Europe's Growing Irrelevance

[AION]

Europe is becoming increasingly irrelevant on the world stage, and the war in Ukraine has only highlighted this decline. There are a few key reasons why this is happening:

 

1. Military and Economic Weakness

 

Europe has relied on the U.S. for security for decades. Most European countries barely spend 2% of GDP on defense, and now that there’s a real war on their doorstep, they realize they don’t have the military capability to do much about it. The U.S. is sending most of the weapons to Ukraine, while European countries are scraping the bottom of their stockpiles.

 

Economically, the EU is stagnating. High taxes, endless bureaucracy, and an aging population are dragging it down. Compare this to China, which is expanding its influence globally, or the U.S., which continues to dominate in technology and finance. Europe, meanwhile, is obsessed with regulations and internal debates instead of real global strategy.

 

2. Europe is Divided and Lacks Strong Leadership

 

The EU is a mess when it comes to foreign policy. France, Germany, and Eastern European countries all have different priorities. Macron wants “strategic autonomy,†but Germany still wants cheap energy and trade deals with China. Poland and the Baltics are pushing for more aggression against Russia, while others are hesitant. The result? Europe struggles to act decisively.

 

And let’s be honest, European leaders today are weak. Compare them to Putin, Xi, or even Biden. They lack vision, charisma, and the ability to make tough decisions. The EU is run by bureaucrats who move at a snail’s pace while the world changes rapidly around them.

 

3. The Ukraine War Exposes Europe’s Dependence

 

The war in Ukraine has shown that Europe isn’t capable of handling a major security crisis on its own. Without the U.S., Ukraine would probably have fallen already. The EU talks big about supporting Ukraine, but most of the money and weapons come from Washington. If Trump or another Republican wins in 2024 and cuts off aid, Europe has no backup plan.

 

Meanwhile, sanctions on Russia have backfired. They hurt Europe more than expected, especially in energy prices. Russia adapted by strengthening trade with China, India, and the Global South. Europe thought sanctions would collapse the Russian economy—didn’t happen. Instead, Europe is facing high inflation, deindustrialization, and an energy crisis.

 

Edited March 3 by AION

[PurpleTree]

You‘re posting videos of Russian stooges and propaganda again.

I will put you on the infamous ignore list.

Bye AION

 

[Schizophonia]

2 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

You‘re posting videos of Russian stooges and propaganda again.

I will put you on the infamous ignore list.

Bye AION

 

I never used this list ; I don't see the point to.

[AION]

16 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

You‘re posting videos of Russian stooges and propaganda again.

I will put you on the infamous ignore list.

Bye AION

 

Don’t forget to close the door behind you. lol I’m not even pro Russia. 

[PurpleTree]

20 minutes ago, Schizophonia said:

I never used this list ; I don't see the point to.

So?

[puporing]

Lmao, literally all the points are upside down to what is actually happening.. I can't even.

I don't know how you guys can be so off..

Edited March 3 by puporing

[puporing]

1 hour ago, PurpleTree said:

You‘re posting videos of Russian stooges and propaganda again.

I will put you on the infamous ignore list.

Bye AION

 

But ignoring them they'll keep posting this crap on this forum.. 

Edited March 3 by puporing

[PurpleTree]

45 minutes ago, puporing said:

But ignoring them they'll keep posting this crap on this forum.. 

Yea but then it’s out of my sight 🦭

 

It‘s too annoying to always have the same arguments.

[ivarmaya]

Europe isn’t declining….it’s just playing a higher-order game that most people don’t recognize yet.

While the U.S. and China are still locked in Orange and Red, Europe has transitioned into Green (collaboration, sustainability) and is wrestling with the move toward Yellow (integrated & systemic thinking). It looks “weak” from an outdated perspective that equates power with military strength and GDP growth, but real influence isn’t about brute force…it’s about architecting the structures within which power operates.

The real challenge for Europe isn’t relevance….it’s whether it can integrate its past (Orange & Red) without regressing. If it can, it could be the first true Tier 2 civilisation…..balancing power, structure, and long-term sustainability in a way the rest of the world hasn’t figured out yet.

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

How about we start discussing problems China is facing for a second, from the decreasing birth rates and predictions of it's population getting halved by the year 2100, to the real estate crisis, to it's enviromental crisies, to it's internal economical crisies, and God know what kind of stuff we don't know about what's happenning in China. Their armies were never actually properly battle tested either

[PurpleTree]

In some ways Europe or let’s say EU + Norway, UK, Switzerland, Turkey

Is also a sleeping giant that you don’t want to wake up.

The question is only if they can pull together.

I’m excited to see if Europe becomes irrelevant or becomes a giant.

You could say Europe became less relevant with the world wars.

Before that it was dominating the world stage.

But then the US became the hegemony with some of Europe and Japan etc. as allies or some would say vassals almost.

