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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/3/2009 2:19:34 AM |
Do you think Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Peugeot etc would base their manufacturing plants in a country that wasn't part of the main economic trading bloc? -
Yes, because they have plants all over the world in places which aren't in the EU.
But NOT in countries who isolate themselves from the main trading bloc of their region. Give me an example.
These car manufacturers were not here before we joined the EU as you wrongly claimed. At the time there was an EU import tariff on Japanese cars. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/3/2009 9:01:12 AM | Trouble is your scenario doesn't stack up, according to Eurostat, GDP is down by 5.4% in Germany, 9.0% in Ireland,and 3.8% in the UK.
Unemployment figures don't stack up either, lowest unemployment rates in the Eurozone Netherlands (3.0%) and Austria (4.2%), and the highest rates in Spain (18.1%), Latvia (17.4%) and Lithuania (16.8%). whilst the UK is at 6.9%. Germany seems to be suffering worse than the UK at 7.7%.
Not much stability there. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/3/2009 9:58:29 AM |
And finally, I promise, that wonderfully high-living-standard country Switzerland has all the benefits of being in the EU but because of being historically always neutral, it just doesn't sign up to the Treaty. Now who's daft? The Swiss for wanting EU benefits or the UK for not wanting them?
The 'daft' ones would be those who pay around 4 billion pounds per annum to receive the 'privilege' of EU benefits, which, from your statement, the Swiss get for free....... | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/3/2009 2:35:57 PM |
If you look at your post #125 yourself you will see that in an attempt to show me how untrue those truths are you stated yourself a number of laws that existed prior to our EU membership. You mentioned the consumer protection act, clean air, copywrite law and there are others too that we had such as employment protection laws, discrimination ect etc. The EU legislation has added to and improved many of these laws but the point is, as you noted, that we did actually have such laws already.
So, you've finally accepted my point! Took long enough, but better late than never.
Take the number of 'brand new' laws and do the math and you should come up with about 9.4%.
No, I want YOU to do that, in order to support your comment about 9.4% of our laws coming from the EU.
To do that, I need to know which figures you used and from where you obtained them - otherwise, as you accept, I will continue ot think that you've just invented that figure to 'support' your pro-EU stance.
@Anniesea
I apologise, I drop the line of argument, I read you wrong, OK?
Aplogy accepted.
I don't like the government of the EU either.
You are not alone, lol !
But I hate the idea of not being in Europe.
Is that 'Europe' in the sense of the Continent, or in the sense of the EU?
If the latter is so, there is nothing to fear about not being in the EU.
And I think you're right about our economy, which is why I suggested that the economies are balancing out and it will be a (cliché warning) level playing field.
I'm only interested in the 'level playing field' if my country is performing well as a result of it. Quite frankly, I'm not bothered about the standard of living attained by the average Latvian or Frenchman.......I'm bothered about that of my own and my fellow Britons.
Switzerland:
Wikipedia is your friend, it's the best summary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland_and_the_European_Union
Fascinating reading!
And a bit scary, too.
It seems that the Swiss have got it made with regard to the EU, on the face of it, but examination reveals a quite dark side.
They keep having referenda, but two things disturb me:
1) The EU holds a gun to their head with regard to the removal of the two treaties, thus exerting pressure for a 'yes' vote.
2) The government of the United Kingdom cannot bind subsequent governments, yet there doesn't seem to be a similar mechanism for the Swiss. Once an EU law is accepted, can a future Swiss government repeal that law?
What does make the European Commission answerable - albeit at one remove - is that the Commissioners are appointed by elected Governments.
Further to that comment:
It could be argued that as the EU comprises 27 democracies, each of the Commissioners is appointed by an elected government, and that ensures that the EU Commissioners are democratically elected.
The point fails because the Commissioner for , say, Malta, is not subject to election in, say, Ireland, yet his decisions have a bearing on the laws that are passed in Ireland.
Aye, I'm a dreamer - but if no-one dreamed, no-one would know where they wanted to go or what they wanted to be. It's just the making it happen that becomes so difficult!
Sadly, I'm a realist.....I tend to deal in the reality of a situation (just ask my former girlfriends!) rather than its aspirations. I have seen what is wrong with the EU, and have no desire to wait and see how it progresses in the hope that all will be sunny in the garden.
And I do apologise, PoF doesn't provide a violin smiley.
I was referring to the joke violin we all play when someone is giving us a load of sentimental crap!
