. They know why. Romania faces brain drain while Germany benefits. Poor countries are poor because people living there keep making bad decisions. If Switzerland is that good, I wonder why haven't you moved there yet.
    2
  191.  @r_rumenov  Just rotate politicians and parties every 4-8 years. That's what we do in Czechia/Slovakia. All politicians eventually seek absolute power and people must show them the door in election before it's too late. Don't trust them when they say they want the best for you. They are always self serving. Do not look for a perfect politician. They don't exist anywhere in the world. Hungarians don't understand this concept at all.
    2
  192. I lived in London for one year on skilled worker visa. I had a top 3% salary, more than many commenters here. The company had a toxic culture and it was a terrible project so I resigned, took all the money I earned and returned to the EU.
    2
  193.  @Lawrence4000-s3k  We are happy for you to keep the money and stay out.
    2
  194. A basic rule is that all civilized countries are in the EU. Countries further east have serious problems - very low salaries, corruption and totalitarian tendencies, especially in older generation.
    2
  195. Accepting Romania and Bulgaria was about isolating the rest of Balkans from Russia to buy time. Some people may dislike it, but it was strategically necessary.
    2
  196. Don't waste your life like that. 25k is peanuts in the US.
    2
  197. US is not considered an ally of the EU anymore
    2
  198. It was necessary to stabilize rule of law and democracy in them. Most people do not understand world politics.
    2
  199.  @barbthegreat586  I moved to London from the EU 7 months back and I will be moving back after one year, taking all the money with me. The job has been a disappointment, bordering to unbearable and the skilled worker visa makes it too difficult to change job. Had the UK been still in the EU I would have simply changed the job and stayed.
    2
  200. I live in Czechia. NZ, Australia, Canada has been a great disappointment. Only Americans keep fighting this nonsense. Germany, France, Italy have very strict rules in place. Their population is obedient and trusts their government. We do not. We voted out the previous government. Should the new one follow footsteps of the last, it will be kicked out as well.
    2
  201. Agreed. This is a global trend - urbanization, perhaps accelerated in Eastern Europe due to fall of communism and jobs being available in many remote places which was untenable in the long term.
    2
  202.  @brian472  100% agreed. One of the goals of EU is also to act as a guardian of liberal democracy in its member states. If any country wishes to go down the authoritarian route, they are free to do that but such course is incompatible with further EU membership. The EU needs to be very clear on that and needs effective mechanisms to act against misbehaving countries. EU membership is optional and Hungary is free to leave if it disagrees. Greetings from eastern EU.
    2
  203. It's a shame Hungarians today vote for a wannabe dictator and want a one party state. The exact opposite of 1956.
    2
  204. @Deborah Hearne We do. I live in Eastern EU and watch Fox News.
    2
  205. Nope, Europeans are good at organization.
    2
  206. The EU doesn't care about Serbia at all. It's a small, poor and insignificant country. It is also poorly aligned with EU values.
    2
  207. Come to Europe, it's better here.
    2
  208. 823 now
    2
  209.  @NeilCWCampbell  Get multiple passports and pass them on children. It's a lot easier for people with mixed parents or grandparents as they may be entitled to another passport by ancestry. The rich have freedom of movement already but they are denying it to the rest of us.
    2
  210.  @vajnazsombor9397  100% right. Slovakia faces similar issues, although people are a lot more divided so democracy is still working. Future is bleak and it is pointless for anyone with brains to stay there. Just stay away from Eastern EU.
    2
  211. Go to UK. I just moved there. US can be extremely difficult to immigrate to these days and Canada has too small job market. Getting skilled worker visa in the UK is not that difficult. As a backup plan you can go to Ireland. With Irish passport you can move to UK. Slovakia is culturally too behind unfortunately and you shouldn't waste your life waiting for things to improve.
    2
  212. What has Hungary achieved in the EU that Slovakia and Czechia did not? Why they feel no need to elect a dictator?
    2
  213. It pays off if you can find a well paid job - sales, management, IT.
    2
  214. I will give you a good advice, get 2nd passport.
    2
  215. You can bow to Putin if you wish
    2
  216. It's simple, these two countries are backsliding into authoritarian regimes as if pre 1989 experience wasn't enough for them.
    2
  217.  @madmax6827  Government taking over the judicial branch and media through allied oligarchs. Orban touting illiberal democracy as his long term vision. Repeated violations of EU treaties. Fanatical voter base overlooking government corruption. That's not how a free and prosperous society looks.
    2
  218. Are you from East Germany?
    2
  219. Pirates are a typical progressive party. Look at policies of American and Western European progressives and you will understand Pirates better. Czechs rejected that as they realized what Pirates truly stand for.
    2
  220. How should Sunak return boats to France? France has no obligation to accept them. You need to admit Brexit was a huge mistake.
    2
  221.  @ethantinklenberg6607  We Europeans understand American lefties, they just want what's already working in Europe. So argument that they misunderstand economics won't fly.
    2
  222.  @fuguthefish  EU is about imposition and protection of liberal democracy in its member states. It's not only an economic organization.
    2
  223.  @fuguthefish  They had a referendum on it. If they disagree they can leave like Britain. EU membership is voluntary.
    2
  224. @ A lesson to be learned is that if you are in a bloc dominated by one country you will get taken advantage of. In the EU nobody can dominate other countries. The EU is a fairer organization than the UK. The US will always try to take advantage of Canada.
    2
  225. If you can't deal with different opinions I wonder how you want multi-culturalism to work in the west.
    2
  226.  @serebii666  Czech Republic did stop catching up with Western EU, but that is mostly due to old people with socialist mindset who would love to welcome Russia back. Those usually don't speak foreign languages, admire Putin, blame the West, Soros, capitalism for their misfortune.
    2
  227. Not possible. Eastern EU countries need the common market to prosper. We are quite good at survival.
    2
  228.  @pineapplesareyummy6352  It's on purpose. The EU is a guardian of liberal democracy and therefore mortal enemy of all populists.
    2
  229. Consider UK. It isn't that difficult to get work visa. If you're young enough you may qualify for Australia or Canada, but you will need a very high IELTS score, above 7.5.
    2
  230.  @gerhard7323  Do you have anything more specific than that?
    2
  231.  @gerhard7323  How is it related to my original claim? Looks like you are just going off a tangent.
    2
  232.  @Tindome-ib6el  No the EU should put tarrifs on industry in key Republican strongholds. Tesla should be included as well.
    2
  233. @Anthony Simmons He probably reads too much Kremlin propaganda outlets. Majority of people do not want to leave the EU. It's the old communist generation, now mostly pensioners who keep voting for authoritarian style politicians. Those parties now face dwindling voter base.
    2
  234. It's up to you to save Hungary then. Vote in Hungarian elections and educate your family members still in Hungary.
    2
  235. You should give up your own house to make peace.
    2
  236. You should have moved to EU while you could...
    2
  237.  @Pikaling3408  Unfortunately the old communist generation did so much damage its questionable if it makes sense for any skilled person remain there. It's not going to recover sooner than in 50 years and why waste one's life.
    2
  238. Let's clarify first why should even the EU be interested in Serbia.
    2
  239.  @serebii666  GDP per capita (PPP) is misleading. I would prefer to live in a country with higher nominal wage even if GDP per capita is the same. I have decided to move to the UK as Eastern Europe has too many conservative minded people and most countries except for Poland have quite small job market.
    2
  240.  @tbeller80  Moltke reportedly really suffered a mild stroke during that argument with Wilhelm. Wilhelm wanted to attack Russia but was offered plan to invade France with no other option possible. Even Austria-Hungary had various plans. Moltke's health quickly deteriorated following that stroke.
    2
  241. Hi Miroslaw. We have met in the past. I think you have made the right decision.
    2
  242.  @27moniczek81  In Leeds he will not have that high salary. He should be able to get the same salary in Warsaw. Only London beats Warsaw, but not in weather or quality of life.
    2
  243. It still has some T-72 tanks to give, but it cannot donate everything and be completely defenseless. These could be donated once there are enough Leopard 2A4. In the worst case Leopard 2A4s could also go.
    2
  244. Ukraine is mobilizing continuously. 100k fresh troops every month. 300k new troops since the war began. That's why Lukashenko hasn't invaded and won't do it. The moment of surprise has passed.
    2
  245. I live in Czechia and it's an excellent place to live right now. Our standard of living has been improving over the last 20 years, crime rate is very low, no illegal immigration, no police brutality and 80% of people here want to revoke the remaining few restrictions that are in place. They aren't enforced anyway and nobody cares. No QR code checks here, no travel restrictions. For us Australia style lockdowns would mean return to our communist past and people don't want that. This is in stark contrast with Australia or US where sizable number of people do support covid restrictions. If I lived in Australia right now I would make plans to return for sure. Having dual citizenship is going to be an advantage in 21th century.
    2
  246. I live in Eastern EU. Even though we are poorer, people do not live in slums, infrastructure is decent, education system is good, crime rate is low - that's why we were often referred to as 2nd world and transition to democracy was successful unlike Afghanistan/Iraq. You can also make good money in selected fields, I make $110,000/pa which is a very good salary in this region. We aren't facing problems with immigration unlike western EU/US, no need for political correctness. There is no good justification for immigrating to US for those of us who are successful. It makes sense mostly for mixed couples in my opinion.
    2
  247.  @RazorMouth  I have applied for jobs in various EU countries in the past few months including Ireland but mostly they weren't interested in workers from other EU countries. In the end I ended up finding a job in the UK instead. My salary expectations were about €120k. Maybe I was considered too experienced and too expensive.
    2
  248. Spot on, I live in Czechia as well. Czechia and Slovakia also have people who love dictators (after all Americans have them too), but they are much less numerous than in Hungary or Poland. It's mostly the old socialist generation who votes for such parties here. They can teach us younger generation absolutely nothing as far as politics is concerned which is why we look elsewhere for political role models.
    2
  249. Putin is plotting another major war in Europe together with Trump so army of Europe will happen sooner or later. Americans cannot be trusted.
    2
  250. And yet you keep coming for more.
    2
  251. Agreed!
    2
  252.  @FightingForceSoulless  It's the obligation of citizens of democratic countries to promote liberal democracy in the world. This task will only be finished once the whole world is democratic and free. Get on with it.
    2
  253. They don't expect to hold them past 2022, that's why Biden wants to help illegals now...
    2
  254. Serbia has already decided, which is why it hasn't joined the EU like its neighbours. The question of EU membership is settled for the next 30 years.
    2
  255. Germany is naive. Germany being increasingly dependent on Russian gas is a huge problem as Russian government uses energy as a political weapon. Germans are too blind to see this through. The main political goal of Russian government is disintegration of the EU and Germany is inadvertently participating in the plot.
    2
  256.  @zetristan4525  Krystal and Saagar are probably the best channel to watch on Youtube.
    2
  257. Come to the EU.
    2
  258.  @genericdeveloper3966  Right now most EU countries are in lockdown just like the US. No politician wants to be responsible for rising death toll. The plan seems to be to vaccinate the vulnerable first. It's supposed to be voluntary. I would expect the situation to stabilize only in summer and restart next fall. It you want to visit Europe, the best chance will be in summer.
    2
  259.  @martywest6004  UK left and I don't care about it anymore. No special deals.
    2
  260.  @moreplease998  No, no special deals for anyone. That's fairness.
    2
  261. Soviet army was as ineffective as Russian army in Ukraine. That's why it suffered so many casualties.
    2
  262. Slovaks are smart enough not to elect a dictator.
    2
  263. The future is not predictable, it's good to have multiple passports as an easy way out.
    2
  264. I was making more than 3x what you get and it wasn't really worth it in London.
    2
  265. @Kohó Emese Orban fooled Hungarians into thinking he represents Hungarian interests best. Hungary bought Chinese vaccines through an intemediate Hungarian company (the only EU country) to allow Mr. Orban's friends embezzle state funds. Hungary paid most for their vaccines and got the worst ones. This is the reason he didn't order more as part of the EU vaccine procurement. Good luck with Chinese vaccines when winter comes. Hungary got rid of a communist dictatorship but it seems Hungarians desire a dictatorship thinking this protects them from EU. Hungarians learnt nothing it seems.
    2
  266. @Kohó Emese But that's also the result of long one party rule. You can't have experts if you aren't in power. It is irrelevant who is the ruling party - Orban or communists. The results are similar - endless nepotism with a clique taking all key positions, nobody can replace them as they lack experience, endless corruption. Those in power never get investigated by police. Even if I agreed with Orban 100%, these are good grounds to vote against him. He needs to take a break. Otherwise you are just building new dictatorship and throwing away achievements of 1989. Slovakia and Czechia do rotate their governments as they understand these issues. Do they get represented worse in the EU than Hungary? No. When it comes to key matters they will unify and vote in unison with Hungary.
    2
  267. @Kohó Emese The longer you keep Orban in power without break the more severe consequences will be once he leaves (and it will happen eventually). Democracy is about seamless transfer of power without anyone staying in power for too long. It seems many Hungarians haven't grasped it. You can never resolve nepotism, corruption, be never a stable country long term. Young people will always be leaving as they do not want to live in such country. Loosing faith in democracy and accepting the current state as inevitable is Russian agenda.
    2
  268. @Kohó Emese Orban voters are part of the problem of demographic crisis. Dictatorship is not a dream country for the young to live in, they want to flee such sh*tholes. Belarusians do not get it either, just like Hungarians. The young generation will not put up with the backward mindset and political preferences of the old generation. This problem was exacerbated with the EU membership as the young can just leave. Orban is part of the problem, he cannot resolve it. His voters do not understand it either.
    2
  269. Yup. Without arms American revolution would never have happened.
    2
  270. Marry a European and you can move here. Jobs at international companies are well paid.
    2
  271. Americans don't speak European languages anymore. That's a huge problem unless 50 millions of you come over.
    2
  272.  @alexzero3736  Not really. I see the only win scenario for Germany by focusing on eastern front from the very beginning and crushing Russian army in 1914 together with Austria-Hungary. No invasion of Belgium and only defending in the West. Once Russia is out, negotiate peace with France.
    2
  273. Not only that. But the pensioners are going to vote for whoever provides them with good pensions, regardless of state debt, exacerbating the problem with populism to the point there will be zero investments in infrastructure as infrastructure doesn't yield votes as pensions do. Opposition governments will no longer be able to turn the boat. Czech Republic is on the path to Orban style populism, just a few years later.
    2
  274. Those 48% of you have our sympathy.
    2
  275. Hungary got furthest. I don't think it is salvageable anymore. Look at how Fox news praises Orban. Historically, conservatives never wanted democracy, it was liberals who fought for it. To be ruled by conservatives is like to be ruled by Taliban.
    2
  276. I know a guy who started at like 42 and found a job.
    2
  277. Why not ask your partner?
    2
  278. Even if she did manage everything well, her company needs closed contracts.
    2
  279. We want every country in the world to be democratic. We won't stop until it happens.
    2
  280.  @Worldofourown2024  You either need to have skills that are in demand, find job at an American company that has office in Europe and ask for a transfer or be lucky and find someone to marry. It's the same vice versa.
    2
  281. People who speak multiple languages are economically more valuable than people who do not. Therefore Slovak Hungarians living in Slovakia should ensure that their kids also speak both languages fluently. I wish Slovak Hungarians would take up Hungarian citizenship and vote Orban out of power. I see minorities as an asset rather than trouble. It's better for a country to have minorities rather than be 100% ethnically homogenous.
    2
  282.  @geto6242  Voting for Orban is a great choice if you 1.) don't mind endless corruption 2.) prefer one party rule 3.) don't mind a narrow clique of people take all power in government and be unable to replace them in the future 4.) want close relationship with Russia 5.) want to leave the EU
    2
  283.  @geto6242  1.) you forgo this objective if you keep voting for one party. The clique in power will never betray their own corrupt peers. One party rule is incompatible with this goal, that's why authoritarian countries are the most corrupt ones. In eastern EU, one party cannot be in power for longer than 8 years as recent events in Slovakia have shown. 2.) it inevitably leads to control of media and censorship of opposition. One party rule is incompatible with freedom of speech and personal freedom. 3.) it is a huge problem because this issue is directly connected to 1.) . It is basically return to the age of monarchy when a narrow clique could rule country. Nobody should have automatic right to rule, that right comes from free elections (and not Belarus style elections). So if you don't mind living in "monarchy", having little to no influence on politics then Orban like figure is an excellent choice.
    2
  284. These people lived in Russia for a long time and were brainwashed by state propaganda. It's really hard to find a Russian on the internet who would align with Western view on the war. Most of the time they just repeat official Kremlin propaganda. Immigration of people with such views became undesirable given Russia is a threat to the region. They do not want people who support Russian form of fascism.
