Old World Politics - rising from the ashes

[Per]

So, essentially, should someone get through customs and into, say, Italy, they could then head up to Germany via Switzerland or Austria, and then tour through Belgium, France, and then down into Spain with little to no difficulty?

Yup. Well, almost. Travelling between countries in the EU is pretty much like travelling between states in the US or provinces in Canada.
You would probably have to show your passport entering and leaving Switzerland though, as they are not a member.

This is the border between the Netherlands and Belgium:


This shopping mall, Rajala, on an artificial island in the Torne river, which marks the border between Sweden and Finland, has Swedish stores in one half of the building and Finnish stores in the other half, which adds a whole new meaning to border trade. Quite convenient also as both countries have a government monopoly on alcohol sales, and here you can stroll between the Swedish Systembolaget and the Finnish Alko to compare prices. Apparently you get a better deal on wines in Sweden but on beer in Finland.


The cities of Haparanda (Sweden) and Tornio (Finland) used to be the same city, straddling the river, until Rusdia annexed Finland in 1809. Now that both Finland and Sweden are in the EU they have merged the public transport companies, so that busses visit both sides of the river, and also passed local bylaws that allow those living in either city to have their kids attend school on whichever side they prefer, so you could be living in a neighbourhood on the Swedish side but have your kids attend school on the Finnish side or vice versa. They wanted to have a joint city council, but as Swedish and Finnish election laws differ too much, that wasn’t possible. So instead they sort it through a number of joint committees.

And after the bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen was built, a lot of Danes have bought houses and condos in southern Sweden. It is only a half hour commute across the bridge, and house prices are crazy in Copenhagen. Likewise, a lot of people from Malmö work in Copenhagen. As it is the Danish capital, there are a lot of well paid jobs there, but living in Sweden is cheaper, so they do the sane commute.


We have a lot of crossborder cooperation with Norway as well, even though they are not part of the EU, they are part of the Schengen area, so there should be no restriction on travel. Since they aren’t within the customs union they may ask if you have something to declare though, but they should not ask for passports.

Typical border crossing between Sweden and Norway: https://youtu.be/m54Qi1fA9YY?si=Ul6NddWjx3nCIbxg
(Most of our border goes through a forested mountain range with very few people living there)

[Strangelove]

https://findoutnow.co.uk/blog/voting-in ... -feb-2025/

Hmmm, the Reform UK (Brexit Party) is getting stronger.

Good, good...

[Per]

Europe could let out a collective sigh of relief as the German election results came in.

The extremists on both sides gained votes, but with both the Liberal FPD and the culturally conservative far left Sarah Wagenknecht Party falling below the 5% threshold, the conservative CDU and The Social Democrats have enough votes between them to secure a majority in the Bundestag parliament, without having to add a third party (most likely the Green Party).

The position of Bundeskansler will shift from Scholtz (SPD) to März (CDU) as the Social Democrats lost a lot of voters while the conservatives gained almost as many.

With Trump abandoning Ukraine and his European allies and instead backing the evil axis of Russia/North Korea/Iran, it has become increasingly important that the European nations stick together and increase their support to the Ukrainian fight to remain a free and sovereign nation.

If either of the extreme pro-Russian parties on either side of the spectrum had gained influence over the government, Germany could have become the weak link. Instead März is likely to increase their support for Ukraine and start sending the Taurus missiles that Scholz was hesitant to agree too, as he feared losing votes to the old communist party on the left.

With März at the helm Germany will become a stronger voice in Europe and European support for Ukraine will remain firm and unequivocal.

Long term the threat of AfD or die Linke coming to power remains. Both parties, one with ties to the nazis and the other to communism, gained both votes and seats and are especially strong among younger voters. AfD got 19.5%, die Linke 8.5% and SWB 4.7%, so almost one third of the electorate voted for what could be considered anti-democratic forces. That is food for thought.

[Per]

In the midst of all the turmoil and despair going on in international politics, here are finally some good news:

Kurdish imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan calls on the PKK to lay down their arms and disband!

https://www.euronews.com/2025/02/28/wha ... for-turkey

The PKK have been fighting for a Kurdish homeland for Turkey's Kurds, who make up roughly 20% of the population, since 1984.
Öcalan now states that back then there was no democratic road to improving their lives, but now there is, so they should try to engage in politics instead of rebellion.

So why is this happening?

Erdogan's party AKP has not been able to win the cities in recent elections. Even though they have great support in rural districts, the mayors of all major cities represent opposition parties, and are usually supported by Kurdish voters. In order to hang on to power and to have a shot at winning in the urban districts, putting an end to the Kurdish issue would be helpful. Also, in neighbouring Iraq and Syria Kurdish factions have a de facto hold on large territories. Turkey claims that these areas act as a hiding place and training ground for PKK terrorists, and have occassionally ventured into their neighbours' air space to bomb what they claim are PKK facilities.

By having Öcalan calling for a cease fire and disbanding of the PKK, obviously in return for some political concessions, Turkey can both solve a 40 year old domestic conflict and also settle disputes with their neighbouring countries. The Kurdish issue has also been a source of friction within Nato, as the Kurds in Syria have been supported by most Western nations and have been essential in defeating IS on the ground, while Turkey on more than occassion has been attacking them with fighter jets and bombing them. Turkey has been supporting the new regime in Syria, and the Kurdish group there could now have an easier time joining forces with the new Syrian government, if hostilities with Turkey end.

This also would free up Turkish troops for peace keeping missions in Ukraine.

And the Kurdish issue has been a major stumbling block in Turkey's attempts to join the EU. Now, there are some EU member states (eg France, Poland and Hungary) that have been very vocal in insisting that Turkey should never be accepted into the Union, but they are already a NATO member, and if they also become a close cooperative in helping defend Ukraine, it may improve their chances.
Regardless of this, there are also some 35 criteria (the acquis) that a candidate country must fulfill in order to be accepted as a member, and the treatment of minority groups are in there.

The accession criteria, or Copenhagen criteria (after the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993 which defined them), are the essential conditions all candidate countries must satisfy to become a member state. These are:

• political criteria: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

• economic criteria: a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces;

• administrative and institutional capacity to effectively implement the acquis* and ability to take on the obligations of membership.

The Acquis: https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlarg ... -acquis_en

Erdogan has recently reiterated that Turkey is supporting Ukraine and their rights as a sovereign nation within their internationally recognised borders, and he has also stated that Turkey can never accept that Crimea becomes part of Russia.

So, by bringing out Öcalan, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999, and having him suggest a cease fire and that the PKK should disband, Erdogan is solving several problems at once.

- It improves his chances of being reelected and perhaps winning back some major cities.
- It improves relations with Iraq and Syria.
- It may put an end to the rebellion that has claimed some 40,000 lives since 1984.
- It lets him shift his focus to the Black Sea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- It improves his relations with the EU.
- It reduces friction within NATO.

[Per]

Kaja Kallas on trade, the EU, Ukraine, Gaza and the importance of the UN.

https://youtu.be/LfuAAFfyzM0?si=Ae06AxlLT_9Sku7M