The 'daft' ones would be those who pay around 4 billion pounds per annum to receive the 'privilege' of EU benefits, which, from your statement, the Swiss get for free.......
Fcuking excellent point!
Amarillo:
These car manufacturers were not here before we joined the EU as you wrongly claimed.
GM came here in 1925, and Ford has been here for decades. They seem pretty global to me...... | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/3/2009 5:20:03 PM | 9.4% of our laws - well, my maths have never been much good so I thought you might like to have a look at this link where the blogger has tried to do the maths and gives his sources:
http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=2230
It is an interesting read just for the fact that it puts Hans-Gert Pottering's speech into its full context and replaces the bits UKIP forgot to mention. (It's a damn awful read physically, warning - it's white typeface on a dark blue background.)
For what Pottering was actually saying was that the European Parliament (not the EU) legislates on 75% of laws passed by the European Union
So that's 75% of the EU's legislation is enacted by elected MEPs. The link goes on to a guesstimate of between 10% and 20% of UK legislation comes from the EU, and a lot of that is due to the way that the EU uses primary legislation - equivalent to our Laws - to enact what in the UK would be secondary legislation - our Regulations.
For example, the EU uses "Laws" each year to determine that year's CAP amounts, in the UK this would be done by the placing of a Regulation before Parliament, and Regs are seldom debated. An equivalent I do know about is the benefit Law - the Primary Law establishes the benefit and its scope, the Regulations each year set the annual amounts payable. No-one debates the Regs - the principle of the amounts emerges from the Budget Speech, and the Regs are just additions to the primary legislation.
Switzerland DOES pay into the EU - the wikipedia article I linked does give that information - a little functional illiteracy from someone who only read what they wanted to see perhaps.
Why the mention of Ford and GM? The (car) manufacturers that came to the UK to establish a base within Europe were the Japanese, not the Americans! While trade tariffs against Japanese goods existed then a soft-employment-law country within Europe was a good place to locate your Japanese factory.
Some people never get sarcasm, do they? Sorry:
Msg 3:
Few people know that the Treaty of Rome states that the goal is 'ever closer political union'. That means only one thing - one nation, one state, one leader. Does that sound familiar? It's exactly what Napolean and Hitler wanted
Now, that is not an argument for or against a European Union. So Hitler wanted it.So Napoleon wanted it. So what?
Was it one of their good ideas that sadly failed in the way they tried to accomplish it?
Was it a bad idea that fortunately failed?
I repeat: Just because you don't like the supporters of an idea doesn't (dis)prove the worth of an idea they had in common.
I could legitimately read the statement to say that it is a pity that such a great idea only found two proponents in history strong enough to try to make it work, sadly their methods don't meet my approval, but it is a great pity they couldn't have made it work in a better way.
Quite frankly, I'm not bothered about the standard of living attained by the average Latvian or Frenchman.......I'm bothered about that of my own and my fellow Britons.
Hmmmm. Selfish or what? It's your right to live by your own lights I suppose. But wait a minute... Doesn't a fellow Briton who is also a fellow PoF forumite have a business interest in Latvia? I am sure he isn't the only one. Won't he / they make more money if their business generates more income from a wealthier clientele? So isn't it in his interest to encourage a stronger Latvian economy? And if he / they make/s more money then won't they spend it in our economy? (Enlarge that argument to all those who have business interests in Europe.) Win-win, I would say.
Sometimes a professional interest group can make a good case for saying the pie that has to be shared can be made bigger by an increase from the holder of the purse strings. (Mixed metaphor, sorry!) But sometimes realism says there isn't anything in the purse. An economy cannot grow for eternity, resources (including the human mind that can create new ways of generating income, of course) are not limitless. When there are haves and have-nots...
Would you rather be in a United Europe or living on the edge of a power bloc that might want to come after your land and its resources? Why did we fight against Napoleon and Hitler? To stop the creation of a United Europe?
Well, sorry, the dream / nightmare has come true. There is a United Europe. It even includes those troublesome Balkan States! And this tiny island can no longer fight against it. Forget the sentimental cr@p - I acknowledged the nature of that by trying to provide you with the (sarky) violin - the reality is we need to work out how to make it better and fight to achieve that (in a civilised way!), not quit it and leave it to grow in strength while we spend years trying to adjust to being a small nation on the edge of a continent whose self-interest will keep its trade within itself when a push comes to a shove.
