Earlier quoted context omitted.
The enthusiasts need to temper their dreams and expectations - EU is doing fine, and doesn't need to always become more powerful or more integrated. Especially not now, when citizens don't want it.
In fact I think EU should take few steps back: the perfect state was before Lisbon treaty, when EU was basically just a free trade zone. Since Lisbon they try to make it a single country, with unified policy on international affairs, military, etc, which doesn't make sense.
Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
31–40 of 283 posts
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
The enthusiasts need to temper their dreams and expectations - EU is doing fine, and doesn't need to always become more powerful or more integrated. Especially not now, when citizens don't want it.
>Especially not now, when citizens don't want it. Citation needed. While there is some anti-European sentiment in all member states those are almost always in the minority. There are a lot of people who want more integration.
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#33But only in a "limited and specific" way, so that's okay [UK in-joke] At least we're not the only country wanting to violate international agreements at present
Countries break international law all the time [1]. Doesn't make it right of course, but funny how in the UK's case it suddently makes headlines (no surprise really from the usual remainer-suspects). [1] https://www.insideover.com/politics/un-accuses-eu-of-violati...
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#34But only in a "limited and specific" way, so that's okay [UK in-joke] At least we're not the only country wanting to violate international agreements at present
Countries break international law all the time [1]. Doesn't make it right of course, but funny how in the UK's case it suddently makes headlines (no surprise really from the usual remainer-suspects). [1] https://www.insideover.com/politics/un-accuses-eu-of-violati...
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
With von der Leyen being president, I am pretty sure we make the wrong decision. Yes, some Europeans might think she looks sympathetic, especially those that don't know her well because of language barriers. That she is on the position is testament to the democratic dysfunction of the Union. Officially she is in a conservative party, which eastern European countries liked very much. If we want to take democracy serio…
It only became apparent to me yesterday on another forum how much central Europeans, especially Germans, seem to quite dislike von der Leyen!
I think Frans Timmermans (an excellent option!) had a chance to win it before that, as well as Vestager (the antitrust champion in the previous EC). They gave Vestager the VP job to pacify her and her allies.
Also, somehow, Vera Jourova, which has been absolutely terrible in her job in the previous EC, especially with the terrible Privacy Shield she negotiated with the US gov (which has now been invalidated - again - by the CJEU) got the VP role, too, in the new EC.
Germans need to get rid of Merkel already. She's been terrible in the past 2 mandates, even doing stuff like protecting the coal industry as as well the diesel/gasoline car industry against new EU pollution norms. She also continued to push for new mass surveillance laws, even as the previous ones were being declared unconstitutional by the German courts.
I'm almost convinced the only reason she won again last time was because the US/global media kept propping her up as the "world's savior against Trump" - whatever that means. So I'm sure that had an effect at home, too, possibly giving her the edge. I know she was starting to be hated due to the all the local immigration issues prior to that.
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#36But only in a "limited and specific" way, so that's okay [UK in-joke] At least we're not the only country wanting to violate international agreements at present
>At least we're not the only country wanting to violate international agreements at present Countries do it all the time and there are conflicts because it all the time everywhere. UK is slightly different because EU is much stronger than UK, withdrawal agreement is important to keep food, medicine and skills flowing between borders. UK government is planning and making first successful steps towards breaking withdra…
International law, as an attempt to tame excesses of diplomacy, is something that has lifted up the West. It's brought order and prosperity. This move is yet another jenga brick taken out of the liberal West, thereby weakening the EU. The EU really needs to bother...
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#37As a german i am quite sure they will ratify software patents. The very sad part is the people deciding this have absolutely no understanding what they are doing and that they open the box of pandora. There is currently almost no invest money in european startups, and if everyone of these startups is liable for bogus software patents they will have absolutely no chance on getting big.
I don't like software patents but I have a hard time buying that it will limit investment further. It hasn't significantly done so in the US where software patents have long existed. I imagine it may spur investment because investors see software patents as protecting their investments in startups from both other startups and established companies. Edited to correct a typo kindly pointed out by a comment below.
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#38As a german i am quite sure they will ratify software patents. The very sad part is the people deciding this have absolutely no understanding what they are doing and that they open the box of pandora. There is currently almost no invest money in european startups, and if everyone of these startups is liable for bogus software patents they will have absolutely no chance on getting big.
With von der Leyen being president, I am pretty sure we make the wrong decision. Yes, some Europeans might think she looks sympathetic, especially those that don't know her well because of language barriers. That she is on the position is testament to the democratic dysfunction of the Union. Officially she is in a conservative party, which eastern European countries liked very much. If we want to take democracy serio…
In Germany she's well known for nepotism and corruptness, even if until this day she successfully evaded the punishment. Not long ago there's been a claim that her phone contains important evidence in support of the accusation, but it turned out that data on the phone had been "accidentally" wiped.
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#39But only in a "limited and specific" way, so that's okay [UK in-joke] At least we're not the only country wanting to violate international agreements at present
Countries break international law all the time [1]. Doesn't make it right of course, but funny how in the UK's case it suddently makes headlines (no surprise really from the usual remainer-suspects). [1] https://www.insideover.com/politics/un-accuses-eu-of-violati...
It's also the deliberateness that has upset people - breaching a complex agreement inadvertently is very different from setting out to do it deliberately.
Re: Germany will violate international agreements with Unitary Patent, says FFII
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Especially not now, when citizens don't want it. Citation needed. While there is some anti-European sentiment in all member states those are almost always in the minority. There are a lot of people who want more integration.
Citation needed. The people pushing for more integration are politicians and bureaucrats, not normal people. Most of the EU (indeed most of the Western world) is in a democratic crisis - moving decision-making even further away from citizens by centralizing it in Brussels is only going to exacerbate that, leading to more anti-EU sentiment and more brexits.
>The people pushing for more integration are politicians and bureaucrats, not normal people.
That's simply not true. There are multiple civil society organizations pushing for a closer union. People are voting for parties that are explicitly pro-European.