>EU is no safer than Japan. see the current Ukraine-Russia war.
Ok, IDK why I keep seeing this but I have yet to see any basis in objective reality for it.
Two years ago? Sure. But now with Russia having expended a minimum of half of all of its military stores on a proxy war with a previously insignificant former Soviet vassal, there is no rational reason to consider them to be a security threat in the region. Yes they still have enough nukes to level pretty much everything but if that happens, everywhere becomes insecure so it's not a real consideration.
The worst possible case for the EU (aside from general nuclear exchange, but again...) at this point is some sort of migrant tsunami (pun intended I guess) from a failing Russian state and subsequent loss of stability in neighboring regions to the south but I'd absolutely take that over being within rock throwing distance of an exponentially militarizing China, particularly given that the EU and China aren't even really adversaries in any meaningful way.
> there is no rational reason to consider them to be a security threat in the region
Putin is a dictator. Actions irrational for Russia could be rational for him. Would NATO risk broad conflict if he puttered around in the Baltics? I think so. But do I know so? And wouldn’t challenging NATO like that play rather well domestically?
Ok, IDK why I keep seeing this but I have yet to see any basis in objective reality for it.
Two years ago? Sure. But now with Russia having expended a minimum of half of all of its military stores on a proxy war with a previously insignificant former Soviet vassal, there is no rational reason to consider them to be a security threat in the region. Yes they still have enough nukes to level pretty much everything but if that happens, everywhere becomes insecure so it's not a real consideration.
The worst possible case for the EU (aside from general nuclear exchange, but again...) at this point is some sort of migrant tsunami (pun intended I guess) from a failing Russian state and subsequent loss of stability in neighboring regions to the south but I'd absolutely take that over being within rock throwing distance of an exponentially militarizing China, particularly given that the EU and China aren't even really adversaries in any meaningful way.