As you know recently our leader Mr Cameron "upset" the french and germans at a recent summit and used a veto ! Public opinion is rising against the EU on the top of the financial crisis ,enveloping the eurozone, America(and Canada and Asia are losing faith in the further integration fiscally of the Eurozone as well ! This got me to wondering about the way countries like Norway and Switzerland deal with the EU , ie cherrypick good bits but opt out of the bad!! I think the UK might be better served coming out the EU and dealing with Scandinavia and America ! before the EU we still traded with France ,Germany , Spain etc , I suspect the same would continue anyway! I was just wondering where you guys think we should go and what direction Mr Cameron should take us?
Usually most people I talk to about this are either Pro or Anti EU. I've got a load of friends at University at the moment who study politics and are always raging on about it so it's quite nice to hear both sides. From my (very) elementary level of A-Level Economics, most countries go through periods of Boom and Bust (doesn't take a genius to work out which one the EU is in right now ) so I guess one of the options would just be to ride it out and eventually it WILL get better. The problem I can see with this is that if the EU keeps on letting countries join, it will mess up this cycle as it won't be able to stabilize, leading to a downward spiral. As you say, for a while when the EU was made up of 'more economically developed' nations and new countries were only filtered in rarely, this boom-bust relationship was a lot less extreme. But if the EU does manage to flourish and we leave, doubt we'd be allowed back in again....
At the risk of sounding like Neville Chamberlain, I think we're in a good position right now. Germany and France will fight tooth and nail to keep the UK in the EU, either through positive means (i.e. concessions that the Tories and/or coalition ask for), or negative means (threatening not to allow us the same status that Switzerland and Norway enjoy if we leave). That's not because they're particularly bothered about us, but because if leaving the EU is seen as a viable option, the Euro would be the ONLY glue holding the thing together, and it's under enough pressure as it is. The problem with the EU isn't Brussels, it's the European Court of Justice... and the ECJ's problem is that it is a court. Its job should be to outline whether particular interpretations of European treaties are reasonable or not. What it frequently does is to turn generic treaties into highly specific pieces of law that all members states must adopt. I see the ECJ as make or break to the EU. Unless it is reformed to the satisfaction of more militant countries such as the UK and Scandanavian members, exits from the EU are inevitable in the long run.
If the UK left the EU, they might leave the CI alone at last. Having European Union on our passport when we're not, even though they are British Passports is ridiculous. On the front cover of my (and every other British Jersey passport holder) is "European Union" then below it is "British Islands Bailiwick of Jersey" which differs from "European Union United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
We've got to sort out UK or not UK up here first. I suggest Scotland leave the UK, leave the EU, assume a status similar to Norway with salaries increased to match but keep UK type tax...... lol
I think Scotland and Wales should leave the UK and join the Euro....whilst England stays in the EU but on the fringes, taking advantage on the sausage or cheese nosher growing desperation for us to stay in. That way, we get rid of all the parasites....
Hmm - odd statement - race being defined, inter alia, as a group of people united or classified together on the basis of nationality! And then off to church? Glad I'm an atheist and don't have to associate with such parasitical groups Happy Yuletide!
welsh and scots are celts by race, i'm half welsh half english living in scotland, all for independence as long as we can gain control of the oil and don't have to pay for defence... yeah want my cake and eat it. I guess cheese and sausage noshers might be considered racist, proves the point that we all celebrate racial difference and do refer to it from time to time, even those who sling stones find themselves in glass houses. merry christmas, is that an allowed statement or does it offend the jewish, muslim, hindu and sikh amongst us... wishing everybody a non pc (sensible) 2012
More than happy for The Scots to have independence and with that goes their Oil revenues - it also means picking up the tabs for the Scottish Bank failures are losing all of the British Gov jobs currently based there i.e. Tax Offices, Student Finance England, Submarine Bases etc. Same for Wales, the DVLA and royal Mint can be moved to Swindon... Definition of Race is a highly contentious debate and is often blurred with adding ethnicity, nationality etc. I prefer the biological definition of race and not the anthropological or sociology perspective. This makes Scots, Welsh, English, Germans all of the same race...
Oops - Just re-read my comment last night and I am rather embarrassed - I apologise for any offence caused, it was not intended, just a rather poor use of words. Again, my sincere apologies for any offence caused...