    2
  285. I agree. Pirates are liberal left and basically communists of 21th century. Communists were a progressive movement in early 20th century too. Full of extreme ideas. A little progresivism is good, too much is harmful, just like with other political leanings.
    2
  286.  @jakubklesa  Nope, they have radical members who came up with those ideas. They are a pig in a poke.
    2
  287.  @jakubklesa  It would never occur to a center party to stipulate living space for people and tax everyone who owns more. There are more very revealing ideas from them. If you prefer to vote for Pirate communists fine, but don't complain about the old generation.
    2
  288.  @MikeGill87  Your propaganda will not be successful here. I follow international politics and know exactly what these kind of parties stand for. It is incompatible with values I believe in and I'm center right.
    2
  289. The old communist generation still holds too much influence in eastern EU. Further major enlargement is therefore out of question. It needs to die out before there can be new major wave of enlargement. It's also time for the EU to sort out undisciplined countries like Poland and Hungary.
    2
  290.  @bertrecht913  That's Russian agenda to disintegrate the EU. It seems you have been reading their propaganda outlets for too long. 21th century needs close cooperation of European countries in the form of the EU with close partnership with the UK, US, Canada, Australia.
    2
  291. Wrong, the right strategy is to push Russia out, not let them in.
    2
  292.  @corpclarke  The EU is an elitist project, therefore people tended to voice their disagreement with it whenever a referendum was called on further integration. After Brexit there will be no further referendum as the elite don't want to risk Brexit repeating. Despite its drawbacks the EU is pretty much a necessity for Europe in 21th century to stand up to Russia and China. It has been quite successful in promoting democracy in eastern Europe. Democrat Americans seem to love it as we have all the free stuff they want in the US. It's probably a better place to live for average Americans.
    2
  293. Their elite did that, not ordinary Hungarians who were exploited as well. It's a common pattern in politics relevant even today. Politicians crave for power and to enslave people and must be rotated in office. Never keep one in power for more than two terms. If you start believing there is no better choice then you fell for their tricks.
    2
  294. The situation was very different back then as employing women wasn't as common so there was lot of headroom for growth. Industry would benefit massively from automation, robotics, computers, development of new materials. A 1945 UK had still much hidden potential for growth, which is not the case today. From economic standpoint Brexit was a major error.
    2
  295. Assimilation of nations into single one is a Leninist goal. Lenin founded the Soviet Union with intention to become a world wide union. But soon Russian communists found out that nationalism is stronger than communist idea of class unity in 1920s when world revolution never came. Stalin abandoned communist progresivism (Leninism). The EU will slowly find it out as well.
    2
  296. Precisely my idea. The tank shed needs to be much larger, allowing the tank to move inside it.
    2
  297. Get British citizenship before you leave though.
    2
  298.  @lincolnshirepoacher8651  I guess it depends a lot on occupation, pay and quality of live. Those who aren't successful will make room for new immigrants.
    2
  299.  @ExploderMaster18  Nope, you are pro Russian.
    2
  300. There isn't much alignment of values between the EU and Serbia at present, which makes the whole matter of EU membership moot. The EU is well aware of sentiments in Serbia.
    2
  301. I wonder what business what Brits here?
    2
  302. Not true for Czechia. People from other countries are coming here too, both EU an non EU. Unemployment is very low. Being EU members is positive for eastern members as it creates more competition for workforce. They have to reform and resolve their problems if they want to have any pensions. No more is the old generation able to force backward ideas onto the new one. They can either adapt to us or we wish them good luck finding someone to pay their pensions. We need to be tough with them.
    2
  303.  @いちごくん-l6d  There is absolutely nothing the communist generation can teach the next one politically as everything they have been doing was wrong. Worse, they still intend to drag our countries down with them due to being clueless in politics. If they manage to do that then it will be a goodbye.
    2
  304. What was your occupation?
    2
  305. It's Russia and China who want to divide us.
    2
  306.  @koenderbb5191  I wish lefties didn't seek to discriminate unvacinated people while criticizing discrimination of negligible population in other countries. It goes to show leftist ideology is very inconsistent and hypocritical.
    2
  307.  @marvyd  Extremely bad choice. Ukraine is a mess. Choose any EU country instead.
    2
  308. It makes no sense whatsoever to flee from one dictatorship to another.
    2
  309.  @marvyd  Wrong, young Ukranians are fleeing to the EU to Poland, Czechia, Slovakia. In 1990 it was at the same starting line like these countries. It will take another generational change to fix issues it is facing. I know because I live in Czechia.
    2
  310. No wonder Slovakia was a nazi ally together with Hungary in WW2. When a conflict breaks out in Europe, you can count on these two to be on the evil side.
    2
  311. Constitution is also a law - constitutional law.
    2
  312.  @HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva  Eastern EU is 99% white without multiculturalism and you really cant tell there is any advantage in that.
    2
  313. Don't enter date of birth and don't mention your whole career.
    2
  314. Pirates are communists of 21th century, remember that! Those who vote for them have no right to complain about those who vote for KSCM or supported communists in the past.
    2
  315. There is ample free land in the US, but people seem to insist on living in expensive states.
    2
  316.  @notoriusmaximus783  That's the narrative of Kremlin fifth column in Czechia. Any citizen who trusts a foreign power more than own state deserves that designation. This narrative would have been more believable if the opposition was in power, not Mr. Babis and CSSD. These two had no interest in destroying relationship with Russia. On the contrary they concealed results of investigation until they were forced to act as the results leaked out. It's a disgrace country elects a foreign agent for president.
    2
  317.  @notoriusmaximus783  Czech government had nothing to gain from publishing evidence gathered by its intelligence service. It would have resulted just in more disinformation being disseminated from Kremlin media and I'm certain you would have trusted the Kremlin explanation rather than your own government. Czech government was wise not to engage in these games.
    2
  318.  @peternagy6067  No you are not. You are building a dictatorship. Your neighbors Slovaks and Czechs see it clearly. Hungarians ditched one dictatorship only to be fooled into building another. Czechs and Slovaks do not need dictators to protect their sovereignty in the EU.
    2
  319. Make a trade deal with the EU that makes it easier for people to move then those teachers can come over.
    2
  320. I disliked it because it is propaganda. Tucker didn't ask uncomfortable questions at all and intended to use the interview for promoting his own agenda without telling the whole story. He is misleading American public. I live in eastern EU and I'm conservative leaning, but still voted it down.
    2
  321. You shouldn't have left the EU. I will be leaving the UK in 4 months after living in London for 8 months as the job didn't meet my expectations. I'm in the top 3% income wise. A left wing government is coming that will tax me more and my investments are heavily taxed as well.
    2
  322. As someone from Eastern EU I say it seems every country needs to go through its own period of "communism". West thought it was immune from all kinds of totalitarian ideologies but it was mistaken. I'm certain there will always be free countries to flee to and these will serve as a beacon for others to liberate themselves.
    2
  323.  @neres5795  Sometimes children need to move to another country for their parents to wake up. In the EU the old generation will no longer be imposing its failed policies on the young one. If they wish to live in Russian world then its time to wish them good luck and leave.
    2
  324. I own an average house in Eastern EU, worth $600k. It find it surprising I could buy a house in the US but Americans can't.
    2
  325. And the game is only beginning. With all the covid madness trust in EU and traditional parties will be eroded further.
    2
  326.  @lucadesanctis563  I think many people don't mind migrants as long as it's decent people who bring useful skills in. But those people need to be selected, not randomly chosen.
    2
  327. What he says is considered normal in eastern EU. However the rest of us do not want a wannabe dictator like him.
    2
  328.  @JayJay5244  Iraq was a brutal dictatorship, which served to justify the war along with hope of building a beacon of democracy in middle east. Nobody will shed a tear for Saddam and his henchmen.
    2
  329. Wrong, low taxation and cutting regulations leads to natural long term growth. In the UK this was stifled by the 2008 crisis and Brexit. A labor government will just redistribute wealth which cannot spur economic growth.
    1
  330. It's an advantage - should Hungary go full authoritarian, Hungarians can escape to southern Slovakia as Hungarian is still spoken there. Slovakia definitely doesn't want to go down the path of Hungary and it shows Orban's narrative of EU threat is false as Czechs or Slovaks don't need Orban to protect themselves from the EU. Hungarians have been bamboozled by this wannabe dictator.
    1
  331. Czechs and Slovaks face same problems as Hungarians yet see no reason to elect a wannabe dictator.
    1
  332. Looks bad for Serbia's EU membership from what you say.
    1
  333. You aren't going to like it but Biden is going to be reelected if he is still alive in 3 years. It will be even worse joke than it is now.
    1
  334. Not worth it. I made many times more than that.
    1
  335. The whole EU is mostly a left wing institution.
    1
  336. What about discrimination by vaccination status? Isn't that more serious?
    1
  337.  @LouieGrind  Yes it is more serious, since vaccinated people get infected as well. Vaccines mainly help to prevent hospitalizations and they seem to be doing that job well. LGBT rights are a petty issue in comparison to this.
    1
  338.  @эмм-х5х  Russians need to oust Putin due to Z war just like Tsar and leave Ukraine. Or else it will lose anyway and end up isolated like North Korea. Russia is losing just like in WW1.
    1
  339. Whole eastern EU is not ashamed of their history. Nothing spectacular, but we have nothing to apologize for. We are also open to learn from others.
    1
  340. Slovakia has about 41% fully vaccinated people.
    1
  341. The legal system is designed to maintain order, not to provide justice for all. Seeking justice can lead to astronomical costs for the poor who often cannot afford it.
    1
  342.  @Richwiking318  It's usually those who don't understand what it means constantly keep voting for spineless, corrupt, lying and self-serving politicians who mismanage countries.
    1
  343.  @frederikaz5085  Sounds like you lost competition on the job market and are butt hurt about it. International companies employ people from various countries and ethnicities. Makes no sense why they would discriminate you specifically. Competition on foreign job market is a lot stronger than what you're used to in Slovakia. Naive fresh graduates get disappointed when they find out there is no demand for their major on the job market. If that's your case then you need to reflect on your past decisions, blame nobody but yourself and make steps to improve your standing. You were unsuccessful, fell victim to Kremlin propaganda and intend to drag the whole country down with you. If you want to be successful you need to have role models who are successful, not unsuccessful. Same holds when it comes to economy and foreign policy. Many people are unsuccessful because they consistently make wrong decisions throughout their life.
    1
  344.  @Diabolo0011  That person could even be Putin's bot sitting in St. Petersburg. Don't take these comments seriously.
    1
  345. Result of Russian world mentality. It will not get better until full generational change.
    1
  346. Back then US was definitely a better place to live. Nowadays it still is, but not by such a wide margin as Russia has modernized although still lags behind especially in terms of political freedom. I believe nowadays the EU is a better place to live for American lefties as we have all they want while it will never be implemented in the US (especially the healthcare system).
    1
  347. Organizations have rules. Poland's constitution may take precedence, but if Poland breaks EU agreements its continued membership becomes impossible. Same for Hungary. Poles and Hungarians just got manipulated by their governments that the EU is enemy. The EU isn't taking over Czechia, Slovakia or Baltics and they see no need to vote in dictators to "protect" themselves.
    1
  348.  @hunguy3280  It is definitely a sovereign right of Poland and Hungary to deal with internal issues. But due to EU memberships those solutions need to be in accordance with EU treaties as long as those countries are members. It's the EU courts who decide on these matters. Poland and Hungary had to adjust their laws prior to accession to the EU for the same reason. Any change of EU treaties would have to be negotiated and approved by all members should Hungary or Poland want to make amendments. That's how EU membership works, even if we dislike it sometimes.
    1
  349.  @weetbix4497  Nope, the problem is cultural, it's too conservative. It will never prosper.
    1
  350. I can tell you that the successful people stayed in Eastern Europe. Companies rarely hire people from abroad even if they have the right skills. They prefer local candidates who already live in the country. Living in another country is grounds for auto rejection of job application.
    1
  351.  Michael Flaherty  Americans need to travel more, that's all.
    1
  352. Orban is a wannabe dictator.
    1
  353. Maybe making friends among the immigrants would address your mental health issues.
    1
  354. As a European I agree. Same for US. In Europe we do have extremists but they are sidelined.
    1
  355. I wonder if you live in East Germany?
    1
  356.  @DonutAgain  China needs to cancel import tariffs from US and replace them with 100% export tarrifs to US for electronics and rare metals. If Xi does this then China will mop the floor with Trump.
    1
  357. US is not an ally of Europe. Period.
    1
  358. This virus is not going away ever.
    1
  359. Yeah and that's why Russia has no choice but to commit genocide in Ukraine right? Do you want to add that Hitler had no choice but gas Jews? What about asking the invader to pull back troops? That's one thing I never hear from your Kremlin kin.
    1
  360. Welcome to Prague. I live here and I wouldn't want to move anywhere else. It's very safe with positive outlook for the future. US companies offer the best pay.
    1
  361. Why do you lie and don't just say it should accept Putin's rule?
    1
  362. But still the EU should promote democracy. Possibly some kind of arrangements are needed so they do not need to join but still must uphold democratic standards. Free trade with the EU should not be for free.
    1
  363. There is definitely need to throw countries out that repeatedly ignore and violate EU court rulings. Hungary does it because it can get away with it and declare a victory over the EU. Czechia and Slovakia definitely want to remain. Poland likes to play strong, but backs off when things get heated. I live in one of V4 countries so I know the situation here. The EU should have suspended financing Hungary long time ago. I'm fine if they want to join Belarus, Serbia and other poor countries outside the EU building close relationship with Russia and China.
    1
  364. There is a much simpler solution. ECJ could rule Poland's constitution is not in agreement with EU treaties it signed and as a result its membership is temporarily suspended as primacy of EU treaties is a core requirement for EU membership. For duration of the suspension EU funds would be stopped and Poland would lose voting rights in the EU. This mechanism would allow to punish Hungary as well.
    1
  365.  @fantasy9917  Solving issues of 0.1% of people is really high on people's wish list... Green agenda is socialism is disguise. The left's narrative of class struggle isn't effective anymore therefore green agenda got added to attract young voters. If realized they will never own a home and also possibly car due to major rise in prices. That will in turn be used to justify further socialist agenda. Young voters are too gullible to understand the flip side of the green deal. We older ones will never fall for it, no need to even try.
    1
  366. Every company tries to hire the best people for the lowest cost. This often manifests in the practice of downleveling candidates. Believe me, it has nothing to do with your real skills or origin. It's business, nothing else. From employee perspective, the best way to combat this is to always be open to new opportunities, do a few interviews every year if needed and if the money & technologies turns out to be good, then accept the offer. Many companies do not expect to be turned down. Another option is moving to a bigger country like Germany where you have more opportunities, which is very important late in your career.
    1
  367. Greece is a terrible choice. UK is a much better country to live in.
    1
  368. Marry a European, then you can move in easily. America is an great place if you make big bucks, otherwise not so much.
    1
  369. Canada seems to have suspended use of AZ as well. Perhaps UK government is not being honest with its people.
    1
  370. @Robert The ethical problem is we don't know for sure those people would have died from covid. Maybe they were careful people... It was offered to them as a remedy and yet they died. Under normal circumstances vaccine with such problems would not get approved. This is also reason why the EU chose Pfizer for the next year apart from failed deliveries.
    1
  371. There is no DMZ between Russia and NATO - Poland, Finland, Baltics. No need for it.
    1
  372. @ If Americans want to pander to Putin they can give him a piece of Alaska.
    1
  373.  @Anonymous-ld7je  Those who praise dictators are the problem and those are Republicans.
    1
  374. Whereabouts in Europe?
    1
  375.  @Hejhouyou  Why do you want to be fed lies?
    1
  376. Of course EU would welcome Canada.
    1
  377. The EU will always be allied with US.
    1
  378. I'm afraid Russia wouldn't be opening stock market if it didn't intend to cheat. I suspect trade processing software has been altered to allow price manipulation by Russian authorities.
    1
  379. The main drawback of international law there is no court to enforce it. The main way to seek compliance is sanctions , tariffs and war (mostly obsolete by now).
    1
  380. My opinion is Eastern EU countries should give all their Russian equipment to Ukraine and receive partial replacements from Western EU. The rest will be replenished gradually. This is the best way as Ukraine will have spare parts from damaged or broken equipment. If Leo 2s are given to Ukraine then Russia will eventually destroy them anyway as it will be much harder to repair them in field. Artillery is a different matter as Soviet shell production in Eastern EU is very limited. Ukraine needs both Soviet and Western artillery for that reason.
