Comments by "TheGreatDane" (@thegreatdane3627) on "TLDR News EU" channel.

  1. i agree with the US and Germany on this. Telling Ukraine exactly what they have to do to become members, will also tell Russia exactly what they have to do to prevent it. If Ukraine becomes a member as soon as the war is over, then russia could just choose to keep it going forever. Even if all russians are pushed out of Ukraine, russia could still attack with artillery and rockets from their own territory.
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  2. i am very much in favor of that. I would rather see Denmark as a state in a federation, with full representation in the government, than a small country being used as a pawn in the coming power struggle between the larger powers. But i seriously doubt it is gonna happen. I think it is much more likely that the EU will break apart in the near future.
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  3. I don't think the trans-atlantic partnership is going to survive another 4 years of Trump. The big question is if the EU can stay together, under the pressure from russia, China and now the US. I can only hope my fellow Europeans will make smart choices, because we are gonna get stepped on if they manage to divide us...
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  4. Yeah we should rather be talking about specific numbers of troops and equipment. Most nordic countries have mandatory military service, which can increase the numbers of troops available, without the cost of a massive professional army. .
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  5. one important point you missed: Gazprom had contracts with several European energy companies, so they would have to pay a fine for not delivering. Siemens had stated that the pipeline could still be used without the turbines in Canada. So blowing up the pipeline means that russia can avoid paying fines and point the finger at someone else for not delivering. In my opinion, it was done by russia for both practical reasons and as part of russia's hybrid warfare, trying to sow division in NATO.
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  6. as a small business owner, i agree. My company couldn't survive without easy access to customers and suppliers in Europe. I had to replace a british supplier when the UK left the single market.
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  7. Maybe he should worry about free speech in the US instead. Most of the EU is ranked higher than the US when it comes to free speech and press freedom, according to the UN.
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  8. Spending targets are pointless. What matters is how many troops and equipment each member state can deploy on a short notice. There are ways to reach a good number without spending 5%, such as conscription and ordering equipment together with other countries.
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  9. It makes no difference to European security if US troops are there or not. They would just run away if russia invaded.
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  10.  @MegaDixen  Because?
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  11. russian figures are hilarious. They have somehow managed to destroy more equipment than Ukraine ever had 😄
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  12.  @Cjeska  both pipelines can still be repaired, but it gives russia a good excuse to not deliver right now. Which is important as russia is looking for new customers in asia. I have noticed a large number of russian trolls trying to push the idea that russia was delivering until the pipeline was damaged.
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  13. it would be in russias best interest to turn nordstream back on after maintenance. They cant really sell the gas anywhere else, without building more pipelines or lng facilities first. So they would just loose profit. Using energy as a weapon could also scare off future customers, and make it much harder to sign new contracts in asia.
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  14. it is hard for non EU countries to export agricultural products to the EU, because we don't want to become dependent on food imports. This is a deliberate strategy.
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  15. @ a small country like Denmark will always get pushed around by someone. But as a member of a federation, we will at least be represented in the central government.
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  16.  @AshkanPacino13  i agree that russia can't afford this level of fighting for long, but it doesn't cost much to send a few shells across the border every other week. So if the terms for Ukraine's membeship is that all fighting has to be 100% over, then it could be very hard to achieve.
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  17. yeah i was about to write a similar comment. I think mud is the most important factor.
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  18. Portugal could just leave NATO if they wanted, they don't really need the protection. So Portugal is a net contributor to NATO, no matter how much they spend.
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  19. Yeah Finland is a perfect example of a country with a very capable army with a reasonable budget. All the smaller countries should do like Finland.
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  20. It's not really a partner ship if one side is only looking out for themselves.
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  21.  @83917Michael  i agree. Things are not looking great for the EU.
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  22. I agree. What is the point of an alliance, if everyone spends that much? Germany alone would spend almost as much as China...
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  23.  @jozq9277  A Nordic Union would be awesome as well. But it is still very unlikely, the whole project would probably collapse as soon as we have to agree on a capital. We humans are just too stupid to let go of our egos.
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  24.  @joshuapaul2022  you're the one living in a fantasy world if you actually believe the official russian figures :)
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  25.  @I_H_M_N  good counter argument buddy... 🙄
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  26.  @NothingPersonalKido  this argument is too stupid for me...
