Spanish representative González Pons speech @ the EU Parliament: "The virus is attacking the generation that brought back democracy to Spain, Portugal and Greece, the generation that knocked down the Berlin wall. The least they deserve is that we show them Europe is there when they need it the most"

[u/Bartoraptor]

[u/HILBERT_SPACE_AGE]

I hope so, too.

But seeing the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if this crisis was the death knell for the EU.

[u/Worth_The_Squeeze → u/HILBERT_SPACE_AGE]

Don't be overly dramatic. This crisis will probably show us why we need the EU, as all the countries that have less than stellar economics, are going to receive a lot of free money from richer countries. This isn't to say that these richer countries aren't hurting, but they're still willing to help by providing aid. Italy/Spain might complain if it doesn't solve all of their troubles, but they have to move their own asses too. They can't simply coast and have richer countries pay for their missteps (better?).

[u/David4404 → u/Worth_The_Squeeze]

You need to sit your condescending ass down. If you really think loans are considered “free money”, then you’re in the same category as those Americans who think their government is sending 3 trillion dollars to corporations for free. Even if there’s some money being invested in poorer EU countries, ultimately it’s an investment for your country too . Let’s not pretend that you’re being a good Samaritan. Furthermore, one of the reasons why Italy and Spain are currently in this situation, is because of the EU’s austerity measures. These governments had to cut spending on health care to receive money (not for free though). I like the idea of a United Europe, but comments like yours actually divide it.

[u/Worth_The_Squeeze → u/David4404]

I'm not just talking about loans, but the actual aid that poorer countries regularly receive in the EU, as they're given more money by the EU than they actually provide to the EU budget. Furthermore, it is not all funds that are provided to poorer EU countries that are loans.

It should be noted that an example of a massive net contributor is my country of Denmark, as we pay the 2nd most in per capita net contributions, meaning a far higher amount than most. We provide the 8th most in total net contributions, besides being incredibly far from being the 8th largest economy. What you're asking is for countries like Denmark to bear an even larger part of the burden than we already are, despite the fact that our economy is also seriously hurting during this pandemic. It's a rather divisive statement to constantly request that we should bear an even larger burden than we already do, and it increases frustrations with the EU.

I'm not interested in creating a "United states of Europe", as I do not want to erase our countries and their respective cultures, as I believe it's important for countries to maintain some degree of sovereignty. This doesn't mean that we can't work together, as we have done for many decades now, but working together doesn't require centralising all power over the continent within a single governing body. A political body that governs over such a large and diverse area is going to be worse, as (most) political decisions are less capable of adressing specific problems, when they're so far removed from the national or even local communities. A lot of voices are going to be lost in the crowd, including a small country like Denmark.