A level playing field it won't be! Sort of like being in the goalmouth at the downhill end of Yeovil Town's old pitch wanting to score at the other end against a Manchester United team. I hate MUFC but in such a situation I know which team I would be betting on. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/4/2009 1:34:21 PM |
9.4% of our laws - well, my maths have never been much good so I thought you might like to have a look at this link where the blogger has tried to do the maths and gives his sources:
http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=2230
It is an interesting read just for the fact that it puts Hans-Gert Pottering's speech into its full context and replaces the bits UKIP forgot to mention. (It's a damn awful read physically, warning - it's white typeface on a dark blue background.)
Yup, it took some reading!
And whilst Nosey did a good job of promoting the pro-EU postition, he provided me with ample support for my stance with regard to the EU and Britain's laws.
Firstly, he admits that he hasn't a clue as to the true percentage!
"But considering that we’re looking for a percentage of the *number* of laws that stem from the EU, it is worth bearing in mind that Statutory Instruments make up the bulk of all UK legislation, with an average of around 3,500 passed every year for much of the last two decades. In 2008, 3,389 Statutory Instruments were passed, while the UK Statute Law Database lists 2,414 results for the same year. With no study (that I’m aware of) having been conducted on how many of those have an EU origin, it is hard to tell the percentage."
Secondly, he appears to be confused as to what constitutes a 'law'.
"It is worth noting again here that Cameron says “almost half of all regulations affecting our businesses come from the EU”. Some laws may be regulations, but not all regulations are laws, so we need to tread a little more carefully here."
Well, Nosey, EU Regulations become the 'law' of each member state without being scrutinised by Britain's parliament. From Wiki:
"A regulation is a legislative act of the European Union which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into national law. Under the European Constitution regulations would have become known as "European laws" but this proposal has since been dropped."
The reason why Nosey doesn't wish to examine these Regulations is because they are FORCED upon the member states!
However, to be fair to him, he does acknowledge that as far as business legislation goes:
"In terms of the number of regulations, the EU this year accounted for only 20%. The reduction from the previous EU level of about 30% is the primary reason for the overall decline in 2007/8."
But...........what about the Statutory Instruments that the EU created during that time? He doesn't include them in that figure! And that is just for the 'business' sector....
What IS clear from Nosey's column is that various figures can be produced to support a stance......hoever, as far as I'm concerned, ANY law which is created by this nazi organistion is one law too many! | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/4/2009 1:55:27 PM |
Switzerland DOES pay into the EU - the wikipedia article I linked does give that information - a little functional illiteracy from someone who only read what they wanted to see perhaps.
I saw that bit, and did a little research, because I didn't believe it was true.
Lo and behold, I found this , issued by the Swiss Government:
http://www.swissembassy.org.uk/eda/en/home/reps/eur/vmlt/erwmal.html
"Switzerland has made available CHF 1 billion for the countries that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. With this sum, Switzerland expresses its solidarity with the new EU members, which are making major efforts to reduce social and economic inequalities. The people of Switzerland approved the EU enlargement contribution on 26 November 2006 with 53% of the vote in favour.
The contribution to Malta amounts to CHF 2.994 million. It is based on the Swiss-Maltese framework agreement of 20 December 2007, which sets priorities concerning areas of activity and governs procedures. Switzerland’s most important partner in Malta is the Office of the Prime Minister, which functions as the National Coordination Unit. All project applications are submitted via this point"
The Swiss do not make annual budget contributions to the EU, because they are not members. They made these two payments in order to help their new trading partners.
Why the mention of Ford and GM? The (car) manufacturers that came to the UK to establish a base within Europe were the Japanese, not the Americans!
I referred to Ford and GM in response to a ridiculous comment that someone made with regard to foreign car companies coming to Britain purely because we were in the EU. I simply pointed out that car companies used to come here before we joined.
Now, that is not an argument for or against a European Union. So Hitler wanted it.So Napoleon wanted it. So what?
You missed my point.
I am opposed to ANY organisation which seeks to merge the countries of Europe into a single political/national identity, especially if it seeks to remove the democratic right of people to vote for/against it.
Selfish or what? It's your right to live by your own lights I suppose. But wait a minute... Doesn't a fellow Briton who is also a fellow PoF forumite have a business interest in Latvia? I am sure he isn't the only one. Won't he / they make more money if their business generates more income from a wealthier clientele? So isn't it in his interest to encourage a stronger Latvian economy? And if he / they make/s more money then won't they spend it in our economy? (Enlarge that argument to all those who have business interests in Europe.) Win-win, I would say.
