No, seriously, not much of a priority anymore.
In Romanian circles I count as a rabid opponent of the current (leftist) Romanian government, both ideologically and in a number of cases quite personally. This for very good reasons which I won't bother to rehash.
Ever since the Romanian Revolution, both the public and the institutional agenda of Romania has been towards integration with Western Europe and then its imagological successor, the European Union. This for a number of very good political and ideological reasons - such as for instance the fact that we really, really, really don't like the Russians over here - but also in spite of a list of very good economical reasons.
Originally the former considerations muchly outweighed the latter, but with the passage of time and the normalisation of local society and development of local economy on one hand plus the despicable allignment of Russia and Germany over Germany's spinelessness (in the problem of energy and in general) on the other hand those latter considerations slowly came to dominate the former.
Romania's push for Western integration resulted in becoming part of NATO, which all things considered is much akin to insurance payments : you take a cut each paycheck (such as for instance by ending up having to support the invasion of our otherwise friendly neighbour Serbia over some misplaced concerns that some people are getting killed during those countries' attempts at creating a nation state - as if they shouldn't be allowed to follow normal national evolution now, because they're a century late or some such nonsense) in the mostly unreasonable hope that should you end up in real trouble the insurer will come forth and rescue you.
Our immediate experience shows the contrary to be regularly true, "guaranteeing" powers there were multiple times during the past century or two, help was never forthcoming at any point. So no, when it comes to international politics the idea of paying a little each day for a big payback "when you need it" is a sucker's play, and something any small and peripheral country is well advised to forever avoid doing. Let the big boys pay a little daily, they can afford it (and if they can't let them shut the fuck up).
Irrespective of that, the next possible goal was integration in the EU itself. Romania undertook a bunch of measures that were painful at the time and a few years later it was (very reluctantly) accepted in the EU. It is noteworthy that today those very assholes that were pompously "doubting" Romania's economic soundness are in the crapper themselves, showing they had no soundness to speak of at all. Hipocrisy, always the mother's milk of international politics. Romania, quite on the other end of the spectrum, is one of the more economically solid member states, and it's unclear if indeed Europe has a total of five states in such good a shape. More like three, especially if you exclude things that pretend to be a country while being the size of a well grown town.
With Romania's Central Bank governor ad vitam soundly if discretely opposed to Romania joining in the Eurozone (and what a wise opposition this turns out to have been, who knew back then) pretty much the only scrap of purpose left in this Great Romanian Western Expansion operation is integration in the Schengen zone. The socialist French oppose it. Funny, huh. The "liberal" ie socialist Dutch oppose it. Notably Germany also oposes it. This isn't the first time, either. The subject of Romania joining the Schengen zone has been dithered back and forth for at least two years by now.
Consequently, Romania's government has made the plain announcement that should this matter be delayed again it will forthwith cease being a "priority" (ie, point of interest) for Romania. This of course has the pundits of the opposing side up in arms. They point out that since this was pretty much the only "priority" the government will now have no priorities. So it won't. They point out that the Prime Minister's only project so far has failed miserably. This isn't actually true ; The Prime Minister involved himself in a very funny attempt of representing Romania in Brussels in spite of a duly issued Supreme Court order to the contrary, much to the agapement of everyone else involved. His failure then was so mindblowing that we can safely regard the guy as innoculated against failure. Absolutely nothing he ever does can possibly outstrip that performance.
But all this aside, I completely disagree with the views of the Romanian right (such as it is) on this matter. We literally have no good reason to insist with this Schengen business past this point. For one, it makes absolutely no practical difference, I can already travel without a passport anywhere in Europe, and the costs of maintaining the Schengen pretense against Romanians are higher on the French, Dutch and whatever other nutcases than the inconvenience on Romanians by at least a degree of magnitude. For another, at the rate their failed welfare states are going it will be pretty much the case that Schengen zone citizens will be begging to be allowed into Romania rather than the other way around in short order. There's absolutely no point chasing this particular scrawny bitch. If she's not in heat she's not, let her be. When and if she gets in heat we'll see what we need to charge for considering the matter.
