The Danube and Europe's Future

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This video is for all the Austrian subscribers who kept asking me to make a video touching on the country I live in. It's about the Danube, the second-longest river in Europe that flows through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. One of the most interesting things about the Danube is that rivers like it are usually economic cores of industry and trade, but the Danube is not. This is due to a century of neglect in development, and we examine that neglect and its consequences in this video.
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You might be interested in this video too: • The Limits of Geograph...
Geopolitics in post-Imperial Europe (0:00)
What is the Danube? (2:49)
The Danube's use in history​ (6:21)
A century of neglect (8:08)
Forget the Balkans (11:22)
Why Serbia matters for the Danube (12:32)
Why the Danube matters for Europe (16:54)
Groupings and Regional politics of Europe (19:08)
Outro (24:36)
Thank you again, and don't forget to subscribe to watch more.

[@Kraut_the_Parrot]

Play Crossout for FREE on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS®5: playxo.link/krautxo2022

[@kenos911]

Virus link

[@abobus1900]

Man, crossout is a game, made by people who help to make a eussian propaganda. They're trying to hide their russian origin, but the company is hat made it Gaijin is a russian company since it's creation in 2002

[@goldenplayroblox5985]

Discord pls. 😀

[@breakinggood406]

@@abobus1900 what is your point then?

[@robertfaucher3750]

I have so much to say about this video, but here's just one thing; something some people often forget about many European countries is that standardized language is a recent invention for many of them. Especially France

[@nadzemnyy]

i like how countryballs became an universally accepted way to depict countries

[@PurpleBroadcast]

Yeah i like em, very simple and expressive

[@Adam_GamesHD]

Best thing to happen to the internet

[@PurpleBroadcast]

@@Adam_GamesHD iooooi

[@darkestknightshade1356]

Hosers animals are better

[@altvctr]

Brain4breakfast's legacy 👏

[@bmp2574]

The fact that Austria is now against Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area really puts the brakes on any future tightening of relationship between those countries.

[@moldovanemil475]

Yes, so I think that shows that geographic determinism is kinda wrong. Austria and their bussinesses have a lot to gain from Romania being in Schengen but the austrian politicians oppose it because they say that romanians are criminals. What do you think about this?

[@aparuvlad51]

@@moldovanemil475 it only goes to show EU absurdism and their perception of Eastern Europe. Sad and pathetic to think about

[@pavelstefan5156]

@@Adam-mi3hb do you think that schengen stops the gypsy gangs to arrive in your country? :))

[@Adam-mi3hb]

@@pavelstefan5156 schengen would make it easier for them

[@pavelstefan5156]

@@Adam-mi3hb many of them come in sweden through airports, but a hour of waiting at border wouldn't make a difference when is about the money bugs.

[@stefanneculae9502]

Kraut: austria and hungary want further danube integration within the EU 🇷🇴: can we join schengen? 🇦🇹:no

[@Alias_Anybody]

That doesn't actually have to do much with Romania though, it's more of a general attempt to appeal to anti-foreign sentiment, as well as trying to force the EU towards actions against illegal immigration in general. Edit: It doesn't matter that the illegal immigration doesn't come from Romania guys. It's a power play.

[@danielf3623]

Yeah, the timing on this video is pretty ironic.

[@Pgb622]

we will just send gypsies to steal everything in austria , and in a few days , you will se on olx , ebay austria for sale , only 875 lei

[@stefanreiterer6152]

I think he is right with his video though. The main issue is stupid populism to win a local election. I think the responsible people didn't expect the backlash as a lot of people were surprised by that decision.

[@alexandrub8786]

@@Alias_Anybody then why Croatia?

[@entropy4827]

Hungarian here, sending hugs to every fellow Danubians on the Blue string of Europe (The Danube, as we call it ;)). Especially to our Romanian friends. Hope we can forget the hatred from our past and be up for a better future. HU❤RO

[@robb5828]

There's no hatred mate, the clout we usually see are from a small but dedicated number of idiots, the majority is chill

[@entropy4827]

@@robb5828 The same thing on the hungarian side. It is just so stupid.

[@lglubbock7593]

@@entropy4827 our ancestors fought and died side by side fightig ottomans ifwe fight each other we will lose what they fought for

[@piatra1277]

🇷🇴🇭🇺

[@christopherellis2663]

Hi from Timişoara/ Temesvár

[@SoManyDucks]

Slight correction. The US actually has an extremely extensive freight railroad infrastructure. From what I've read, it seems that moving goods by railroad in the US is even cheaper than in most of the EU. The US has absolutely shitty *passenger* railroad infrastructure. That said, the Mississippi basin is absolutely still heavily used for bulk transport of goods and water is still always going to be cheaper than rail.

[@ChungusTheLarge]

Yeah, the US thinks that mass transit is communism

[@fredflintlocks9445]

Correct America has by far the most extensive freight rail system in the world

[@bobort2085]

Topical, given the narrowly avoided railroad strikes today

[@nathanielkidd2840]

It used to be even more extensive. Much of the US highway system is built on old rail beds.

[@user-dz4eb5rb3g]

@@nathanielkidd2840 yes. There very old I sometimes wach the trains transporting things from Canada and the beds and even the trains are old

[@sidexrulz2006]

As a Romanian, I wouldn't say we ignored the Danube after WW2, although we probably could have done some smarter things with it and we did pollute it horribly. The first notable investment on the Danube was the Iron Gates 1 dam, built in cooperation (50/50) with Yugoslavia between 1964 and 1972. When running at full power, it covers about 15% of our peak power demand. It is the largest hydroelectric power plant in the entire E.U. It also improves and makes safer the navigation upstream of the dam, on a previously difficult sector of the river. Another dam was built downstream from it, Iron Gates 2, also in cooperation with Serbia. A third dam was planned as a collaboration with Bulgaria, preliminary works started but then painfully dragged on and were subsequently abandoned. This project resurfaces as a conversation topic every 4-5 years, usually before elections. We also built vast irrigation systems in the south, that rely on the Danube. These systems are essential for our agricultural output and to prevent the slow desertification of a region called Oltenia (the south of it is especially prone to desertification). As for the Danube-Black Sea canal, as others have previously stated here, the idea itself is not a stupid one. Constanta is the largest port in the Black Sea basin. Ocean going ships can transfer freight to barges and then the barges are sent through the canal, saving time and fuel by avoiding a detour through the Danube Delta. It also allowed the creation of some smaller inland ports. It is used to supply irrigation water in Dobrogea as this is a quite arid part of our country. Last but not least, it helps provide cooling water for our nuclear power plant at Cernavoda. In the event the USSR and then Russia gained control over the mouths of the Danube, the canal would have allowed us to continue shipping on the Danube in direct connection with our main port. When the Russians occupied Snake Island in february we got a good reminder of this, as that put any ship going through the mouths of the Danube in range of their anti ship missiles. Should the russians try to advance south through Dobrogea, the canal would act as a last line of defense. Economically, strategically and from an engineering point of view, the canal makes sense. Sadly, this is understandably overshadowed by the human tragedy that was its construction. An important aspect regarding various ways of carrying freight - barge transportation is indeed the cheapest way of doing it, however, it is ideal if what you are carrying is large in volume, low in cost/ton and usually non-perishable. Iron ore, coal, coke, fertilizers, phosphates, oil, petrochemicals, aggregates, cement and bulk grain (historically the most important freight carried on the Danube). This is direct contrast with our current just-in-time model of doing business, that demands the fastest logistical systems and the shortest delivery times. Rail and especially trucks dominate this category and it is inherently impossible for barges to compete. As the European economy continues its shift towards high value, high tech production, more strain will be added on the systems that allow for fast logistics. Coal is on its way out, oil will probably follow to a large degree. With our current energy situation and environmental policies, I'm not very hopeful regarding the need for iron ore and fertilizers. What will remain and probably grow will be grain transportation. In Romania, this reality is reflected in the location of most new investments - nearly all new factories and logistical centers are built in areas served by our (slowly) growing highway network. Port cities on the Danube, once important economical centers, are in decline and slowly depopulating. This is also true for northern Bulgaria. The first thing I would do would be adding more bridges over the Danube. There are at least 3 new bridges to Bulgaria that would make sense, together with replacing the main link between Romania and Bulgaria, a decrepit road-rail bridge from the '50s.

