Submitted by Is_Rosen t3_zwjmaz in explainlikeimfive
Is_Rosen OP t1_j1v4azi wrote
Reply to comment by r3dl3g in ELI5 the EU and how it works by Is_Rosen
Wait, so are the EU nations individually weak or is the overarching EU weak?
r3dl3g t1_j1v4f8d wrote
In this case, it's the overarching EU that's weak, entirely because too much power is maintained by the nations of the EU.
It gets a little confusing because the EU isn't formally a confederated nation, they just functionally act in that manner.
Is_Rosen OP t1_j1v4x4q wrote
So all the overarching EU really does is resolve conflict/have a common currency? I also think that all their med schools are intertwined and it’s easier to get a job in other EU countries.
r3dl3g t1_j1v5g5j wrote
They don't exactly "resolve" conflicts, they just attempt it. It doesn't always work, and even when it does it's glacially slow.
By comparison, in the US our government actually has two speeds; glacially slow, and lightning fast. Generally, Congress does nothing, but in genuine emergency situations consensus emerges pretty quickly and Congress can pass legislation in the blink of an eye. The EU has no such ability, because it's own bureaucracy and laws stand in the way of the EU central government by design.
>I also think that all their med schools are intertwined and it’s easier to get a job in other EU countries.
That's not exactly groundbreaking, though. The US has had similar systems for professional degrees in place for decades, whereby individuals in one state can have their credentials honored in other states.
The only difference is that the individual EU "nations" continue to pretend that they're independent from one another. Hence, the nations of the EU continue to call themselves separate countries, whereas that isn't done in the US.
ywuoiaz t1_j1v7u04 wrote
I think you're a little bit too hung up on your US comparisons. Just because the EU has a superficially similar structure to two forms of government that were briefly used in the US hundreds of years ago, doesn't mean it's the same in every respect or that it will have the same fate. Tbh this is something I see from Americans a lot: whenever you see a political situation going on in another country, you seem to have an instinct to imagine something similar happening in the US and assume everything will play out the same as it would within the US system.
> By comparison, in the US our government actually has two speeds; glacially slow, and lightning fast. Generally, Congress does nothing, but in genuine emergency situations consensus emerges pretty quickly and Congress can pass legislation in the blink of an eye. The EU has no such ability, because it's own bureaucracy and laws stand in the way of the EU central government by design.
The EU can make arbitrary changes very quickly if all member states are in agreement, simply by agreeing new treaties. In contrast, the US is stuck with its Constitution, and it seems that the only realistic way to change it is by gradually appointing Supreme Court justices who you think will eventually "interpret" it in a slightly different way.
You could point to the sudden changes in economic and military policies in the EU following the invasion of Ukraine as an example of the EU reacting quickly to something.
Though I think it should also be borne in mind that the EU's strictly limited competences (i.e. policy areas where it has power) limit the kinds of emergency situations in which it is even relevant. For example, it doesn't have a military or police force to speak of, and it has little involvement in public services and social policies.
r3dl3g t1_j1v86jm wrote
>The EU can make arbitrary changes very quickly if all member states are in agreement
And the US can make arbitrary changes very quickly if only 50% of the house and 60% of the senate is in agreement. That's a hell of a lot easier to do than the insane unanimity required for EU legislation.
>You could point to the sudden changes in economic and military policies in the EU following the invasion of Ukraine as an example of the EU reacting quickly to something.
It was still far too slow to matter.
>For example, it doesn't have a military or police force to speak of, and it has little involvement in public services and social policies.
And the only reason this isn't an immense problem is entirely because the US props up the EU from a defense perspective.
Is_Rosen OP t1_j1v5sp4 wrote
Oh, so it’s like the US in short. (I hope this doesn’t sound dumb, no one has ever sat down and told me about the EU)
r3dl3g t1_j1v69vs wrote
>Oh, so it’s like the US in short.
Again, not exactly. It has a lot of systems that are very similar to the US, but their central government is exceptionally weak and unable to actually function that well in a crisis, which is a huge difference in terms of why the US is more powerful than the EU despite the EU having a larger population and a larger economy.
Is_Rosen OP t1_j1v6olb wrote
Oh okay, I think I understand now. Thank you so much for being so patient with me.
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