What is the true purpose of the E.U.?

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kimawolf

Member
First off I am an American and I do not know much about the E.U., but with America ceding moral authority basically, I assumed, the E.U. would take over, but we have actual genocide going on in Myanmar with babies being thrown into fires, and no one is doing anything. I asked a friend and I was told basically, the E.U. is only a economic arrangement really. Is this true? And why can't the E.U. do something about what's happening in Myanmar? and if they can't do anything then what is the actual purpose of the E.U.?

and people who live within the E.U. would you LIKE them to form a kind of "peace keeping" force, they can deploy when they don't want to deal with the U.N?
 
The EU is more than an economic arrangement. It's not really comparable to a country though, and doesn't have a unified foreign policy. Broadly it's to keep the peace in Europe.
 
The actual purpose of the EU is to keep peace in the EU itself. The fact no war broke out since it's inception is a feat in itself. Economic benefits definetly is a major reason as well. There is no unified policy for an army or anything though. Germany doesn't like to support any missions in a non supply/humanitarian way (but sell weapons instead) and Swiss for example doesn't have an army at all.
 
It’s an economic and limited political union on the European conflict designed to prevent a general war in Europe from ever happening again.

It was not designed as an international peacekeeping or human rights watchdog. Those responsibilities generally fall under the UN.
 
Wamb0wneD said:
The actual purpose of the EU is to keep peace in the EU itself. The fact no war broke out since it's inception is a feat in itself. Economic benefits definetly is a major reason as well. There is no unified policy for an army or anything though. Germany doesn't like to support any missions in a non supply/humanitarian way (but sell weapons instead) and Swiss for example doesn't have an army at all.
Click to expand...

The Swiss definitely have an army, with mandatory service for men. But also they aren't part of the EU.
 
The original purpose of the EU was to prevent war by tieing different countries economies together. Since each country's economy so tightly depends on other countries' economies, it's impossible for one country to declare war on another because they would essentially be attacking their own economy.
 
Originally the idea was to connect bigger European countries economically to such a degree that war between them would be massively discouraged. Nowadays it's more about having one big European player on the world stage as globalization has formed these super powers that control the world. An Europe made of tens of completely separate countries just couldn't compete with US & China as well as a connected, somewhat united Europe can.

Added positives is a more united, powerful front in battling some environmental issues & not letting the Googles & Microsofts of the world completely run amock and do whatever they want. A united Europe can force them to behave better than a singular country ever could.
 
Prevent war through economic integration with the long term goal of a federated Europe.

At least that was the dream of some the ideological founders.
 
I would have thought that preventing this horrors would fall on the UN before we got to the EU.

North Korea has been throwing babies into fires for decades. No one cares and it was put into the too hard basket, and action will only be taken when North Korea attacks first.

Horrible atrocities have been going on in Africa for decades, and again no one cares. No one would have stopped Hitler killing millions of Jews if he didn't launch wars of aggression against his neighbours.

The sooner you learn the world is governed by self interest above all you'll realise why certain things happen.
 
The attempt to establish something less than a nation but more than a group of nations.
 
I don't really see the connection OP is making in that the EU should do military interventions in Asia. Not only because the EU isn't a military union, but also because the US wouldn't do that either unless the country happened to be a cold war proxy, oil rich or a direct threat.
 
Wamb0wneD said:
The actual purpose of the EU is to keep peace in the EU itself.
Click to expand...
Yup. The EU has created a situation that is unprecedented in history on this continent. Unfortunately, people are in the process of forgetting about the horrors or war around here.
 
Wamb0wneD said:
The actual purpose of the EU is to keep peace in the EU itself. The fact no war broke out since it's inception is a feat in itself. Economic benefits definetly is a major reason as well. There is no unified policy for an army or anything though. Germany doesn't like to support any missions in a non supply/humanitarian way (but sell weapons instead) and Swiss for example doesn't have an army at all.
Click to expand...
Switzerland isn't in the EU. And they do have an armed forces, including conscription.
 
The EU isn't some world police.

It's an arrangement where European countries agreed to give each other benefits and concessions via some cornerstone policies that are required for membership (half of which only the UK had special treatment in not having to meet and still cried about how unfair the EU is), in order to create an overall benefit for all.
 
