Performative Subjectivity. Why Do European Countries Make Statements That Lead Nowhere?
Posted by sergeyfomkin@reddit | PrepperIntel | View on Reddit | 9 comments
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, Europe’s leading countries—the United Kingdom, France, and Germany—have repeatedly made bold statements about their willingness to increase support for Ukraine, including the possibility of direct military presence. These declarations, aimed at demonstrating their own agency and leadership in matters of European security, have not always translated into concrete actions. Often, the words were not followed by specific measures, or their implementation depended on the position of the United States.
texteditorSI@reddit
It's almost like they have no intention of following through but want to convince Ukrainians that, if they keep diving headfirst into the woodchipper, the west will be the to back the up any day...
GuiltyYams@reddit
What are you seeing that relates to your prepping?
SinghStar1@reddit
The European Union is not truly united; most of what we see is just virtue signaling. The common rhetoric - “The EU is going to do this, the EU is going to do that” - is mostly a smokescreen. In reality, they lack meaningful unity. The Euro, a single monetary currency, has been disastrous for countries like Italy, Portugal, and Spain, limiting their economic flexibility.
There are also significant power struggles within the EU, such as Germany’s stance on Russian gas, which differs from much of the rest of Europe. Monetary policies create further friction between member states. The EU is not a cohesive bloc, and many within it likely recognize its failures. Some may even regret giving up independent monetary policies, wondering whether they would have been better off maintaining control over their own economies.
Piss_in_my_cunt@reddit
Because European culture is just virtue signaling and a baseless sense of superiority and self righteousness. The end.
NotDinahShore@reddit
I lived in Europe for years. Germany and France reign over every other country. Germany is definitely a potent country with intelligent motivated people. France has economic might, but are more stereotypically European, in that they are mostly talking and hand wringing.
For the most part, Europeans are 90% talk and 10% action. Their singular priority is to be Not America.
European countries take much better care of their citizens than the US does. Universal health care is maligned in the US, but it’s a much better system than health care/health insurance for profit. And the 6 weeks of vacation and lots of holidays is pretty sweet too.
I strongly believe that Europe is incapable of achieving any military goal/action without the US doing 90% of the work including providing the troops, logistics and gear/arms. US is justified in leaving NATO, but Europe without NATO is militarily impotent.
JigPuppyRush@reddit
You’re missing the power some smaller countries like The Netherlands have.
The EU has given more money to Ukraine than the US. 85B (US) vs 124B (EU) that’s not including the UK.
So no they’re not just talk.
hdufort@reddit
There is often one little detail derailing an entire initiative.
It might be military export rules (either due to controlled American components in the equipment, or to national security laws prohibiting the sale or export).
It might be one EU state vetoing that initiative (often Hungary).
In other cases, we've seen an attempt to export equipment or ammunition clashing with a country's national defense strategic stockpile rules (they don't have enough to export without letting the strategic defense stockpile drop below a threshold).
Traditional_Mix7277@reddit
Same shit that happened in WW2, pussyfooting around the problem until it’s too late.
It’s a good thing that Russia turned out to be 100X less competent than the Germans when trying to invade neighboring countries
GopnikOli@reddit
I think there’s definitely a case to question exactly what France is expecting, as they’ve stalled some British developments in regard to continental security over fishing rights.
Surely if defence and rearmament of the continent against Russian aggression are as vital as the European Union has been highlighting, why is fishing a concern right now?
I am all for European rearmament, I just have very low faith in the European Union as an entity. You can already see divide between those who believe they’re “EU Citizens” against those who are not of the right sort which seems to be the population of Hungary.