Sixty years ago in Rome, the foundations were laid for the Europe that we know today, ushering in the longest period of peace in written history in Europe. The Treaties of Rome established a common market where people, goods, services and capital can move freely and created the conditions for prosperity and stability for European citizens.

On this anniversary, Europe looks back with pride and looks forward with hope. For 60 years we have built a Union that promotes peaceful cooperation, respect of human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality and solidarity among European nations and peoples. Now, Europe's shared and better future is ours to design.

https://europa.eu/european-union/eu60_en

So what you guys think? What will the future for the EU hold?

I think that EU has a few major achievements.
1. No war between Germany and France.
2. Germany (and France) is developing in a direction where all Europe gain from this development.
3.Smaller states in Europe has a value. Before they were just chess pieces in the big players game.
4.Eastern and south Europe goes from dictatorships and poverty to what I believe will create successful and rich states. Examples Spain, Poland.
5. Creation and development of the singel market. It is and will remain the biggest home market of the world.

Without UK, we might see in the future common immigration and security control, common defence etc

I think there will be only chaos and destruction in the future as far as EU is concerned, as it's totally incompetent at handling issues like illegal mass migration from developing world, increasing loss of jobs due to automation, massive youth unemployment and so on. It's run by corrupt neoliberals who have no other values than getting as wealthy as possible. The storm will really start soon enough when the European middle class really kicks the bucket and governments & the EU fail to tax businesses in a way that would guarantee European citizen a basic income in a highly automated society.

Ultimately after all chaos the new post-EU Europe will be something like Erdogan's Turkey, ruled by strong and not so secular or democratic rulers. Conservative values will rise as liberals aren't having even nearly as many children as conservatives.

Dutchy wrote:

So what you guys think? What will the future for the EU hold?

Europe is stronger together. Powerful forces such as Russia and the Hard-Right are doing their best to destroy the EU, weaken Europe so that it will be exposed to their influence enabling their own agenda to be played out. The fact is that the EU's population is far more diverse than any other modern federal institution and as such it will always be much much harder to unify.

The problem with the EU is that most people don't appreciate all the little things that it does. Case in point; roaming charges. It is ridiculously cheap calling internationally within the EU thanks to the EU's tight regulation of roaming charges. By June, roaming charges will be abolished altogether; consumers win. International calls from most other parts of the world are exorbitant by comparison.

IMO one of the biggest long term threat to the EU is lobbyists. With consolidation of power in Brussels, there is a genuine risk that it will become a cesspool of special interests and lobbying like what Washington DC has become. In many ways we are well down that path already.

Just my 2c

Dutchy wrote:

Sixty years ago in Rome, the foundations were laid for the Europe that we know today, ushering in the longest period of peace in written history in Europe. The Treaties of Rome established a common market where people, goods, services and capital can move freely and created the conditions for prosperity and stability for European citizens.

On this anniversary, Europe looks back with pride and looks forward with hope. For 60 years we have built a Union that promotes peaceful cooperation, respect of human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality and solidarity among European nations and peoples. Now, Europe's shared and better future is ours to design.

https://europa.eu/european-union/eu60_en

So what you guys think? What will the future for the EU hold?

There might have been relative peace within the EU for 60 years, but not within Europe taken as a whole. It's nice to be able to white out European countries so as not to see them on the map.

The potential is there…but it will be a long way.

I am very disappointed that Brexit was not taken as an opportunity to correct things.
Someone should have said “stop, obviously we went too far. Let’s review where we need more EU and where we need lees EU.” Something like EU 2.0…

N14AZ wrote:

Someone should have said “stop, obviously we went too far. Let’s review where we need more EU and where we need lees EU.” Something like EU 2.0…

Actually, the reaction is: good, now we can move faster.

And good news, after the Dutch said "no" to populism, the German AfD just got 6% in a state election. Long way coming back down from 21% in polls...

best regards
Thomas

tommy1808 wrote:

And good news, after the Dutch said "no" to populism, the German AfD just got 6% in a state election. Long way coming back down from 21% in polls...

Yapp, this was positive. I think The Netherlands and Germany, we actually benefitted from the latest developments concerning populism.... the voters are not that stupid as many think...

BobPatterson wrote:

Dutchy wrote:

Sixty years ago in Rome, the foundations were laid for the Europe that we know today, ushering in the longest period of peace in written history in Europe. The Treaties of Rome established a common market where people, goods, services and capital can move freely and created the conditions for prosperity and stability for European citizens.

On this anniversary, Europe looks back with pride and looks forward with hope. For 60 years we have built a Union that promotes peaceful cooperation, respect of human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality and solidarity among European nations and peoples. Now, Europe's shared and better future is ours to design.

https://europa.eu/european-union/eu60_en

So what you guys think? What will the future for the EU hold?

There might have been relative peace within the EU for 60 years, but not within Europe taken as a whole. It's nice to be able to white out European countries so as not to see them on the map.

There has been peace between the member countries. No war. And that is something the EU and its predecessors have contributed to.
a. gave them a platform to talk about the differences, instead of war
b. made countries more depended on each other so it becomes more expensive to go to war
c. no two democracies ever fought a war, and the EU has strict guidelines to maintain democracy and the rule of law.

We are talking about the EU and its members, not Europe as a whole.