If the EU were solely a trading bloc (ie the one that we joined in 1973 - or so we were told), a Briton would be able to trade with any other member as he chose. I have no objection to that!
Would you rather be in a United Europe or living on the edge of a power bloc that might want to come after your land and its resources?
So the EU is planning to invade Norway? I hope a-ha are somewhere safe!
And I'm sooooo glad you used the term 'power bloc'.......another of my objections to the EU.
not quit it and leave it to grow in strength while we spend years trying to adjust to being a small nation on the edge of a continent whose self-interest will keep its trade within itself when a push comes to a shove.
Does our location have anything to do with anything? We ARE a small nation, and always have been, so I don't get your point. Are you suggesting that the British way of life will be compromised by not being governed by the EU? | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/4/2009 3:20:26 PM |
I am opposed to ANY organisation which seeks to merge the countries of Europe into a single political/national identity, especially if it seeks to remove the democratic right of people to vote for/against it.
AT LAST. Hallelujah!
12 pages later we again arrive at the crux of the OP's question. Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU? I think that through this debate it has been made clear that the opposition isn't just because of the laws / rules/ diktats that emerge from Brussels but because there is a deep-seated feeling that a united Europe is not a good thing.
Can I split your statement please?
Firstly, you are opposed to a merger of the countries of Europe into a single political identity. Why?
You have given many reasons why you don't approve of what Europe is doing but nowhere have you said why a politically-united Europe is a bad idea. I have tried (even to the extent of exposing my idealistic dreams to the ridicule of the violin!) to explain why I think it is a good idea. I cannot find any reason you have given to say why it is a bad idea. (I am asking about the concept of a politically-united Europe, not about the practicalities of the current arrangement.)
Secondly, I don't see the current European politicians aiming for a single national identity, but if you can prove that is indeed the case, then I will concede that point. I personally don't see anything wrong with Europe becoming a federation like the USA but as I haven't seen any proof that there is a desire to form a European nation nor any exposition of how such a federation might be formed and governed, I have no considered opinion currently to express on its desirability or not.
Thirdly, you qualify your objection to a united Europe by adding
especially if it seeks to remove the democratic right of people to vote for/against it.
Can I take this to mean that if there was a democratic right of people to vote on the matter you would not be against a united Europe? Or are you so convinced that such a vote would be a Europe-wide "NO" that led to the end of the European organisation? Or do you think that if the UK did have a referendum on European membership the vote would be for withdrawal?
What proof do you have that the European organisation at any level is seeking to remove any "democratic right" to vote - on anything?
What makes it a "democratic right" to vote on the matter anyway? We delegate our rights to decide on the future actions of the country to the Government in General Elections, and the variety of democracy in the UK means that the wishes of the majority of voters (sort of, again another debatable point) decide the Government who enact the policies they feel are best for the country. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/4/2009 3:51:43 PM | MSG 287
Can I just draw your attention to the thread title?
It concerns the European Union, not the idea of a politically-united Europe.
What proof do you have that the European organisation at any level is seeking to remove any "democratic right" to vote - on anything?
The fact that the EU laws are created by unelected officials. Sure, there is the pretence of democracy with regard to the EU Parliament, but I don't consider that to be good enough.
We delegate our rights to decide on the future actions of the country to the Government in General Elections, and the variety of democracy in the UK means that the wishes of the majority of voters (sort of, again another debatable point) decide the Government who enact the policies they feel are best for the country.
But at least we have the chance to vote for those people. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/4/2009 5:26:15 PM | joining the EU is simply about money and a number
Once the sterling pound starts buying 0.95 or less of a Euro - see how quick we take it on
It is inevitable
The hidden arguments are over then who has power. Not which government runs europe or steers it. But which bank!
And who owns that bank? And depending on the owner - then who owns Europe?
We tried in world war two to take land and property by force. Did not work. Now it is taken by commerce and commodity. We are pawns in the game of Risk. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/5/2009 12:53:11 AM |
Is this not the same as saying an MP in say Scotland is not subject to election in say England and yet his/her decisions have a bearing on the laws that are passed in England?.
So as well as wanting the breakup of the EU you also want to the the breakup of the UK? or am I confused?.
Yes, you are!
At no point in my posts have I suggested that I wish the breakup of the union of Great Britain, and it's pointless asking you for the relevant quote because:
1) It doesn't exist.
2) When requested to provide relevant quotes (such as the ones in which you claimed I changed my view) you are most reluctant to do so.