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  27. it's not really the free market, when one side is subsidizing their industry...
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  28.  @prometheusjackson8787  a cash cow that was already closed.
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  29.  @Lando-kx6so  makes a lot more sense than Norway and the US teaming up to destroy a closed pipeline. Russia could still supply gas through one of the other pipelines if they wanted to, but they don't legally have to.
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  30. it's about 40% for domestic heating, 25% for industry and 35% for power generation. Russia provided about 40%, so that's what we need to replace. In the short term, we will need more coal, oil and LNG to do that. Long term solutions could be: - Nuclear: a good solution, proven technology, takes a long time to build though. - Biogas: here in denmark, biogas have replaced 25% of our gas consumption. Other countries with a large agricultural sector should be able to do the same. - Power to x: using windpower or solar to create something else, usually hydrogen. Denmark has a lot of windturbines, but they don't produce any energy when the wind doesn't blow. And when the wind does blow they produce to much power, so we have shut a lot of them of. Power to x could be a solution to that problem, but it is still in a test phase. Time will tell if it actually works on a larger scale...
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  31. Yeah, health care, education, and pensions are part of the US military budget.
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  32. I'm not really worried about winter 2023 to be honest. Europe is better prepared now, and there is little russia can do to make the situation worse.
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  33. @simontemplar404 maybe not occupy, but definitely gain a lot of influence and power to dictate over smaller countries.
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  34.  @shilshill-q5s  yeah, i know what you mean. But i still believe that a federal Europe would be the best solution in the long term.
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  35.  @clownfy  still more credible than vance, who seems to get his info from Facebook groups ..
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  36.  @LoonyCleo  i don't have anything bad to say about Portugal. My point is that Portugal don't really need to be protected because of your location, which makes Portugal a member that gives more than you take, no matter how much you spend.
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  37. A few points about Greenland : They have been looking for oil for 50 years now, with help from companies like Chevron, Shell and Exxonmobil. But all drilling has come up dry so far. Nothing prevents US mining companies from investing in Greenland now. So why is there not a mining boom for all those rare earth minerals? The problem is simply the cost of extracting those minerals. If Greenland was so profitable, they would not need money from Denmark. And the ice is not melting any time soon. A conservative estimate is 10.000 years for all the ice to melt, if temperatures keep rising at the current rate.
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  38.  SF  i'm not sure what you mean? When i order components from my EU based suppliers, i don't pay VAT. It's one of the reasons why i don't want to use UK based suppliers anymore. I'm not going to waste my time applying for VAT refunds, if such an arrangement has even been made yet.
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  39.  @IndiaTides  since when do India care about the free market?
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  40. nonsense. Pretty sure the russians would prefer to live.
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  41.  @ChristiaanHW  i was mostly thinking about Portugals geografic location. But the point you made is valid too.
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  42. natural gas is not refined from oil. It is not the same as the "gas" the americans put in their cars, the product other countries call petrol or benzin. And the price for diesel and benzin has gone up by something like 10% since 2021, at least where i live. Not sure where you get 4X the price from?
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  43.  @theuralictribes5689  you could have left the EU at any time. Hungary is only in the EU to leech.
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  44. trump was just repeating what Obama said in 2014, stop pretending like trump is not an idiot. Every US president since Ronald Reagan has mentioned that issue.
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  45.  @NothingPersonalKido that makes no sense, stop commenting while drunk.
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  46.  @thegreatestdane8978  you have good taste in dogs 😀 And you make a good point also
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  47.  @utubefuku7132  now you're just making it up. Staying in the single market was an option, but UK didn't want to.
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  48. i agree. As long as they don't lose support from the US and Poland, i would say time is on Ukraine's side.
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  49. Russia and china are not the ones threatening to invade a part of Denmark...
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  50. @pahowitzer446  learn to read before replying 🙄
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  51.  @graham1034  you're right, efficiency and storage is a problem. Some progress have been made i recent years though. Some facilities in denmark and germany have reached 60% efficiency, I've even heard of a german company that claims to have reached 70%. I'm really don't know if hydrogen is the future or a dead end. But 60% efficiency is better than turning the damn windturbines of all the time. If the storage issue could be fixed, it could be a way to store wind and solar power for the winter where energy demand is higher.