[@razvanmazilu6284]

When it comes to Romania, this video by Kraut was disappointingly inaccurate and surface level. Makes me wonder how many others are like this and I just down know it because I'm not familiar enough with the topic.

[@matel4692]

Great points my man

[@ivelinkamenov]

Hello from Bulgaria, to add to your insightful comments, the Danube has always been a border both for Bulgaria and Romania and our two countries perhaps never look at it as a lokomotive for economic development....a mistake in IMHO...there is a reason we have only 2 bridges between our countries and the biggest town on the part of the Danube we share is mere 150k(Ruse in Bulgaria) From Romanian point of view in the past it was the border with Ottomans, from Bulgarian perspective it was as far as possible from the core of the Ottoman empire and actually this region of Bulgaria during the 19th century was one of the most developed...Ruse was the biggest town in Bulgaria after Ruso-Turkish war of 1878 What I am trying to say is, neglecting the Danube form Romanian perspective was normal since I assume they didn't want to have too much business with the Ottomans.

[@romeo31108]

Just to underline even more the importance of the canal I will add that Sulina, the main entrance from the Danube delta, was blocked for 15 years due to an incident with an Ukrainian ship (the Rostock). From 91 to 2005 that entrance was blocked, just thinking at this will surly make anyone re-think how important is the canal from Constanta. Of course is a tragedy how it was built, just that it's not a stupid project, not in the slightes.

[@mishkosimonovski23]

Is there any plans to build Danube channel to Bucharest? I'm from Macedonia and there was some talks to build Thessaloniki - Belgrade channel :)

[@selcovoilucian8253]

After the Schengen veto i am in doubt that Bulgaria and Romania would join any project witch involves Austria

[@stefanneculae9502]

True

[@sirc1446]

O să aibă ei de câștigat de la imigranții care deja sunt la ei....Artificii peste Artificii.

[@Bayard1503]

Nope, and projects already working are probably doomed.

[@BetaD_]

I hope that will be possible as soon as Austria has a more stable government. And only if the right wing party wont gain more influence here... As a guy living in Austria now I was quiet saddened about this decision. But the reason was mostly because of very deep innerpolitical problems in Austria. The reigning party here (ÖVP) is in a big crisis, since the last election, which they won they, lost pretty much half of the support they had in the population. Most people dont trust them anymore. From ~ 40% to 20% now . Sadly most voters went to the right wing party (FPÖ), because our left partys are also in a bad state. Therefore the ÖVP is scared of the strenghing right wing and tries to counter it with a more right wing policy to get voters back, like the fear of immigrants from the east and so they voted no... TLDR: Main reason is interpolitical problems and the hope of the reigning party to get voters back, if they fight aganist illegal immigrants, which they fear would come, if they would have said yes...

[@freespiritable]

Schengen countries vetoing anything from the East, we're tired of it already. Had Russia offered a better vision the East would be gone once more.

[@marten8148]

This video aged like milk after Austrias Schengen veto against Romania and Bulgaria...

[@grand5863]

Only took less than a week. Kraut should post an addendum.

[@cterence1767]

Can you believe that The Blue Danube is such a popular piece of music that they made a real river based on it? 😂

[@seneca983]

The Blue Nile is a real river but the Blue Danube remains only a song.

[@lexprontera8325]

Right. The real Danube is greenish brown. If it had any more silt, it would be solid.

[@arturplayz4505]

​@@user-ht7fr9kl1d Do you really need to be r/woooosh 'd to realise that this comment is meant to be a joke?

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

Sounds like not too long ago it should have been called "the slightly glowing Danube."

[@stevenarnold5151]

Kraut, CaspianReport, Mr. Mitchell History. KZbin be providing us with way better global commentary than mainstream news

[@charliestoops8815]

AdamSomething too, imo

[@NoHairMan]

Caspian Report fell off abit imo.

[@jackmiller1561]

@@NoHairMan agreed. But Adam Something is great and Mr. Mitchell History is underrated

[@hansnase364]

@@NoHairMan How so?

[@hellboundchaoscommand7567]

And Good Times Bad Times

[@CaApa]

the Danube Black Sea canal was made to preserve the unique characteristics of the rivers basin, in Romania. By creating it, the natural delta was not disturbed.

[@sd-ch2cq]

Wouldn't it be greatly disturbed anyway when most water flows through the new channel instead of the old delta?

[@poseidon6666]

@@sd-ch2cq there is a lock at the end of the canal, meaning that there is very minimal flow through the canal.

[@cosmincasuta486]

@@sd-ch2cq aaaa... nope!

[@timoteitodor2868]

That canal killed many fishes that used to travel from the black sea up the river to lay eggs. Also killed many people that built it, many writers, political figures, gypsies pretty much anybody whoo had soomething to say about communism.

[@virgilioanlupas1459]

you forget about the Calarasi steel plant ! the "canal" was part of that project and was planed to shorten the barges travel from the sea ports.

[@EUTalks]

Why was Causescu stupid? He bult a navigable canal straight to Constanta harbor, one of the biggest in Europe, and saved the Danube Delta from industrialization this way. Even more, a part of the Navigable Danube Delta was part of USSR because Stalin, so Romania had to rely on USSR for passing there. He was not stupid and not everything Romanians did in that period was stupid.

[@lglubbock7593]

hes an austrian with an agenda

[@gundabalf]

I dunno, he looked kinda stupid lying dead and bloody on the pavement in Targoviste merely a week after ordering the army to shoot on protesters

[@AlexPetre-tw8ui]

and it's a much shorter distance

[@bandito4805]

I couldn't agree more

[@Insanerobert44]

There's much to discuss about the channel and the Constanta harbor. What I can tell is that this video does not go in depth about this topic and does not even discuss about the impact of intensive, heavy, naval transport on the Danube Delta nor the strategic link of the channel with Constanta harbor and it's access to the Mediteranean (through Bosphorous Channel with Black Sea) and the Middle East. There's a lot of pros and cons with it, but this video only sees a biased perspective on the Danube Channel.

[@komnenus1365]

The notion that the Balkan peninsula is not a cultural group is entirely wrong. Despite the painful history of the peninsula and the common distrust between the nations, a Greek will have a much easier time culturaly understanding a Bulgarian or a Bosniak than a Frenchman. Its more that the imperial legacy of the Ottomans (and even before them the East Romans) that kept these peoples within the same state structure that facilitated cultural exchange among them. That does not only boil down to foodstuffs, it can be found in music, national epics and even subconcious cultural notions of how one is to act and what makes one a good person. So to recap, yes the Balkans are not a set in stone geographic region but the certainly ARE a cultural region.

[@mehhie5360]

But it is still a cultural region primarily dominated by a shared centuries spanning war and expulsion of ottomans. More than anything the balkans are still haunted by the spectre of the ottoman empire and it has left a long lasting impact on the cultures of the balkan. And the eastern romans had a dwindling influence since 1200s, allowing separate and distinct cultures and nations to develop. And with the national epics, most nations have heroes from the settlement (if they migrated post west roman collapse) and will most certainly have heros fighting for independence against the turks. And the balkan is really ethnically and thus you cant deny it also culturally diverse. Its a cultural region, but not one that is as clear as is the visegrad group or scandinavia. The serbo-croatian slavs form a separate cultural group from the eastern balkan cultures like bulgaria or romania, as does greece itself as the only hellenic state in the balkan. While we all share our economic misery and dont have nearly as common of a cultural understanding with some as the french, we dont necessarily share an overarching cultural group. (to the extent neighbours will not intermingle anyways)

[@m.richman3486]

Your reasoning is correct but as a fellow Greek I can attest from my personal experience that I had much easier time understanding and communicating with French people than Bulgarians, Serbians, Romanians and other Balkan folks. I guess that European integration of the last decades and the last century as a whole had played a big part already and the ottoman/byzantine influence is fading already.