N14AZ wrote:

The potential is there…but it will be a long way.

I am very disappointed that Brexit was not taken as an opportunity to correct things.
Someone should have said “stop, obviously we went too far. Let’s review where we need more EU and where we need lees EU.” Something like EU 2.0…

But there has been a reaction. Juncker proposed five ways to move forward, and now its up to the members to decide which route they want to take. So they are reviewing and I think there will be an European Union of different phases, countries van opt out of certain things and some countries will move more closely. That gives space to every country to make up their own mind.

Dutchy wrote:

We are talking about the EU and its members, not Europe as a whole.

I understand that.....BUT.....The article said:

"On this anniversary, Europe looks back with pride and looks forward with hope. For 60 years we have built......." [my emphasis]

I was calling attention to that.

BobPatterson wrote:

I was calling attention to that.

So, I am looking forward to Trump's plan to improve the economy of Argentinian, Bolivia, Brasil and so forth, since his campaign promis has been to make "America great again", not just the US of A.

Best regards
Thomas

N14AZ wrote:

tommy1808 wrote:

And good news, after the Dutch said "no" to populism, the German AfD just got 6% in a state election. Long way coming back down from 21% in polls...

Yapp, this was positive. I think The Netherlands and Germany, we actually benefitted from the latest developments concerning populism.... the voters are not that stupid as many think...

Fortunately not as stupid as some others voters recently.

tommy1808 wrote:

BobPatterson wrote:

I was calling attention to that.

So, I am looking forward to Trump's plan to improve the economy of Argentinian, Bolivia, Brasil and so forth, since his campaign promis has been to make "America great again", not just the US of A.

Best regards
Thomas

How long are you prepared to wait? I wonder if he even knows where Bolivia is located.

I really enjoy the idea of "executive orders" to get better trade deals. He seems to forgot the deal part

pvjin wrote:

I think there will be only chaos and destruction in the future as far as EU is concerned, as it's totally incompetent at handling issues like illegal mass migration from developing world, increasing loss of jobs due to automation, massive youth unemployment and so on.

Correction, weakass nationalist governments failed to contain the immigrant flow, not the EU. The EU was more than willing to stop it, but pinkie-nationalist pansies like you failed to give them the powers to do so.

VSMUT wrote:

Correction, weakass nationalist governments failed to contain the immigrant flow, not the EU. The EU was more than willing to stop it, but pinkie-nationalist pansies like you failed to give them the powers to do so.

Rubbish, the EU has always been a supporter of liberal migration policies and opposed any forces that have tried to limit it.

pvjin wrote:

VSMUT wrote:

Correction, weakass nationalist governments failed to contain the immigrant flow, not the EU. The EU was more than willing to stop it, but pinkie-nationalist pansies like you failed to give them the powers to do so.

Rubbish, the EU has always been a supporter of liberal migration policies and opposed any forces that have tried to limit it.

Internal migration. When it comes to the mass flow of immigrants from outside the Union we only have backstabbing nationalists like you to blame, who did it more to spite the EU and promote nationalist policy than anything else.

VSMUT wrote:

Internal migration. When it comes to the mass flow of immigrants from outside the Union we only have backstabbing nationalists like you to blame, who did it more to spite the EU and promote nationalist policy than anything else.

Not really. The EU's idea seemed to be allowing everybody in, and then forcing all EU states to take their share of migrants. Some EU politicians even promoted the idea of stopping illegal migration by giving all those migrants a legal way to immigrate, hardly something I would call "border control".

At no point did the EU seriously promote the idea of returning caught refugees back to Africa / Turkey, and creating refugee camps outside the EU where their application could be handled in organized manner.

None of the countries where migrants came through (Greece and Italy mainly) are ruled by nationalist parties by the way. I'm sure Europe would have received less refugees if said countries were ruled by politicians similar to those in Hungary and Poland.

pvjin wrote:

None of the countries where migrants came through (Greece and Italy mainly) are ruled by nationalist parties by the way. I'm sure Europe would have received less refugees if said countries were ruled by politicians similar to those in Hungary and Poland.

Don't be stupid, thats not where the trouble lies. It's traitorous nationalists like you who prevented the more sane people of Europe from giving the necessary powers to the EU. You and other so-called "Eurosceptics" are 100% to blame for the muslim immigrants you so hate.

And BTW, how do you think the immigrant flow would have developed if there was only a 5% chance of ending up in Sweden or Germany, and a 95% chance of ending up in a place like Bulgaria? The flow would have stopped within weeks - if not for the backstabbers who would rather tear it all down in the name of blaming the EU.

VSMUT wrote:

And BTW, how do you think the immigrant flow would have developed if there was only a 5% chance of ending up in Sweden or Germany, and a 95% chance of ending up in a place like Bulgaria? The flow would have stopped within weeks - if not for the backstabbers who would rather tear it all down in the name of blaming the EU.

If everyone upheld treaty obligations, the chance of someone coming over the mediterran sea and end up in Sweden or Germany would have been 0%.

This would have actually been a splendid chance for economically troubled EU countries to do something for their economy. Because other EU countries would have gladly picked up the bill for a human treatment of refugees anywhere. The about one percent GDP increase the refugees are expected to bring to the German economy would have been quite significant for Hungary, Bulgaria and others.

best regards
Thomas