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  52.  @AshkanPacino13  that is why i prefer the terms to be a little vague for now. If the terms are "when all members agree", then the door is open for quick membership when the time is right.
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  53.  @JurijsPastnieks  i am not a big fan of red lines, unless we are 100% ready to act if they are crossed. Russia has already issued so many red lines, and then backed down, that no one is taking them seriously anymore. Let's not do the same.
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  54.  @bicker31  Ok. So?
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  55.  @bicker31  is anyone in this thread complaining about not being able to export steel to the US?
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  56.  @HankAstral  what is the alternative? Just give in to nuclear blackmail? Once you start giving in, when do you stop?
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  57. ​ @chickenfishhybrid44 i agree with that, the Danish army is pretty pathetic these days. And it will cost more money to fix that. But the goal should not be to spend a specific amount of money, the goal should be a specific amount of troops and equipment available.
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  58.  @83917Michael  why is the US producing even less artillery shells than the EU? And why has the US still not delivered the 37 F35s we ordered in 2015? Could it be that it takes time to ramp up production? And how are we supposed to rearm in a few years, when even the US takes more than 10 years to deliver 37 fighter jets? Why do so many people in the US say that Ukraine is not Americas problem? Could it be that all countries have people with different opinions?
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  59.  @donaldboughton8686  UK could have stayed in the single market, without being a member. But you chose to leave that too.
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  60.  @davidgreen6490  that's right, i forgot about that. Uk is a pacific country now, good luck with that 😄
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  61.  @davidgreen6490  And you have trade deals with those countries already. You guys are just being weird.
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  62. Europe did not, Germany did. There are plenty of nuclear power plants in other European countries.
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  63. well putin probably didn't close the tap himself, but Gazprom cut the gasflow through nord stream a month before the pipeline was damaged.
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  64. i don't see a lot of difference between China, russia and the US these days. And Europe is not dependent on either for it's existence, but it is nice to have a market to sell our goods. So if China can offer a better deal for that, then i see no reason to not take it.
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  65. of course they are cheap, they are subsidized by the chinese state.
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  66.  @PizeFish  does anyone actually expect the US to do all the fighting?
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  67.  @chickenfishhybrid44  Denmark spent something like 2,5-3% of gdp on defense during the cold war. And we still had decent health care, despite having almost 1000 tanks at one point. Americans are actually spending more on health care per capita than most Europeans, even though not all Americans have access to it.
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  68. 18 months ago, Ukraine was expected to last 3 days. And today they are criticized for only making slow progress....
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  69.  @allydea  even the russians clearly expected Kyiv to fall in a few days. The first russian troops rolling over the border were not equipped for a long battle.
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  70. Were they not supposed to laugh at Trump? Then why does he look and talk like a clown?
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  71. because it is true. To be honest, i think Europe should just stop caring about wto rules, it's not like anyone else is following them anyway...
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  72.  @mikeluc9916  but the US is not actually providing much security anymore. Let's be honest here, the US would not do much if russia invaded Estonia.
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  73. scott ritter is a russian asset.
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  74.  @joshuapaul2022  the russians haven't made much progress since april. And the frontline has barely moved for 2 months. Why would that change now?
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  75. and how would EU companies compete with the chinese, when the chinese companies are subsidized by the government?
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  76.  @romanianhustler3309  feel free to leave. No one would miss your country.
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  77.  @myleshungerford7784  there are multiple reasons. Some of them are legit, like the German power plants were getting old and needed renovation. Some are more silly, like German fear of nuclear power plants after Fukushima. And there is also a pretty good chance that russia bribed German politicians to favor gas powered powerplants, but i can't really prove that.
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  78. @MMOfreakOUT1  China wants to divide and exploit, just like russia and the US under trump.
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  79. it does seem a little unfair that Germany is getting so much flak. I don't think any country in Europe is really prepared for a full scale war. Even the US doesn't seem ready for the kind of war we're seeing in Ukraine.
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  80.  @honnebombll  the Danish army is very under funded as well. We do have some decent equipment, but in very small numbers. But no one is paying much attention to Denmark or the other countries who are under spending, because Germany is such a big juicy target for criticism...
