Old World Politics - rising from the ashes

[Per]

Massive voter fraud in Georgia this past weekend. Allegedly.

The Russian backed billionaire in power claims to have won, but exit polls tell a different story and the opposition refuses to concede.

[Topper]

France is the new Italy

[Per]

The new European Commission, with a second term for Ursula von der Leyen at the helm, has been confirmed by the European Parliament and took office on Dec 1st.

Von der Leyen has started of her second term by once again expressing her strong support for Ukraine and I find it encouraging to see that former Estonian PM Kaja Kallas has been named High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which is basically the EU equivalent to foreign secretary/minister, or in the case of the US, secretary of state.

Kallas's paternal great grandfather was commander of the Estonian Defence League during the Estonian War of Independence from 1918 to 1920, and her mother (6 months old at the time) and grandmother were deported to Siberia under Stalin's rule of terror. Her mother was allowed to return to Estonia in 1959, under Khrushchev. Kallas was born in 1977, so she actually grew up in the Soviet Union and was 14 years old when Estonia regained its freedom, so she knows from personal experience and family history what it is like to be under the heel of Russia. She has expressed very strong support for Ukraine while PM for Estonia (2021-2024) and on her first day in office as High Representative, she visited Ukraine to confirm European support.

Add to this that the Lithuanian commissioner Andrius Kubilius has been given the portfolio of defence and space!
Now, defence is a minor portfolio in the EU, given that defence matters are mainly handled by the individual member states, and that most of these are Nato members, but still.

Two Baltic commissioners tasked with foreign policy and defence! Now that is a strong signal both to Russia and to Ukraine!
The Baltic states may be next in line if Russia wins the war in Ukraine, so there is no way they will back down or abandon Ukraine.

https://commission.europa.eu/index_en

[Per]

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb (conservative) on Trump.

https://youtu.be/LrUtFqcll3I?si=hJrIkk5JZ5nKbA8f

[Cousin Strawberry]

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb (conservative) on Trump.

https://youtu.be/LrUtFqcll3I?si=hJrIkk5JZ5nKbA8f

What happened to the hot chick they had? Sanne or something...

So disappointed in you Per...

[Per]

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb (conservative) on Trump.

https://youtu.be/LrUtFqcll3I?si=hJrIkk5JZ5nKbA8f

What happened to the hot chick they had? Sanne or something...

So disappointed in you Per...

She was Prime Minister, not President. And she was a socialist.

Also, I don’t get to vote in the Finnish elections.
My kids could if they wanted though, as they have dual citizenship.

The current PM, Petteri Orpo, is also a conservative, like the president.




But I agree. Sanna Marin is way better looking.

[Per]

But hey, how about former Estonian PM, Kaja Kallas, that I mentioned earlier, who is now the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security for the EU?

[Cousin Strawberry]

That be fine and the disappointment was you sharing the dweeb instead of the hot Finnish... whatever you call her

[Topper]

whatever you call her

Breeding stock for the master race

[donlever]

You will jog for the master race
And always wear a happy face

[Per]

A historic landmark this past weekend as the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - on Saturday disconnected their electric grids from the old Soviet lines, connecting them with Russia and Belarus, and then on Sunday hooked up their grids to the EU grid instead through Poland. No more dependency and risk of being blackmailed by Russia.

https://youtu.be/nHHwAODxnvo?si=5C0X_Vp9wT8Ixcbu

[Per]

Only 30% of Britons polled believe that leaving the EU was the right decision while 55% say it was a mistake. Yet neither of the two main parties dare suggest a new referendum on joining again. We’ll see how long it takes.

https://youtu.be/T7BPwG0h1rY?si=8scRUe6RabkthQFM

With the new US regime being iffy on Nato and even threatening their own allies, the need for Europe to band together will only get stronger. United we stand, divided we fall.

And if Canada wants to join, I’m sure we would welcome you. Maybe you could even compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Celine Dion already won it once.

[Meds]

Only 30% of Britons polled believe that leaving the EU was the right decision while 55% say it was a mistake. Yet neither of the two main parties dare suggest a new referendum on joining again. We’ll see how long it takes.

https://youtu.be/T7BPwG0h1rY?si=8scRUe6RabkthQFM

With the new US regime being iffy on Nato and even threatening their own allies, the need for Europe to band together will only get stronger. United we stand, divided we fall.

And if Canada wants to join, I’m sure we would welcome you. Maybe you could even compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Celine Dion already won it once.

Was/Is there an option for EU countries to limit entry into the country? Or is it open borders once you’re in?

[Per]

Was/Is there an option for EU countries to limit entry into the country? Or is it open borders once you’re in?

Depends on what borders you refer to. The outer borders have fairly strict limits to entry, but within the union one of the central tenets is the free movement of goods, capital, services and people.

If you’re an EU citizen you have the right to study, work, live or travel anywhere within the EU. A precondition though is that you have the means to support yourself. If you are unemployed and lack financial means you can visit another member state to look for employment, but can only stay for 90 days and you are not entitled to financial support from the state you are visiting, that is the responsibility of your home country. Probably similar to rules within Canada or within the USA.

It can also be noted that immigration to the UK has increased since Brexit.

There used to be loads of eg young Swedes heading to London to work in a bar or convenience store for a limited amount of time then going home again. No need for work permits, red tape or hassle. Now it’s too cumbersome, so they go elsewhere (Paris, Barcelona, Dublin) for that experience and the positions in London have to be filled by real immigrants, often from Pakistan or the Caribbean.

[Meds]

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?