[@MaticT]

I partly agree with both - i think that cultural groups (Balkan/Danubia etc) dont exclude one another and are more like Layers/Filters/Lenses on a photo of how to look at the land. All put on one another then create reality

[@mishkosimonovski23]

@@mehhie5360 Slavs came to Balkans in 700 AD, ever since they were looking up to Byzantines for religion, culture, law, alphabet and when Constantinople weakened slavic rulers styled themselves as Byzantine Emperors up until Ottoman takeover in 1400, that's 600 years of intermingling.

[@aleksaradojicic8114]

@@mehhie5360 Opposite is true. Balkans was close region before Ottomans appeared here, which was result of Byzantine rule and cultural influence.

[@ionelursu5180]

I gotta say I disagree on the whole danube canal thing You see the Danube's mouth is incredibly marshy you really can't build anything at it's end, meanwhile move a little south and you've got perfectly dry land to make an actual port, thus this canal makes Danube trade economically viable Another most likely unintended but still very fun side effect is that it leaves the Danube delta alone as a wonderful little nature reserve

[@tomasvrabec1845]

Great project executed for stupid reasoning and it had little benefit at the time. It does seem like it was completely stupid and ridiculous, especially then, but at the same time it was the stupidity which poured money into something unnecessary that later became useful. Happy little accident.

[@ionelursu5180]

@@tomasvrabec1845 later became useful? Constanța witch is in the south of Dobrogea has always been the biggest port in Romania so the canal's always had some use Don't get me wrong I don't like Ceaușescu but your comment is a bit....much

[@nobody_expects_me]

Isn't it more worth it to just, well, dry the marshy parts and solidify the terrain?

[@ionelursu5180]

@@nobody_expects_me to dry a rivers delta you need to, well stop the river and that kinda beats the purpose

[@sticlavoda5632]

@@nobody_expects_me wouldn't that be completely destructive?

[@77cicero77]

So many times “The Blue Danube” has served as general background music. But now, it’s perfect.

[@jamesseiter4576]

American here; I've always wanted to take a river cruise either up or down the Danube. It always struck me as the best way to see as much of Eastern Europe as possible in one trip. Love the video!

[@saccount-z3]

is is actually south central europe.. if you look up the map.. russia alone takes up 39% of europe.. you cant say that 2/3 of europe is eastern europe, but i get it 👍

[@onurbschrednei4569]

@@saccount-z3 Eastern Europe is where people vehemently explain to you that they're not Eastern Europe.

[@valacarno]

I once called California a Central American state and confused a lot of USAricans. How can you prove that it is *not* in the Central America??? There's no such place as "Eastern Europe" until russian empire persists. 🤷‍♂️

[@Strettger]

18:38 "a sort of EU enclave outside the EU". @kraut the word you're looking for here is "exclave".

[@jcdf2]

A vassal state?

[@hunord.9903]

I can't believe Kraut just said: "Oh it's Zeihan time!" And Mississippied all over the Danube!

[@zandaroos553]

Holy motherforking shirtballs is that an NCD reference !1!

[@wecare838]

If it were such a brilliant idea...

[@grand5863]

Given Austria's Schengen veto against Romania and Bulgaria within the week after you posted this, I think that you should upload an addendum of some sort.

[@philip6484]

Four days later and it has been made exceptionally apparent that Austria has no such aspirations...

[@Alias_Anybody]

Because polititians are after that poll in 2 weeks instead of strategic goals in 25 years. Sometimes it's really that simple.

[@kukulroukul4698]

@@Alias_Anybody cutting FORESTS like a lunatic without any atrategy is also...a one poll business ? Im asking this because there are 15 years already of INTENSE hatefull cutting in Romania

[@kukulroukul4698]

@@Alias_Anybody NO ! its not that ...its something DEEPER and its CULTURAL

[@BetaD_]

Mostly because of big innerpolitical problems here in Austria. So I think the aspirations are there, but it really depends on how these political problems will resolve in the fututre. Sadly the right wing partys are getting stronger and stronger here :(

[@ManamaEd]

​@@BetaD_ Of course they are getting stronger and stronger when the population is racist and xenophobic and always has been.

[@razvanmazilu6284]

Kraut, I think you have some inaccuracies here. The idea of the Danube-Black Sea canal has nothing to do with Ceaușescu. It was first proposed in the late 19th century, with the intention being to shorten the distance ships had to travel to the port of Constanța by several hundred kilometres. The engineering study, which would eventually lead to its construction, was performed in the late '20s. It's true that the construction started under the communists, in 1949, but this was before Ceaușescu. It would be accurate to say he was responsible for completing it, but it wasn't his idea, nor did he begin it. Also I don't understand the bit about Ceaușescu having to pay transport fees. Most of the Danube flows into the Black Sea through Romania. About 75% of the Danube Delta is part of Romania, two of the three major branches that flow into the sea are fully within Romania, while the third is shared with Ukraine (previously with the USSR), much in the same way the Danube is shared with Bulgaria to the south or with Serbia to the south west. What exactly would he pay for? Edit: also I missed the part where Moldova is separated from Romania by the Carpathian mountains. Moldova is separated from Romania by the river Prut, there are no mountains in the way. Perhaps you're confusing the larger historical region of Moldova (or Moldavia) with the modern day country of Moldova. Also I'm not sure where this rail line between Bucharest and Vienna that cost billions is supposed to be. There are Bucharest-Vienna trains, but they run on existing rail lines. Nothing new, at least in Romania. There have been talks of a high speed rail line between Bucharest and Vienna, but I'm sure not a single meter of it has been built in Romania. Don't know about Austria or Hungary.

[@bagadorsupreme4605]

There was a lot more than "Soviet fees" to the full usage of the Danubian Delta. Romania kept close ties to Yugoslavia and openly cooperated with Italy and France economically. After the Hungarian Revolution in the 50s the USSR wouldn't use force to quell the Warsaw Pact but could hold Romania by the balls so to speak by making the usage of the Delta impossible. Romania did the same by making the river un-usable for it's brother WarPact nations in a tit for tat. The canal looks dumb at surface level but was almost necessary for Romania to have a chance be open to the West like Yugoslavia did.

[@lukatomas9465]

@@bagadorsupreme4605 The Soviets certainly used force to quell Czechoslovakia in '68.

[@bagadorsupreme4605]

@@lukatomas9465 I did forget that, but the USSR was still wary of using force on Romania hence the economic pressure to attempt to bring Ceausescu to heel

[@LoneWolf-wp9dn]

yeah that bit about the rail line was definitely exaggerated... there are some sectors being refurbished now but the heavy mountain sectors are trash and will not get improved any time soon and the high speed line is just election bait

[@Gudha_Ismintis]

07:44 - The UK should rejoin and link the River Thames to the Danube via the Rhine - so Kraut can add fish & chips to his menu in Vienna

[@saccount-z3]

screw anglos, they have their own club around the world, europe is permanently closed.. maybe england would get invitation after irish unification, and scottish independence.

[@heisenstein6392]

Bahaha, that's actually a good reason to support it! But Brits, and by large the English-speaking world, are highly prone to misinformation and poor decision-making it seems. Turns out unchecked capitalism isn't a reliable method to ensure your country prospers internally and externally.

[@romanplays1]

You can get fish and chips also in the netherlands. Though there it is called kibbeling

[@JustEditingFUN]

The Rhine-Danube relationship reminds me a lot of the New York-Chicago relationship. It sounds like building it into an economic hub sounds like a great idea for Europe

[@alexandrub8786]

Yeah,sadly Austria seems busy not doing that right now. Now a lot of people get anti-austrian.

[@benpuljak2304]

except you're comparing two cities with two geographic systems which span across multiple countried and have nothing to do with what you're trying to relate

[@milosnikolic4520]

Greetings from Serbia! Great video and explanation about geopolitcs of Danube river countries and possibly their future.

[@vlax12]

What are you talking about? There are a lot of false and ignorant statements in this video. Only thing true is that Danube is important for countries that are connected to this river.

