News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Perhaps a better way to describe it is as a good example of how NATO looks and works.

So how much of a country's army would you expect to be part of this? A very small part. a quarter? half or even more?

Given that you've posted for an hour on a 'common European army' you seem strangely reluctant to answer that question.

Or would you even want a country's entire land forces to be part of it?

I suspect we can guess your answer.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Of course not, since there evidently isn't one except in Micron's dreams.

More interesting is how you envisage this. Since you've been advocating for it here it's not unreasonable for you to explain what you're advocating for, so here it is again:

How much of a country's army would you expect to be part of this? 5%? 10%? 25%? 50% of it, or most of it?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Europe isn't a country though, is it...


Exactly. We have NATO which works well. Why replace that with something else? And of course some countries in Europe have existing commitments elsewhere. AUKUS comes to mind, as does Five Eyes.

You're still avoiding the question of how much of a country's army you would expect to be part of this. 5%? 10%? 25%?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


That of course begs the questions of how burdens are shared and who decides where such an army is used.


Is that a bad thing?

You do seem to be studiously avoiding a very pertinent question:
How much of their army would a country be expected to devote to this?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


This question is interesting me the most:

How much of their army would a country be expected to devote to this?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

We don't. We have three (U.K., Poland, France), with Bulgaria and Spain as second tier armed forces and a few minor ones.

What proportion of a country's navy and army would be part of this and what proportion wouldn't?
How much of their army would a country be expected to devote to this?
How much more would those countries with smaller armies need to pay into the common kitty than those who lend regiments?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


So let's keep it that way.


None. So why change the very successful status quo?

How do you think AUKUS (or JAUKUS as it is likely to become) would mesh with Micron's 'Euroarmy'?
What proportion of a country,s navy and army would be part of this and what portion wouldn't?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Of course not. Why would you think it was? It's simply navies, armies etc cooperating with each other as civilised countries have done for centuries and will continue to do.

If you do think that's what it is, as your post suggests, and you do think that it's positive, why change that?

And who would be in charge, and how would it be governed?

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

No, There isn't.


How would that be organised or enforced?


Is that the other possibility? Can armies, navies etc not complement each other without being part of a unified structure?

Think of the British/American arrangement. We do snow, they do deserts. Yet we aren't one army.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Hard to know who that rivalry is between unless you mean France and Germany which is somewhat asymmetrical given that you've conquered them three times (not 3x within living memory nowadays though I'm old enough to remember people who were over 90 when I was a kid who were alive for all 3 invasions).

Generally, it's petulance from the French who are sore losers and still like to think they're a superpower (which they've not been since 1815) and the navel of the world.

There's no reason for a European Army. Europe isn't a country, isn't a unit or a union or an alliance, however we do know how to cooperate when necessary. Our strengths are in our differences. French bloody-mindedness and German inflexible bureaucracy would not enhance the status quo and the closest example of pan-European cooperation which involves most but not all European powers is the EU which is far from being a shining example of flexibility, creativity or efficiency.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Which is my exact point. What we've achieved in terms of stability isn't perfect however it's better than any easy to imagine alternative.

There are however a lot of people in France who would very much like that to happen.


Indeed. There's a lot of outrage among U.K. conservatives on this matter, especially about France who sulk and become petulant about not being the leading European power. It's nothing new. In WW1 when British soldiers went to die there by the thousand because they couldn't protect their own borders from the Germans, some French people were spitting at the troops as they went to the front.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


In a way, they're right. The Western Hegemony has its faults however its relatively open democracies and solidarity in the face of those who would change that maintain a stability and freedom that most of the rest of the world has not got, often aspires to and which certain countries (ruzzia and Germany within living memory) have tried to destroy and bring about the opposite.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Probably less than you'd think and do not forget for even one second of your life that those weapons are also there to protect you and your loved ones and that the British Army are exceptionally well-trained men and women who would give their lives for you as well as for me.

And it shows how efficient we are that we can pay for an active and permanently on patrol nuclear arsenal of 260 warheads, a standby one many times larger and maintain the best trained and most effective army on the continent.


You should think about becoming a comedian.

Of course we could always remove our troops completely from your country, suspend military cooperation and together with France, denuclearise and leave NATO. Make sure you take ruzzian lessons first.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Quite. They have to understand that they don't run the continent and that attempts to cosy up to vicious dictatorships in order to get cheaper oil than neighbouring countries so they can undercut them is something they won't get away with again.

And of course there's no chance there'll be oil sold directly to western democracies by ruzzia for the foreseeable future, certainly decades, and nor will trade with ruzzia return to pre-war levels for a long time if ruzzia remains within its present form and borders.

There's also the issue of ruzzian agents and collaborators in mainland Europe. Their names will almost certainly end up in the public domain with no chance to hide them behind data privacy laws. France and Germany have perhaps the most exposure to this among larger countries and sad to say, there are certainly ruzzian agents or agents of influence in other countries, including PL.