    1
  381. No American Republican will ever admit it :-)
    1
  382. Brexit is working exactly as intended. There is nothing to renegotiate.
    1
  383. Slovakia joining the EU and NATO was definitely the right choice. It isn't as bad as Hungary. There is still hope. It's better to have these countries in and have some leverage over them. Just look at Serbia or Bosnia. Zero progress. Without external pressure nothing improves.
    1
  384.  @tonyd9394  They will send in soldiers on motorcycles.
    1
  385. Marry a European then. In 21th century having easy access to both EU and US will be a major advantage. Americans don't realize it yet.
    1
  386.  @Meadowsweet1986  She is promoting far right agenda by blaming observed deterioration of her area on immigration when in reality it's a social problem.
    1
  387. Brilliant, this video made Slovak neo-fascists come out
    1
  388. Same mindset has a sizable part of population in Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria (mostly socialist generation). To them, it was all caused by the West, NATO and especially Americans. They read Russian propaganda and believe it. They hate democracy and want a dictator like Lukashenko or Putin. About 30% of the population. Same disease as Trumpism. The top dog in Moscow must be laughing at all these minions.
    1
  389. That's what Putin wants
    1
  390. As a European I couldn't care less about China threat to US. We are going to continue trading with China.
    1
  391. The EU is a club of countries that identify with EU values. Those that don't should leave so they don't have foreign values forced on them.
    1
  392.  @thornelderfin  Slovakia is culturally closer to Russian world - drive out the smart, beat up and rule the rest. The population isn't open enough to shed its past. Anyone waiting for a change is wasting their life.
    1
  393. Hungary's EU and NATO membership is at stake. If Orban isn't defeated now then he will rule Hungary until his death. Illiberal democracy is incompatible with EU values.
    1
  394. UK left the EU unfortunately. The goal is to go to a place with low taxes and low living cost.
    1
  395. Austria-Hungary got reincarnated in the form of EU.
    1
  396. Voting for Pirates would be an extremely bad idea during pandemic. Liberal left is the strongest proponent of tight lockdowns and other restrictive measures commonly associated with countries like China. Best party if one wants to end up living in China.
    1
  397. @Alki Progressives I know think exactly like you. That's why I will never vote for a progressive party in my life as I know their agenda too well.
    1
  398. Where specifically?
    1
  399. Knowledge of the local language is necessary if you want citizenship though. Some bigger European countries like Germany or France require knowledge of local language even for IT jobs. In smaller countries it much less frequent as nobody expects an American to learn language spoken by only 10mil people. Mixed couples usually use English as home language.
    1
  400.  @yanbu000  Language test is part of the citizenship exam. In my opinion you can't pass the language test unless your level is at least B2. C1 would be sufficient for sure. As for details you will have to read about citizenship requirements for particular country. Some countries do not allow dual citizenship.
    1
  401.  @yanbu000  Fluency typically means B2. C1-C2 are mainly about having larger vocabulary and being able to express oneself more seamlessly and being able to talk about specialized topics.
    1
  402. Restrict it to eastern EU. Countries further east need more time to develop.
    1
  403. Of course because the city sold it to those companies. They created the problem in the first place and now it backfired on them.
    1
  404. And if young Czechs cannot persuade their parents not to vote for ANO then they deserve these prices!
    1
  405. Why not tax everyone? If you want to just tax the rich you want to discriminate people.
    1
  406.  @EmmaLaBunn  You obviously did miss my point.
    1
  407.  @tokinsloff312  Sounds like your argument is based on class hatred
    1
  408.  @badgersgetabadname  If you expect Labour to help you then you will be disappointed. You need to help yourself.
    1
  409.  @EmmaLaBunn  If you want to redistribute wealth then you need to contribute too. Only fair taxation allows poor people to build wealth.
    1
  410.  @jonsmith5058  The poorest 10% pay very little to no tax. To tax the rich is a robbery by the masses legalised by the government. Taxing everyone is fair, taxing the rich is an idea based on class hatred and unethical. Spreading class hatred should be outlawed.
    1
  411.  @glennewton7034  Inheritance tax is evil, it punishes successful families. People shouldn't have to sell inherited property just to pay tax.
    1
  412.  @EmmaLaBunn  Fair tax is when everyone pays the same percentage from their gross salary. The rich still pay more in absolute terms. You want to tax the rich more because you want to steal their wealth legally. You should look into building family wealth instead of stealing it from someone else. Keynesian economics is dead. I was a wrong solution the whole time. If you want to repeat it then you will destroy UK economy. You need to face reality that post WW2 prosperity has ended and will not repeat.
    1
  413. Orban is a wannabe dictator. Thank God Slovak government is not going along with Orban's populism. You are a minority in Slovakia thankfully.
    1
  414. Buying Greenland means prime minister pockets the money.
    1
  415.  @dirkgonthier101  I feel we have much more in common with Americans or Brits than with Russians or Chinese. The former group are democratic countries who value freedom like us. That makes us natural allies. Russia and China are totalitarian countries that seek to subvert our democracy and disintegrate the EU so they can control individual states. Trading with them on equal footing like with democratic countries is extremely counterproductive. When dealing with totalitarian ideology one must not stand idle just because not being targeted yet. Totalitarian countries should be facing tariffs and sanctions, not free trade. Those who oppose standing up to them usually don't value freedom and have totalitarian mindset themselves. We must not be fooled by them. Nordstream 2 makes Germany extremely undependable. EU army or closer integration is completely out of question with Germany acting like that. I fully support American policy on Nordstream 2. Russia wants to have direct leverage on Germany to divide EU and US. Germans are playing the less smart partner in the Russia-German energy partnership. Germany is not to be trusted politically unless it changes its course.
    1
  416.  @timurermolenko2013  Czechia. Western EU is basically American democrats. Eastern EU is more conservative.
    1
  417.  @dirkgonthier101  Sure, everyone is entitled own opinion. Unfortunately yours means Germany is not trustworthy for eastern EU members (and not just them, who was spying on Angela...). I was trying to explain why. We see politics differently and these differences are irreconcilable.
    1
  418.  @lordbendtner7021  The EU tried but failed.
    1
  419. Nope, Hungary will be crushed hard by the EU. Orban is a bigot, racist and wannabe dictator. American Republicans are misguided. America First is a fascist movement. The future of democratic countries is in close cooperation, not nationalism.
    1
  420.  @kodor1146  Wrong, we believe in close cooperation, not nationalism and isolation. The EU is a project worth keeping alive.
    1
  421. We couldn't care less about US
    1
  422. You may not know but Russia made it easier to immigrate for foreigners.
    1
  423. I think the best option for the young in Bosnia is to get education in demand and immigrate to the EU. If the old generation doesn't want to join the EU then the young will do it without them.
    1
  424. You need to hire based both on knowledge of technologies and problem solving skills. People lacking problem solving skills will take many months to learn new product, possibly never and will require lot of assistance. People lacking knowledge of used technologies will bring in patterns used in technologies they know which aren't always desirable. Lastly there are soft skills and not everyone is suitable for a team job.
    1
  425. EU is a multi cultural organization.
    1
  426. You can always find refuge in southern Slovakia should Hungary go full authoritarian. Hungarian is still spoken there.
    1
  427. They would have to immigrate in large numbers though as central European languages are very complicated and countries very small. That's one of the reasons why this region doesn't have problems with immigration - because nobody wants to learn languages with 5-10mil speakers.
    1
  428. Why would you tax unearned wealth? Sounds fishy.
    1
  429.  @oojezoo  If it hasn't been earned then there is nothing to tax yet
    1
  430.  @oojezoo  Nope, there is nothing
    1
  431.  @hiigara2085  I didn't feel priviedged with my £150k salary in the UK
    1
  432. The West knows that and that's why it supports Ukraine. It is also clear Serbia is belligerent again and sides with Russia.
    1
  433. Do you want to live in a Kremlin style dictatorship?
    1
  434.  @Lizard4678  They want experience. Once you have that they will contact you through linked-in and you do not have to look for job yourself. You need to apply for junior positions where they are fine with 0-1 years of experience. Don't tell us there is no company in the whole country willing to hire you.
    1
  435.  @Lizard4678  At best the other school could have arranged an internship for you, but those are poorly paid and only temporary, therefore not very useful. You need a job that provides you relevant experience. You simply need to apply for jobs in the whole US.
    1
  436.  @erikpeterffy7552  Hungarians are building another dictatorship. Like a prisoner set free in 1989 returning to previous prison. Dismantling liberal democracy inevitably means Kremlin/Chinese style dictatorship. Hungarians are free to pursue that course, but without EU funds and Hungary will have to leave the EU eventually. One of objectives of the EU is also protection of liberal democracy in member states. Hungary's course is incompatible with EU membership. Good luck forging alliance with Russia and China. Greetings from V4.
    1
  437. I have the feeling we are almost at the end of expansion. Serbia is too pro Russian and nationalist - essentially 2nd Hungary. Balkan countries are very small and economically unimportant. From time to time there will be black sheep in the EU. The problem is it is very hard to take action against them. Therefore this issue should be solved, rather than kicking countries out.
    1
  438.  Lebanine  Collapse of the EU is Russian agenda. If you vote for parties that want it to collapse then you're serving Russia. 21th century is about cooperation.
    1
  439. Sounds like Central Europe is going to be a popular destination for immigration in a decade or so.
    1
  440.  @GigaChadlovesandcares  Turkey will not leave NATO on it's own. Erdogan's agenda is to sabotage it from inside.
    1
  441.  @inso80  Nope, Orban will win the next parliamentary election. That's the final nail in the coffin called Hungary.
    1
  442. Hungary cannot receive EU funds and at the same time portray the EU as an enemy. If it was up to me it would have lost funds already. Hungarians got simply brainwashed. Czechs and Slovaks are not oppressed by the EU and do not vote in dictators.
    1
  443.  @reszetelek684  So you rebel against "foreign" power - that is the EU by voting in a dictator?
    1
  444.  @willyvereb  Handling of pandemic in the EU will further worsen existing divisions as the EU has no longer moral right to criticize Hungary or Poland. Nobody takes it seriously anymore. It will cause significant erosion of trust in governing parties that profess to be democratic and rise of popularity of populist parties all over Europe. Traditional democratic parties can no longer fulfill their role of guardian of freedom and democracy.
    1
  445. There is plenty of fuel in the EU.
    1
  446. Nope, those countries are culturally too backward. They are poor not by chance, they were underdeveloped already 100 years ago. Same problem as developing countries. Their cultures are based on values that make them uncompetitive.
    1
  447.  @xianxiaemperor1438  Voting in spineless, corrupt and populist politicians, tolerating corruption in the society, driving the skilled workers out, too slow to innovate, thus always lagging behind. Too conservative to change anything. Conservative countries are inevitable the most backward places. Such countries will never prosper.
    1
  448. It depends where in Eastern Europe. Eastern EU countries are improving, but countries further east are not as totalitarian mindset is too strong there.
    1
  449.  @cherrytreegoats3409  Petition the government then!
    1
  450. Eastern Europe still has strong sense of self preservation and progressives are very weak.
    1
  451.  @deadcoins9031  21th century will favor multi-lingual people in the EU. Unfortunately Americans don't learn foreign languages. They would have a huge advantage in Europe if they did.
    1
  452.  @darkmatter9643  I wonder why it's not the case in Scotland or Wales.
    1
  453. ​ @DerekTJ  Didn't they vote to remain in the UK?
    1
  454. Avoid Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia - non EU countries basically. Russia is too totalitarian minded as is Belarus. Basically western EU is akin to Democrat states - they prefer higher taxes, more regulation, while eastern EU is more conservative and has lower taxes, but is also poorer therefore you must have a job paying western salary.
    1
  455. Reform are racists.
    1
  456.  @demran17  There is initiative in certain EU countries to discriminate people based on vaccination status. Maybe it didn't make it to NL yet. With that in place, nobody cares about EU values anymore.
    1
  457.  @ShadowViewsOnly  All the more reason to vote him out of office. Hungarians must not submit to such blatant erosion of civil rights.
    1
  458.  @remoanersrknts6736  I moved to the UK from the EU recently on skilled worker visa and I'm in the top 2% income band. You're mistaken if you believe we come and ask for less than locals or less than we should have.
    1
  459. Yes, Trump is the same problem as Giorgia Meloni. She is far right just like Trump.
    1
  460.  @CodyCodling  It depends on country. Nobody cares about vaccination passports in Czechia. For me life is the same as before. But in France or Italy it is reportedly different.
    1
  461.  @jeanvonbarberode2377  Economic situation in Czechia is markedly better than it was 10 years ago. I make 160k AUD/pa (100k EUR/pa) in Prague. It makes no sense to live in Australia after what it has become. Dual citizenship could be useful to kids at some point in the future.
    1
  462. The UK is still actually a better choice than Australia in general. Labor market size and proximity to EU being the biggest two reasons. The main advantage of Australia is warm climate and landmass. Australian immigration system is also too strict with regards to age.
    1
  463.  @jonmould2946  I'm against it. Out means out.
    1
  464. @ I would say it's educated people in general rather than European people. Some European people can be hard to integrate too.
    1
  465. Marry a European then.
    1
  466. US is not to be trusted. Regards from Europe.
    1
  467. Choose any EU country, but don't go further east like Aaron.
    1
  468. What do you mean? Politicians are always a reflection of the population.
    1
  469. No special deals for the UK
    1
  470.  @rodrigovelasquez49  I don't think Gibraltar is coming back. It is British territory.
    1
  471.  @davidgullberg2145  The problem is Eastern EU countries subscribe to many of these ideas but due to being more conservative have objections when it comes to LGBT rights (marriages, adoptions, school education etc).
    1
  472.  @gontrandjojo9747  Hungarian government is pursuing Russian political model at the moment and building nuclear power plant with Russia. It refused to buy vaccines as part of EU program and decided to use Chinese and Russian vaccines. So much for hate for Russia.
    1
  473.  @mariotriforce  Home ownership is a huge plus for pensioners. Renting allows higher workforce mobility for people in working age.
    1
  474. More likely you are not telling the truth
    1
  475. I want the EU to make trade deals with democratic countries only as a way to promote democracy in the world.
    1
  476. There are two ways into Europe: 1.) Marry a European 2.) Get employed by an international company and ask for a transfer to Europe.
    1
  477. Putin may be after the American stock market. It's been in a downfall for about two months as it's basically a bubble ready to burst.
    1
  478. In eastern EU the communist generation needs to die out. They are a lost case. I agree that internal reforms are needed before taking in more members.
    1
  479. Eastern EU cannot overtake Western EU because it is too conservative.
    1
  480. Not if Russia is kicked out of Ukraine. Belarus didn't join Russia in the war and neither did China.
    1
  481. I recently moved to London from the EU on skilled worker visa. London offers better job opportunities than many EU countries, especially smaller ones. I presume the British government had to relax the rules to offset negative effects of Brexit, but it had to show somewhere.
    1
  482.  @mortenovergaard7397  Nope that's far right
    1
  483. EU doesn't make countries surrender resources.
    1
  484. Nobody cares about that silly pipeline. It should never have been built in the first place.
    1
  485.  @orlandomando8486  If you want your country to look like Russia then vote for pro Russian political parties and it will be just a matter of time.
    1
  486. Vote only for democratic parties that align with your views, regardless of promises which end up being broken anyway.
    1
  487. EU companies are very reluctant to hire workforce from other EU countries. They focus too much on risk instead of skills. They aren't hiring the best talent and thus can't compete
    1
  488. Where do you live?
    1
  489. American conservatives love to talk about freedom, but vote for wannabe dictators. That's my observation from Europe.
    1
  490. It was unreasonable from him to move to Ukraine which is not in the EU. Eastern EU countries are fine, but you must have a well paid job - management, IT or a remote job.
    1
  491. I hope you visited Czechia.
    1
  492. India is not a reliable partner to West as it demonstrated during Russian-Ukraine war. Anyone with moral values would not go to meet Putin or buy weapons from him. I have a big problem with buying anything from him as that literally means financing Russia in a genocidal war. India seems to think otherwise. As for China, it is only a matter of time before they go on military adventures. There is no peace with dictatorships, only cease-fire, which can last for decades and give semblance of peace.
    1
  493. @OddPotato We do not live in binary world. Some choose to admit mistakes, correct them to better themselves while others choose immoral or criminal path "because there are no saints anyway". This "moral flexibility" is especially a huge problem in 3rd world which is one of the reasons it is still poor.