[@rick7424]

​@@vlax12Please enlighten us

[@aviztar]

Coincidentally, on this very day The Dutch government stated that they approve of Croatia and Romania's bids to join Schengen, but that they would block Bulgaria from entering the free movement zone. If this does come to pass and The Netherlands get their way, then the Northern part of the Danube will be the border between the EU and the rest of Europe. Also, a note on Romania: At the moment, the political class is livid with Austria for a number of reasons: the recent statements of certain austrian politicians regarding our bid to join Schengen, the closeness some of them seem to have with Russia, and various corruption scandals that involve austrian companies. This has lead certain pundits and talking heads to advocate for us to distance ourselves from Austria. As such, they are calling for a "divorce" between Romania and Austria, with Petrom to be taken back (by force, if necessary) from OMV, as well as jailing the heads of various austrian logging companies that have been accused of illegal practices in Romanian forests. Note that the loudest of these figures is Andrei Caramitru, who styles himself as being a technocrat, center left, pro-EU, pro-NATO, and a former counselor to the head of our pro-EU, pro-social democracy party, USL. Which means it is not comming (only) from the populist and/or extremist political parts of the country. The population is also more or less in line with this: they hate the way Petrom was sold of for what they view as nothing, they hate what the austrain logging companies have done in Romanian forests, and they are hostile to the ideea of a Danubian state or block (or whatever it can be called as it reminds them too much of the Austrian-Hungarian empire (which they despise). As such, Romanian politicians and political talking heads are favoring the Intermarium (the bigger and more ambitious version of Visegrad).

[@stekra3159]

How are these Austrian politicians bet they are FPÖ or OVP?

[@stekra3159]

We should really work on this. But first we need to get a new government in charge.

[@stekra3159]

This is so said futher interaction in the Danube Region could benefit all of us.

[@aviztar]

@@stekra3159 I didn't really catch their names or their party affiliation - not good with German names or the Austrian political world. I know that the chancellor spoke out against our bid for Schengen.

[@lettergam6282]

Well that seems reasonable,since all those Europeans west of Vienna will always view us as second-rate Europeans I hope to god we don't get into Schengen,maybe more people will realise how little "the west",our supposed model and trusted ally truly cares about us

[@TheGamblingisgood]

As a citizen of a country that I hope may join the EU at some point, this video was very informative. I'm British :(

[@alfieingrouille1528]

Ah I see you don't believe in the Democratic process please cry and seethe more

[@inaliann]

don't you rather be part of south asia? half of your population is from there

[@alfieingrouille1528]

@@inaliannLondon more like mini Mumbai whites are being replaced in their own ancestral lands but you can't say that or your seen as racist because if your not white you can't do anything wrong in this modern world

[@Gangst3r4ever]

@@inaliann It took me a few seconds to understand the joke ahahahaha nice one

[@TheGamblingisgood]

So it seems that the first trollish response has been removed. I take this as a shame, for Brexit trolls are a dying breed, and worthy of conservation efforts, not unlike orangutans. As for @inaliann and their great replacement-style rhetoric, well friend you too are worthy of museum curation, and I wish you only the best in your display case.

[@Potatoes85858]

Romanian here. Glad to see we're being mentioned on the channel :D Do you have any takes/opinions on Austria's decision (at least the current likely outcome) to block Romania and Bulgaria from entering Schengen? And what repercussions that would have on future further European integration in that area? Thank you!

[@madalinaanton3253]

Blocking Romania and Bulgaria from Schengen is actually against what he preaches in this video. His mind cannot see beyond Serbia to understand you kind of need România and Bulgaria first in order to develop the Danube, and that his government alienating our countries forever is against Austria's dirty and shady interests of ruling the Danube region, but in accordance with their petty and obscure interests that only them know and jerk off to at night. There is also a disgust for romanians and bulgarians in the minds of the internal affairs minister and the austrians chancelor, have you seen their faces while passing romanian journalists? If this is how they react when seeing a romanian, they deserve all of our pettiness in return, if they think we are unwhashed plebs lets show them we are drama queens. I don't care if it is eating the swans in Vienna, I unironically want to troll them in the worst way possible. That is why I am in favor of the boicot, I don't want to be the bigger person, I want to be petty, we never had their respect so we are not loosing much, so lets troll them hard.

[@Alias_Anybody]

It has little to do with Romania actually, it's about domestic polls and EU powerplay.

[@BetaD_]

As a guy living in Austria now I was quiet saddened about this decision. But the reason was mostly because of very deep innerpolitical problems in Austria. The reigning party here (ÖVP) is in a big crisis, since the last election wich they won they lost pretty much half of the support they had in the population. Most people dont trust them anymore. From ~ 40% to 20% now . Sadly most voters vent to the right wing party (FPÖ), because our left partys are also in a bad state. Therefore the ÖVP is scared of the strenghing right wing and trys to counter it with a more right wing policies to get voters back, like the fear of immigrants from the east and so they voted no... TLDR: Main reason is interpolitical problems and the hope to get power back, if they fight aganist illegal immigrants, which they fear would come, if they would have said yes... I hope the right wing movement wont get any stronger here. Bad times at the moment :(

[@BetaD_]

Austrian politics are sadly in a total mess since many years... So many scandals in a few years, with the outcome of a strengthened right wing party, even if this party had a lot of scandals too a few years ago. People sadly forget so fast and are voting for the same shitty party again and history will repeat itself. sigh... :(

[@Xerxesian]

you do realize that the whole austrian political system is serving the russian oligarchs at this point

[@Novalty_]

The graphic design from 20:30 till the end is top notch, simple but very well done! Love the colors, effects and compositions!

[@in5minutes556]

Kraut: Hungary and Austria are Serbia's best friends in the EU Romania: Am I a joke to you?

[@ncrvako]

Greece: apparently for him, yes

[@MarkoFTW]

Much love to both our Ortodox brothers from Serbia! Love both Greece and Romania!

[@adamaristophanes6055]

I am here just to say: Big love for 🇷🇴 and 🇬🇷 from 🇷🇸

[@Mixer2904]

Romania sometimes wants to pull a Banat card like they did before we were approved a candidate status in EU, Romania was the only country in EU to block Serbia's becoming EU candidate because of Banat issue, and while it was resolved it made Serbia pull away a bit from Romania and got closer to Hungary. As for Greece while nominally Greece stands with Serbia and Serbia stands with Greece like when there were fires in Greece and Serbia sent 1/3 of it's firefighters to help, relations on political level have been a bit cold lately mostly because of Serbia getting closer to Turkey and North Macedonia.

[@adamaristophanes6055]

@@Mixer2904 No, no. You misunderstood all. There was no Banat issue. And there is nothing with Banat at all. You are talking about Vlachs in Eastern Serbia (Timocka Krajina/Timoc, not Banat). That was an issue at that time in 2009. But that's too complicated. I am from that region and I have some Vlachian origins. It's mostly the thing between people who call themselves Vlachs and Romania, so it doesn't have much between Serbia as country and Romania. Basically, the thing between Vlachs and Romanians is the same as the thing between Montenegrins and Serbs. An ethnic question, are they two nations or one and the same etc.

[@PoliticswithPaint]

The Danube is really one of the most fascinating features of Europe. Great work!

[@PoliticswithPaint]

@The Philosoraptor Aw, glad you like it! More to come soon, too!

[@Nasqirelion]

Why do i watch this video and suddenly feel a surging feeling of prospects and future. Many parts of media should learn from this channel and this video in particular. This was amazing

[@vovaelephunk709]

Kraut, huge kudos to you for all your videos. I enjoy the way you structure your arguements, your narrative and the topics you choose. Keep it up!

[@ericoancea5558]

At 18:15 Moldova is separated from Romania by Prut river, not by Carpathian mountains.

[@ferbintegabriel4714]

I guess he got confused by the whole region of Moldova with the Romanian side and 'over the Prut' side.

[@lexethonor294]

@@ferbintegabriel4714 also a lot of his informations are wrong. The austria being called "the old enemy" by france, the Ceaușescu part. And those are some subjects i know a little. What about the rest of the video?!

[@Zdamaneta]

@@lexethonor294 but it makes Kraut look like clown since he didn't do some basic research before making this video. Most of the stuff he says about Romania is wrong.

[@saccount-z3]

@@lexethonor294 another thing kraut said is that austria and hungary are friends of serbia now.. when it is obvious that they have their own interest, in serbia joining eu. like when austria attacked serbia in ww1, and now they are trying to do it with different method, selling it to serbia as lucrative deal.

