Very true unless they do what certain other countries have done re the might of the USA. Just sat back and say "The Americans will protect us". Fortunately NATO has indeed shouldered some of the burden.
I, having worked and travelled in Scotland and treated handsomely in spite of being a "Sassanach",fear another entity. It is the entrenched bureaucrat. From the billions given to say Africa, aid to Haiti and so on, the bureaucrat has "first dibs".
Scotland wanted a new parliament building and rightly so. The initial estimated cost was 40 million pounds (about $60 million dollars. The final cost was 414 million pounds and was started in 1999 and finished 2004.
The Welsh people were mulling over separation at one time from England. In 1966 a huge coal tip overlooked Aberfan. The rain permeated it and hit sloshed down to the town. 144 kids and 5 teachers died. An immense fund was contributed to. The bureaucrats got hold of it. The mine company tapped the fund for 150,000 pounds to clean up the tip. The grieving parents were asked by the bureaucrats; " how close were you to your child?" This to evaluate compensation. I stand to be corrected, but the real victims got but little.
Later a shamefaced Mining Board refunded the money- much later. I know this is a bit of an off topic ramble, but even in Canada, millions are handed out to Indian reserves. There are cases of chiefs taking most of the monies- any attempt to audit is met with cries of "racists". They are now called First Nations.
The rain permeated it and it sloshed down to the town.