    1
  494.  @iAdam43  Some people side with the victim, while others with the evil aggressor. Current events explain why Slovakia is not a successful country and will not be in the next decades. It's a country based on wrong cultural values.
    1
  495. It was Germany and France who formed the first pact.
    1
  496. Australian unquestioning acceptance of anti covid measures has been a great disappointment to me.
    1
  497. Same as vice versa. You find a job remotely and employer helps you with visa. Or you ask for transfer if you work for international company.
    1
  498.  @helpmelearn1181  You mean being annexed
    1
  499. As someone who lives in Eastern EU I agree. It will take a generation. If you're not willing to wait then get a job at international company and ask for a transfer to Europe. Some countries have very strict rules in place though - France, Germany, Italy. In many international companies knowledge of the local language is unnecessary.
    1
  500. When you join a multi-national organization, there will be time when your opinion will be in minority. Czech right to bear arms in constitution is a joke as it is restricted by laws intended to fool voters.
    1
  501.  @PavelKahun  You still do not get it. 2nd amendment in the US exists to allow people rise up against an oppressive government. 1.) It requires unrestricted gun ownership rights like in the US, not the joke Czechs got. Czech constitution doesn't guarantee you anything regarding gun ownership as it's a scam. 2.) Right for people to organize themselves. If you need to swear an oath, register yourself to some government controlled organization then you fell for yet another trick and the organization cannot fulfill it's goal ever as the organization will never put pressure on self-serving, corrupt, treacherous and oppressive government as by definition it's a mere government controlled pawn. I'm sorry I have to bring it to you but you fell for a trick by your government. It's a communist trick, let people believe they are in control when they aren't.
    1
  502. ​ @PavelKahun  Not everyone is interested in defending democracy and freedom, it's totally fine if you're one of them. Right now Czechs have a president who is a former communist and prime minister known for cooperation with communist secret service. A great strategy to build "direct" democracy I must say.
    1
  503.  @PavelKahun  As an outside observer all I can say you've been fooled again, by the same kind who ruled your country before 1989. Good luck building democracy with communists!
    1
  504.  @PavelKahun  Wow I really struck a nerve there! It's not just a matter of past political affiliation, but current political leanings as well. Mr. Zeman is a well known proponent of close ties to China and Russia instead of West - surely the right person to act as a guardian of democracy! Do you seriously think people who value freedom and democracy will fall for this fraud? Mr. Babis is not much better - a billionaire who made fortune in agriculture, from a family that enjoyed significant privileges in communist era. How common is it nowadays to make fortune in agriculture? Only common in corrupt 3rd world countries. And you put him into power, defend him and I'm sure you will vote for him again. Good luck building "illiberal democracy" in Hungary's footsteps. You have been fooled by communists not once but twice lmao.
    1
  505.  @PavelKahun  Come back to school us once you've managed to build a successful democracy instead of a kleptocracy living off EU funds!
    1
  506. As someone who lives in Czechia, I would never vote for a former or current communist. They are criminals.
    1
  507. ​ @FightingForceSoulless  We don't want Russian world in our countries, that's the difference between us and you.
    1
  508. Get 2nd passport for sure as good times are over.
    1
  509. In Czech Republic people who call themselves patriots would sell the country to Putin. In Slovakia they signed refusal of military service when Putin invaded Ukraine. Every opinion they voice is in line with Putin's propaganda. I hope this helps you understand what sort of people these "patriots" are.
    1
  510. It's staggering how many Americans are praising a wannabe dictator. I live in Eastern EU so I know the situation in Hungary quite well. It seems Americans gave up with democracy.
    1
  511. Not yet, but definitely heading in that direction.
    1
  512. The future of western slavs lies in anglo-slavism, that is adopting the best traits from anglo-saxon culture to be successful.
    1
  513. Nope, Czechia will follow suit, just 2 years later.
    1
  514. Serbia is suffering from Russian world mentality. Hungary and Slovakia have the same problem, just to a lesser degree. People seek autocratic leaders, tolerate nepotism and massive corruption, vote crooks into politics. Good advice, leave if you can.
    1
  515.  @TheTeodorsoldierabvb  I'm absolutely certain Bulgarians like you would cheer Russian army invading Bulgaria and would welcome "liberation" from NATO / EU as it's the only way these people can ever get into power. They wouldn't hesitate to sabotage defense of the country. These people exist in every Eastern EU country and tend to vote for left/right wing extremists.
    1
  516.  @TheVeritas2100  The opposite! It's in our interest for Ukraine to be in EU and NATO together with Poland.
    1
  517. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and other Eastern European countries have very little in common with Russia. That's why they decided to join EU and NATO. They have been proved right. Those who criticize expansion of NATO are working for Putin.
    1
  518.  @janetcohen9190  I wonder where you get that information from? It's very hard to find anyone so deluded.
    1
  519.  @khanalprabhat  Agreed. Recently I was looking for a new job in EU, willing to relocate and eventually moved to UK despite the terrible Brexit and the need for work visa. The UK either needs a better trade deal with the EU or to deregulate further.
    1
  520.  @Eli-pj8xm  Worker mobility in the EU is very poor. Workers face language barriers which can be tremendous if the whole family is moving. Companies are reluctant to hire workers from another EU country even if qualified and no visa are needed.
    1
  521. The best way to move to another country is to marry a local. Otherwise it's going to be a big struggle.
    1
  522. Eastern European here. An ideal country doesn't exist, there are problems everywhere. Communism as a political system has been rejected here and won't be returning for sure.
    1
  523. Because the EU needs to sort out Hungary and Poland first.
    1
  524. Nebraska farmers don't have to go bankrupt. They can employ American workers or do the job themselves.
    1
  525. So Americans are reliving their own history?
    1
  526.  @lolly1811  Brits can come as visitors, nobody is stopping them. But no youth free movement.
    1
  527. The Czech citizenship conditions may change by the time you would be eligible. Next government is likely to be different so the restriction could be lifted.
    1
  528.  @letecmig  Are you a leading member of ANO?
    1
  529. @ So you know nothing and just pretend to matter.
    1
  530. Her suspension was justified. She is free to promote her divisive views on far right media.
    1
  531. US is more right wing than any other developed country.
    1
  532.  @michaelward9880  Every other developed country is more socialist than the US, even eastern Europe. Ukraine is a very poor choice for living, it's a very corrupt and volatile country unfortunately. Eastern EU is closer to Republicans politically (mainly due to social issues) while western EU closer to Democrats.
    1
  533.  @michaelward9880  I live in Czechia (EU). I do not remember socialism so I'm unaffected by its propaganda. Socialism in its totalitarian or even democratic form aims to indoctrinate people that government knows best what's good for them, that a strong government and its control of people's lives is desirable. Some people do not want to take responsibility for their life and like that narrative. These people do not realize the main reason for serfdom in the Medieval Period and their resulting extreme poverty is because those generations failed to defend their freedom. It later repeated itself in the form of socialism in eastern Europe.
    1
  534. It doesn't look like Germany needs saving at all. A small minority is exaggerating facts.
    1
  535. Conservatives are in a way similar to Democrats. Both try to force their policies on the other half. Naturally everyone hates when something they disagree with is forced upon them.
    1
  536. Germany certainly helped escalate a local war into a world war by invading Belgium and France. Austria-Hungary just wanted help against Russia but German army had other plans. It is not widely known but Germany did retract the blank cheque it gave to Austria-Hungary few days before start of the war, but it was too late as events were spiraling out of control. At that point the war became impossible to stop as the parties involved distrusted each other. Stating you were simply helping your allies is misleading as Austria-Hungary never asked you to invade Belgium and France.
    1
  537.  @petermolnar8401  In neighboring Czechia and Slovakia people understood that if you keep the same politician in power for too long you get a dictatorship as they are all power hungry. They will fill all leading positions with their own people, covering up corruption, stopping all development. These countries face the same problems like Hungary, yet they see no need to elect a dictator unlike bamboozled Hungarians. If things get bad in Hungary at least Hungarians can escape to southern Slovakia where Hungarian is still spoken in towns.
    1
  538. Yup. It goes to show how manipulative and dishonest TC is.
    1
  539. The EU expanded as much as it could, the rest is not worth it seems.
    1
  540.  @Just_another_Euro_dude  Your prosperity is about to end. Putin is hell bent on plundering your countries while Eastern EU isn't willing to increase its defence spending. Populist governments are taking over that would happily surrender to Putin. A recipe for disaster. I moved from Eastern EU to London just recently.
    1
  541.  @carolarmer1204  That may be true in certain fields like agriculture or construction, but overall I don't think it is the case.
    1
  542. How do you know they can't accept culture of the host country?
    1
  543. Thankfully in the EU there are still free countries left.
    1
  544. You shouldn't have left the EU
    1
  545. What makes you think the gas pipeline will transport any gas at all? It doesn't matter what gas deals Hungary made with Putin.
    1
  546.  @kingc8531  The EU is a guardian of liberal democracy, which is why populists are trying hard to destroy it.
    1
  547. Pick any eastern EU country, not Ukraine. Moving to Ukraine would be a major error. Putin will not allow it to be stable and successful.
    1
  548. Why would they brag about losing?
    1
  549. People are to blame, not oligarchs.
    1
  550. The whole world knows the UK was hoarding vaccines for itself. Fortunately for the EU, they proved to be less effective than Pfizer and the UK unlike the EU will need a booster shot or hell will break loose in winter.
    1
  551. Destiny of the Pirate party is left wing liberalism (progressivism) and wokism. People must learn to read between the lines rather than take election program at face value. Political parties lie all the time, especially during election month. Czechia needs right wing government to keep developing and get budget under control.
    1
  552.  @julemanden32199  Europeans are good at organization. There would be no EU if there was no need for it. Since there is, they put their differences and nationalism aside.
    1
  553. You need to make a contribution for things to change, not just wait and see. You need to convince your family members to vote otherwise next time.
    1
  554. Americans seem to love Orban.
    1
  555. @Ready For Anything. That's what fascists claim here.
    1
  556.  @javadream1852  All fascists are dangerous, regardless of nationality.
    1
  557. It's not necessary anymore. I live in central Europe and make €100k/pa. In my opinion it's not worth it to immigrate to the US - way too many problems and zero real benefits at least for me. You can brag with US passport, that's about the only advantage you get.
    1
  558. JP Morgan is a very conservative bank
    1
  559.  @Lawrence4000-s3k  Trade deficit with the EU is irrelevant. What matters is the overall trade deficit.
    1
  560. What country did you move to?
    1
  561. Oh Polish businesses do. Fine should be subtracted from EU funds granted to Poland. That means fine takes priority over any funds you get. The difference is to be paid by Polish government putting strain on your budget.
    1
  562. Of course it would accept Canada
    1
  563.  @alan9466  Brits who voted for Brexit as deluded
    1
  564.  @terryhoath1983  It's time to admit you were wrong. Leaving the EU made Britain unable to return migrants back to France under Dublin regulation. Britain will not sink the boats and the French will not accept them back anymore. This is a direct consequence of Brexit. The problem of countries like Slovakia, Hungary is brain drain. They may be ok for retirement but not for raising the next generation. I want more employment opportunities and therefore moved from Slovakia to London.
    1
  565.  @terryhoath1983  If you follow Slovak politics, you will know the situation isn't normal at all. Too many people expect help from the government that will never come. Someone like Fico will never build a successful Slovakia. Pro-Russian propaganda is too strong and the country is too conservative to be successful. Army is severely underfunded as is infrastructure, because these don't bring in votes. Czechia, Slovakia, Poland need to learn from US and UK to be successful. The economic model based on cheap Russian energy has been exhausted (Germany will too be affected) and Putin will do everything to damage the Eastern EU economically. This region can't prosper with a hostile Russia and this won't change until Russia becomes democratic. If you're so worried about the future of Britain, then you should bring your family in. It is vital that kids in 21th century speak multiple languages and have multiple citizenships.
    1
  566. Why not, the US could surely join it one day along with Canada. It may happen in latter part of 21th century. Democratic countries should work closely together.
    1
  567. I live in Central Europe and can say we are definitely not interested in what you're proposing. European countries need to work together.
    1
  568.  @Bianca268  The UK is still the best choice for highly skilled workers in Europe due to opportunities. Small 5-10mil countries in the EU have very few opportunities. Once you reach high seniority the job market is very small. In the UK you have much more opportunities but you will have to compete with 50-100 candidates for a single place. I'm currently in the process of moving to the UK.
    1
  569. You will have last chance to fix it.
    1
  570. AZ made promises it never delivered. EU won't be fooled 2nd time. Other manufacturers will profit this time.
    1
  571. Poor Canadians, you just had an election and re-elected Justin Trudeau. Nothing is going to change in Canada now for sure. In Czechia we are still free. Nobody cares about vax passports, no coercion like in Western EU. I'm not vaccinated and nobody demonizes me. I live just like before.
    1
  572. I can say that in Eastern EU the problem is mostly the old communist generation that doesn't speak any languages. They are like prisoners who love to return back to prison. Luckily the young generation keeps them in check in most countries and they are dying out.
    1
  573. Liz Truss should be the next PM
    1
  574. In live in eastern EU and consider EU army and EU in general undependable in military matters. I'm a realist not a dreamer. The EU's foreign policy should be close cooperation with the US.
    1
  575.  @ahmadjewett7496  Biden is great.
    1
  576. Hungary is a lost cause, but not the rest. People in the EU need to learn to deal with conservative populists before its too late.
    1
  577. Brits don't seem to realize it but there are only two good options for the UK - 1.) rejoining the EU 2.) Britain lowering taxes to be more competitive with the EU and restart economic growth. This means the UK becoming more like the US. This is what Liz Truss wanted but failed to implement.
    1
  578.  @ADifferentBias  The UK cannot match the US in terms of market size, therefore you need lower taxes to compete with the EU. Lowering taxes inevitably means privatizing the NHS, something Liz conveniently forgets to mention. I'm not saying Britain should go down that route, but it's one of two viable options. Anything in the middle means long term stagnation.
    1
  579. As part of negotiations Slovakia should give up parts of its territory to Hungary I suppose.
    1
  580. Funny as I may be moving from the EU to the UK (London). Whether I make the move will depend on the salary offered. In post Brexit era I would say having multiple passports and speaking multiple languages is essential as the future is not predictable. For me that would be EU and UK passport. Europe may suffer from high energy prices and Russian aggression in the east. Good times have ended.
    1
  581. ​ @kingk2405  Me moving to the UK (London) is now very likely. I got an offer with very high salary that I ended up accepting.
    1
  582. Down goes Mr. Babis. His party narrowly lost the election but also managed to cannibalize votes from its former partners - CSSD and KSCM. As a result Mr. Babis has only the extremist SPD on his side and cannot form a government. Winning coalitions already declared they are not going to negotiate with Mr. Babis. Since he is not a politician and sitting in parliament for four years is not appealing to him he may as well quit politics.
    1
  583. What's your occupation? I made 155k in London.
    1
  584.  @normiedeathsquad40  I quit that job and left the UK
    1
  585.  @doubleinfinityx2476  That's absolutely fine. The EU could stop all EU funds and send Poles home. If Poland won't honor it's obligations don't expect the EU to honor theirs. They are not dumb. Poland is a free country and there are other alternatives like a close union with Belarus, Russia, China.
    1
  586. It makes more sense for Europeans to establish startups in the US rather than EU because of large single market and language. Once you're ahead it's very difficult to catch up for competitors 2-3 years later.
    1
  587.  @za.monolit  If you think US didn't lose the Afghan war that's fine, we respect your opinion. But the rest of the world thinks otherwise. Evacuation was a big mess and unwillingness of Afghans to fight Taliban showed we should have left long ago. I guess American political elites knew what would follow, but nobody was willing to take the risk until sleepy Joe came as he doesn't care about reelection.
    1
  588.  @za.monolit  In layman terms Taliban ruled Afghanistan before US intervened and returned before it could complete withdrawal. That counts as a waste of lives, time, money and a strategic defeat. I think Americans need to reflect on what went wrong, why we in Eastern EU were successful while Afghanistan is an utter failure with Iraq not far behind. We have a duty to promote democracy in the world, but I believe the methods must be different. Authoritarian countries should be facing tariffs and economic sanctions, while democratic countries should make free trade agreements. It must not pay off to be a dictatorship in trade.
    1
  589. Why would the UK be lost. I move from the EU to London recently and love it.
    1
  590. It's funny why people with the above mindset even want to be EU and NATO members. It's mind boggling to expect to be helped when you refuse to help others. Slovakia belongs mentally not to the West but to the Russian world. Similar mentality to Hungary.