[@geeache1891]

The deeply rooted distrust on one side and the resentment on the other, will impact the relationship with Serbia with neighbours/EU for generations, I am afraid.

[@xvladdy5928]

The plans for the Danube-Black Sea Canal actually date back to the 1950's, long before Ceausescu came to power. Back then, Stalin had the idea of annexing the Delta in order to hamper Romania's economic viability as a transit nation for Asian cargo. In its place, a canal was to be built; it would still allow cargo to pass onto the Danube, but its capacity would be far inferior. Thankfully, Stalin died in 1953 and with him, the prospect of losing the Delta. That is, until Ceausescu came to power... Interestingly, among Ceausescu's megalomaniac projects, there was also a Bucharest-Danube Canal, connecting the capital directly to our socialist "brothers", namely Yugoslavia and Hungary. Until the fall of the regime in 1989, the canal was 70% finished. And ever since then, the project has laid dormant, with many calling it a dark reminder of the communist times. But recently, talks regarding the revival of the project have been made, with an auction set to finish by next year in 2023. What will come of this, we shall see.

[@razvanmazilu6284]

The idea of the canal actually predates communism. It was first proposed in the 19th century. There were some engineering plans drafted even before world war 2, late '20s, though it seems the proposal wasn't taken very seriously. Plus there was the whole deal with the Great Recession which hit Romania too, then the political instability of the late 30s and, of course, WW2...

[@TheArchie1112]

Excellent video Kraut! - I am a kiwi currently on backpacking journey through Europe, and have for the last month or so been travelling through various cities of the Danube starting in Vienna and now in Belgrade. Thank you for this video as it gives me a lot to think about this deeply historic and important region.

[@rokasrastonis4353]

Huh you made a very interesting point about the baltic states being semi theyr own thing and semi being a transitional region between visegrád and northern europe that ive never really heard here (im lithuanian). and i think that the state that the baltic states are in right now is (not the only) but a great example of your idea about these groups still being in a development phase, because since around the 2010s i remember how our nations were campaigning for being viewed as northern, but ever since the 2014 events in ukraine,it has been emphasised less and less, and we've doubled down on southern and eastern friends in cooperation due to the common interest of being threatened by russia

[@fcw2bom]

the eestipois still larp as vikings as hard as ever

[@warsepticagaming9527]

I wish you can talk more about the Malaysian Political Crisis, I feel like it would make me understand more about my own country.

[@TGX03]

I as a German find it very interesting how in all those 4 groups you mentioned, Germany doesn't seem to play any magnificent role, even though they are acclaimed to be the boss of the EU. You included Germany in the northern group, however I don't see how our relationship to Denmark, Sweden or Finland is that much closer than to France, Austria or Poland. I find it very interesting to see how this plays out and what role Germany is going to play within this system of unions inside a Union

[@darthplagueis13]

You know... Germany is kind of like the one socially awkward kid in class who suddenly is left all on their own when the teacher tells the class to quickly form groups because everyone else knows exactly who they wanna work with from the get-go. Except, somehow that kid also ended up as class rep. But more generally I get the impression that germany just occupies its own space and that its group is basically just the neighbouring countries (except for maybe poland because the political relationship between the two isn't particularily friendly right now).

[@cometdoggo]

I feel as though Germany *can* fit into any of the neighboring groups, but doesn't really belong entirely to any of them

[@lucaventinove3151]

I think Germany, either by being given or by assuming itself the role of the "EU leader" has basically kept itself above this process of groups formation in order to keep the EU united and stable. Germany constantly fluctuates between siding with Austria, the Netherlands and the Scandinavians and appeasing Italy, France and Poland. All in all I think Germany, maybe also thanks to its geographic position, has a strategy of making its own political group with France and Italy (see the short lived popular idea of the "EU Triumvirate" of France, Italy and Germany after Brexit). Idk if this strategy is going to pay off in the end

[@haydencampbell2197]

My hope for Germany is that it will take advantage in multiple groups notably Northern Europe, Visegrad, and Danubia for starters as kraut hinted to, Germany already has ties to Northern Europe especially with commonalities in culture and social democracy. Germany also is going to need to accept that it is pivotal in defending Europe against Russia being the largest economy in Europe, and therefore would be a great partner to “scared of Russia Europe”. Lastly I think Germany would greatly benefit by developing the Danube, as the river starts in Germany which means it has the most control over it. The may already have the economic centre of the Rhine valley, but whats wrong with two economic centres

[@_tracia_212]

GERMANY is PLAYING a role. With Romania it is a key country in Danube Strategy of the EU which includes billion of EUR to support it in all Danubian countries AND THE IDEA GROUPS OF COUNTRIES IS STUPID. That why Netherlands and Seven Dwarfs Group and V4 are just words. Main Point is that in case of Germany and France they cooperate with all countries of the EU Just understand this video is wrong in all aspects and do not take any facts from it as truthful

[@simonbayart3764]

It's been what ? 6 months since I last saw one of your vidéos man. And I gotta say its always one hell of a pleasure. The sheer commitment and astronomic amount of knowledge and detail brought up into the vid is astonishing. The fact that you're not seen and subsidised by eu to teach and make us reflect on our policies is beyond me. This channel is but legendary in helping anyone understand but any geopolitical stuff in a neutral vieuw. Belgium sends its regards

[@danoprea3066]

In the meanwhile, Austria blocks the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen agreement. This project looks like a stillborn.

[@velikiradojica]

Even though you are right about the tractors, Yugo was most definitely not produced in Belgrade. And even though the Danube was not used for international trade during the cold war, it was indeed used for internal trade in Yugoslavia, up until NATO blocked all traffic by blowing up 6 Danube bridges and damaging others.

[@Whyohwhy2]

Nice pfp

[@patrickreuter4549]

Well, next time don't genocide your neighbors, then.

[@Chris-qb8kg]

@@patrickreuter4549 Yugo has done the least, Like yk the Ustsha of Ww2 Croats mass murders of Serbs that even Hitler was concern and seen brutal. And may we remind u every single empire has tried killing serbs? And literally invade then/ Austrian Hungary, Austrian Empire, The ottomans, The Soviets techincally, the bulgarians, the Albanians.

[@adidoki]

@@Chris-qb8kg So ur response to croatian ustashe killing you, is to kill bosnians who had no weapons? How did the albanians kill u, if u deny their existence prior to 1912

[@Chris-qb8kg]

@@adidoki im not even serbian LOL, and second U do know albanians and bosnians arent liked cause they are seen as Ottoman mainpulated? As they basically change alot of them? Thats why they are hated?

[@comentator1154]

I love the animator for drawing Bulgaria in, every time the context is appropriate, even tho it is mentioned about 2 times.

[@maximilliantimofte4797]

4:50 the descriptions and images and the perspectives are extraordinary! never thought of it this way

[@Lyerbait13]

A fantastic overview. Thank you for such informative videos!

[@finnesse359]

Im really happy to see you posting so many videos over the past few months. Especially remembering some intros in the last 1 or 2 years where you talked about how hard it was for you to work on videos. I hope you are well and thriving in your work. Much appreciated :))

[@vinshochiarel]

LE: now after the vote regarding the Schengen zone, with Austria rejecting the bids of both Bulgaria and Romania, please try to sell better the idea of how they want to better "integrate" the Danube basin countries. it was a pure populist decision of the Austrian gov. which will sour the relationship between these countries for some time. from an environmental point of view, the danube-black sea canal makes sense as in you would preserve the wildlife of the national park of Danube delta from being frequented by ship traffic. also, you have easier access from the Danube to Constanta port (correct me if I am wrong here) which is the largest or second largest harbour at the Black sea.

[@mr.rainc0at614]

From an economical point of view, it's a total waste of money. As mentioned above, there wasn't much to move across that canal in the first place, it really was partially fueled by spite. But, I guess it did help preserve the environmental wildlife in the area, so there is that.

[@ignatzmeyer1978]

@@mr.rainc0at614 Well, if there is more to transport, for example because the Danube region is in one economic block, than it's much more economic. And a national park could also attract tourists.

