Honestly, Europe is just making itself more irrelevant over time: over regulated and lacking innovation, militaries are weak and ineffectual, economies can't keep up with the costs of their generous social programs, rampant immigration is killing their charming and unique cultures. Even once great institutions like German auto manufacturing have become second tier. Hopefully something changes.
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Apple TV, Siri Targeted in EU Broadcaster Complaint Citing DMA Rules
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It’s easy to look at raw GDP and see a decline, but most Europeans would trade a few points of growth for universal healthcare, 6 weeks of vacation, and a social safety net that actually works.
What you call "over-regulation" is the reason our data isn't a free-for-all for tech giants and our food standards are among the highest in the world.
You’re not wrong that the German auto industry got complacent and the military situation is a massive wake-up call, but calling the world’s largest single market 'irrelevant' is a stretch.
Europe is essentially a giant R&D lab for how to run a modern society sustainably.
The shift to green tech and strategic autonomy is happening. it’s just slower because we prioritize social stability and consensus over "moving fast and breaking things."
I’ll take a second-tier economy with high life expectancy, functional public transit and zero school shootings any day.
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It's funny you mention largest single market, this is true in regards to both size and regulations and that really just goes back to what I said about it being a bully, the EU is leveraging its market size to force regulation that would ordinarily not fly in most other markets. Not too different than how China or India has used its market growth and size to force companies and countries to adhere to certain requirements in order to do business in those countries.
The EU is on a power trip that will inevitably come back to bite it. The irony is the EU and its DMA is effectively a monopoly and who regulates or checks it? This is the problem with monopolies in general and why big regulatory bodies are so delicate in terms of being effective in what it set out to do in practice and quite often end up doing more harm than good.
Calling the EU a bully for having standards is a bold move when the US is basically a case study in what happens when you let three corporations run the entire country. 😂
Dude, your "green tech" has created dependence on Russia for energy. Don't get me started on the attacks on free speech...
To be clear, I don't celebrate this. I lived in Germany for three years some time ago and it was an amazing experience. I want a strong and vibrant Europe and the US has plenty of its own problems. That said, I'm convinced Europe is on the wrong track.
Please fact check before you post.
EU has cut Russian gas from 45% to about 13% in just three years.
The "green tech" actually works: renewables now generate more electricity than fossil fuels (30% vs 29%).
In Europe, we think free speech includes the right not to be drowned in bot-driven disinformation. The U.S. is weaponizing the term "free speech" to protect far-right disinformation and destabilize European democracies while simultaneously cracking down on dissent at home.
If being on the wrong track means not shooting our own protesters, keeping our national debt under 90% of GDP, and not having an FCC that treats free speech like a political football, then I am more than glad to stay exactly where we are.
You're right and the US thanks you for shifting to it as the main supplier. Because of the added logistics expense, EU energy prices initially were 10x prior to what they were prior to the energy crisis and much of the reduction you cite is due to behavioral changes because of exorbitant prices, not "green tech." Bottom line: gas prices spiked 10x in 2022, settled ~2x pre-crisis by 2025-26; household electricity prices up ~30%. Decoupling swapped cheap Russian pipelines for pricier US LNG—'green tech' trimmed some demand but didn't erase backup needs or the bill.
Europe's 'right not to be drowned in disinformation' means DSA fines and global moderation pressure and arrests for "insulting" politicians (who, in my mind, should be fair game); America's 'weaponized free speech' means First Amendment absolutism against government-defined harms. It's a values clash, not one side shielding 'far-right bots' while the EU's 'harm prevention' is somehow anything other than nanny-statism. Never mind denying populist parties access to the political process, under the umbrella of them being "far right."
You like your system. I don't and couldn't stand to live under it. Fair enough. At least you have standardized USB-C. Now that's innovation!
LOL. Nobody is denying AfD access to the political process. They got elected, they are sitting in parlaments, they are receiving tax payer's money. The fact that noone wants to form a coalition with them, is in no way "denying access". Each party can decide for themselves who they want to work with. That's how a system with more than two parties works.
Yes, calling someone an "idiot" or a "****" will get you fined. And rightfully so. Free speech and the right to insult/ridicule someone are not the same. At least not for civilized people who have some kind of decency left. And yes, a politician is a human being too. And deserves the same respect.
Get back into your bubble. Let them indoctrinate you with the fairy tale of the "greatest country" in the world. Live happily ever after while believing that the "american way" is the "only way". All good. All fine.
Maybe educate yourself about "fascism" and its instruments if you haven't done so already. Might be useful down the road. (I'm from Germany. We had this lesson already.)
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You are probably not talking about VAT. That goes directly from the consumer to the local state/government. Nothing to do with Apple.
But Apple's
This special deal was ruled illegal by the EU and Apple owed about €13 billion in unpaid taxes (which they paid in 2024).
EDIT: "winnings" was the wrong term. I meant "earnings". Sorry.
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Parties refusing coalitions isn't "denial of access," until the second-largest faction is permanently locked out of power despite voter support. That's not democracy; that's containment.
Fining people for calling a politician an "idiot" or "fat." That's not "decency." That's treating adults like schoolchildren who need the state to police tone. Germany’s "lesson" on fascism seems to have taught you to fear rude words more than unaccountable elites ignoring millions of voters.
History’s real warning isn’t against populists winning seats. It’s against systems that neuter them when they do.
I note as well that you gave up on energy. You are in decline and will be until people like you wake up, which you inevitably.will, but probably in much more difficult circumstances. Best of luck! I'm heading back to my "bubble."
Dude... let's end this here. You (and millions of others) obviously do not fully comprehened what a democracy is, or how it works. Which is understandable, since you never had to deal with more than two parties.
No one is reading our posts anymore anyway, so maybe we should pick this up in November, after your president has tried to suppress millions of Democratic votes.
Have fun at the gas station in the meantime. Until then!
I have an EV.
"Suppress millions of Democratic votes." Get out of your Euro leftist echo chamber. I'm not a slight bit partisan and disagree with much of what DJT does and says, but this is just foolishness. You have a very condescending attitude toward Americans-- read back through your posts. I focus on policy, you on ad hominem. I wish you success though.
I thought you didn't fear rude words? Need someone to "police my tone"? The "Report" button is right there. LOL...
scnr
So they pay taxes.
Let's not pretend that the EU doesn't contain special dealing abilities when they see fit to have them.
I don't worry about VAT. But, to say "Apple's winnings" It implies that they are gambling in the EU, getting lucky and winning the lottery. People in the EU purchase Apple products. People in the EU also have jobs working directly or indirectly for Apple. Be it parts for the camera, minerals, or any various parts of the product that is produced within the EU. Let alone administratively employed or within stores. Any developers that sells a an App on the platform has made money, even so outside of the EU boarders.
It's called earnings.
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I don't fear rude words. Ad hominem is just a logical fallacy and makes your argument even less effective than it already is.