    1
  591. It doesn't matter if she doesn't consider herself far right. What matters is the rest of us see it that way based on her xenophobic rants and affiliation with Reform UK. The foundation of every civilised country is that we don't let such people into power. Reform UK significantly contributed to the Labour victory in general election by splitting the conservative vote.
    1
  592.  @costakeith9048  Then you're in for a shock. Immigrants don't just give up their culture. Parts of European cultures became part of American culture. Culture is continuously evolving. Look at what Germany was before 1945 and what it is now. Same with US. It used to be a very racist country. That means American culture won't be the same in 50 years from now. If you intend to stop the cultural evolution then you're part of the problem.
    1
  593. Russian built power plant is not in Czechia's interest as Kremlin is enemy of Czechia. I don't want further dependency on country which has hostile intentions.
    1
  594.  @monkeyrealms6686  I would not sell my freedom for energy.
    1
  595.  @monkeyrealms6686  Freedom is keystone of all advanced societies. It's something that must be obtained before a country can develop. It's not up for sale in exchange for gas, oil, food or house. I'm not poor, I'm richer than 80% of people in my country in eastern EU. So I must be doing something right as opposed to those who believe otherwise.
    1
  596.  @monkeyrealms6686  Nope, people who migrated to US arrived penniless and worked their way up. Freedom + rule of law + democracy (that means free elections unlike Russian elections). That's how it works in developed countries. Poor countries are poor because they ignore successful models thinking their own way is better. So far they are all failures. So freedom is more important even if you cannot pay your energy bills. I want to be treated like a human, not like cattle. If you want to live like cattle, have a free shack and food from government that's fine, it's your personal preference but there are many people like me who want to be free, take our chances and fend for ourselves. Surrendering freedom will never resonate with us, even if it's a life or death question.
    1
  597.  @Flavor88  Young skilled people from Balkans move to the EU or US. That says it all who is better off - those who stayed out or those who joined.
    1
  598.  @looseygoosey1349  Another European here. It's mostly Western EU countries who want close relationship with Russia while Eastern EU countries see Russia as a threat. I see US and EU as natural allies long term even if the relationship cools down at times.
    1
  599.  @erin-tn2sd  They don't need to invade the EU. Just subvert and undermine it to make it collapse.
    1
  600.  @erin-tn2sd  Russia did invade Ukraine, Georgia and pledged to support Belarus militarily in the event of a revolution. It is trying to undermine NATO and as part of that plot a limited military action against Baltic countries is conceivable with goal to carve out Russian speaking territory. Democracy is a prerequisite of freedom. Democracy in turn requires people to believe in it, defend it against internal threats and possible external military threats. If people are not willing to defend it, even die for it you are in final stage of democratic society before it dies. Along with it freedom and prosperity is lost as well. Russian government sees the EU as an ideological enemy as liberal democracy is a threat to long term power of Kremlin elites. They even designated Czechia, the country I live in as enemy of Russia along with US, because they know we have a duty to promote liberal democracy in the world and that includes both Belarus and Russia.
    1
  601. Democratic countries should have free trade agreements among themselves, but not with totalitarian countries like China.
    1
  602.  @ianyang9298  I live in eastern EU. We aren't old imperialists or colonialists. Your statement can't be applied universally. We can't hold grandchildren responsible for the sins of their grandfathers.
    1
  603.  @jakubklesa  Those right wing members are an aberration as internationally liberals (progressives) are left wing. Those left wing members represent the true face and future of Pirates.
    1
  604. ​ @jakubklesa  Bolshevik policies like targeted taxation of businesses, state interventionism, green policies (the ultimate outcome is tax redistribution) are against core libertarian principles. You are either not a true libertarian or in the wrong party. You fail to understand their left wing policies alienate voters on the right political spectrum. American libertarians vote for Republicans and not progressives as progressives are the antithesis of their core beliefs. This brings me to conclusion you're not a libertarian at all since you are defending them.
    1
  605. The best times of Rothchilds are long gone.
    1
  606. Us who live in Eastern EU still have a lot of to learn from Americans.
    1
  607. @@Breakthechochamber I totally agree with that. It is those 20-30% of people who end up voting for extremists and in some cases also get into power. In Eastern EU, the most ardent supporters of Putin right now are those who benefited from communism and are unsuccessful in democracy. They want Ukraine to lose, Russian army to come and help them. Every civilized society must strive to keep those dangerous people of out power. Even in Russia there are normal people, but they are not in power. If you let these people take power you end up in a country like Russia, Iran, Afghanistan or North Korea - all criminal regimes.
    1
  608. Gas market is not free and Russia controls how much they pump out. By definition if you do not have free market you cannot have fair price.
    1
  609. That's exactly the reason why an EU army is a waste of money and totally undependable. They are unwilling to defend freedom. Americans didn't let Russia bully them and there was no war. War starts only if the aggressor has a chance to get away with it. Weaker side never starts a war.
    1
  610.  @collan580  The rest of Eastern EU countries are much better off in terms of development of democracy. My opinion is simply not every country will make the transition successfully and failures are to be expected along the way.
    1
  611.  @weekendwet1  And money he earned in the UK
    1
  612. It isn't like that in Europe.
    1
  613. We need to support Ukraine. Everyone needs to contribute just a little, while Russia is financing it alone. It's same as donating money to charity. I wonder how much you make?
    1
  614. @Deborah Hearne You are underestimating us. I also watch Breaking Points with Krystal Ball and The Young Turks. Together with Fox News it gives me quite good coverage of American politics.
    1
  615. Left was always international. Google up socialist international and communist international.
    1
  616. I find it fascinating how serious Brits are about upholding law. In comparison Poland signed the same international treaties on human rights, is still EU member and doesn't have any reservations about kicking migrants back into Belarus, some even freezing in no mans land. When the law doesn't suit them, they simply ignore it.
    1
  617.  @mirekslechta7161  I would let immigrants decide that and the EU and US are top destinations for immigration, unlike your totalitarian beloved Russia. I understand there are people among us who align more with Russian totalitarian values and would love to turn liberal democracies into totalitarian hellholes as that's the political system they feel comfortable in. Those people will defend Putin at every corner, indirectly if needed and are easy to identify thankfully.
    1
  618.  @dkz1302  Serbia has zero potential simply because Serbs pick wrong role models. Instead of learning from successful countries they choose to learn from unsuccessful ones. Unlike Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania it didn't join the EU yet because of poor alignment with EU values and too much nationalism. Highly skilled Serbian workers who wish to live in the West (instead of waiting for yet another generation, who don't fall for Russian propaganda) are welcome to apply for work in the EU. We in the EU understand the more highly skilled workers we attract, the more successful we will be. Serbia has learned nothing over the last 100 years and is still poor just as it was back then. Conservative cultures never build a successful country as they are incapable of reforms and innovation.
    1
  619. Newsflash, in every country there are people who will disagree with you. Should they be expelled?
    1
  620. Americans are going to elect a criminal president. It is a violation of the principle of leading by example, as Trump sets a bad precedent. Criminals gang up with other criminals and take over the government like in Russia. It seems Americans prefer "Russian democracy" these days.
    1
  621.  @anngregory2185  Racist opinions.
    1
  622.  @anngregory2185  Google AI disagreed
    1
  623. It's actually terrible that Italy has so many populist parties instead of democratic ones.
    1
  624. There is no political correctness in eastern EU and it is still ethnically homogeneous region. Therefore it is possible to openly discuss topics that are taboo in US or Western EU for fear of being accused of racism, WN and so on. It's kind of like returning 50 years into the past. Therefore American conservatives love it as it reminds them of US 50 years ago.
    1
  625. I believe in 21th century people should be more open minded when seeking opportunities and not stay in one place forever.
    1
  626. Too far east - Ukraine, Belarus, Russia healthcare tends to be poorer and depends a lot on having proper contacts. Eastern EU can be cheap but their languages are very difficult. To compare cost of living google for "numbeo". You enter your current location, target location and it will produce comparison of living cost. I think every EU country is in lockdown now. In Eastern EU healthcare system is state run, just like in most of Europe. If you end up in hospital for a month you won't have to pay a dime.
    1
  627. They will blame the West as they always do. They are incapable of understanding its them who is source of misery. They do not understand the concept of personal responsibility for their life.
    1
  628. That is exactly the purpose of Kremlin propaganda.
    1
  629.  @Saperwill  Yeah and electing a pro Russian socialist is the way to catch up with the West. Nobody intelligent enough can believe that which is why the best brains leave Slovakia for Czechia or the West. People who put incompetent government in power cannot prosper which is what those who left realized.
    1
  630.  @theconspiracyfactualist.144  Someone with a backbone would never argue for financing a dictator pursuing genocide.
    1
  631. Because your views are likely extremist. Social media don't need extremists.
    1
  632. Are you a far right Brexiter? Nobody who believes in liberal democracy supports Hungary. Those on the side of Hungary are on the side of Belarus, Russia, China.
    1
  633.  @lesliebakos8428  Sounds like you're the one who is dragging Hungary down by voting for Orban. By destroying liberal democracy you revert all progress made after 1989.
    1
  634. I'm in the top 3% income wise.
    1
  635. Many conservatives nowadays are Putin apologists and fascists in reality. They want to put an end to democracy. Noone who believes in democracy will praise Putin, Lukashenko, Orban, Le Pen, Trump. I say that as a centrist.
    1
  636. I see nothing wrong with that.
    1
  637. Do you seriously want to live in an authoritarian regime?
    1
  638. Germany has historically had bad leaders unfortunately. Germans seem to lurch from one extreme to another. Very talented and organized people.
    1
  639. I moved to the UK recently on visa. It only makes sense to live in the UK if you get a very good salary, which is my case. Most Polish people did poorly paid grunt work.
    1
  640. Western EU (France, Germany, Sweden, Italy) is democrat states, Eastern EU more conservative, but also poorer. From Eastern EU Czechia is the best choice. You would have to work for an American company to get a good salary.
    1
  641. Studying at university typically requires at least IELTS 6.5 for every part, look it up. It isn't that easy to reach as you could be unlucky with recording, essay topic or questions for speaking part. It isn't unusual for students to prepare it for months and retake the test.
    1
  642. I have yet to see from your kin a call for Putin to pull out his troops out of Ukraine. Yet another closet Kremlin supporter.
    1
  643. Wrong, that's what Kremlin wants. To seed distrust in media and electoral process in order to undermine democracy. If you keep spreading that message then you're unwittingly aiding Kremlin in this agenda.
    1
  644.  @OlafPijl  I actually tested this few months ago and ended up moving to the UK. Very few companies are interested in hiring from another EU country. EU citizenship provided me no benefit.
    1
  645. Lol you're a penal colony now.
    1
  646. Western EU countries are similar to Democrat states, Eastern EU countries are similar to Republican states.
    1
  647. The UK had one major problem and that is British exceptionalism. But they will come to their senses eventually.
    1
  648. They want to subjugate Europe just like Putin. Same mindset. That's why they are also targeting Greenland, Canada and Panama Canal. Existence of the EU is a big threat to their dominance.
    1
  649. Any Eastern EU country should be fine. Don't move to a country that is not in the EU.
    1
  650. That's what Russia is telling everyone so they can have a free hand.
    1
  651. Collapse of the EU is what Kremlin is hoping for. It isn't going to happen. Brexit and Ukraine war has solidified support for the EU.
    1
  652. I wonder why you left Canada and which country did you immigrate to?
    1
  653. EU membership comes with certain restrictions Poland agreed to.
    1
  654.  @doubleinfinityxdoubleinfin7249  That's your own opinion and that's fine. However ECJ has a say on these matters and you signed up for it. Therefore a fine is necessary. I support it 100% as someone who lives in Czechia. Do not be deluded your neighbors are with you on this matter.
    1
  655.  @doubleinfinityxdoubleinfin7249  It's not just Czech Republic, don't count on Slovakia or Baltic states either. You can only count on Hungary, Belarus, Russia and China. It's your choice if you want to be part of that club instead. We stand on the side of law and order which is the EU. If Poland thinks it can ignore that there will be fines to pay for sure.
    1
  656. You are welcome to move to the EU.
    1
  657. For Tech you probably want to be in eastern EU - Czechia, Poland or maybe even one of Balkan countries. Cheaper workforce means more productive team.
    1
  658. Newsflash, you're voting for neocommunists as that's what progressives are.
    1
  659. Not only that but driving from EU to UK involves customs and long waiting times. Who would want to deal with that?
    1
  660. On the contrary, I think the UK should rejoin!
    1
  661. I recently moved to UK from EU. UK offers much better career opportunities than small EU countries.
    1
  662. The EU should be making deals with the US and not China. China is undependable as its trade war with Australia has shown.
    1
  663.  @MrSeal-oy3fu  If you want a change you need to start with yourself and your immediate family first. Only good role models can promote positive change.
    1
  664. I would say Bosnians did it to themselves by voting in criminals and nationalists into parliament. Any sane educated person will flee such a country.
    1
  665. I live in Czechia and make $120k/pa. There is no reason to move to the US nowadays. Life here is safe and standard of living better than in 90s.
    1
  666. It is the old socialist generation that pulled off revolutions in 1989 that is causing all the trouble. Eastern EU countries are going through big cultural development when the old generation has very little useful advice for the young, who need to look for advice abroad.
    1
  667. It's not a coincidence when you drive the smart out.
    1
  668. Nonsense
    1
  669. Depends on your age. I would keep 20% as cash for buying dips in major crises (20-30% index drop) and split the rest into standard ETFs and leveraged ones (max leverage 2x) depending on risk appetite. Interest rate is set to drop and economy should not go into a recession. I got about 70% returns from this crisis.
    1
  670. People do not like foreign cultural values being forced on them.
    1
  671. And oust PiS so they can rejoin. It's them who must do the house cleaning at home.
    1
  672. To bully someone because of an accent is so evil
    1
  673. Canada should apply to join the EU
    1
  674. Reform UK voters need to fall in line and vote for Tories.
    1
  675.  @qwdjfbskxnsjx  Forget about Slovakia, it's another Bulgaria. Too pro Russian and too conservative. It's suffering from a huge brain-drain that can no longer be compensated by immigration from Belarus, Ukraine or Russia. Not a good place to raise children at all. It's a Russian misinformation campaign testing ground to be applied to Czechia. From all V4 countries, Poland is probably best positioned in the long term, despite being too conservative.
    1
  676. You would be better off with Putin and Lukashenko.
    1
  677.  @stevencharnock9271  You need to talk to ECJ and explain it to them... Write them an email and they will give you all the details you need...
    1
  678.  @stevencharnock9271  That's unnecessary. If a member state stops abiding by treaties it signed, the EU is free to do the same and will suspend EU funds. It's exactly the same as with EU-UK trade agreement. You cannot possibly believe the EU will keep funding Poland forever.
    1
  679.  @Steven9567  Here mostly uneducated, unsuccessful and bigoted people would prefer the EU to disintegrate. Joining that destructive group would be extremely counter productive. It's exactly the same group communists built their power upon and nothing good came out of it. We learned our lesson.
    1
  680.  @stevencharnock9271  It depends on how serious the breach of rule is. This one is not going to be ignored by the EU for sure.
    1
  681.  @Steven9567  Nope, it's a guardian of liberal democracy as well. Those who stray will face the wrath of Brusseles :-)
    1
  682. Brexit means Brexit
    1
  683.  @PetrCaracas  Czech Republic is not much better off. Mr. Babis is similar to Fico and he will be the next prime minister. Anyone who believes they will improve their lives by moving from Slovakia to Czechia is very mistaken. Aging population will aggravate the problem of populism in the region and prevent it from prospering.
    1
  684.  @BuschLatte  Marry a European then.
    1
  685. He needs to find dirt on Kamala first
    1
  686. EU should not be purchasing any US equipment from now on. US cannot be relied upon and has similar agenda to Putin - destruction of the EU.
    1
  687. The West needs to cooperate closely, Democrats are right.
    1
  688.  @gerhard7323  I came to discuss the UK, not Germany, France, Greece and God knows what else. Classic example of whataboutism from your side.
    1
  689. In that case you never truly believed in American values.
    1
  690. Eastern EU countries can be likened to Republican states. Western EU countries are Democrat states.
    1
  691. Wanna bet? :-)
    1
  692.  @richardcrouch2054  And it was a silly idea.