[@mr.rainc0at614]

​@@ignatzmeyer1978 1) The statement "IF the Danube region is one economic block" is kind of why it was, in my humble opinion, not the most economic project to start off with. For a 2 billion dollar project, it was foolish to hope that all the nations along the river would cooperate, especially considering the canal was finally finished in 1987 after corruption and incompetency from the officials(mainly due to it being used as a communist labor camp in the early 1950s). The Soviets were crumbling, they certainly didn't believe in a unified Europe over in Romania. 2) "*blank* could attract tourists" is an umbrella term many nations and governments fall victim to. Ask yourself: would you go to Romania because of a singular national park? The matter of tourism is a flimsy justification for a project which didn't even start out with any environmental agendas in mind.

[@ignatzmeyer1978]

@@mr.rainc0at614 1) I don't argue that it was nonsense at the time it was constructed 2) Well why not? There are people who travel to such special places. Especially in Europe, where untouched wildlife is very rare.

[@mr.rainc0at614]

@@ignatzmeyer1978 Well, it seems we aren't in true disagreement. My main point is that the Romanian government of the previous century built a project that wouldn't be justified in the next 50 years, burning so much money due to lack of modern construction tech(refer to Soviet-style labor camps) and absence of any demand. I agree with your assessment of its future use as a link to Black Sea harbors and environmental qualities. But the Romanians who'll actually get to use the canal have to burn even more money to maintain failing infrastructure, and the lack of environmental planning in the 80s means that parts of the canal resemble infested sewage pipes. So I believe they should have built the canal in a later date, preferably in the current time. That would have, imo, been a brilliant government project. I also think using it as a historical reminder for the dictatorship would have also been pretty nice.

[@homonym7638]

Not only has this video taught me masses about the geopolitical dynamics and history of the Donau, as a fellow resident of Vienna, it's broadened my horizons regarding Floridsdorf, which I had originally written off as a knock off Pokemon at the end of the U6. Turns out a smart lad lives there, and for that I am forever glad! Thanks mate.

[@zuesadam7143]

You should go through the comments again to see how biased and poorly researched this video is

[@razvanrosu4119]

I bet you would feel different about this video since Austria decided not to let Romania and Bulgaria inside the Schengen area.

[@giobronskij8249]

I was wondering about the same thing, that’s why I came back to this video…

[@genericyoutubeaccount579]

That is a bold statement saying that the Danube integrated Austria. I mean this is a country with multiple different gauges of railway because certain parts of the country wanted to make it harder to trade with other parts.

[@kronkrian100]

Great video Kraut. Please cover the current political instability of Bulgaria soon. There is quite a bit to cover, you will find. That's one of the main reasons that Bulgaria is still being blocked from joining Schengen.

[@DireAvenger001]

Bulgaria is unstable? I thought it was one of the most stable in the Balkans

[@ionutbalta6607]

@@DireAvenger001 Thats not such a high point if ya ask me.

[@kronkrian100]

@@DireAvenger001 If by stable you mean 3 snap elections one after another with the last only having 40% turnout, then yes, the country is very stable.

[@W1ndF4lc0n]

@@DireAvenger001 As a country Bulgaria is stable, there is problem with the parties forming a functional government after elections. It's not any more unstable than Belgium who if I'm not mistaken also has trouble with their parties forming coalitions.

[@gyenes7423]

I love the little detail how you used the Hungarian translation for grain at 7:08. Such pieces can make the video feel a little more better, good job!

[@AX1.1]

Never stop making videos... Please, I need it. The sheer amount of knowledge and thought put in to your videos, out rivals a lot of content on KZbin. And as a citizen of the world I am thrilled every time you post a video, that makes me think and recontextualize what I am seeing. KRAUT THANK YOU ! And - Frohes fest (merry Christmas) !

[@l3ete1geuse]

This is the second video I've seen talking about the Mississippi river being an economic artery for the US in the last couple of months. I'm kinda curious why people are all the sudden paying attention to this.

[@Kraut_the_Parrot]

Because the Mississippi river infrastructure is being increasingly neglected and declining. I am pretty sure someone will make a video on it in the near future.

[@maYTeus]

it's not all of a sudden. It's probably the best internal river system so people bring it up. it's a shame we don't use it to it's full potential anymore.

[@thatcow86]

I live in what is probably the second-most important city on the Mississippi: Memphis, Tennessee. Right now the Mississippi has very low water levels, so basically no boat with any real cargo on it can really go very far before hitting a shallow patch that threatens to run them aground. On top of that, basically all docks and means of "connecting" up to barges (grain vacuums, augers, etc.) are in disrepair or have already been demolished. Even if you wanted to ship anything here, the means of offloading anything is in such poor condition that you can't.

[@maxturner653]

@@thatcow86 there’s places in stl area that has that potential

[@Student0Toucher]

@@Kraut_the_Parrot No its not please stop lying

[@attemptedunkindness3632]

While I love this historical love letter to the Danube, as an American living next to the Mississippi, I must say _thats a fine creek ya got there yerup_

[@noobii4208]

Damn, I absolutley love your content, bro. Please keep making great videos!

[@NFSAndrei]

I really like your video, it's very well animated and it summarises up the history of the Danube and I can say i found out new things. One thing i have to note is that you never mentioned Romania, at the subject of EU asscesion of Serbia. I understand you are Austrian and you might have a softspot for Hungary, but let's not forget that trough history, Romania and Serbia were the best friends and they still are. Keep up the good job and have a nice day!

[@ExtraInExile]

I'm in love with these kinds of intertwining politics, especially in the EU. A video about the US states similar to this one could be a banger.

[@PakBallandSami]

i lover videos dude

[@accessthemainframe4475]

Amusing that map of the "Visegrad" bloc at 24:30 doesn't include Hungary where the namesake castle is located

[@tonywilde1709]

Tremendous video as always, Kraut. Thank you also for addressing us (Ireland) as well as several other nations on the continental precipice.

[@Namedman]

I’m from Ireland, and before the uk left, they used to fight for stuff in the eu that we would agree with so we never really needed to join one of the blocks, now that the uk has left, we joined a political block with the likes of Finland, Sweden and Estonia in order to fight for the legislation that the uk would have done previously. I do forget the name of the group though

[@ferno056]

The new hanseatic league? Haven't heard anything from them since the start of covid. Lately we seem to be taking an interest in France(or to be more specific Brittany).

[@bengoacher4455]

The common sense block. I think the UK leaving has revealed some of the fractures that already existed in the EU. Previously the groups who didn't want the EU to become a federation were able to vote along with the rest of the EU knowing that the UK would block any attempts to bring EU nations closer together. But now those nations are having to pin their colours to the mast, to the surprise of the Germans and the French who thought that Brexit meant EU federation was a shoe in. The Dutch, Italians, Swedes, Danes, Irish etc are all opposed to any further moves towards a federal system, or giving greater powers to the EU. Just look at the far right* Italian government and the protests in the Netherlands over farm productivity. *So the mainstream media went on a nutty one calling the italian government far right and neo-fascist with dubious links to Mussolini. Yet as of 05/12/2022 I have heard nothing from Italy in regards to suppression of free speech, violence against minorities, strengthening the role of the church or promoting nationalist sentiment. Infact the most extreme position the Italians have held is refusing to allow a boat full of illegal immigrants from Africa to dock in its port that one time. Maybe I'm not getting the full picture, or maybe the liberal media went way over the top calling ordinary people fascist so much that the word has lost all meaning.

[@WhatIsSanity]

16:36 this is one of the cutest scenes I've seen in a while. I don't know why it just is.

[@taterbits]

Would love to see a video on the indivudial choices/paths you think the Balkans are on, specifically Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia & North Macedonia. Thease are often left to the sidelines of EU politics and pointed to as the 'evil' parts of Europe.

[@Daniel-jm7ts]

Romania probably has a bright future ahead considering their rising economy, meanwhile bulgaria is a literally dead country which will only have 5 million people in 2050, north macedonia is a poor landlocked country with ethnic tensions and disliked by 3/4 of its neighbours and Serbia will conqure Washington in 2025

[@danilonikolic4188]

@@Daniel-jm7ts Which neighbour doesn't dislike North Macedonia?