Besides, aren't we discussing the EU, and not the UK?
Having said that, it IS similar to the West Lothian question (whereby a Scottish MP passes laws that do not affect his constituents) in the fact that it is a voting anomaly. Scottish voters elect MPs who are not legislating for them. In the EU, the Maltese Commissioner is creating laws for people who are unable to vote for him.
See the difference?
And see my problem with that system?
FYI I don't have a problem with the EU and trade, as far as I can tell. It's the political aspect that gets my goat.
HTH | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 6/5/2009 1:54:36 AM | | The EU makes it easier for Brits, or you English, to go and work on the continent, even buy property, something you English have been doing for a long time, but it also makes it easier for people from the Continent to come and work here, both ways i am afraid, and you don't like it...Your happy to bleed the locals of elsewhere, but not happy with a taste of your own medicine... | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/7/2009 2:44:05 AM |
I never said that you called for the break up of the UK
Then why ask me if I wish it to happen?
It's not the topic, for a start.....
it is an interesting topic given that if we did break up we would be entitled to far greater representation in Brussels if we were in the EU as seperate independant nations instead of just as the UK only.
And how did you arrive at that conclusion?
I'm going to take it that you accept that it would be suicidal for the UK to leave the EU in terms of our trade and not being in the Euro unless you tell me otherwise.
On what posts of mine did you base that comment?
Please don't assume anything about what other posters think without either reading their view in a post or by asking them to clarify.
Before I go into the comparrison between Europe and Westminster in terms of our representation being elected and accountable, may I just clarify with you as to whether your contention is that the UK is also not democratic or representative either but it is at least ours or are you saying that the EU is not these things and that Westminster is?
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, but it might help you if I state that I considered the UK to be a democracy until we handed over power to the EU. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/10/2009 12:13:59 PM | We don't need political union to trade with our european neighbours. Originaly the EU was supposed to operate under the guise of 'free trade', which meant an end to heavy trading regulations so each country could import and export free from beaurocracy.
What we have with the EU in its current state, is a bunch of unelected commissioners making OUR laws behind closed doors. These clowns are answerable to noone. Democracy does not exist as far as these parasites are concerned. Weeks ago people were up in arms over our own MPs expense claims, they are a drop in the ocean compared to those of an MEPs.
But the most fundamental issue with our membership is democracy and freedom, freedom to make our own laws in our own parliament. Successive governments have stripped away our sovereignty, and failed to give us our say on europe, trotting out the same tired old arguments that without the EU our economy would be in free fall.
What a load of hogwash! countries signed up to the euro are prisoners of the european central bank, this is suicide during a recession, they cannot control interest rates which effectively means they no longer control their economies. At least we have our own currency, unless Mandy gets his way.
Why do I hate the EU? because it is nothing more than a prison of nations, a disgusting filthy undemocratic gravy train that's grown in to a monster. The white elephant in the room is a white elephan no more, but it's too late for the UK. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/10/2009 12:20:18 PM | | Quite simply because the Brussels beaurocrats seem to know what's best for everyone else and more often than enough it is all some trivial matter against which there is so much going on in the rest of the world. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/10/2009 1:54:23 PM | The EU is a shambles, a bumbling bureaucracy that has long since outlived it's usefulness. For fully developed countries, anyway. Therein lies the problem... we are heavily subsidising the former Communist bloc countries who are milking this cash cow for all it is worth and giving us little in return.
I have no problem whatsoever with Eastern Europeans. In fact I admire their intelligence, articulacy (most of them, anyway) and strong work ethic. Nevertheless, Britain is full and should close the doors, especially in the current New Labour-engineered financial crisis.
Don't any of you Leftikos give me any of your nonsense about their necessity in the labour market, either. If our Welfare State wasn't so bloody ridiculously easy for chavs and layabouts to exploit, then they would be taking up the positions that others currently enjoy. As a moot point, isn't there an argument that many undesirable people BECOME like this, precisely because they can get away with it? (i.e. the "something for nothing" benefits culture?).
Having said that, even the "they do jobs Brits won't do" argument is flawed. I know many Plasterers, Electricians, Plumbers, Joiners, etc. who have been undercut and/or made redundant due to the unchecked immigration we have seen since this EU behemoth's latest expansions in 2004 and 2007. God help us all, if Obama and his NWO lackeys get their wish and Turkey joins next, even though Turkey isn't even IN Europe.
Just my two-pence worth...