    1
  693. I wonder why someone from Slovakia cares...
    1
  694. When pro Russian mentality prevails, democracy dies. They don't want democracy at all.
    1
  695. Alex Philips is far right. It doesn't matter how she sees herself. What matters is the values she promotes.
    1
  696. Populist Slovak politicians are bringing Russian world to Czechia hehe
    1
  697. Greetings from eastern EU.
    1
  698. People shouldn't surrender to intimidation and aggression from their big neighbor.
    1
  699.  @rogerdarthwell5393  Russia already has such bases. Other countries have the same right. If you have no ill intentions there is nothing to fear. But the problem is Russia is very hard to trust given its recent track record in Ukraine and Georgia.
    1
  700. Come to the EU.
    1
  701. Western Greens are former communists who switched to Green agenda as communism has been discredited. That's why they are far left. Green agenda is only veneer to justify their leftist policies. Traditional far left is dead, e.g revleft forum is no longer operational.
    1
  702. People should have right to protest for whatever reasons as long as they don't do damage to public property or cause harm to others.
    1
  703. Yup they will be better off pursuing a close union with Belarus, Russia, China.
    1
  704. That's exactly Putin's plan. It was to be expected that some countries will struggle with transition to democracy. Look at Balkans. Is it better off? The EU and NATO expanded as much as it made sense. When the door between West and East was reopened it wasn't just the positives that came in. Cultural exchange happens both ways.
    1
  705. Grexit would mean Greece want's to rip off creditors - fellow EU countries. It cannot happen.
    1
  706. That argument might fly in Russia but not in the West.
    1
  707. In ideal world Canada would join the EU followed by Mexico at some point. US would thus be surrounded by the EU.
    1
  708.  @pamelabyers5947  You need to move to Republican states and take them over.
    1
  709.  @auggieeast  Concentrating brightest minds is one of the factors that make US so successful. EU just follows suit. Poor US regions are poor because they have backward mindset. One manifestation is voting for Trump. These people exist in all countries, also in the EU. And everywhere, they are poor because of their mindset. They tend to shift the blame to others - rich capitalists, West, government, globalists but never blame themselves.
    1
  710. It's stubborn people who are driving prices up and blaming it on home owners. Not everyone can live in an expensive city. They need to move to cheaper areas at some point. It makes no sense for people to concentrate in one huge city as it leads to problems that cannot be resolved - transportation, schools, healthcare - there just won't be enough for everyone. It's typical leftist mindset - instead of understanding the issue, blame it on the rich. On one hand call out racists, but employ the same strategy against the rich by inciting class hatred. We need to draw critical attention to the extremist methods used by the left to advance their agenda.
    1
  711. If Germany wants to go down the socialist path that's fine with us in Czechia. But we aren't interested.
    1
  712. You are right. I recently considered moving to another EU country, mainly seeking more job opportunities at my level. There is only one EU country that would be worth it - Germany. The UK won, despite the dreadful Brexit, even though it's outside the EU and work visa is required. I haven't realized job opportunities would matter that much until now and have decided to make the move before it's too late.
    1
  713.  @serebii666  I never claimed size of job market is related to wage level. You have just misrepresented my thoughts. When you go to buy a car, go on vacation, buy a laptop or anything else produced abroad, the price will be almost the same. I prefer higher nominal wage than to look purely at PPP. You highlighted high tax rate in Germany, but conveniently forgot to add what services Germans get in exchange, such as highway network and high speed trains. Czechia is many decades behind what Germany had in 1990. What's worse Czech GDP growth is too low to catch up with Western EU and the population prefers to vote for populists. That is not a recipe for becoming an advanced economy, but a path to stagnation.
    1
  714. What is so great about living in a dictatorship that you prefer it?
    1
  715. Conservatism leads to backwardness. 3rd world countries are poor because they are too conservative.
    1
  716. Exactly, we do not want American poison. If they adhere to our standards, we will gladly buy their products.
    1
  717. @ Poor health standards in the US are well known in Europe. We do not want poisonous American products.
    1
  718. Most of them do not wish to join Russian sphere of influence so they will not be leaving the EU. When Trump gets re-elected EU will have to support Ukraine alone as Trump will withdraw all aid in attempt to force it to surrender.
    1
  719. Sounds like an extremist idea.
    1
  720. It doesn't matter as Slovenians elected Mr. Janca, who is another Trump clone. He will help out Hungary for sure.
    1
  721.  @angusparker440  I think they will hear your English accent and won't fall for the passport trick when they want to hurt you.
    1
  722.  @zoltankatona6828  Zoltan, in democracy you need to keep switching governments otherwise a small clique takes over all institutions and endless corruption ensues. While I agree with Orban on many policies, he has to go for 4 years. Never become a fanatic supporter of any party.
    1
  723.  @zoltankatona6828  You have first hand experience why democracy can't work in countries like Afghanistan or Iraq.
    1
  724.  @YaBoiHakim  It's duty of citizens of democratic countries to promote liberal democracy in the world. This mission will be finished only once the whole planet is democratic.
    1
  725. Slovaks and Czechs do not need dictators or wind up the EU to achieve the same goals like Hungarians.
    1
  726. Why the negativity?
    1
  727. It's great to be able to meddle in UK and US politics without them being able to meddle in ours.
    1
  728. Countries will never reach the same level of maturity unless external pressure is exerted. It's a lot better to stand up to Hungary and Poland than let Putin have free reign in eastern Europe.
    1
  729.  @Tutan7399  I do, based on cultural proximity of Hungary and Russia as opposed to West.
    1
  730.  @roberttirpak5447  Nope your pro-russian mindset is incompatible with democracy. Half of Slovaks crave for Russian style dictatorship.
    1
  731. Who told you that?
    1
  732. She could have easily evaded it by saying whatever measures we put in place are going to be in accordance with law. Or by saying her job as health minister doesn't include handling a migrant crisis and pointing out the discussion should focus on NHS instead.
    1
  733.  @dobcsek  What is changing tax wise?
    1
  734.  @zsoltpapp3363  For Americans the best way into Europe is to get employed at international company and then ask for a transfer to Europe. They also pay decent money in eastern EU, I make €100k/pa in Prague as a European.
    1
  735. Looks like Europeans need American help again!
    1
  736. Fascinating how Americans glorify Orban.
    1
  737.  @gerhardaryawardana72  Sure, but LGBT issue is completely irrelevant in covid times when EU states seek to discriminate citizens based on lack of vaccination. It's really going to piss off many people. I couldn't care less about Orban discriminating LGBT folks. The EU has no moral right to criticize Hungary at the moment. Note I'm against Orban.
    1
  738.  @memetopia5130  Eastern EU countries are more conservative and nationalist. It came as a shock to western EU lefties who tend to dislike opposition.
    1
  739.  @memetopia5130  Orban must have a break. One party in power for too long leads to cronies taking up all key state positions and endless corruption. I thought Hungarians learnt that. Their neighbors Czechs and Slovaks understand that concept and keep rotating government. Do their governments represent them worse in the EU? No.
    1
  740. Exactly, they believe in different set of values. Trumpism is unamerican, because it is an ideology that represents what Americans fled from.
    1
  741. What is the situation in Germany right now?
    1
  742. You shouldn't have left the EU. Now you have no place to escape should the UK go down.
    1
  743.  @combatstudios6557  Let's revisit this discussion after 5 years :-)
    1
  744. The US is probably the best place if you can make lot of money. The EU is better if you don't want to worry about things you mentioned.
    1
  745. Sounds like Slovenians want to go down the totalitarian route just like Hungary.
    1
  746.  @RazorMouth  That's exactly what I thought. But it makes no sense for me to move without having a good job offer first. After this experience I will not be considering Ireland and other EU countries again as I would be just wasting my time. No wonder the EU lags behind the US economically. There is no way it can catch up. The fact that I can ask for 120k tells I have plenty of experience. In the end I ended up getting much more in the UK.
    1
  747. FTSE is dead and a waste of money
    1
  748. Better job opportunities
    1
  749. Only extremists want to ally with Russia.
    1
  750. You shouldn't have voted for Brexit
    1
  751. I support EU/NATO membership of Ukraine and donate $800 every month to war effort.
    1
  752. Someone needs to tell Trump and Vance to mind their own business.
    1
  753. How much did you lose?
    1
  754. Not true at all. Try finding a job at international company in those places that is innovative, well paid and doesn't have the primary site abroad. Good luck with that. Central Europe is a dumping ground for old projects and a slave site.
    1
  755. Yup, Orban is dangerous and needs to go.
    1
  756.  @janvarga4023  Hungarians are replacing communist dictatorship with Orban dictatorship based on the model of Putin's Russia. If Hungarians desire to live in a dictatorship, I'm fine with that, but then the EU must throw Hungary out so that it can build a close relationship with Russia and China. Greetings from another V4 country.
    1
  757. The problems of Poland and Hungary are petty given the EU seeks to discriminate unvaccinated people. It has no moral right to complain at the moment and nobody takes it seriously here.
    1
  758.  @thornelderfin  No need to wait for election results. It is a waste of life to raise kids in Slovakia. Those of us who left 25 years ago can see it clearly. It will never prosper due to being too conservative and having too much pro-Russian sentiment.
    1
  759.  @vh5663  Czechia isn't better off. They got a Slovak politician similar to Fico and a pro Kremlin party just like Slovaks. It's just coming 2 years later.
    1
  760. I expect mass migration to eastern EU in about 20 years.
    1
  761. Wrong, EU membership has been very beneficial to their development of democracy. Way more successful than American attempt in Afghanistan/Iraq. It's the old communist generation that doesn't speak any languages that's causing trouble. The EU needs effective methods and willingness to fight it back. If you don't fight for democracy it dies. The EU needs to promote democracy in neighboring countries as its the most effective method. Disintegration of the EU is exactly what Kremlin wants. Greetings from a V4 country.
    1
  762. There is only single race in eastern Europe, therefore race is not a topic in media at all.
    1
  763. Poland need to be schooled EU laws are above Poland's law. Greetings from Czechia.
    1
  764.  @10hawell  EU members must adhere to EU rules. If Poland thinks otherwise it's going to experience clash with reality. The whole EU is fed up with Poland's government. If you vote for PiS, Polexit will become inevitable as it will escalate conflicts with the EU.
    1
  765.  @serebii666  Except that Germany's economic motor ran out of cheap Russian fuel. Extremism is on the rise in Germany and other Western EU countries, while Orban style populism is on the rise in Eastern EU. Hardly a recipe for sustainable economic growth. Countries that suffer from brain drain cannot catch up with countries that benefit from it.
    1
  766. Poland elected a pro EU government.
    1
  767. Maybe Australia should also join the EU?
    1
  768. No sympathy for her
    1
  769.  @LightSaber12345  You made a mistake. You should have moved to Czechia or Croatia.
    1
  770. The UK will eventually rejoin the EU. They already regret it.
    1
  771. That's why we need to support Ukraine. Criminals winning a local war is just a prelude for a bigger war. Just watch what's happening in Russia. It's turning into a fascist state.
    1
  772. One of the problems is that Canada is too vulnerable to US tariff blackmail. It needs to trade more with other countries.
    1
  773.  @Just_another_Euro_dude  That's Kremlin's dream. No thanks we are not interested.
    1
  774. Not a good idea as it requires higher taxation.
    1
  775. The problem is cultural in nature. Slovaks vote for parties that are in favor of generous social security at the expense of investments. Such country can never prosper and it is no surprise it is a failure.
    1
  776. If you want to leave you need to speak foreign languages. Without that you have no chance for a good job.
    1
  777. Also the EU is a voluntary union. You can leave any time you want. US is like a prison compared to that.
    1
  778. 100% agreed
    1
  779.  @alexandros1395  Because it almost certainly was destroyed by Russians. Some people take the side of evil no matter how evident it is. That's why evil regimes such as North Korea exist. The rest of us don't want to live in Kremlin despotism and don't believe the lies they spew.
    1
  780. All totalitarian parties should be banned, regardless if they are right or left wing. That includes communists and far right.
    1
  781.  @anacc3257  Hungary and Poland aren't thriving. They are backsliding due to conservatives who love dictators.
    1
  782.  @moreplease998  They can get Irish citizenship.
    1
  783.  @moreplease998  No special deals for UK
    1
  784. Europe's immigration problems are overblown.
    1
  785. Not at all. There is also Russian vaccine and China has a few as well. Countries just need to license them to manufacture them at home.
    1
  786.  @MrsJMo-rp1vx  Everyone is telling that to Americans but they refuse to believe us and take offense for criticism.
    1
  787. Petition your government
    1
  788. The UK will ask for its former deal if it ever decides to rejoin.
    1
  789.  @ImperialCommissarRikart  Communist ideology is obsolete, the greens are smart communists as they talk about issues relevant for 21th century.
    1
  790.  @georgeskanderbeg3242  The left says otherwise.
    1
  791.  @cyndawu1940  40k in London is very little
    1
  792. Countries in the EU have the greatest potential. There is a good reason why the rest got left out. The EU is a diverse place so one can choose any country to their liking. For Serbs it makes most sense to move to Austria/Germany/Czechia/Slovakia.
    1
  793. Slovaks don't seem to understand that they must resolve their problems by themselves. Those who fall for promises of populist politicians will always be disappointed and will eventually turn to extremism.
    1
  794. The EU is a parenting organization. It acts as a parent to countries that misbehave and punishes them if needed. It can be verbal or worse. Without punishment, countries can be tempted to stray away from EU values. Terminating their EU/NATO membership is too radical at this point but their behaviour cannot go unpunished.
    1
  795. @MrLaci0110 Time in office is an extremely poor measure to compare political leaders. Why don't you throw in Maduro from Venezuela? Hungary can't be a successful country with people who reason like that. They always drive the apt ones out.
    1
  796. If you admit it then we believe you.
    1
  797. You're wasting your life if you believe in a change. Slovakia already had 30 years. It has a serious cultural problem which prevents it from prospering.
    1
  798. I wonder if traditional Republicans will approve it. It would be a huge humiliation to Trump at the end of his term. Trump's populism is after all a threat to traditional Republicans and now he has given them a pretext to remove him from office.
    1
  799. You want Kremlin despotism and don't want to say it openly
    1
  800. It is a cultural issue
    1
  801. It's not just Orban. Watch how Poland is protecting its border from Lukashenko trying to flood them with immigrants. This way of thinking is normal in Eastern Europe. People who come legally are welcome.
    1
  802. Exactly. If people elect a spineless populist then the Slovak culture has a major flaw before it can build a prosperous country.
    1
  803.  @MikeGill87  I have no problem if someone shares values with Pirates and votes for them. But they should understand what they are voting for. I'm not American and I live in Czechia which is why I'm quite qualified to comment on this topic. Not even Social Democrats or Communists (yes, we still have a small Communist party here in parliament) have such radical agenda as Pirates. Tax harmonization in the EU, migrant redistribution, green agenda (which means huge expenditures for poor people here to be redistributed for green programs full of corruption), more regulations in general. People are slowly realizing what they stand for and their popularity has been dropping in recent months. I don't mind them being in government, but not as the leading party.
    1
  804.  @jakubklesa  Pirates are in favor of European solution of migration issue which is euphemism for common EU migration policy proposed before (that included redistribution). Officially they reject quotas, but we know how much their promises are worth. In fact in Prague they increased public transport cost and in their mind that promotes green agenda. I have been following politics for too long to fall for such cheap tricks including the one about being liberal center party. Statements of people like Lukas Wagenknecht have been published and are widely available where he discussed options for reducing budget deficit, including special tax for large companies building factories on green fields, further increase of consumer tax. In Prague they want to introduce toll system for driving. They are young modernized Bolsheviks who want more state control, just in different ways that the old guard. I have been following politics for longer than many of them have been alive. I'm a pro EU person who would never vote for ANO, KSCM, CSSD, SPD but Pirates a menace to be kept in check too. I will make sure every acquaintance of mine is well aware of what they truly stand for before casting their vote.
    1
  805.  @jakubklesa  Increasing taxes the way they proposed it is a serious issue, much more serious than the migration issue. Their ring wing policies will never compensate for the left wing madness they are proposing. Long term they are destined to keep shifting left as that is what progressive movement internationally represents.
    1
  806. I live in Eastern EU and I can say 80% of people here prefer freedom over lockdowns, just like Americans. It is fascinating Australians have the opposite preferences.
    1
  807.  @Alien2799  Without knowledge of Polish you would need a job at international company. They also happen to pay the best salaries.
    1
  808. Democratic countries stand up to dictatorships that's normal.
    1
  809.  @traditionalist94  Not in eastern EU where I live. We are doing fine here. Hungary is a black sheep because Orban was dumb enough to portray the EU as an enemy while accepting EU funds and his arrogant behavior enraged many EU leaders.