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  81. If Trump goes ahead with his tariffs, much of that trade will stop.
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  82. If Ukraine gives any territory to russia, then russia will just come back for more.
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  83. The US dragged itself into WW2. And I don't really believe that the US would fight for Europe anymore.
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  84. voting with armed soldiers looking over your shoulder is not actually voting...
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  85. @pahowitzer446  what funding? The US pays around 16% of the NATO budget if that is what you mean?
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  86. Here's what i don't understand: About 40% of EU gas consumption is used for domestic heating, 25% for industry and 35% for power generation. Russia supplies 40% of EU gas. So stop using gas for power generation, and the problem is pretty much solved. Many countries in EU, including Germany, have enough coal powerplants to replace gas. The German government have already decided to reactivate some of those powerplants. Germany and Poland still have pretty decent coal reserves. The gas turbines can also run on other fuels, such as oil or biogas. There is also a new pipeline from Norway coming online later this year, Romania's new offshore gas production, the new LNG deals etc. And Russia is still delivering some gas. So why is this still a crisis? Sounds like a very fixable problem to me?
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  87. so you think the US would spend less on their military if they left NATO? That's cute...
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  88.  @tony18662  hydroelectric is a great solution for countries with rivers and mountains. Unfortunately, we don't have that here i denmark. So we have to work with what we got...😄
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  89.  @tony18662  that looks pretty cool actually. Maybe we will see something like that in denmark one day. Btw, been to sweden many times. You have all the best nature :)
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  90. nobody cares about nordstream, just move on Ivan. Natural gas is outdated.
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  91.  @FightCollective  They still can't transport gas from western russia to asia. They have to build pipelines or lng facilities first. But why would any country choose to build expensive pipelines, unless russia can prove they are a reliable supplier no matter what tensions may arise in the future?
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  92. Ukraine had roughly 12M men of fighting age when the war started. I don't think they are going to run out any time soon...
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  93. are the Americans actually going to fight and die if a war with russia becomes hot? Or will they just run away? I think the second option is more likely.
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  94.  @Secret_Moon  yeah that's a fair point. That is probably why Biden is talking about an Israel type arrangement instead, NATO membership could be very difficult for Ukraine to achieve.
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  95. yeah i was actually hoping for Trump to win in 2020. He made the EU much more united, and finally start talking about a more independent foreign policy.
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  96. despite our differences, the US has once again proved to be a reliable ally to Europe. While russia has proved to be an unreliable supplier and a threat to peace and stability in Europe.
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  97. the dollar is very strong at the moment, while the rubble is toilet paper.
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  98. the war is just getting started. It will go on for at least 2 more years, probably a lot longer.
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  99. but the US have no problem supporting the regime in saudi arabia...
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  100. conscription makes a lot of sense. It means that a country can have a relatively small core of professional soldiers, and a large pool of reserves with basic training in case your country is attacked. And yes, i did it myself 20 years ago.
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  101. yeah, they could. But the fight would not be in their countries, so they would have to convince their people to go fight and die to defend a small Baltic country. This is why i support some kind of EU army, because such an army can't just choose to look the other way.
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  102. subsidizing your industry is not capitalism...
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  103.  @vonelle9122  maybe, but that doesn't make it capitalism. And most countries in the EU aren't really capitalist countries...
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  104.  @vonelle9122  maybe you should look up the definition of a capitalist country, i don't think you actually know what it is.
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  105. @@Dnpe-zr5rp there was nothing wrong with the argument. But Trump was just repeating what every US president since Ronald Reagan has said. A lot of European countries were also concerned about Germany's reliance on russian gas. We were not laughing at the message, we were laughing at trump himself, because he is a clown...
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  106. 4-5 years is probably right, but i seriously doubt that russia will take more territory. The question is if russia will hold on to some of the territory they control now.
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  107.  @Australiaguy-k9y  what will they win? Russia will be worse off, no matter how the war ends...
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  108. Not much of a shield when it is the US itself that is threatening to invade my country...
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  109. what a load of nonsense 🙄
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  110.  @chuapg1518  and it will be fine too.
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  111.  @cezarstefanseghjucan  that is nice of you to say that 🙂 I think we Europeans are better off if we stick together. Just wish more people would realize it.
