For trade purposes, the EU acts as a single country. You can't make trade agreements with a single EU country.
this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2025
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You say that, but this is a timeline where California is negotiating its own trade agreements to get around the bullshit in OP's picture. Anything could happen.
California can do that?
Edit from le chat mistral:
So he doesn't give them anything, he's just asking to keep trading with them
"Yes, that's correct. Governor Newsom's strategy primarily involves advocating for California's economic interests and encouraging international trading partners to maintain or even expand their trade relationships with California, despite the federal tariffs. He is essentially asking these partners to consider exempting California-made products from retaliatory tariffs, emphasizing the state's economic stability and reliability as a trading partner. This approach does not involve offering specific concessions or incentives but rather leverages California's significant market power and economic influence to negotiate more favorable trade conditions."
California isn't doing anything, just asking politely to be exempt from our tariffs on USA.
That's a move to force the judiciary to say tariffs are solely their perview outside of declared conventional war.
How TF his face darker than his lips?
He looks likes one of those offensive old cartoon characters made to make fun of black people
yeah kinda tbh
Poorly applied makeup.
I know, it was kinda rhetorical, it's just funny to me that someone was like " yup, you look great boss" and then sent him out.
It's the same as with his incredibly long ties, he has his own opinion and doesn't let anyone else's opinions sway him.
Every day, for probably decades.
They interviewed a lady that did his makeup on the radio not too long ago (she's from Quebec so the interview was in French) and let's say she wasn't pretending that he looked good, she did what she could with what she had to work with...
I'll have to look and see if I can find it, thanks
It's audio so it would be hard to get it translated but her name is Audrey Lefevre, maybe you can find other interviews.
Unhealthy blood flow too
Him and everyone surrounding him is a fucking idiot.
did you see how they text in Signal with the emojis and everything? my 12 yo niece finds it cringe
Taiwan and China are also listed as separate countries.
Taiwan and China are two separate countries.
China: No!
Taiwan: No!
Both of them consider other as a part of itself.
Taiwan is strange officially bur if you actually ask people they just want to be independant.
bur if you actually ask people
We don't do that. We ask monarchs. Billionaires. Pop stars if nobody of importance is available. Nobody asks common people. What a strange and stupid idea. Almost a democratic idea.
New headline. Trump tariffs confirm Taiwan sovereignty.
USA accidentally makes the split official policy.
(Maybe it has been for a time. I recall it used to be tacitly understood but unsaid.)
At this point I think they're just trolling everyone
Time to make it true?
I consider myself hardcore pro European (Euro-patriotic if you will) but I think one of the reasons we're still standing is how decentralised this arrangement is. Poland seemed lost to propaganda but managed to bounce back. So could Slovakia or even Hungary. Infiltrating the EU is so much harder compared to a single, large nation because of that. It's also a pretty effective tool against imperialism in our own ranks. If you take a look at what other countries are doing it seems to me in comparison we've got a good thing going.
I agree, but there's definitely some more integration that can be done. An initially opt-in military organisation would be great because it doesn't really make sense for individual EU countries to do military alone. We should never fight with other countries in the block (and a military organisation would make that impossible), and it doesn't make sense that the EU wouldn't protect other member states.
I guess we might get that for free when we inherit NATO...
Shared military is probably the single strongest reason US states could never leave the Union. It comes up every single time Texas or California talk about secession. Some of our largest military operations are in those states, they would never be allowed to leave. Once you have nationalized military you have soldiers with no allegiance to your own state in all your bases and your own soldiers are spread thin among all the other states with no way for you to recall them without appeasing the current head of the military who is also always more loyal to the union (or the military or themselves) than your state.
and a military organisation would make that impossible
I agree that an EU military would be a great idea but let's say "less likely". We used to say the same about nato and yet here we are.
If the EU organised a proper centralised and integrated army, how would one country attack another one within this alliance?
I guess at some intermediary stages it would look more like NATO does now, with individual armies that are not very tightly integrated with each other, but if it's being integrated into the EU I'm thinking more in terms of an EU central command. Similar to how it would be incredibly difficult for Sweden to declare war on Skåne.
Don’t take it for granted. Im British, I did. Many others did probably too.
I'm German so it's kinda always been at the back of my mind 😅 But it still took me a while to come to terms with the fact that things could in fact become as bad if not worse than they were back then. 2025 has been very sobering in that regard.
I always appreciated what the EU stood for and what it did for its member nations, but I didn’t think that there was a chance that our membership would be brought into question, let alone that we’d leave. I wouldn’t shut up about leaving being a bad idea in the run up to the referendum. I took us being members for granted.
I agree with you about 2025 though.
I'm European and happy to be but I also look at European history and don't want us to go too hard.
Yes but what use is a flabby confederation that can't manage to speak with a united voice and does little more than distribute cash to the farmers of its increasingly autocratic members?
I'm caricaturing the situation but it's not that far off.
I love being part of the EU, but fuck no we shouldn't band together as a single country.
Let's make the USE a thing!
No. Let's get the EU to slowly move into a true federal model, improving on the good parts that already exist and creating new schemes of mutual approach as we advance. We do not need to become the USE.
For now that can't happen because certainly Hungary and likely Slovakia would veto it.
Creating a federation should be a long and difficult process. The most negotiated, the better.
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I prefer federated things
Germany is a federation as well as Switzerland and Canada, the US and India.
How centralised and integrated a federation is will always be an ongoing discussion, but one could argue that the EU is a federal state in all but name.
Do you live in one of those countries and if so, do you think you can stack more layers of government of top of the current one or will it breaks the system? I can image adding layers to the bottom is much easier than adding one on top.
I live in a city (layer1) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (layer2) in the federal republic of Germany (layer3) which is a member state of the European Union (layer4). I have voted in elections for all of the above and have always supported the idea of a united Europe. I would vote for a federal democratic world parliament as well, if the UN would become a more meaningful body.
Imho a federal world should be the goal and a united Europe is a step in this direction — especially in times of worldwide crisis like climate change or global economic collapse. I like the principles of bottom up and subsidiarity, but I‘m aware that there will always be the possibility of to much centralisation. It’s a struggle that might never end.
I ask because I'm sure I want more European integration but am not sure about the way forward. It would make more sense if all levels had a similar election proces. Now I vote for my the leaders of the city in it, but in the Netherlands we don't vote for our mayor. Then I also vote for the province, same story that the leader of the provincial government is always a neutral politician. But the provinces vote for the parlement (the part that doesn't propose new laws but the part that approves them). Then I also vote for a person in the national elections, but this person is always part of a party although you don't for the party. If your party wins, they can choose the prime minister. Although now for the first time ever the mayor party was forced by their coalition parties to have a neutral prime minister. Then I vote for someone a person in the EU, who is in a party which itself is in a party so even though my vote influences the flavour of the European government but it feels a bit off. I mean, europe considers itself an example of the democratic world but it feels like such a mess at the same time.
I believe in building stronger alliances within EU, but making it a country is taking things way too far.
I mean, we've mostly heard about the uninhabited and mostly unvisited Australian island that got an entry, right? Apparently the penguins are cutting unfair trade deals.
I wouldn't mind making it real though
The EU should become a country and it was over 95 years late.