    1
  810. High inflation actually helps debtors who have fixed rate mortgages. In certain parts of Europe inflation reached 20% temporarily. Inflation is a giant money redistribution scheme. When the economy is no longer growing, you need to redistribute the money to keep the economy going.
    1
  811. Gorbachev wanted to uplift the whole region, but he was unfortunately born in the wrong country. Russians seem to prefer stalinism and violence.
    1
  812. I regret Europe helped the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would say that era is over. We shouldn't get invoved in American mess anymore.
    1
  813. That's why these royal families were deposed in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. But it unfortunately turned out conservatives without a king will simply vote for a dictator. It is still valid to this day.
    1
  814.  @shaunspies1108  But it did work though. They brought up decent people of out convicts lol.
    1
  815.  @ion6538  That's true and the reason why it no longer pays off to live in these countries.
    1
  816. Do research about progressive left. Pirates identify as a progressive movement, therefore they will naturally be left wing as that's what progressives are internationally nowadays. To appeal to wide political spectrum they call themselves centrists. They are evolution of socialists/communists.
    1
  817. So you would surrender to Russia?
    1
  818.  @FightingForceSoulless  Citizens of democratic countries have an obligation to promote liberal democracy in the world. They will never give up and the task will only be complete once the whole planet is democratic. There are opposing forces that sympathize with autocracy, rule of strength, subjugating the weak but to sell their evil narrative they need to lie constantly and use force. That's where the term "illiberal" democracy comes from, it's a lie to portray it as an alternative to liberal democracy when it isn't. It's the same old rotten system we have had before. Same lie as "people's" democracy. They have nothing to do with democracy. If a country chooses to go down the path of "illiberal" democracy then it no longer belongs into the club of liberal democracies that is the EU.
    1
  819.  @pixel8ated  Moving to the UK from the EU for work is totally out of question after Brexit. It's a too small country to be worth it. Having British citizenship is of limited value now. Basically same like Canadian or Australian citizenship. For anyone from the EU it would be a step back in terms of career opportunities. Only the US can compete with the EU, however US is becoming a 3rd world country lately.
    1
  820. Face it, you shouldn't have voted for Brexit. Now the EU couldn't care less about the boats.
    1
  821. It's horrifying so many Germans support government expropriating private property. They have been brainwashed by socialists for too long.
    1
  822.  @FightingForceSoulless  The EU affords many opportunities for skilled workers. If you don't prosper it means you're not competitive.
    1
  823.  @FightingForceSoulless  If you accept 35% of pay of someone in Germany doing the same job that's your own fault! If you accepted 10%, the employer would happily pay you that.
    1
  824. And one MAGA movement cannot take over the EU. They absolutely hate it just like European far right.
    1
  825. Nope, the EU needs to deal with hungary first
    1
  826. Into what country?
    1
  827. You need to look into why Hungary is always on the wrong side. WW1, WW2, Putin's war. It doesn't share western values and doesn't culturally belong to the EU.
    1
  828. Too late, the UK left the EU already.
    1
  829. I'm fine with Putin and Trump discussing peace in Europe. But at the same time whatever these two agree should be ignored.
    1
  830. Serbia is basically requesting to join Austria-Hungary 2.
    1
  831.  @Ratimir101  You're just butthurt as educated Serbians are leaving Serbia to live in the EU
    1
  832. Why not? Here in Eastern EU everything is fine.
    1
  833.  @absoluteward7811  You've been sold far right lies.
    1
  834. Czechia and Slovakia can achieve the same without voting in wannabe dictators.
    1
  835. Czechia is the most liberal from V4 countries and probably most culturally compatible for anyone from west. It also has no interest in electing a dictator, unlike Hungary. It's probably the best country from V4 to live in, followed by Poland. Slovakia and Hungary come last.
    1
  836. Europeans are not that motivated to migrate to Australia as they are not as desperate as Indians or Chinese people. Australian immigration system favors the young in 20s-30s but at that age Europeans do not feel the need to leave. It would perhaps be interesting to live in Australia for 3-5 years but companies are not interested in hiring candidates from abroad. I understand the intention was to give fair chance to everyone, but it also means very few people from developed countries will be immigrating.
    1
  837. China is a totalitarian country unfortunately. Trade deals should be reserved for democratic countries only.
    1
  838. It depends on occupation. Reddit is the best place to discuss such things.
    1
  839. You're not supposed to live in city if you cannot afford buying an apartment there. Not everyone can afford to live in capital, there is no shame in this. There are many people who live in small towns and villages and have higher quality of life than city dwellers. In the past people used to build their own houses. Why not anymore? Socialist red tape... Wake up to the fact that socialism is a menace. Greetings from Czechia.
    1
  840.  @EarthScienceEnjoyer  My house in Prague, Czechia is now worth 600k, I bought it few years ago for 300k. You're not alone. Nobody would even dare to propose nationalizing properties here. It's socialist regulations that caused this problem in the 1st place and now you fell victim to their propaganda to implement socialist policies, with the end goal being socialism. Traditional social democrats are almost dead here, they may not even enter parliament in the next parliamentary election. How come Americans never needed government to build the country? Did government build their houses? It's organization that leads to prosperity, not government regulation.
    1
  841.  @HeadsFullOfEyeballs  It seems you guys haven't learned from our socialist experiment in Eastern EU.
    1
  842. Putin's war has overwhelming support of Russians. Russia created Putin, not vice versa. At this point we are dealing with a fascist regime. It's time everyone realized it.
    1
  843.  @lidianikishkina4280  Is it even possible after EU sanctions on Russia?
    1
  844.  @lidianikishkina4280  Keep in mind that there will likely be a lot of Ukrainians studying in Slovakia these days.
    1
  845.  @lidianikishkina4280  It shouldn't happen from Slovaks, but it could happen from Ukrainians who lost a family member. But that can happen anywhere and you need to be ready for that. Slovakia is suffering from brain drain when skilled people leave for other EU countries. If Ukrainians, Belorusians and Russians find it a good fit then they are welcome to stay.
    1
  846.  @slow.poetry  I would definitely not consider the UK if I wanted to live in another European country after Brexit.
    1
  847. The EU or US. The EU cannot enforce rules across all countries and while some have more strict rules in place, others are more free.
    1
  848. Religion is on the way out in Europe, probably the result of two world wars. It is highly unlikely this trend will reverse unless millions of religious Americans come over. I myself was christened, but I'm not practicing.
    1
  849. From my experience, it doesn't matter that much if you apply for jobs in the UK or in another EU country. Europeans seem to be too conservative when considering candidates from another EU country.
    1
  850.  @gonczos  That's what Orban wants you to think - there is no other choice than him. But when that happens you are already living in dictatorship. Look at neighboring Slovakia, they have no need to elect a dictator! Do they have problems with immigrants or LGBT? No. Switching government allows investigation of corruption to proceed. Find out how many corrupt officials got arrested there in the last year. Hungarians have been fooled badly by Orban. If it continues I will prefer Hungary to be thrown out of EU, so that it can build a close relationship with Russia and China.
    1
  851.  @gonczos  Good luck with alliance with Serbia, Russia and China then. The EU doesn't need dictators. Hungary with Orban doesn't bring any positive value to the EU, it is only a drain on its finances and incompatible with EU values.
    1
  852.  @gonczos  North Koreans and Chinese would wholeheartedly agree with you.
    1
  853. You need to stop looking for a perfect politician. Vote for democratic parties only based on values, not promises.
    1
  854. 100 years of criminal rule leave significant marks on the culture.
    1
  855. Eastern EU countries look at US as a role model rather than Western EU, but the influence of the old socialist generation that doesn't speak any languages is still huge.
    1
  856. These are far right, not patriots
    1
  857. Of course it is feasible. It would also open the door for American Democrat states to join.
    1
  858.  @chraman169  Nope, people from 3rd world countries want that too, that's why they are immigrating to EU and US.
    1
  859.  @chraman169  They tell us themselves when they immigrate here.
    1
  860.  @chraman169  Stable French republic required more than one attempt as well. Europe used to be full of authoritarian regimes in early 20th century. I live in Eastern EU. We only became democratic recently, but we still intend to spread the EU model of democracy further until every country in the world is democratic. For that purpose European countries united in the EU. It's not only an economic union.
    1
  861. So why don't you all speak BBC English? You can speak with whatever accent you want.
    1
  862.  @nosmoke247  I'm certain they will try it here as well. But we just voted out a government that put lockdowns into place unlike Canadians. We also tend to get rid of parties we are dissatisfied with like Socialists and Communists in last election. It is Western countries that have two party systems in place that are screwed as nobody cares about what people want. Restrictions here are not enforced and people tend to flout rules.
    1
  863. It seems dual citizenship is going to be very useful in 21th century.
    1
  864. You should move to the EU
    1
  865. In eastern EU we have both liberal left (western left) and conservative left (this doesn't exist in US or western EU). There are even communists who are conservative as well. We also have right wing and nationalists. Some are pro western, others pro Russian. We have better choice due to rich political landscape. Americans have much more limited choice.
    1
  866. What's wrong with Prague?
    1
  867. Get Czech or Slovak passport through descent if you can.
    1
  868. Goes to show trade deals with the US are worthless. Is the UK still pursuing one?
    1
  869.  @RRaymer  The UK is hands down a better destination for skilled workers than Ireland due to many opportunity it affords. You face much bigger competition when applying for a job in London though. If you can compete with 50-100 candidates and win then London is the right place to be.
    1
  870. Agreed, Czechs and Slovaks are more open minded and prefer democracy over authoritarian rulers. They are not interested in petty conflicts with the EU.
    1
  871. What a pity you never visited Europe. I live in Czech Republic, you should pay us a visit some day!
    1
  872. It isn't important how fascists see themselves, but how the society sees them. The only people supporting LSNS are neo-fascists.
    1
  873. An outright war between major powers is never going to happen. There is too little to gain and too much to lose. Provocations and economic cold war for sure. As a European I think NATO should include Australia, South Korea, Japan if they are interested. It shouldn't be restricted to US/Europe but include democratic countries interested in joining.
    1
  874. Slovakia has too many people who think alike which is the reason it will never be a success story in the EU. Wrong role models, core values, too conservative, subservient mentality.
    1
  875.  @jozefgajdos6056  Countries where conservatives are a majority are often backward - Iran, Afghanistan, Russia. These people don't care if their country is backward and young people are fleeing. Conservatives always held countries back in history until they were stripped of power. 100 years ago they rooted for absolutist monarchy, opposed universal suffrage, healthcare etc. These days they find other topics. A conservative minded country loses out in global competition as conservatives by definition do not seize opportunities and do not strive for reforms. As for role models conservatives often view Russia and Putin as a role model - a kleptocratic and totalitarian dictatorship that people are fleeing from. Conservatives will never build a successful country and Slovakia being a small and conservative country can never be successful in the EU.
    1
  876. Czechia is free.
    1
  877. It's actually very rare to get fired due to not fitting socially. Usually just people leave such managers or team members for other teams or companies.
    1
  878. You may be surprised but in Eastern EU those who call themselves "patriots" are pro-Russian authoritarian minded Putin/Lukashenko lovers, which is why nobody educated wants to be associated with them. They love to talk about importance of freedom in these days, despite being fans of Putin's regime. Does it ring a bell?
    1
  879. Have you changed your mind and would you vote to rejoin the EU?
    1
  880. When you get to the point of Australia you don't see it as loss of freedom. Here in Eastern EU the socialist generation really believed they were building something better too at the beginning.
    1
  881. Not true, in Eastern EU it is still possible if you have a good job. I own $600k home here. Not inherited a dime.
    1
  882. The EU is a leftist project and one of core leftist principles is imposition of its values on the whole population. It's a watered down concept of communist vanguard party making the right decisions for the people. Communists just took it to the extremes. There are many people who prefer this kind of life and strong government that solves all their problems.
    1
  883. Canada and UK should consider joining the EU. US is not a reliable trade or defense partner.
    1
  884.  @corpclarke  It's the national governments that move Europe forward, not EU parliament. If only Americans knew what a good place it is to live in nowadays...
    1
  885.  @corpclarke  We in Eastern EU have no intention of abandoning democracy. Democratic backsliding is an issue in some countries like Hungary. Still it is much better off than Serbia or Ukraine. Countries in Eastern Europe that didn't join the EU are much worse off economically and face more serious issues with regard to democracy. Fall of iron curtain was a giant leap forward for many countries in Eastern Europe and those countries that got left behind will look to us as a role model. Having countries of varied cost of living is an advantage as it allows the EU to keep manufacturing base while skilled workers in eastern parts get paid well on the same level as their western counterparts and have no reason to migrate. This is an advantage when making free trade deals as the EU can undercut all developed countries due to cheaper manufacturing.
    1
  886.  @corpclarke  Accession to the EU created pressure on applying countries to align and reform their political and economic systems with the EU, instead of having to reinvent the wheel in a corrupt young democracy (we see how that works in South America). We saw how long Afghan democracy lasted without US support. Young democracies need support until the old generation is replaced which is what happened in Eastern EU members. Those who remained outside the EU faced no pressure to reform and made no progress whatsoever. Now the boat has sailed and they are bleeding skilled workforce to the EU and US. They wasted their opportunities and will not recover within the next 20-30 years as they do not have skilled workforce to do so. In 1990 everybody was at the same starting line and they blew it. It's a perfect situation for Poland, Czechia, Slovakia though as they can attract skilled workforce from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia. The EU being a political union, not just an economic one allowed it to exert pressure on the east to reform which proved to be successful. Those who stray like Hungary will face punishment. The case of Hungary goes to show the political aspect of the EU is essential. Democracies need to help each other, not only economically but also politically. Promotion of democracy in Eastern Europe has been a great success unlike Iraq/Afghanistan.
    1
  887. A genocide war in Kosovo may have to do something with it.
    1
  888. Yeah sure, Poland can then team up with Belarus, Russia and China.
    1
  889.  @AaronOkeanos  It's a left wing country even by European standards. I live in Czechia and in Germany I would probably have noone to vote for as CDU is center-left for me.
    1
  890. Ukraine is a bad choice though. EU is much better in the long term.
    1
  891. Wait until Russia invades Estonia. It's not a safe place to have Russia nearby. Estonia has also a very small labor market and is not an attractive destination for immigration.
    1
  892. The main problem is people no longer have the skills to build their houses. That's the main reason why prices are high. In early 20th century it was different.
    1
  893. Only western EU.
    1
  894. It is not like that everywhere, certainly not where I live in Czechia.
    1
  895. EU membership is optional. If Poles hate the EU, it makes no sense to stay in. From the hateful comments it seems they would prefer to leave.
    1
  896.  @victorblock3421  Marry a European then.
    1
  897.  @obrnenydrevokocur9344  It's an issue of core values. Free trade should be reserved for democratic countries only. EU, US needs to stand up to authoritarian countries like Russia. Freedom is not up for sale over gas. I support keeping sanctions in place.
    1
  898.  @AndrewCooke-dl2dh  Care to elaborate?
    1
  899.  @peterhutlas3572  Conservatives hold every country back whenever they are in power, be it Poland, Hungary, Russia or US. Being successful is incompatible with conservative mindset.
    1
  900. Where would you like to move?
    1
  901. Only fascists want the EU to fail
    1
  902. It's been reported Australian government plans to ease restrictions on international travel.
    1
  903. Zelensky is a joke but didn't run when he could have and that counts. One day there will be streets and squares named after him.
    1
  904. That's right. You cannot have both army and European style health insurance and social security. American political system is unreformable and they will never get what they want. It's easier to move to the EU than to pass European style health insurance in the US.
    1
  905.  @michaelfowler2603  I understand that. It's a solid foundation that survived while other countries fell victim to socialism or fascism. However it has now reached a point where all developed countries surpassed the US in terms of health care cost and work life balance. That is the price Americans pay for being the first free country with a solid constitution. It seems young Americans are starting to realize it.
    1
  906.  @Luna_Naturejoy  Nobody will ever do anything about it. In the worst case people will move north.
    1
  907.  @jasomnikto_1234  Some smart countries try to attract the best minds from the whole world and become prosperous while others purposely drive them out.
    1
  908. Slovaks have a sizable online community that hates west and wants to join Russia. It's up to Slovaks to prove these people are a minority.
    1
  909. A vaccine that you can't manufacture in agreed amount is useless.
    1
  910.  @afriedrich1452  No need to build more capacity. Just deliver what they promised. That's fair business.
    1
  911. No way, that's exactly what Putin wants. Move to Republican states and take them over.
    1
  912. Feel free to leave the EU and join Serbia, Bosnia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Russia, China if you feel alien in the West.
