31
votes
Accepted
What are some roadblocks preventing a free trade agreement between the EU and the US?
First you can see the lengthly TTIP negotiations as proof that the US and the EU were definitely trying to get a free trade agreement. Here are a few points that made getting a free trade agreement ...
- 7,055
24
votes
Would it make sense for a country to have an embassy for the whole of the EU instead of an embassy in each country?
Would it make sense for a country to have an embassy for the whole of
the EU instead of an embassy in each country?
Not really.
While E.U. member nations have a border control union (for both people ...
- 73.8k
23
votes
Why did Poland, Finland and some other EU countries ban Russian citizens from entering?
As you can read in a related Q&A Zelensky did seemingly aks for this. So that could be one reason. Another reason discussed in answers there is that tourist visas may be seen by some as "...
- 146k
23
votes
Accepted
Is Northern Cyprus the only EU territory under foreign occupation?
Gibraltar has already been mentioned in the comments.
France does not have effective control of the area around the Maroni river in French Guiana, including territory which is also claimed by Suriname ...
- 3,864
21
votes
What are some roadblocks preventing a free trade agreement between the EU and the US?
Part of the answer was public sentiment. A few currents of public opinion converged here:
The European political left is traditionally anti-American, and much of the moderate populace is America-...
- 9,573
18
votes
Accepted
Do German ministers decide themselves how to vote in EU decisions or do they have to follow a government line?
The general rule is that a minister will abstain in an EU vote if the Cabinet cannot agree on a common position.
The most recent deviation from this rule was back in November 2017, when then-...
CDJB♦
- 105k
18
votes
Why did Poland, Finland and some other EU countries ban Russian citizens from entering?
The point is to tie responsibility to privilege.
There is a disconnect in Russian society that one is not responsibile for the acts of the government. If you have no choice in who rules you, then you ...
- 10.4k
18
votes
How long will the war in Ukraine have to last for Ukrainian refugees to become permanent residents?
if the war were to last for 20 years, the majority of refugees should
be able to obtain citizenship and would not have to return to Ukraine.
Is there an estimate of how long it would take for most ...
- 73.8k
18
votes
Why does the EU believe that there's no need for an across the board harmonisation of member states' tax systems?
This is due to the principle of subsidiarity
When applied in the context of the EU, the principle of subsidiarity
serves to regulate the exercise of the Union’s non-exclusive powers.
It rules out ...
- 3,321
17
votes
Why did Eastern EU members embrace refugees from Ukraine but not refugees from other nations?
Three answers, which apply to different degrees in different countries:
Many people in these countries feel also threatened by Russia. Their reaction is not to appease Russia but to confront it, and ...
- 106k
16
votes
Accepted
How do EU countries handle trade disputes between each other?
EU members have agreed by treaty not to take trade disputes to the WTO. This is one of the effects of the following article of the Union's founding treaties:
Article 344
(ex Article 292 TEC)
Member ...
- 17.5k
15
votes
Accepted
Why does Russia specifically fund far-rights in Europe?
Why the Far-Right?
Support those who support you
With similar ideologies, support of "traditional" values and an aversion to more progressive views such as support of LGBT groups, in general ...
- 2,824
15
votes
Who does the EU represent when negotiating with other countries on trade?
The imports and exports of EU countries are strongly regulated by the EU. The reason for that is the European Single Market. The EU is basically one big free trade area. Goods, services, people and ...
- 74.8k
15
votes
Accepted
Does the EU mitigate for circumstances where an EU member doesn't have an embassy with another EU country?
Portugal has ambassadors for all EU countries, but some of them are accredited as "non-residents" (Embaixador não residente), which means the embassy is seated elsewhere and serves multiple ...
- 6,073
14
votes
What are some roadblocks preventing a free trade agreement between the EU and the US?
There were a lot of stumbling blocks and hurdles with TTIP, but here are two major ones:
In 2016, the United States elected a President who ran on a platform of Isolationism and Protectionism, and had ...
- 4,308
13
votes
Accepted
How did the UK race ahead of France in GDP
This is probably mostly an effect of exchange rates. First note that all figures are in US dollars whereas the UK uses pounds and France uses Euros. The IMF uses conversion rates in the years they are ...
- 7,055
13
votes
Why does the EU believe that there's no need for an across the board harmonisation of member states' tax systems?
Historically speaking, taxes are a major subject of social strife. For as long as we have reliable records, social groups have attempted to both benefit from taxes and exempt themselves from as many ...
- 5,409
13
votes
Why did Eastern EU members embrace refugees from Ukraine but not refugees from other nations?
Culture.
I am from the Netherlands, and here we are much more open towards Ukrainian refugees than African/Middle Eastern refugees. The given reasons by most people are:
They are actually women and ...
- 2,079
13
votes
Why does the ECB hold a large foreign currency reserve?
The primary purpose of the ECB is to maintain monetary stability. One tool it can use is purchasing financial assets to maintain their price. If it decides to purchase euros, to preserve the value of ...
- 115k
12
votes
How long will the war in Ukraine have to last for Ukrainian refugees to become permanent residents?
The EU activated special rules for Ukrainian refugees, the Temporary Protection Directive. I consider it extremely likely that measures after the end of those special rules will be other special rules,...
- 106k
12
votes
Would it make sense for a country to have an embassy for the whole of the EU instead of an embassy in each country?
Sort of.
A single embassy can be responsible for relations with multiple countries, and ambassadors can be accredited to multiple countries at once (dual accreditation). This tool is commonly used in ...
- 121
11
votes
Accepted
Why did the EU stop publishing the adjusted/unexplained wage gap numbers since 2018?
The estimates you cite are based on the Structure of earnings survey (SES), which is a 4-yearly survey:
The 4-yearly SES microdata sets are available for reference years 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and ...
- 2,443
10
votes
Accepted
Is UK vaccine rollout really a Brexit benefit?
Multiple sources say it's not true.
https://fullfact.org/health/coronavirus-vaccine-brexit/
https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-brexit-did-not-speed-up-uk-vaccine-authorisation
The crux ...
- 17.6k
9
votes
Do German ministers decide themselves how to vote in EU decisions or do they have to follow a government line?
There is a difference between constitutional law and political reality in Germany:
In theory, the cabinet is appointed or dismissed by the President at the suggestion of the Chancellor. The ...
- 106k
9
votes
How do EU countries handle trade disputes between each other?
Disputes between EU member countries are indeed usually handled EU-internally. Usually in the Court of Justice of the European Union. The EU single market is in most areas far more regulated than the ...
- 74.8k
9
votes
Why does the ECB hold a large foreign currency reserve?
I am wondering why the ECB needs to hold as much when other European countries hold a lot of reserve
The 2nd part of your statement is true, but the first part is somewhat nonsensical in consequence.
...
- 146k
9
votes
Why has the EU not used the Temporary Protection Directive for refugees from Syria?
Many EU member governments have expressed their belief that refugee situations should be resolved regionally. For Ukraine, they see the EU as a regional destination and responsible for housing most of ...
- 106k
8
votes
Why does the EU believe that there's no need for an across the board harmonisation of member states' tax systems?
Why does the EU believe that there's no need for an across the board harmonisation of member states' tax systems?
This webpage reflects the position of the EU Commission, not the EU as whole. And the ...
- 30.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Is there a reason why the EU doesn't pursue a FTA with each individual ASEAN country instead of a region-region agreement?
It's not an either-or. ASEAN doesn't prevent members from negotiating FTAs on their own. For example Vietnam is a member of ASEAN but they also have an FTA with the EU.
In fact the EU itself tells the ...
- 146k
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