this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2023
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Europe

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Apologies for the meme. Just felt like so god damn European today.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Now, if only the same regulatory mindset was applied to industries which are strong inside the EU (like Communications, Finance and Auto) as applied to other industries.

Notice how you can't simply buy your car anywhere in the EU and be able to use it in any other EU country when you live there (so, no single market) as you're forced to register it locally and pay full tax (again, since it was already paid elsewhere), or how for many things still now in the XXI century you can't just use a bank account from anywhere in the EU locally (mainly taxes/social-security requiring local accounts, as well as local payment systems which are not open to non-local banks) or the non-existent single market in mobile comms due to government granted mobile comms monopolies or ready-made cartel situations due to per-nation "radio spectrum" licensing and no regulation forcing open-access or a similar mechanism.

And don't get me started on the complete total joke which was the handling of the Diesel Emissions Scandal, itself a product of a weak regulatory situation that had been put in place due to lobbying of countries like France, Germany and the UK (back when it was still a member).

The push for a pro-consumer single market is most welcome were it happens, shame that it mainly doesn't happen in domains were there are dominant companies based in the EU.

The EU looks good in comparison with the US in large extent due to the latter's disgraceful political and hence regulatory environment, but we're nowhere near the point of deserving a pat on the back.