Is the European Union Worth It?

The EU, a unique economic giant, acts similarly to the US federal government, hinting at a "United States of Europe" with its shared currency, policies, and trade deals among 27 states. Despite its near-federal structure, it lacks some federation benefits, posing issues for its members. With a $20 trillion output, second only to the USA, it wields significant global influence. However, its major economies face stagnant growth, mirroring challenges for smaller members.

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[redstream]

Life is too short to understand complex reasoning behind everything. Just blame Belgium and move on

[jurassicturtle]

You forgot the biggest con-
Without the endless European wars of continental hegemony, history youtube channels aren't going to have any content 200 years from now!

[DaveCz]

I'm puzzled by the fact that the difference between EU and Euro zone was not drawn in the video. Not all EU countries use Euro and have ECB as their central bank. They create their own monetary policy. That makes some conclusions fall short on reality.

[MauriceEscargot]

I work in manufacturing and the EU regulations are actually an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Having the same regulations in the entire EU means you don't have to modify your products to suit each individual nation's regulations. The diversity of languages is also mentioned as a disadvantage but I don't personally experience that at all. The most understood language within the EU is English and that is the language that is spoken when working internationally. Our company has offices and manufacturing plants in the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, France, India and many more nations and communication really isn't a big issue.

[michielshub]

Odd, the most relevant Pro for the EU is not mentioned. Stability and countries not going to war with each other like they have done for centuries. If the price is mediocre economic growth i sign for that any day as Dutch citizen.

[insertcreativenamehere]

Thumbnail is ridiculous - Poland, Sweden, Czechia, Spain, Croatia have benefitted massively from the EU's cash injections. Arguably more than even France, which has been stagnating for the last 15 years, while Poland for example has been the fastest growing economy in the bloc.

[flavius]

As a romanian, an EU citizen, the union has been the best thing that has happened to us.

[jdrab]

Seriously guys is it that hard to get the EU map right? It's wrong on numerous occasions and animations.

[caezar]

Brits, Americans and Australians always forget this little point when they predict the demise of the euro....the people want it. Surveys show 80% + of people want to keep the currency, including in countries hit by crisis like Greece and Italy. Ultimately the euro is about both politics and economics - not just economics. If the people have faith and ascribe value to it, then it will "exist".

[samuxan]

I usually love the videos here but this oe mixes the concepts of EU and Eurozone too much to make sense, if it weren't for few sentences I would think they got the tittle wrong and were talking about just the common currency.

[moyndebs]

I’m Nigerian & I wish the African Union or even ECOWAS was as effective as the E.U . The E.U doesn’t get enough credit IMO.

[sudazima]

VERY strange to say the companies now have to adhere to an extra set of regulations in the EU over how it used to be. its gotten SO MUCH easier, that was the entire point and it worked

[nikoladoctorov]

Did poor Slovakia get kicked out of the EU?

[Pioneer_DE]

"Has eating vegetables actually been good for your body?"

[Mahdisabamehr]

While in the short-terms EU regulations seem to be limiting and disadvantageous, they support long-term sustainable economy. For example, just compare Boeing and Airbus! Having US government backing them in every incident, Boeing lost a culture of innovation and ethical business, which in short run helped them dominate the global and local market, but today even local all-Boeing carriers are looking for Airbus models for their future developments! EU sure has a lot to do to keep up to its vision and promise, but it definitely is a positive force in today's world.

[falloutmule]

Did I miss the ending? The video kinda just trails off. "The Euro is a double edged sword" makes it sound equal.

[miltonfriedman]

The map at 3:23 showing the GDP PER capita for european union countries is completely wrong. In what world is Poland’s GDP less than 10k$?

And since when is Spains gdp higher than Germany?

I see that the source is world bank but check your sources man.

[coachdalsberg]

You are missing an important point regarding the regulations on businesses. Before the foundation of EU every European country had its own set of regulations which made it practically impossible to export to other countries, as you would have to adjust your product, your marketing, etc, etc. to each and every country's separate set of regulations. What is happening now is not that there is one set of national regulation and on top of that EU regulation. The system is set up so that regulation which is passed through the European Parliament has to become implemented into the regulations of every single country in the EU. This has greatly increased business opportunity and smoothed competition in Europe.

[bogdantudosa]

The thumbnail suggested a breakdown for the winners and the losers. Would've been interesting.

[SharpEdgeSoda]

"A stabilizing force across the economic world" is exactly what I want to hear.

A large enough market force to play hardball with corporations with regulations good for the consumer, the enviroment, and slows down the boiling over power of big-tech. A tech crash would leave Europe mostly unphased.

The US and China are going to continue to bow down to corporate overlords, but if the EU stays strong, they will have to comply globally.

It's been said countless times that GDP does not equate to a happy and comfortable workforce, and it seems the collective of the EU understands that more then the US or China.

The biggest question I have left is how much does the US's military acting as "world security" effect the EU's options? The total-spending graph speaks a lot to that, and Eastern Europe has concerns entirely reliant on US support.