[@Daniel-jm7ts]

@@danilonikolic4188 Serbia I guess

[@Daniel-jm7ts]

@@adamaristophanes6055 that's literally what I said

[@damjanp7920]

@@Daniel-jm7ts tbf is there a neighbour Serbia doesn't dislike

[@Kasopea]

Your videos are always so interesting and informative; food for thought that I wouldn't otherwise consider. But my favourite part is still the Poland-ball illustrations.

[@roban2799]

Incredible video that gave me a great new perspective in the E.U and how it perhaps one day can be truly unified which is something I highly hope for

[@noahhuffstutler2686]

I reject the idea that "The Balkans" is an outdated concept. The Balkans are a region where 3 power projectors meet. The Danube river to the north projects into the entire region, but doesn't provide any access to the all-important Mediterranean. The Mediterranean allows for power projection along the region's expansive coastline, but the many mountains just off the coast prevent much projection further inland. To the east, the Carpathian Mountains prevent most power projection from Eastern Europe, except through the plains of Moldavia and Wallachia, and the Black Sea. It is no coincidence; that Russia, Austria, and the Ottomans were geo-political rivals; that the one power that came closest to uniting the region was the Ottomans when they controlled both the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; and that the current battle over the region is done by those who control these power projectors today, ie. France, Austria, and Russia.

[@froglifes6829]

Low IQ comment. Ottomans were not the ones to come close to "unifying" the balkans....

[@ericmyrs]

The little logos for the European power blocks were cute as all hell. Kudos!

[@Sev826]

HOly moly i love love this channel been binging everything thank you

[@flame1526]

Nice youtube channel. It is obvious that you love this, work hard and know a lot about it (because you love it, you love learning about it. I'm also in love with history but don't know much about it.). I don't want to praise you that much so ill just say keep doing the good job!

[@hunyadijanos2353]

Ceaușescu's canal was actually good. It has made the acces to the Black Sea easier, conectica the port of Constanța to the Danube. The bad part about the Canal is that it was build with prisoners, most of them victims of communim. If you want a stupid construction made, the Palace of the People (the Parlament of Romania).

[@bakerzermatt]

Nice! A pronunciation tip if I may: "Me-di-te-rain" is incorrect, that word has six syllables: "Me-di-te-rai-nee-un"

[@AlinJ.]

He's been pronouncing it like this in all his videos and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

[@falkkiwiben]

Nah, it's an older word he uses. Which fits with his entire ideolect which sounds like an 80 year old's RP

[@datguy8530]

I love your video's they're always so easy to understand. Thank you for your work

[@MrBoliao98]

I think, this is one of the best videos I have had in years. Like I did not think of the neglect of the Danube, and yet it is so important.

[@christianoliver8068]

It seems one of Krauts favorite background songs has finally found a video truly fitting of its inclusion

[@kimisutra5730]

This was the "theme" of my IR thesis but I went with a wider scope. I hypothesized a Central and Eastern European regional political bloc through the three seas initiative. A resurgence of the Polish vision of the Intermarium, but slightly modified. Europe does seem to be shifting into the regionalism concept and it would be interesting to see how it unfolds in the future. Great video as always!

[@razvanmazilu6284]

As a Romanian I'm much more favourable towards the Three Seas Initiative than towards this proposed Transdanubian block. It makes much more sense to me, particularly because of its greater scope and, I suspect, it's one of the few things where I'm on the same page as the politicians.

[@kimisutra5730]

@@razvanmazilu6284 The main criticism for many countries within such a bloc would be that it would devolve into a Polish sphere of influence where Poland would try to politically and economically dominate the other members. Speculative perhaps but something to think about.

[@razvanmazilu6284]

@@kimisutra5730 I'm not on board with everything Poland has been doing, but I also think our interests are pretty well aligned in principle: greater security facing east, economic growth, creating a new pole of influence within the EU to counterbalance the traditional ones. As a Romanian I'm not so much worried about Poland's potential influence (after all, within the Intermarium Romania is the 2nd largest country), what worries me is the potential for backsliding away from liberal democracy that exists in some of these countries (including mine) and that has been made manifest, in my opinion, in Hungary.

[@kimisutra5730]

@@razvanmazilu6284 That was precisely what I argued in my thesis and I totally agree. Even with the massive hurdle of the political aspect of such a bloc, the economic and strategic benefits outweigh the cons - in my humble opinion. But for some countries, drifting away from such a core European tenet like liberal democracy and the Polish ambitions of leadership, might prove too hard a pill to swallow. Mind you, I think Poland makes for a decent leader in the region but then again I am not European so my opinion on that front doesn't count.

[@juniorjames7076]

@@kimisutra5730 You will find out there are a host of outside actors with an interest in derailing such economic corridors of alliances. Some of these "enemies" might surprise you. If your institutions are vulnerable to corruption, well..."the lizard can't crawl into the wall if there aren't already cracks!"

[@lukatosic3927]

Killer video man! Gj as always

[@jasamkli5778]

This is so true. Im from Northren Serbia ( Vojvodina ) and find this video so objective and acurate. Im glad new generations are much more capeoble of co-operation then those before us. Lets keep the business boomin !

[@AstroBioMan]

Rail, so useful we even built it under the sea to play more nicely with France

[@milos4387]

Good video, so refreshing to have a video covering Balkan/Serbian politics from a western viewpoint. From a Serbian perspective, I can’t say Austria/Hungary are helping Serbia integrate into the EU, rather they are pushing Serbia to adopt policies that don’t align with our interests (Kosovo, sanctions). I believe public opinion in Serbia is not anti-EU (yet, it is growing), but rather there is not enough political will from the EU to integrate Serbia into the union, even if we adopt the union policies, so there’s no good reason to give up our sovereignty. And I think the current government pushes this exact narrative, even though they are pro-EU, they can also see that integration isn’t likely in the near future.

[@mrcatman6374]

It's sad because joining the EU will instantly propel the wealth of the country like it did its neighbours.

[@Bionickpunk]

@@mrcatman6374 It really didnt. Bulgaria still has an economy on par with Serbia´s, Romania only started getting better once the people fought for a better government, which you can do without joining the EU.

[@DerDop]

@@Bionickpunk ? say what? Romania's Economy skyrocketed, in fact, wages in most cities make immigration in Italy and central Europe counterintuitive, and so did the Bulgarian Economy. Bulgarian GDP per capita is 50% bigger than Serbia's, while Serbia, a country with 6 million people, has a GDP smaller than Bucharest or Budapest, cities with 1/3 of Serbia's population. "Romania only started getting better once the people fought for a better government, which you can do without joining the EU." that's a beggar's thinking, the state had nothing to do with growth but the EU common market and the Romanian workforce. With the notable anti-corruption laws and work regulations(one of the best in Europe, it's practically impossible for a company to abuse you and escape unpunished), everything the government has done is monstrously stupid, see Shale Gas and Black sea resources, infrastructure projects and so on. You can have the best government in the world( see Moldova or even UK) if your trade link( EU) is cut, you're zero. and you can have a mediocre government, like Hungary does, and do better than Serbia because you're in the EU and it's easier for Mercedes to open a plant in Gyor and waste money on expensive transportation than in Belgrad, where you could save money by transporting your cars and parts on a ship. Economically and politically illiterate people should abstain from making comments on certain topics, or they should not expect to be taken seriously. I'm gonna drop a hint-question: why do,in some cases IT companies prefer Europe over India? maybe because EU makes it clear that only European companies should process some types of European data?

[@milos4387]

@@Bionickpunk Bulgaria’s GDP P.C. jumped 30% compared to Serbia since they joined the EU, while both countries have a similarly declining population. Economically it would be a blessing IMO. The freedom of trade/open borders is a must for the smaller countries in central/east Europe.

[@boomerix]

Well from a Hungarian perspective, any time I see something on the news in the last 4 years that is about cooperating with neighbouring country, doing a project with them etc. etc. it is 8 out of 10 times Serbia.

[@gabrielebursi5509]

Amazing video as always Kraut

[@a0flj0]

This clip is to a large extent just phantasy.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

A couple of gripes about your comments about US rail. While US passenger rail is underdeveloped, US freight rail infrastructure is actually pretty decent. Also, the main artery for water travel within the US is not the Mississippi but the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. If you look at the “rust belt” of America where most manufacturing happens, it lies along the Great Lakes. Otherwise, this is a very interesting video!

