this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2026
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[–] creamfresh@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

But you obviously don't understand what a federation is (hint: the EU ain't one).

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I'm a citizen of the United States of America. I know what a federation is, the separation of powers between my state's government in Raleigh and my nation's government in Washington D.C. has direct effects on my daily life.

Per Wikipedia, "The EU is often described as a sui generis political entity combining characteristics of both a federation and a confederation." So it's a Federation Umm Actually. The part where it has a legislature populated by delegates from each member state is the relevant characteristic here, a trait the EU shares with federations.

That Blimey Limey that bitched at me years ago was presumably expressing frustration that the United Kingdom only got to send one representative to the EU Council, and then accused me of not knowing what life is like in the United States of Mitch McConnell.

[–] creamfresh@lemmy.world 1 points 42 minutes ago* (last edited 42 minutes ago) (1 children)

A few federal traits does not make a federation. My federal government in Berlin impacts me on a daily basis, and it may overrule state or communal governments. My state shares a common constitution with the other states and leaves a bunch of tasks completely on a federal level; they could not function on their own.

The institutions in Brussels on the other hand do not impact me much, mostly because they relate to specific areas like trade or environment. Member states retain a very high degree of sovereignty, so much that the EU constitutes a unique, supranational construct. Non-members like Switzerland or Norway can productively co-exist with treaties, a bureaucratic hurdle the UK has to face now, too.

This blimey limey has been told by rat catchers that Brussels has far more power than it really has. I mean we weren’t allowed to call jam products marmelade because of the brits (this has been reversed yay). That’s the level of impact for the average Joe and Jane.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 minutes ago

Argue about how specialweshul you are until you're blue with stars in the face. Doesn't change the fact that an idiot with bad teeth said something stupid to me over a decade ago.