[Breakingthewall]

@AION what you said is obvious, Europe has been in decline for a long time, its industry is getting weaker and its momentum is getting weaker. Birth rates are constantly falling and the future looks like a recession. It is normal, it is something cyclical. Behind them come others who were previously in misery, they are hungry and the Europeans are comfortable. There is not drama with this if we admit and adapt to the new situations. Btw, the next is US, that now is a giant without foundations.

By the way, you will have seen that many people are extremely annoyed when certain things are pointed out and they accuse you of being a slave of Putin if you state obvious realities. It is a current phenomenon, people only want to hear reinforcement of their ideas and absolutely refuse to consider other points of view, they are incapable of real understanding, since for them everything is emotional. It is important to realize these dynamics in order not to fall into them, since they are totally limiting.

Edited Thursday at 12:19 PM by Breakingthewall

[Twentyfirst]

9 hours ago, PurpleTree said:

In some ways Europe or let’s say EU + Norway, UK, Switzerland, Turkey

Is also a sleeping giant that you don’t want to wake up.

The question is only if they can pull together.

I’m excited to see if Europe becomes irrelevant or becomes a giant.

You could say Europe became less relevant with the world wars.

Before that it was dominating the world stage.

But then the US became the hegemony with some of Europe and Japan etc. as allies or some would say vassals almost.

Lmao it's over buddy 

 

[Basman]

Europe being dependent on the US militarily was well known long before the Ukraine war. It's no surprise.

In fact, I always found it ideologically hypocritical that Europe as a collective espouses liberty and peace while underspending on their military, whit the US disproportionally representing NATO power, -on their dime. Europe has acted like a spoiled sugar baby to a certain degree while there was relative peace in the region. Now we are caught underprepared.

Edited Friday at 09:32 AM by Basman

[vibv]

The opposite is the case. Due to the whole situation Europe is about to become more united and relevant than ever before.

[BlueOak]

People still don't understand how the world works. Threaten something enough and it grows more resolved not weaker. Its just instinct.

Huge population, Huge Economy. Irrelevant? Check your bias.

 

[PurpleTree]

29 minutes ago, Basman said:

Europe being dependent on the US militarily was well known long before the Ukraine war. It's no surprise.

In fact, I always found it ideologically hypocritical that Europe as a collective espouses liberty and peace while underspending on their military, whit the US disproportionally representing NATO power, -on their dime. Europe has acted like a spoiled sugar baby to a certain degree while there was relative peace in the region. Now we are caught underprepared.

Yea well because the US just dipped on us.

But the US profited a lot from this relationship. Without Europe as a "protectorate" there won’t be US hegemony in the same sense in terms of Dollar as a world currency or uniting against the same enemies atthe UN, buying the same amounts of US weapons etc.

Edited Friday at 10:01 AM by PurpleTree

[Basman]

1 hour ago, PurpleTree said:

Yea well because the US just dipped on us.

But the US profited a lot from this relationship. Without Europe as a "protectorate" there won’t be US hegemony in the same sense in terms of Dollar as a world currency or uniting against the same enemies atthe UN, buying the same amounts of US weapons etc.

Just today I rode past a poster that said in the vein of "more books, less bombs" in reaction against increased military spending (communist party).

There is a significant portion of the population that are complacent when it comes to security. US hegemony was a luxury in retrospect, which isn't even being acknowledged. They seemingly act like they are above war.

[PurpleTree]

9 minutes ago, Basman said:

Just today I rode past a poster that said in the vein of "more books, less bombs" in reaction against increased military spending (communist party).

There is a significant portion of the population that are complacent when it comes to security. US hegemony was a luxury in retrospect, which isn't even being acknowledged. They seemingly act like they are above war.

Which is normal when we basically had 70 years of peace after WW2. It’s similar in Japan, Canada, Australia etc. At some point you’d hope humanity is above war. But can’t let your guard down next to Russia, China etc. i guess.

[Basman]

12 hours ago, PurpleTree said:

Which is normal when we basically had 70 years of peace after WW2. It’s similar in Japan, Canada, Australia etc. At some point you’d hope humanity is above war. But can’t let your guard down next to Russia, China etc. i guess.

No one is immune to violence. That is the issue. Danish beat cops used to be unarmed during patrol. Then in 1965 four officers where shot dead by a burglar and they started carrying since. I can't confirm if this happened but back in 2011 I heard that the Norwegian police call center hung up on people who where reporting the mass shooting by Breivik because they couldn't believe it was real.

It is a kind of arrogance to think you are above war and violence. It is dangerous. It is not just about adversary states but just the general principle of meeting force with force. And we see now that Europe is woefully under prepared for a war with Russia without Americas help, putting European security and lives at risk because they are "above war".

Edited Saturday at 12:09 AM by Basman