The Eastern Bloc countries can provide a combined total of 1 million men at arms, the economic gains made of a union could equip them with up to date military hardware, combine that with the nukes and military of UK and France etc you end up with a confederacy with a strong Air Force, Navy, More then a million front line soldiers, Nuclear weapons and an economy to back it up.

I also wasnt claiming this would happen, I tink the union would tear itself apart with Germany, France and UK all trying to claim top spot.

Also I maintain that America is no longer a super power, it is still a major world power but one of several/many. The 1979 recession was different, the Cold War was still in full swing and a healthy dose of paranoia is good for a country. Since the fall of the USSR America has sat back content it is the only world super power but when it is called to action to back up those claims it struggles - Afghanistan has been a disaster, the refusal to stand up to North Korea, Russia and Iran has been notable.

The hardware may still be there but America the nation is no longer willing to use it - a muscley man who refuses to throw a punch wont win many fights

France surrendering to an ally could be a tad cringe worthy I guess

Don't worry, I'm not mad. If it was a German who made that comment I might have been offended. But coming from a Belgian and knowing the state of
that nation is in, well... De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart ziet.

Anyhow, Eastern EU member nations are our nuclear buffer states? Ingenious! Bog the ruskies down with Polish corpses, tactical nuke them when they're stalling. I like the way you think.