Thread

EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

693 points · 905 comments · hackernj

nephihaha · 1789556222 · focus · HN ↗
The EU is running out of Europe. I thought Turkey or North Africa would be the next steps. Maybe Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
1. graemep · 1789556630 · focus · HN ↗
  > I thought Turkey or North Africa would be the next steps. Maybe Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
  Not white enough for the EU. There is a lot of opposition to even Turkey, which is already in customs union, joining and talks are dead specifically because EU countries do not want immigration from Turkey.
  1. InsideOutSanta · 1789557050 · focus · HN ↗
    Sure, but Turkey is also an authoritarian autocracy, which I think might be a bit of a problem for the EU.
    ReptileMan · 1789557890 · focus · HN ↗
    That won't be a problem for long. The native Europeans are swinging to the authoritarian right, the newly naturalized are very selectively for liberal democracy - aka the parts that directly benefit them, not the parts that make it liberal, and the liberal democrats are straight out refusing to have kids.
    So in 50 years Tukey will border authoritarian regime either way.
    mcv · 1789560005 · focus · HN ↗
    Turkey has been a candidate member since forever, but instead of addressing the many problems they need to fix before entry, they're making it worse.
  2. arethuza · 1789557100 · focus · HN ↗
    Fear that Turkey would be "imminently" joining the EU was one of the scare stories used by the Brexit campaign in the UK.
    nephihaha · 1789565854 · focus · HN ↗
    There are already quite a few Turks in the UK, but I don't remember Turkey being used as a specific scare story.
    Either way, it's clear that UK migration levels have not been diminished by Brexit, and much of it is coming from outside the EU... So whatever one thinks of the issue it is bigger than Europe.
    arethuza · 1789567921 · focus · HN ↗
    Dominic Cummings said that the Turkey immigration scare tactic was an important factor in the Brexit result:
    <a href="https://bylinetimes.com/2021/08/12/cummings-brexit-confessions-reveal-the-hollow-heart-of-a-hallowed-project/" rel="nofollow">https://bylinetimes.com/2021/08/12/cummings-brexit-confessio...
    The warnings before Brexit that it would increase immigration - and look what happened!
  3. 9dev · 1789557719 · focus · HN ↗
    No, just too corrupt for the EU.
    sajithdilshan · 1789593593 · focus · HN ↗
    More corrupt than Greece?
  4. account42 · 1789558622 · focus · HN ↗
    More like not culturally aligned enough.
  5. nephihaha · 1789565721 · focus · HN ↗
    Many European countries already have substantial Turkish migration. Notably Germany but also visible in the UK, where they seem to have cornerned the market for barbering.
  6. rsynnott · 1789570246 · focus · HN ↗
    Talks with Turkey are currently dead because the current government does not wish to continue them; realistically they won't resume until, at the earliest, Erdogan is gone.
2. dncornholio · 1789556661 · focus · HN ↗
  EU is looking for strong democracies, while none of your suggestions are
  1. [deleted] · 1789662282 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
3. arethuza · 1789556721 · focus · HN ↗
  The EU covers just over 40% of the area of Europe.
  1. usrnm · 1789559904 · focus · HN ↗
    Another 40% is in Russia, good luck with that
  2. nephihaha · 1789632054 · focus · HN ↗
    Look at what's left in Europe:
    * Nordics: Iceland and Norway which are ambivalent, despite repeated attempts to get them to join. (They are already in EFTA.) Greenland and the Faroe Islands fall more under the dependencies category below.
    * Switzerland which can't because it wishes to be neutral, and also because of the finance sector. The Vatican has some similar issues.
    * Microstates, dependencies and tax havens.
    * Ex-USSR. The Baltics function well in the EU and are the exceptions, but Moldova, Belarus, the Ukraine and Russia each have massive issues. (Including how Moldova doesn't control much of its territory and much of Belarus is contaminated by Chernobyl.)
    * The Balkans. Problematic recent history. I think Albania and North Macedonia may join in the near future. Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo have ex-USSR style issues.
    * Turkey.
    * The UK, which is problematic since it is the only major state which has left.
4. weatherlite · 1789560657 · focus · HN ↗
  > I thought Turkey
  Oh yeah, that's gonna be hella popular with the voters.
  1. nephihaha · 1789565600 · focus · HN ↗
    Turkey has been floated as a serious EU candidate for decades now. Most of it is not in Europe of course, and it has a large population. Turkey refuses to address its past with the Armenians, Kurds and Greeks which is a major concern.
    The other question is what its border control is like at the eastern end.
    There are already large numbers of Turks in western Europe, particularly Germany, so presumably some of them would vote for it.
    weatherlite · 1789566109 · focus · HN ↗
    > There are already large numbers of Turks in western Europe, particularly Germany
    Define large numbers. It's around 5% or even less in Germany which hosts the biggest Turkish community to the best of my knowledge, and way less in other European countries. Bringing Turkey in imo might dissolve the Union, I don't see anyone trying it soon.
    rsynnott · 1789570291 · focus · HN ↗
    It's not just been floated; Turkey was (and strictly speaking still is, though talks are suspended because Erdogan) an official candidate, in the accession process.
5. dachworker · 1789562149 · focus · HN ↗
  [flagged]
  1. [deleted] · 1789593483 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]

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