[@SanFranFan30]

exactly, the primary reason passenger rail is underdeveloped is because of the Automotive and Oil lobbies pushing hard for Highways and blocking passenger rail projects.

[@bengarland7822]

Yes the Great Lakes are the probably the best waterway in regards for manufacturing. But the Mississippi Basin is massive for agriculture transportation. New Orleans has one of the largest grain storage facility in the world because of this

[@TumultuousTitan]

The Mississippi Basin has been underutilized for the last 60 years. Mostly this is due to the Jones Act which limits who can build, crew, and load/unload cargo for US to US shipping. It has incentivized rail and road transport of goods. So while there is still shipping via the Mississippi and it's feeder rivers, there could be a whole lot more.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@SanFranFan30 It’s easy to blame industrial cartels, but the weakness of Amtrak has more to do with consumers desire to use cars and planes. That’s not to say that industrial concerns didn’t do anything underhanded. I’m from Los Angeles, and we went 4 decades with really terrible public transportation. It’s gotten better over the past 20 years-not great, but mostly workable.

[@souvikrc4499]

@@SanFranFan30 There's also the issue of private railfreight companies squeezing their workers and failing to invest in infrastructure, which nearly led to a crippling rail strike just this week.

[@miguelteixeira6323]

I would like a video about Portugal and what you think about it. You already touched this subject many times but never made a video. Love your videos

[@alin-mihai]

And then Austria went and shot itself in the foot by blocking Romania and Bulgaria from the Schengen zone

[@fogrepairshipakashi5834]

Ah, the explanation around 3:45 explains why I saw so much Croatia vacation ads in Paris.

[@sebastianhalmagean7037]

Thank you so much for another amazing video kraut! Had such a long week at work and this is exactly what I needed to watch while unwinding! Cheers!

[@4T3hM4kr0n]

3:21 "u have big long juicy coastline madamme"-Kraut attempting to flirt with a Croatian Women...probably

[@dheemanrajkhowa2866]

Gosh! I loved the fleshing out of European policies and differences by Kraut as an outsider! Much love from India!

[@elmarmoelzer2229]

Great and thoughtful video! I really enjoyed that one. I am Austrian myself, though now an expat living in the US. I remember back when I went to high school, I was learning about a "Europe of Regions" rather than a Europe of Nations. I think this sort of ties in neatly, though the "regions" defined back then were somewhat smaller than the bigger regions you outline here. So as food for thought, I want to add that there might be smaller "sub- regions" within those bigger blocks. I find it also worth considering that the Bavaria which has a very long history with Austria (and has a kind of special status within Germany) could (sort of) become part of the Danubia block, even if the rest of Germany would not. Equally, due to their relative vicinity to the Mediterranean, some southern parts of Austria might actually be more associated with the Mediterranean block. I am particularly thinking of Southern Styria (and my hometown Graz), which has strong historic and cultural ties to Slovenia. My grandmother used to live in Marburg (or Maribor as it is called today). There is also geographic tie to that region. Southern Styria is separated from the rest of Austria by the alps and open towards the Mediterranean and even climatically it is more like that region than the rest of Austria. Or, some part of the northern Mediterranean block like Southern Tyrol might actually find themselves more associated with Danubia... It will be interesting to watch how things develop. The EU is in many ways still an experiment and the outcome is hard to predict. Anyway, you gave me some food for thought. Love many of your other videos as well! Keep it up!

[@anonymoususer8895]

Nah. You’re in CANADA. Not the US.

[@MrLucylp]

17:27 Kraut I think you made a mistake here. The US rail infrastructure in terms of freightrail is actually one of the longest in the world. It is pretty well maintained. Mainly for goods travelling from the coasts inland and the other way around. The Mississippi is still used a lot true, but not to an extent that makes rail in the region useless. Proberly has something to do with supply chain efficiency(not unloading and loading goods to often and using the largest ocean vessels) and also the Jones act should not be forgotten.

[@dasbubba841]

The US has perhaps the most extensive freight network in the world, with trackage second only to Russia. The passenger rail network is pretty underdeveloped though.

[@dasbubba841]

The US has perhaps the most extensive freight network in the world, with trackage second only to Russia. The passenger rail network is pretty underdeveloped though.

[@erikgustafson9319]

then why havent we eletrifed yet

[@newhaveni]

as a us citizen I would like to add that from the 1950s-1970s the us rail system shrank due to government neglect and railroads being held down by regulations that dated from the late 1800s when rail was real the only means of fast and safe transport for people and goods

[@erikgustafson9319]

@@newhaveni Only now are we recovering, but we still have new outdated Cringe Sd70s being used for commuter service. To put this in perspective, it's like using a DR 132 Ludmila on the S Bahn with push-pull coaches. That's what is unfortunately happening in Chicago .

[@Aeyrlol]

As an American, I greatly appreciate your videos as an education that I was not given in school.

[@atomicgandhi8718]

Be careful with Kraut Vids, they are in my experience about 50% credible. He's got a tendancy to be a bigbrain academic and waffle on and miss simple things. However Kraut is a great entry point into topics as he always brings up interesting things and explores them very deeply (perhaps too deeply to form a concise, accurate conclusion, but its good fun). Case in point, recently he made a video about Putin being a radical idealogue who truly believes some crazy things. In reality Putin's an Amoral strategist, he spouts quotes from whatever ideology is useful to him at the time then discards it when its no longer useful. Case in point Putin will parade old soviet glories with one hand, and with the other will deploy the notriously fascist Wagner group mercenaries.

[@dylans8198]

90% of you just were shit students who still have no perspective

[@AsylumDaemon]

Aren't you guys only learn about british and european american history in american schools?

[@miguelpadeiro762]

@@atomicgandhi8718 I don't exactly remember the video by heart but didn't he refute the whole "Putin is a loyal folower of whatever the name of the Rusisan philosopher was" argument he presented at first, explaining, just like you said, how he's a machiavellian amoral strategist, taking quotes from the bloke because they suit his current agenda

[@Totallyfizzle]

​@@AsylumDaemon One thing non-Americans frequently get wrong is assuming that there is only ONE American school system. The US has 16,800 school districts spread throughout the states, and the school curriculums within these districts vary. I grew up in Massachusetts for example, through my years of schooling I learned about ancient civilizations like Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. European history from ancient times to the modern day was discussed, as well as that of other regions like South America and Asia. Of course, US history was brought up too.

[@thorskjelver8564]

This video is a very different watch after having visited Vienna myself. Really enjoyed this rewatch.

[@valentinstoyanov304]

Thank you for this interesting perspective. Greetings from Kozloduy an der Donau!

[@IMPERIALYT]

Fantastic yet again, glad you finally managed to get this out

[@averagetim8660]

Ich dachte bis jetzt immer du wärst ein deutscher aber krass bist einfach in einem Nachbar Bezirk

[@EarlyCrafterLP]

Your Videos are yust insane Bro. Pls keep going the way you are. :D

[@studmuffinthuglife]

Another excellent Vid! Can't wait for the next :)

[@mr.figgles9482]

I always love hearing about Europe’s geopolitical decision making. The diplomatic pursuit of geological interests is fairly lost on North America. The US and Canada are so big that they already have access to nearly everything they’d want, be it resources or ports, and so our political squabbling often boils down to a fight for the attention of the public, rather than specific national interests. The national interests usually take on a global scale that will often lose me just by its sheer size.

[@mr.figgles9482]

In short, thanks for being great Kraut 👍

[@danielsurvivor1372]

Isn't USA already heavily invested in foreign policies due to NATO and middle east wars? Although I wonder how much can USA do to improve EU project. or should USA focus on success of its neighbours like Mexico/Canada and potentially South America?

[@jonasstrzyz2469]

@@danielsurvivor1372 There is no doubt a large involvement, yet it seems that the public at large seems ignorant or indifferent to geopolitical issues.

[@nemolalilulelo5251]

You could say a bit more about the role of Germany in all of this. It's a bit strange that Germany almost doesn't appear in this video, when German influence on everything in EU is very strong.

[@kingace6186]

Another amazing and provocative video essay.