    1
  913. Be sure to visit us first!
    1
  914.  @MoDa87  Learning a language is not a problem if you're 20-30, but when you're older, you prefer to invest the time either in family life or to improve your skills.
    1
  915. Eastern Europeans tend to be more honest than Germans.
    1
  916.  @carlbrenner7078  Maybe if Hungary wasn't building dictatorship it would be better. I would certainly leave as I cannot stand people who vote for wannabe dictators. I would rather clean toilets in west than assist a dictatorship in any way.
    1
  917.  @MovieRiotHD  Keeping people imprisoned is not going to change Bulgaria. It was right to let them join the EU. The old generation must change if they want to see their grandchildren and stop ruining their country.
    1
  918. Eastern European countries that are in the EU are fine. There are good reasons why the rest further east isn't.
    1
  919. The EU is a leftist project and the left loves to impose its values on everyone.
    1
  920. You can make very good money in eastern EU too. International companies offer very good salaries, nearly the same as in western EU for senior positions.
    1
  921.  @amirglobo  In Prague, making €100k/pa (including bonuses and stock)
    1
  922. Fingers crossed for Turkey from EU!
    1
  923. I guess you're an ANO voter?
    1
  924. If you want to win election, you need to understand the electorate which Pirates don't. I'm a strong opponent of Pirates yet pro NATO, against leaving the EU. I would never vote for ANO, SPD, KSCM, CSSD but also Pirates. Pirates are a serious menace with their progressive woke agenda, Czechs do not want to go down the route as other Western countries did. There is much stronger opposition to Pirates than you're willing to admit.
    1
  925.  @aol8166  It's fine if you want Czechia stay the way it is. Just don't vote for ANO which is lead is a conman. A millionaire will never genuinely represent ordinary people. At least vote for either SPD, CSSD or KSCM.
    1
  926. Of course not, there is a process for joining the EU and country needs live up to expectations for longer than one election term. The EU also needs a reform of its decision mechanism to punish disobedient countries breaking EU agreements more effectively before admitting any new members.
    1
  927.  @kuntakinte2290  It seems the expectation was Russia will stand down again as it wasn't ready. In the last days before the war events spiraled out of control and there was no way to stop it.
    1
  928. Russia has made it easier for people to immigrate if you're interested.
    1
  929.  @zsomborv5976  Orban's power needs to be weakened for sure. He either needs a break for 4 years or have minimal majority in parliament. Long term rule of a single party = dictatorship with endless corruption, especially in eastern EU.
    1
  930. People voting for extremist parties such as AfD is Putin's dream to destroy the EU. Putin's regime lives off constant lies and violence. If those parties get into power expect your country to turn into a Russia style regime.
    1
  931. Isn't vax mandate just for government jobs?
    1
  932.  @kygo  If you were less racist maybe they would build their life in the UK rather than send money home.
    1
  933. You shouldn't have voted for Brexit
    1
  934. It was worth it to Afghanistan.
    1
  935.  @rosesprog1722  In reality every country had its own agenda. Alliances just served as justification to enter the war for general public.
    1
  936.  @HighFlyingOwlOfMinerva  I live in eastern EU, I'm not suffering from diversity sickness at all. We have some incredibly dumb people over here that I would exchange happily for more civilized foreigners. Diversity can be an advantage if those people are more civilized and educated than the natives.
    1
  937. Fascist takeover of Slovakia and Hungary is conditional on help from Putin. It makes sense for these people to root for Putin.
    1
  938. Vote for Trump is a vote for Putin
    1
  939. Why should Slovak nationals care?
    1
  940. It is times such as these when true patriots stand out from 5th columnists. There can be no other description for people who believe in conspiracy theories and foreign powers rather than own secret service.
    1
  941.  @jankorinek2397  I don't think your reply will convince your countrymen!
    1
  942.  @beckyk2917  In central red states.
    1
  943. Thank God traditional communists and socialists got demolished in the last parliamentary election in Czechia. Pirates (liberal neocommies) got only 4 parliament seats. Left is a scam.
    1
  944. Eastern Europe is kind of like looking 40 years into your own past - mindset of US in the 80st, but with modern technology.
    1
  945. You shouldn't have voted for Brexit
    1
  946.  @Jagdpanther93  Move to Czechia then. Very close to visit your relatives if you want to. I live in Prague and make €100k/pa. I'm not an exception. Not everyone is as poor as western Europeans believe. If you want good salary, your best option is going to be joining a large German company that has office in the country you want to move to and ask for a transfer.
    1
  947. Those who are against the war will call on Putin to withdraw his army to Russia. His sympathizers come in two kinds - those who admit it openly and those who don't but every opinion they voice helps only Putin.
    1
  948. Why did you move there?
    1
  949. Why would anyone give up citizenship? Citizenships and languages are like family heirloom. You can pass them down on kids and they are not subject to taxation. You don't lose them even if you go bankrupt.
    1
  950. Move to Czechia then. Hungary and Poland are just too nationalist.
    1
  951. Get 2nd citizenship while you can.
    1
  952.  @notoriusmaximus783  I think scandals like these are great for exposure of unreliable elements disguised as patriots. They have been noticed and won't fool anyone anymore.
    1
  953. Regardless whether it is left wing or right wing, Russia seems to be always totalitarian.
    1
  954. Europe has developed significantly ever since the US was founded. Therefore there will be many Americans who will like the idea of living here. Right now the process of acquiring VISA is very restricting which keeps the numbers low. It's a more diverse region as languages act as cultural barriers, which gave rise to different cuisine, customs, architecture but also history. Monarchies, communism, fascism all happened here which is a great source for movies, computer games and books. In comparison to that US seems to be more about stability, not that much seems to have happened there.
    1
  955.  @petersvancarek  Conservatism = you end up in Russian world eventually.
    1
  956.  @AlexC-ou4ju  That's not what I hear from most enthusiastic EU supporters. Germany wants more Russian gas, less dependency on US and France seems to hate Anglophone countries as well. Under such circumstances common EU army or foreign policy is out of question. It is dictatorships who benefit from divisions between democratic countries.
    1
  957.  @jokerate3521  As a European I agree with him. Right now it may be bad, but in 10 years things could improve. Citizenship should only be renounced once you know for sure you won't be returning and you passed it down on your children.
    1
  958. Yup and it didn't end well for them.
    1
  959.  @christophermatthewsmith5106  Czechia is most liberal from V4 countries. Slovakia is more conservative like Hungary, but its politicians are clever enough not to provoke the EU over petty matters and doesn't gravitate towards dictators. Poland has historically been quite nationalist, just like Hungary. Czechoslovakia was one of the last democracies in 1938 in central/southern/eastern Europe. Hungarian minority in Slovakia could theoretically help to oust Orban, but they would have to get Hungarian citizenship first so they can vote.
    1
  960.  @Matt-ou7tu  The UK wage advantage is greatly diminished by cost of housing. I was in the top 3% in the UK and still left after 1 year as it wasn't really worth it.
    1
  961. Who is investing in Chinese stocks these days?
    1
  962. I totally agree. In fact I have decided to move west myself.
    1
  963. Your statement clearly means those people want Russia to win
    1
  964.  Peter Newhouse  I find it surprising IT companies haven't left California completely. It makes no sense whatsoever to pay someone $200k, even bring in people from overseas when you can open offices in a cheaper location in the US. Lower salary is not necessarily a problem if it is compensated by lower cost of living, especially lower property prices.
    1
  965. What did you expect from a party named "Pirates", which as we know were historically criminals who raided commerce shipping, stealing valuables? Having a leader who is an antifa (a left wing extremist group) sympathizer?
    1
  966.  @peroooooo  But that is what progressive parties are about - leftist woke agenda. It's always the same regardless if we are talking about the US, New Zealand or Czechia.
    1
  967.  @jakubklesa  Pirates may see themselves as such, but for the rest of us they are woke leftists - progressives.
    1
  968. In Eastern EU liberal left is very weak. It also has to compete with "conservative left" that values traditional families, strict immigration control but is also left wing. This type of left wing parties doesn't exist in west.
    1
  969. I wonder at what university are you going to study?
    1
  970. Russia will do everything in its power to drag the whole region down in the next 20 years. If Kremlin has one cow while you have two, it will simply kill yours to conceal deficiencies in its economic and political model.
    1
  971. He learned from Lenin. Do everything it takes to get into power regardless of methods.
    1
  972. Nope, only pro Russian propagandists spread that message. Slovakia, Czechia,Poland have almost nothing in common with Russians.
    1
  973. Hungary is lost, as Hungarians decided to recreate Horty's regime. A complete flop with transition to liberal democracy. EU membership will likely be suspended.
    1
  974. That is Russian ultimate plan - to have the EU collapse and have Russia and China take it over. EU and US need to cooperate closely and not fall for these cheap tricks.
    1
  975. No need to merge anything. Reform voters will have to vote for Tories.
    1
  976.  @gerryjames3003  The Oath of Allegiance indirectly includes pledge of sole allegiance. However US born citizens don't take such oath. The oath however doesn't require person to relinquish their old citizenship. It just means whenever there is conflict of interest, your allegiance must be with the US.
    1
  977. You first need to admit Brexit was a terrible idea.
    1
  978. It's people with peasant mentality who support criminals like Putin. They want to belong to a hierarchy, have a master and someone below them who they can bully. They do not see value in being free. There are many people in the world with mentality like that. It's a cultural struggle that authoritarians are slowly losing. The only way out for them is a war.
    1
  979.  @doubleinfinityx2476  Fine means Poland doesn't get 100% fulfillment of EU sponsored projects. That amounts to you paying the fine.
    1
  980.  @lesliebakos8428  How has the US changed? The far right tend to exaggerate here.
    1
  981. No wonder, Russia is a totalitarian dictatorship
    1
  982. Find a job in the EU and get out of Serbia. It isn't your fault, you can't fix Serbia.
    1
  983. Maybe not if concealed inflation is behind the rise.
    1
  984.  @jakubklesa  Thank you for elaborating on economic policies from Mr. Ferjencik and providing arguments against Pirates. Pirates don't understand the economy and do not seem to be interested in Czechia catching up with the west, which requires maintaining low taxes (and no EU wide harmonization) and not be penalized by specialized taxes. Their green agenda is very dangerous as well as it can stifle already weak economic growth by forced redistribution of money through green taxes. Pirates = more state regulations, they are the same as liberal left elsewhere.
    1
  985. Some of us do follow American politics and spread the word home.
    1
  986. Come to Europe then :-)
    1
  987. Why Germans want less freedom and more regulation?
    1
  988.  @elwray3506  I don't want the government to decide what's best for me. It's staggering Germans vote for more regulation during a Covid pandemic when governments seek to control many aspects of people's lives unheard of before. It seems Germans are willing to trade their freedom in exchange for shelter and food, just like domestic animals.
    1
  989. Not true. It's been mostly a success. Look how those countries that stayed out are doing. A rare opportunity arose while Russia was weak to expand and strengthen democracy in Europe by expanding the EU. Keep in mind it's mostly the old communist generation that is still in power in eastern EU. They are a hopeless case and can never fully comprehend importance of freedom and democracy. But they are on the way out.
    1
  990.  @balliberalisdr.6731  But it is your responsibility as a Hungarian to clean up that mess and oust him in the next election.
    1
  991.  @TheLastAngryMan01  Hungarian opposition is partially to blame too. There was no noteworthy opposition for a long time except for Jobbik, an extremist party. Orban took advantage of the political situation in Hungary and unhappiness of the population with economic situation.
    1
  992.  @TheLastAngryMan01  You fail to understand you can never expect former communists to adopt western values. Mostly these people are still in power in eastern EU. Situation in Hungary and Poland is a manifestation of this issue. The EU should have stopped funding Hungary long time ago. EU expansion did help adopt democracy in eastern EU as the communist generation had to adopt western political system and new generation grew up in the meantime that doesn't remember communism. Without external pressure these countries would have reverted to authoritarian methods with young generation not seeing anything wrong with it. Your conclusion is wrong because you know too little about this region. West too is experiencing trouble with populist politicians like Trump or Johnson. It isn't an issue affecting eastern EU exclusively.
    1
  993.  @balliberalisdr.6731  But you can expand it by convincing fellow Hungarians to make the right choice. If they prefer to live as sheeple for a dictator then I would wish them goodbye and leave.
    1
  994.  @TheLastAngryMan01  Immigration issue was yet another screw up from the EU. Western EU countries need to learn to accept their share of blame for the situation. Brexit happened due to uncontrolled immigration as well...
    1
  995.  @balliberalisdr.6731  Democracy and freedom cannot be taken for granted. If you do not defend them you lose them.
    1
  996.  @TheLastAngryMan01  If you've been following American politics in recent years you must have noticed there are some stark similarities between Eastern EU and American Republicans (esp avid America First supporters). American conservatives seem to have noticed it as well. Immigrants from this region are highly likely to vote for Republicans in the US. Poland and Hungary have just gotten a little bit further than Americans. Once the communist generation is gone, these countries are likely to resolve their problems with democracy/corruption but they will highly likely remain more conservative just like American red states. They prefer lower taxes and less solidarity. So there I will agree with you there won't be a liberal revolution happening. But I don't see that as a problem for the EU. The young generation is not destructive unlike the old one. The old fascist generation in Spain and Italy is long gone, therefore the situation is not comparable with Eastern EU right now. You will have to wait about 20 years to judge, but small changes should be happening within 10 years. This is the reason why Americans found it very hard to build democracy in Iraq/Afghanistan - the old generation there is still too numerous. You are also underestimating influence of internet, media and entertainment industry, it allows cultures to evolve much more rapidly. This is why in Eastern EU there is a clear divide between the old and young generation. Western EU fails to see redistribution of migrants doesn't resolve the migration issue. It only postpones the problem. By pushing this agenda it is only strengthening Orban and PIS in Poland. Eastern EU has almost no council housing to house immigrants. Social security there only provides basic subsistence to avoid begging on streets. Life there will be extremely hard for people who don't speak the local language (which are very difficult to learn and of limited use due to small countries) or English fluently. Immigrants know it and therefore don't want to stay there. These countries only want immigrants who come there out of their own choice as those will contribute. It doesn't matter if one is from Ukraine, Egypt or Syria. Forcing people to stay there will only lead to trouble as you will not integrate if you do not want to stay.
    1
  997. I think you need to stop blaming foreigners and look at who actually voted Vucic in.
    1
  998. New deal with AZ is totally pointless as they have proved to be utterly undependable.
    1
  999. Most Brits seem to regret it
    1
  1000. Why not the EU? South America has low standard of living and high corruption. Ecuador has very low GDP per capita compared to even the poorest EU countries. Trickle down economics works, it's just that you have to fight to get your share. US affords great opportunities, you shouldn't be quitting that easily.
    1
  1001. Czechia is a much better choice.
    1
  1002.  @debbilecornu8896  Fortunately racists are in minority.
    1
  1003. That's Putin's narrative.
    1
  1004. Funny when the far right calls out a democratically elected government as f-scist. Whenever you do that, you clearly identify yourself as an extremist.
    1
  1005. Those who call for peace with Putin are mainly far right and far left. We can't let criminals pillage a neighboring country and then demand concessions. Russia needs to be isolated even once this war is over to solve its internal problems. Right now it's the center of world's fascism and is exporting it world wide. The problem is much wider than just Ukraine.
    1
  1006.  @JayJay5244  It is Iraqis themselves who is responsible for all the deaths and chaos after invasion. If they want a dictator back and be his sheeple then so be it. Basket of deplorables will always vote for dictators and drag every country down where they get majority. Dictators who get to power through violence and killing people have very weak legitimacy to demand international law to be respected as they don't respect it either. Saddam invaded Iran and Kuwait. By defending Saddam you fall into the category of people who will ruin every country they live in because they believe in wrong values.
    1
  1007. Not only that. I think NATO membership should be a condition too.
    1
  1008. Software engineers make much more than 50k. 200k is not uncommon. Principal SWEs make 300-500k. It's very easy to buy a million dollar house from that salary.
    1
  1009. Isn't Boris Johnson the same kind of politician as Orban?
    1
  1010. Unfortunately it won't work as the problem is a lot more complicated. US is a magnet for rich people from the whole world which drives up demand for houses. American population is a smaller fraction of world population than it was in 80s. It's not only domestic issues behind high demand, but it is also result of globalization. All this makes the US a bad place to start family.
    1
  1011. If you've got masters degree then yes, if not then the best way in is probably marriage.
    1
  1012.  @francois-mariearouet9379  Scholz is definitely better. At least he is not Merkel. Merkel personifies all failures of German foreign policy of the last 20 years.
    1