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Comment by madspindel | Hacker News Reader

As I Swede, I must say this list of countries are the countries I love the most in Europe (well, I like the weather in Spain and Italy, but I mean politically).

I would like our countries to integrate more, maybe with a common army. In the Nordics we already have begun to integrate our Air Forces to a common Nordic Air Force. Why not extend that to UK, France, Netherlands and Germany? These countries together could form a quite powerful army, air force etc. that could safeguard Europe against external threats.

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Same, though, as a Dane, I must express preference for Norway, Sweden and Finland (and Iceland), obviously :)

I hope his antics do nothing except push us closer together.

At the same time we need to realize that the US actions are clearly meant to tear the EU apart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Arctic_Endurance

The Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto found the operation superfluous and ridiculous, calling it a joke, and urged that it be carried out under NATO coordination.

It's just that I also want that split (north vs south, sort of). The EU of today is dysfunctional, largely because of this immense cultural split.

Now I want to delay this split though. At the moment we need EU unity.

Oh absolutely, I adore most every country of the EU, maybe except Hungary and recently... Slovakia.

But in principle, I think the EU, some voting forms, and a federal army is necessary if we desire any degree of self-determination.

> At the same time we need to realize that the US actions are clearly meant to tear the EU apart.

Generally true with one small but very important correction - the US actions are clearly meant to bait the EU into breaking itself apart.

> It's just that I also want that split (north vs south, sort of).

You've been had. Trump is smarter than you, you've bitten his bait and you're hanging on his hook... and you were doing so well initially.

> The EU of today is dysfunctional, largely because of this immense cultural split.

There's no cultural split, there are only politicians on varying levels of corruption and the leading EU countries are in the center of it all. That's the problem that needs addressing.

I wanted to do this before Trump first won in 2016.

Trump didn't invent this game, it's quite old actually, he's just its latest salesman.

You guys are all really purist with your shade of white.

> You guys are all really purist with your shade of white.

A lot of the nationalist theatrics you see in political space lead to inflaming the small differences between similar peoples and getting them at each other's throats. That was clearly seen in the run-up to the tragic war between Russia and Ukraine.

It's telling that I don't see any politician in the EU addressing that threat. You'd think EU politicians would know better given the long history of bloody intra-European wars.

P.S. I reformulated my previously downvoted comment in order to make it more precise and less stingy. That will also help me understand the reason for the explanation-less downvoting - is it the truth in the content or the blemishes in form that caused it.

What do you mean?

> You guys are all really purist with your shade of white.

That's the major goal of all the theatrics you see in political space - to have very similar peoples get at each other's throats. It was wildly "successful" in provoking the idiotic war between Russia and Ukraine.

It's telling that I don't see any politician in the EU addressing that threat. You'd think EU politicians would know better given the long and bloody history of idiotic intra-European wars.

Maybe something like a constitutional republic of independent states?

The only way to ensure one political party doesn't seize full and complete control over the entire thing and bend its will to exclusively their goals.

Yeah maybe some system with checks and balances.

Well there is NB8 and JEF, of which I (Estonia) are also part of.

A two-tier Europe would deepen the divide that already exists.

As a Brit, I agree!

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