That the socialist government of Ponta has taken a page right out of the playbook of the socialist government of Hollande (that's in France) is actually quite soothing. The European left is very much willing to send ideology to Hell in a handbasket when national interests are at stake, and if you think about it that's exactly the way it should be. Let it stand, it needs positively no fixing.
Or at least that's how I feel about it.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Being eurosceptic gives you more bargaining power inside EU today therefore claiming Schengen grapes are sour might for the time being spare the government of some sadomasochist self inflicted wrath and wile some can argue on the usefulness of that punishment surprising, the politicians attitude, it is not.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Aww, you didn't managed to sell them gas, that's too bad.
There are and were problems with romanians in the other half of Banat and they are still forced to serbianize, so no, not an otherwise friendly neighbour. Issues there are. I mostly don't give a shit about nationalism but you're discussing that.
But yes, of course, as you agree that there is nothing wrong in two imaginary communities fighting to death, why not serbians against romanians, sure, same shit. There is no nonsense.
Why not fuel the fire. Why not a fucking permanent war dystopia.
The only good outcome was that some kebab was removed from the Balkans and I hope in the next purge more will be removed. I find it funny that no one blames Turkey for the shit they've done here. Even more funny, they will become a part of EU sooner or later.
Celebrate the diversity.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
@Dr.A Let's revisit another aspect of this problem.
Greece is the most corrupt state in the history of the world, bar none. Not even Gypstaly can come close to those slobs. The Greeks refuse to do anything about it. Literally. Europe beelines to bail out, the third (or was it fourth ?) time this current crysis.
Romania is certainly the most stable, responsible, economically sound, politically serious and militarily helpful state in all of Eastern Europe, and for that matter one of the top five in the entire thing. Europe cheekily "has concerns" ?
Fuck their concerns. They're not even misplaced, they're baldfaced and offensive. Greece gets fiddy billion because "it needs them" in spite of the fact that the only use that money will ever get will be to finance a bunch of Greek pretend-people sitting around in cafes all over the Acropolis acting like they're too busy to work while Romania gets the structural funds it was promised cut because "uh oh, there's no money", in spite of that being pretty much the only sensible thing to do with money in current day Europe ?
Fuck that. The message is loud and clear : we reward being lazy, we reward useless slobs, we reward lies and pretense. We punish independence and we certainly can't stand trying (the case of Serbia is perfectly illustrative). Well, guess what. You wanna be the big bosses, make all the money ? Fine.
Anyone can play the bored and dissatisfied housewife. We can sit around on our hands all day, just like the Greeks, let the smartasses work their ass to the bone and then mock their small cock. Entire fucking continent wants to live in a cuckold relationship, okay, whatever, we'll find a serious boyfriend somewhere else and give this balding, middleaged idiot what he apparently wants for itself : ball torture and public humiliation. Works.
Not the motherfucking first time, either. After WW2 the same idiots traded 15mn Romanians for 7mn Greeks. Apparently Greeks count 2:1 to Romanians, in spite of them having done literally nothing at all the entire war (yeah, they spent five years sort-of defending themselves from the Italian army, whoopdedoo. Meanwhile Romania was scaring the shit out of the Russians, for the record).
This is the end, I'm pretty sure. Any goodwill "Europe", joint and several, might have undeservedly had around these parts on account of our naive post-Revolution excitement has been well squandered by now. They want two spits in the future they'd better bring silver along, and by the satchel.
Fucking hell.
@Vexare
Guess when that became a problem, and guess why. That happens to be exactly what I mean, supporting the International Concerned Idiot Parade has very real costs for naive players on the ground.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
I imagined that, yet I've considered the situation might have been similar in commie regime too.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
You've been reading the news on the meat scandal?
I'm not sure who can trust
these two now.
So EU creates meat scandal near Schengen talks, oh no problem are gipsea.
Dutchmen seem to be winning this Schengen war, took revenge for the flowers thing and still blocking our entry, sabotaging our exports now.
However I fail to understand their core problem with us. You happen to know why they hate us so much?
Some have taken it with Mexico too. Again. Us?