This is true, and we may well pay a high price for being penny wise and pound foolish over the years. Prior to 2022 only a few NATO states paid more than the amount expected, the U.K. and Poland among them, however there were still defence cuts in both places. The U.K. ones were brutal but done carefully and the British Army is certainly still the best in Europe, despite many rather short-sighted changes.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]

@Bratwurst Boy
Yes. Unless they somehow eff it all up, Poland's role will grow.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


It wouldn't be one.


It isn't an EU army as such; not all prospective participants are in the EU and most if not all are already in NATO. France's role as a NATO member has been complex and chequered, and post-war Germany (or at least West Germany and its successor) has been defended by other armies stationed there without spending much of their own money.

There are already joint exercises within NATO that are led by European countries however the responses to the current r*SSia-Ukraine war haven't reflected particularly well in France at all or on Germany until recently. A lot may change over the next 5 years.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


One issue with that is that the leading European military isn't in an EU country. Premier Sunak is interested in participating in it and they certainly want/need the British on board however public opinion at home (especially among conservatives) is that it's a combination of a vanity project by Micron and a sales opportunity for the German government.

Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]

Yes. I used to have one of those in the U.K. and it made good coffee. You don't really see them at all in Poland and they've not been popular in the U.K. since the 70s or earlier. They're still good though.

The limescale where we are is the worst I've seen. It must be an issue in other places round Warsaw due to the amount and variety of cleaning products in the shops that are aimed at tackling it.

Something I find missing in my 'new' country (not so new and given the average age in Poland I'll soon have been there longer than most Poles) is that Bathroom Mousse is rare. The foamy stuff in aerosol cans that you spray on tiles and bathroom fittings, leave for a few seconds then wipe off. I've seen it on sale a few times in bigger supermarkets however it's just not popular in PL.

Just seeing a percolator mentioned here brings back happy memories.

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Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]


We have well water in PL and it's probably the hardest water I've ever seen. Far harder than the limestone borehole water back in Yorkshire.

It's ok for drinking however the amount of limescale is huge.

News / Poland is the new military power of Europe. [275]


Recollections may vary....

Off-Topic / Things you can't get used to in your new country [95]


Most places still accept Standing Orders (which they don't publicise). That does give you more control and I use them for that reason.

History / Why Was D-Day So Significant for Poland ? [266]


Essentially yes.

Polish troops did of course take part in the campaign that started with D-Day and continued the Battle of Normandy along with Czechs, Kiwis, Free French, Belgians and a few others. The overwhelming majority were of course British, Canadian and American. All of those countries' troops played an essential role. Just as the war against Japan was a coalition of nations, all of them necessary.

UK, Ireland / Should I worry going to Ireland as a Pole? [37]


I can vouch for that. Even the tinned beef from Ireland is top quality.

As Feniks says, the seafood there is excellent. I was surprised recently when I saw on TV that a lot of Dublin Bay prawns come from Britain however it's the same sea between us so I suppose that's logical.

I'm not sure if there's an exact Polish word for Dublin Bay prawns. In the UK we either call them that or sometimes langoustines.

History / Communism fell 20 years ago, Poland led the fight since WW2 [341]


There's thousands of little cats in Minsk who need some Whiskas but don't worry, Andrzej Duda is addressing a mob of housewuves in Częstochowa.

Real Estate / How would a lease affect my tax residency? [6]


Plus of course your centre of interests. There are quite a few factors that they take into consideration; the ones you mentioned and also a few more. It's a good idea to keep boarding passes etc. That saved me a very big bill a few years ago.

One problem with that is that the Urzad Skarbowy make quite arbitrary decisions which you have to argue about later.

UK, Ireland / Should I worry going to Ireland as a Pole? [37]

Try their sausages and bacon. Cashel cheese too and any dairy product there which isn't from a factory.

The bread is quite good too. And if you've not had potato farls, try them.

History / Communism fell 20 years ago, Poland led the fight since WW2 [341]


For his time and place, he was spot on. Nevertheless there was so much (like technological leaps) that he couldn't predict and as far as I know he didn't factor in any variables to his analysis of future history.


They're absolute scripture for some of them. Just as biblical fundamentalists leap through hoops trying to pretend their holy books are inerrant, some of the hardcore non-revisionists are now claiming that Marx was a transhumanist enforce his time (and ours) and that our contemporary understanding is too limited for us to grasp his insight.

History / Communism fell 20 years ago, Poland led the fight since WW2 [341]


I once said that to a Communist political scientist who disagreed but never really said why. One issue is that its adherents see Marx's (eminently sensible for their time and place) economic theories as unchangeable.

The harm caused by bourgeois property can be mitigated in the short term (and surprisingly easily) however for societies across the world to be more socioeconomically equitable, the forms that can take need careful revisiting as do(in the light of technological progress) the means to achieve it.

History / I want Kawalers. [10]

Kawaler means bachelor, as in an unmarried man.

Do you mean the Polish cavalry regiments in the Polish and partitioning powers' armies?

History / Communism fell 20 years ago, Poland led the fight since WW2 [341]


I was actually going to post that since of course Communism has never been achieved.


I suspect far more misery and untimely deaths have been caused in that same period by capitalism and feudalism.

A country, political party, etc., can call itself whatever it likes. Look at PiS who include both law and justice in their party's name yesthave consistently shown scant regard for either.