this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2024
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Entry into EU and Schengen is not a matter of time, it is a matter of meeting the requirements. Try voting for non-idiot, non-corrupt and non-far right politicians, so that they can work on implementing the requirements. Voting for Russia's puppets will prolong the time until accession, because they will not work on meeting the requirements.
And then when you satisfy the requirements, Austria or the Netherlands will change them to make sure you don't get in so that X right wing populist can placate Y régional election. This happened.
So, Putin stooges will then stand up and say that the European promise is all a lie. And they will be sounding reasonable, whereas the pro European ones will be looking like idiots who gave faith to a false promise.
Western Europeans have not treated the east Balkan countries fairly. This undermines the European project. I'm not saying anything bizarre.
I can't believe I have to spell this out, but...
Leaving a long-term, years-long effort for joining a democratic union which will give you more freedom, a higher standard of living as well as lots of investments plus literally free money for public spending because some assholes allegedly abused the system for their own political gain in favour of a literal fascist warring dictatorship, which also occupied and exploited your country for decades and murdered countless of your citizens, and which is also literally raping and murdering civillians and stealing children right now as I type this right next to you seems a reasonable thing to do to you?
Of course not. But I'm not a Bulgarian voter that needs convincing. I'm someone who believes in the European project. I'm on your side. And I am pointing out that the other European countries are not doing enough to make the case to Bulgarian voters. Pro-european forces in the Balkans need a win. Calling the voters a basket of deplorables is not a winning argument. Getting Austria and the Netherlands to stuff it and finally accept BG and RO in Schengen is.
It's politics, not a morality play.
Which requirements exactly? Taking in Austria’s immigrants so their populists can brag that they’ve saved their country?
The requirements have been met a long time ago, and so says the European Commission. I guess Austria is the only enlightened in the whole EU to determine that Bulgaria and Romania are not ready.
Even as a strong believer in a united Europe, I can’t blame people getting eurosceptic, seeing how our supposed allies treat us.
See https://feddit.de/comment/6477624
Should we be fine with being treated as second class citizens just because Russia is worse? Of course people will react emotionally and not completely logically, many feel that their country has been humiliated and exploited.
The fact that a single country can just blackmail others in this way, to achieve its own goals doesn’t sound like a union to me. And with such cases russophiles begin to appear more and more right.
The EU needs major reforms in that area to make sure no one can abuse it. And blaming people for being fed up, with 12 years being used as scapegoats by various populists, is directing the blame towards the wrong people.
As I previously stated, I’m an avid supporter of the EU and our membership in it, but it can’t go on in this state.