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  112. i agree with most of what is being said here. Macron seems to be doing a pretty mediocre job of running France, but his view on European politics is pretty solid.
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  113.  @complex3297  while trump banned AP from the white house, for not using his made up term Gulf of America...😄
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  114.  @mikeluc9916  that might have been true in the past, but US security is no longer credible. Which is why the EU is now preparing for a conflict with russia as soon as the war in Ukraine is over.
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  115. i think a lot of leaders in the west are worried about a russian collapse. And a civil war in a nuclear armed country does sound kinda scary. I think NATO's goal is to slowly squeeze Russia until they are forced to withdraw.
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  116.  @joshuapaul2022  i don't know if the Ukrainians will succeed or not. But i do know that the russians will continue to make hilarious claims about destroying everything the Ukrainians got, without explaining why the Ukrainians are still able to fight back 😂
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  117.  @joshuapaul2022  russia: all himars have been destroyed! The west: so why do your ammo depots keep blowing up? russia: ...eh...someone dropped a cigarete! We are not being attacked, we're just incompetent!!!
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  118.  @joshuapaul2022  so when will russia use these great weapons and win the war? Will it be this decade, or is it more of a 30-year plan?
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  119. what are the advantages for staying with the US at this point? US security guarantees are pretty much worthless, the Americans are just going to run away if a war with russia ever becomes hot. And Trump's tariffs will hurt European companies either way. So what does the US under Trump actually have to offer?
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  120. I don't even have to watch this video, the answer is obviously Denmark 😎
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  121. And if Trump has his way, the US will eat Europe for breakfast. Not Much better.
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  122. you go Estonia, screw those russian speaking a-holes
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  123.  @maykolee  yes doing business with russia was incredibly stupid of Germany. But that doesn't change the fact that trump is an idiot..
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  124. Trump wants Europe to pay for it's own defence, and put tariffs on European exports. So what do we gain from a partner ship with the US then?
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  125. that is very unlikely, unless russia lose the war in Ukraine. Russia is still the largest threat to peace and stability in Europe. The real question is if China would dump russia for a partnership with the EU, if that option was available.
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  126. the US has not sanctioned russian gas, it is russia that cut the gas flow. And the biggest supplier of natural gas to the EU is now Norway, not the US. And the price of natural gas today is cheaper than it was before the war began.
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  127.  @mryan4452  yes, and the price of natural gas has gone down compared to late 2022. Did you have a point with that information, or just sharing?
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  128.  @mryan4452  what exactly are Shell and the rest buying in the US?
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  129.  @mryan4452  no OP claimed that India was refining natural gas from russian oil, and selling it to the US. And that the US was then reselling that natural gas to Europe. And none of that makes any sense.
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  130.  @mryan4452  yeah OP's comment is pretty confusing. But I have noticed that a lot of people, especially Indians, thinks russian gas is about the fuel you put in a car, because the Americans call it gas. I assume that is what OP is talking about.
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  131.  @Fatalitix3  of course there is a cost, but it is significantly lower than the cost of paying for a purely professional army. Most western armies today are way too small for a real war, even has the US has less than 400.000 infantry men in total, it's probably closer to 300.000. Finland has a very small population, but they can muster 280.000 troops on a short notice, with roughly 800.000 reserves.
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  132. maybe in some far away future, but probably not in our lifetime...
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  133. The US can't protect the red sea either...
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  134.  @Tonius126  and it is still not enough, even with the US. So what does it matter?
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  135.  @Tonius126  there is barely any traffic in the canal anymore, how can it get worse? Don't you see the problem with calling out Europe, when the US can't do it either?
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  136.  @Tonius126  you seem to forget why the Houthies are doing it. Their main target is Israel and the US. European ships are just collateral damage, because we are allies.
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  137.  @Tonius126  the Houthies are still attacking ships, and there is nothing the US can do about it.
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  138. russia spent 9 months just to capture Bakhmut. And that is russia's only victory in 15 months...
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  139.  @Drewbinsky69  Ukraine liberated Kherson, Izium, Lyman and Kupyansk in the same period. And they didn't even have shovels...
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  140. Doesn't really matter if both sides no longer feels like they benefit from the relationship.
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  141.  @simonyang5191  does it matter?
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