Will RUSSIA Join The European Union?

This video is about seeing if Russian Integration into the EU is Possible.

First, we will give this question some legitimacy by giving some arguments in favor.

Russia has a lot to give to the EU economically by having huge oil and gas resources - more exactly it holds 80 billion barrels of oil making it the 8th in the world and with a production of 11 million barrels per day that’s the 3rd in the world. You can imagine how much that would help the economy of Germany which rightfully abandoned those resources after the invasion.

Russia is culturally close to the EU, by having a Christian historical background just like all the other EU member states, and the Russian people are a Slavic group just like Poles and Checs

Russia is on the European continent which is the geographic requirement for entry. Of course, the majority of Russia is in Asia but given that the majority of the citizens live in the European part this can be a small issue.

In 1993 the European Council agreed on the 'Copenhagen criteria' which defines the conditions for membership.
Let’s see how Russia does with regard to the criteria

Stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities - The problem with Democracy in Russia is the lack of it. Even with Vladimir Putin having a pretty good approval rating, there are still cases of him faking the election just to be sure of winning.

A functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU - If the average Russian knew that moving to the West is somewhat possible, the country would overnight become older than the bible, there’s no chance Russia is in any way, shape or form ready for such a thing

The ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic, and monetary union. - The Russian economy right now is as healthy as an 80-year-old grandma with a severe form of alcoholism, with the GDP per capita almost 3 times smaller than the European one, and huge inequality on top of that I think the verdict here is very clear.

Right now Russia would need to stop the war in Ukraine, return the land taken, change its political class including Vladimir Putin, change its electoral system to be more democratic or at least ensure fair elections, raise its economy from the dead, and change a lot more other laws to integrate into the EU.

You can imagine how hard is to change one thing on the list. Oh yeah, and the cherry is that Russia right now doesn't want to join the EU.

In conclusion, Russia has more chances of joining the African Union than the European one.

But hey, what do you think? Leave a comment down below and let me know.

Thank You for watching!

00:00 - Start
00:56 - Introduction
01:20 - Arguments For Integration
03:14 - Arguments Against Integration
05:13 - Conclusion