Britain and the EU (that old chestnut!) -- FCS Discussion Forum

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, [6], 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

Subject: Britain and the EU (that old chestnut!)

Author:
Ed Harris (Venezia)

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 23:02:02 11/26/04 Fri
In reply to: Matt(UK) 's message, "Great but i'm still skeptical" on 22:38:25 11/26/04 Fri

I don't know if the Europeans would be so upset if we left. On one level, there are Europeans who take our Euroscepticism as a kind of personal rejection or calculated insult, and are just unable to comprehend why we should not want to open ourselves up to the glories of being European. On the other hand, I have met more rational Europeans - and not just Germans but Latins too - who have said that Britain's leaving the EU would be the best possible thing for Europe, since it has been Britain's putting the brakes on every five minutes which has scuppered hundreds of European projects and slowed the whole show down. Indeed, it could be argued that, had we not joined, there would be a United States of Europe already.

If we were to leave, the most destabilising factor in European integration would disappear overnight; so although certain precious European tempers might be a bit frayed, I think that the really hard-core integrationists would probably breathe a sigh of relief; and the very next day they'd start to draft plans for a centralised bureaucratic army directorate, a centralised bureaucratic foreign office, a centralised bureaucratic legal system, a centralised bureaucratic police force, and all the other centralised bureaucratic systems which Europeans love so much, without having to think all the time, "Now, how can we phrase this so as to stop the bloody British from derailing it with all that nonsense about democracy?" They can all hold hands happily and wander down the path towards what they see as the promised land, without some fat, uncouth and drunken Anglo-Saxon mob digging its heals in and trying to convince them that they are actually wandering towards a ghastly nighmare world in which the Beloved State chooses one's way of life and in which there are no sausages and the bananas are all the wrong shape.

In my opinion, it would be a kindness to Europeans for us to leave!

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> [> Subject: Don't be pessimistic - keep a positive mind
Author: Jim (Canada [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 23:34:34 11/26/04 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ]