The EU and Being Careful of Double Standards
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"If you're going to attack something, you need to be consistent when you're doing with your beliefs."
Hello Team!
Jonathan wants to address some comments on a previous video related to the EU and sort out a logical fallacy of double standards that is often employed when discussing the EU. This video is not about being pro-Brexit or pro-EU, but about being logically consistent.
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The Double Standard Fallacy
Jonathan gives an example from the Ukraine The Latest podcast where Francis Durney slags off Germany and France (as being representative of the EU) for being slow to support Ukraine, but then praises the Czech Republic and Poland for their wonderful support, without connecting that to the EU. You can't say some EU countries doing badly reflects poorly on the EU while other EU countries doing well has nothing to do with the EU - that's a glaring double standard. You have to be consistent in assigning credit or blame to the EU based on the actions of member states.
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Sovereignty Within the EU
A key criticism of the EU during Brexit was about sovereignty and the UK's ability to make its own decisions. But EU member states like Poland and the Czech Republic were able to react quickly to support Ukraine, just as the UK did, showing that being in the EU does not prevent countries from making unilateral decisions. There is a great deal of room for countries to exercise sovereignty within the EU framework. The speed of the UK's response was not due to being outside the EU.
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Democratic Decision-Making in the EU
The EU may be slower to react in certain circumstances precisely because it is a democratic institution with nearly 30 member countries. Decisions have to be made democratically, which takes time, whereas autocracies can act more quickly. That is a reality of the democratic process, with pros and cons. The EU's democratic mechanisms and requirements for membership actually make it less likely to have corruption compared to outside the EU.
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Wrap Up
In summary, it's important to be logically consistent when discussing the EU and the actions of individual member states. Countries in the EU are able to exercise sovereignty and make unilateral decisions. Democratic institutions like the EU may be slower to react due to the need for consensus. Jonathan welcomes respectful debate and discussion on this nuanced topic.
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