An ongoing project that is right now a common single market, with shared regulations and laws. There are political bodies, some of them are elected by EU citizens, others indirectly through governments of EU countries. Through these it gives, especially it's smaller members, a stronger voice in the world, not just economically.
It started out as creating deeper economic ties in select industries, a sort of cartel, but grew from there. So it's purpose is kind of open ended. Right now the biggest question is how this growing project relates to traditional nation states. Far right sceptics seem convinced it will eat them up, though of course giving away some national power might be required to further the EU in certain ways (say for banking union, or a common tax system ). It is not clear and certain that any of that will ever really come to pass, though, and if so, in what exact form. As I said, very open ended.
 
legend166 said:
I would have thought that preventing this horrors would fall on the UN before we got to the EU.

North Korea has been throwing babies into fires for decades. No one cares and it was put into the too hard basket, and action will only be taken when North Korea attacks first.

Horrible atrocities have been going on in Africa for decades, and again no one cares. No one would have stopped Hitler killing millions of Jews if he didn't launch wars of aggression against his neighbours.

The sooner you learn the world is governed by self interest above all you'll realise why certain things happen.
Click to expand...
This this this this this .
 
Loris146 said:
EU is just a huge mess and it will fall sooner or later.

Oh the true purpose is to export more and make more money.
Click to expand...

It's so easy to believe that when you forget that most of the things you take for granted today in a European country were made possible because of the EU.
 
Kimawolf said:
and people who live within the E.U. would you LIKE them to form a kind of "peace keeping" force, they can deploy when they don't want to deal with the U.N?
Click to expand...

Nah, I'm all for the EU getting more political weight including on international issues, but the UN should be the only authority for peace keeping.
 
A lot of people attribute peace in Europe to the EU , which may be the case. Or it may be overegging it, given the emergence of nuclear weapons at around the same time.

The aim these days, fiscal and political union, and a federal states of Europe.
 
AllGamer said:
...no it won't.
Click to expand...

Well, it will if the member states want it to, but Brexit was supposed to be the first domino and so far no one else has toppled.

Presenting a united front in international trade negotiations sure is beneficial though and I'm so glad I no longer need to worry about borders and exchanging money in WE. Federalisation or confederilisation is sadly probably an impossibility.
 
The EU isn't some sort of peace keeping force as you described.

It's mainly for commerce, economy and bringing laws to all the countries under the EU umbrella. Don't confirm to the rules, and you don't benefit from the trade deals and money. I'm sure it's more than that though.

Not in the EU? Then fuck you got mine, really.
 
To interweave the economies and laws of European countries so much that another war becomes not only impractical, but unthinkable

Or if you ask some of the British population, to regulate the size of fruit and stop us using overpowered vacuum cleaners
 
Wamb0wneD said:
The actual purpose of the EU is to keep peace in the EU itself. The fact no war broke out since it's inception is a feat in itself. Economic benefits definetly is a major reason as well. There is no unified policy for an army or anything though. Germany doesn't like to support any missions in a non supply/humanitarian way (but sell weapons instead) and Swiss for example doesn't have an army at all.
Click to expand...

No wars? What about the balkans? The eu stood by and did fuck all. It was Clinton who stepped in first.

No wars is only because America would not allow it. The eu is only partly the reason. EU citizen by the way.
 
Leyasu said:
No wars? What about the balkans?
Click to expand...

The Balkans were not part of the EU. The union can't magically solve all war issues around the world, but preventing wars among its members, who were historical enemies for as far as you could trace back, is already a major feat.
 
Leyasu said:
No wars is only because America would not allow it. The eu is only partly the reason. EU citizen by the way.
Click to expand...

This is some trip.
crazy.gif
 
A single European country could never be a major world power like US, China or Russia. A united coalition of European countries might. That is what the purpose of EU is.
 
To stop us Europeans from doing another war.

Cause holy shit looking back through history we are goddamn good at it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Allegedly Disney has declared "streaming is dead", if that is true, what comes next?
2 3
113
2K
kunonabi replied
  • Poll
What is the ideal indoor temperature?
21
174
Kacho replied
  • Poll
What is the best language to learn?
2
53
505
kpopSuperstar replied
  • Locked
What the hell is going on with the ads here?
13
367
EviLore replied
What happens when the majority of content on the internet is AI generated?
2
86
2K
YCoCg replied
Top Bottom