--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: EU didn't advance our [Eastern Europe]…" description: "\"EU didn't advance our [Eastern Europe] democracy by a single millimeter.\" — Vaclav Klaus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/vaclav-klaus-12549_democracy_eu-didn-t-advance-our-eastern-europe-dem_151142.jpg" --- # EU didn't advance our \[Eastern Europe\] democracy by a… ![“EU didn't advance our [Eastern Europe] democracy by a single millimeter.” quote by Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/vaclav-klaus-12549_democracy_eu-didn-t-advance-our-eastern-europe-dem_151142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/vaclav-klaus-12549_democracy_eu-didn-t-advance-our-eastern-europe-dem_151142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/916/vaclav-klaus-12549_democracy_eu-didn-t-advance-our-eastern-europe-dem_151142.jpg) > “EU didn't advance our \[Eastern Europe\] democracy by a single millimeter.” [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political progress cannot be measured by tiny increments; true democracy requires substantial change. **In simple terms:** Democracy needs big steps, not tiny ones. Key Takeaway Aim for meaningful reforms. Themes politics democracy reform Mood critical reflective Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy making - EU expansion - civil rights movements - nation building Key Concepts incrementalism political theory Questions to Reflect On - What defines genuine democratic progress? - How can we avoid token gestures? A Different Perspective Small gains may mask deeper systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Eastern europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eastern-europe/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't see myself as any advance guard, or feminist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-lupino/i-didn-t-see-myself-as-any-advance-guard-or-feminist/) [Ida Lupino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-lupino/) > [Democracy is also a single ideology, and, like all such templates, it has its limits. what works in a legislature might not work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fareed-zakaria/democracy-is-also-a-single-ideology-and-like-all-such-templates-it/) [Fareed Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fareed-zakaria/) > [But how can you speed up the transformation of society in a country as large as Russia? Those sounding the moral outcry are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/but-how-can-you-speed-up-the-transformation-of-society-in-a-country/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Europe is a democracy and differences of opinion are part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/europe-is-a-democracy-and-differences-of-opinion-are-part-of-it/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [In Europe democracy is a falsehood. I do not know where it will end, but it cannot end in a quiet old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klemens-von-metternich/in-europe-democracy-is-a-falsehood-i-do-not-know-where-it-will-end/) [Klemens von Metternich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klemens-von-metternich/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I have not the slightest doubt that the economic measures and the Socialist measures which one will find in countries of Eastern Europe, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-callaghan/i-have-not-the-slightest-doubt-that-the-economic-measures-and-the/) [James Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-callaghan/) > [Luckily I was not born in Eastern Europe, because I might have been born into the communist establishment and I'm glad I was not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-hass/luckily-i-was-not-born-in-eastern-europe-because-i-might-have-been/) [Amira Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amira-hass/) > [We should never forget that Hollywood was built by Europeans, and the old Jewish boys from Eastern Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-schell/we-should-never-forget-that-hollywood-was-built-by-europeans-and-the/) [Maximilian Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-schell/) > [Italy spills over to everything. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [In a summer marked by instability in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I know the world also took notice of the small American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/in-a-summer-marked-by-instability-in-the-middle-east-and-eastern/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [And my heart beat faster for the mountains of eastern Europe, finally, beat faster for the one hope that somewhere we might find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/and-my-heart-beat-faster-for-the-mountains-of-eastern-europe-finally/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [We will stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. We will stop that nuclear arms race that could happen in the Middle East. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/we-will-stop-iran-from-becoming-a-nuclear-power-we-will-stop-that/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) ## More by Vaclav Klaus > [My main concern is the political dimension of European integration. This is one of the most important issues of all, as far as I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/my-main-concern-is-the-political-dimension-of-european-integration/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [That means following a very restrictive fiscal and monetary policy which will squeeze the monopolies and cut their subsidies. On the micro level we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/that-means-following-a-very-restrictive-fiscal-and-monetary-policy/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > ["not a scientific body capable of accurately assessing the facts about global warming".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/not-a-scientific-body-capable-of-accurately-assessing-the-facts-about/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Nevertheless, there is another threat on the horizon. I see this threat in environmentalism which is becoming a new dominant ideology, if not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/nevertheless-there-is-another-threat-on-the-horizon-i-see-this-threat/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Human relations tend to be more difficult when you're dealing with someone who weighs 30 kilograms more than you do. That's when you worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/human-relations-tend-to-be-more-difficult-when-you-re-dealing-with/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [The climate change debate is basically not about science; it is about ideology. It is not about global temperature; it is about the concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/the-climate-change-debate-is-basically-not-about-science-it-is-about/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [I am afraid there are people who want to stop the economic growth, the rise in the standard of living (though not their own)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/i-am-afraid-there-are-people-who-want-to-stop-the-economic-growth-the/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Communism was replaced by the threat of ambitious environmentalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/communism-was-replaced-by-the-threat-of-ambitious-environmentalism/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [I do not consider the Lisbon Treaty to be a good thing for Europe, for the freedom of Europe, or for the Czech Republic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/i-do-not-consider-the-lisbon-treaty-to-be-a-good-thing-for-europe-for/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [And finally, there is another danger: the emergence of nonideological but very aggressive 'isms,' which are really quite new. Let me at least name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/and-finally-there-is-another-danger-the-emergence-of-nonideological/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [To reduce the interpretation of the causality of all kinds of climate changes and of global warming to one variable, CO2, or to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/to-reduce-the-interpretation-of-the-causality-of-all-kinds-of-climate/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [I was 25 years old and pursuing my doctorate in economics when I was allowed to spend six months of postgraduate studies in Naples,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-klaus/i-was-25-years-old-and-pursuing-my-doctorate-in-economics-when-i-was/) [Vaclav Klaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-klaus/) > [Common foreign policy is completely unnecessary. The various European countries have widely differing priorities, goals and prejudices. 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But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. 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Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. 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