(For the record, before anyone jumps to conclusions, strictly speaking I am neither Left-wing, nor Right-wing. I'm more Libertarian than anything else, favouring as I do a meritocracy with minimal government and reduced Welfare State). | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/11/2009 2:20:06 PM | We were told the creation of the common market would just be that " a common Market" based mainly on trade. We weren't told we would be ruled by a bunch of faceless, unaccountable bureaucrats on bloated expenses bent on destroying this country?
Name on benefit we derived from belonging to the EU?
I could name many many disadvantages. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/11/2009 2:26:51 PM | It's my opinion that the EU parliament is as iniffiecient as it is because of a rather special set of circumstances.
We are in a transition period from being nation states to a United States if it all comes off.
When America went through the same thing, it had a civil war to sort out differences. We aren't having a civil war, instead, we have a parliament which has to satisfy too many masters thus creating the inifficiency.
In 50 years or so, we'll probably reach a point where the EU government is less cumbersome and far more powerful, with Westminster being more like a local town hall than a real seat of power.
This may or may not come to fruition, but it is definitely the intention, and it is definitely the reason for the inefficiency. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 7/25/2009 3:36:33 PM | | because uk people are "little islanders" and i think its time we stopped being!!!!! Though i agree the EU is inefficiently run and tells countires what to do all the time and is divisive (better to have an EU that covers ALL of Europe inc russia too). | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 8/1/2009 11:30:53 AM | @tjslater:
Europe may not have had, like the USA, a Civil War as such, but it is 2 generations away from becoming a majority Islamic continent. Simple demographics tell us that. Whichever way we look at it, the EU has failed to unite the people's of Europe and instead has sent it spiralling toward it's destruction, as a result of Liberalism, careless economics and relatively unlimited immigration. | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 8/1/2009 12:47:06 PM | The main reason the majority of everyday Brits are against the EU is because it's continued expansion puts a massive strain on our economy. The 2004 expansion of the EU put our country into recession, many of the Eastern bloc countries which joined have a very low GDP, meaning they have nothing of any financial benefit to the UK. So far they have only been taking money from us.
Brits are also concerned about Turkey joining the EU, Turkey is a massive and poor country compared to the UK. People fear that it would significantly effect the population of this country once a mass exodus of Turks begin migrating to the UK. Our benefits system would be available to tens of millions of Turks living in Turkey, putting a colossal strain on our economy.
Other concerns for us are the fact that the EU commision is considering a future for Morocco in the EU, despite it being in Africa. Spain plans to build a rail link to Morocco. Skeptics state that it would be of no financial benefit to Europe plus the fact that the European Union would have to fund it.
I think these are the 3 biggies, appologies if people have mentioned them already, I wasn't up for wading through 14 pages of zeegary mania! (only joking zeegary!) | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 8/2/2009 2:54:04 AM |
because uk people are "little islanders" and i think its time we stopped being!
Can you define 'little islanders' ?
Didn't this 'little island' once run a quarter of the globe?
Though i agree the EU is inefficiently run and tells countires what to do all the time and is divisive (better to have an EU that covers ALL of Europe inc russia too).
Hmm....so, it's inefficient and tells countries what to do?
So why do you like the EU? | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 8/2/2009 11:22:46 AM | @WAKH:
Turkey must not be allowed to join the EU. It is a beautiful country, but nevertheless a country with values and traditions which are decidedly un-European. This would sound the final death knell for Europe as we know it.
Besides, Turkey is not, geographically speaking, even in Europe (apart from the strip of land stretching from the west side of Istanbul to the Aegean Sea coast). | |
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| Why are so many British people so opposed to the EU ?
Posted: 9/1/2009 11:42:26 AM | I mentioned ages ago on this thread that the EU creates around 70% of our laws, and the remaining 30% that our government creates are subject to EU approval, thereby making the EU responsible for all our laws.
Something came to light this weekend which demonstrates that fact beautifully!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6808592.ece
"Error leaves children unprotected under 1984 Video Recordings Act"
"People selling adult videos, including pornography, to children are to escape prosecution after the discovery of a Whitehall blunder that means that the 1984 law regulating the video industry was never enacted.
The video industry was stunned by the Government’s admission that the Act was not properly enacted 25 years ago. Officials in the Home Office had failed to notify the European Commission of the existence of the Act as they were required to do so under an EU directive. "
So, the democratically elected government of this country produced a law which was unenforceable until sanctioned by the EU - just like I said!
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