No, Britain should stay in the EU, both sides will gain from that, now if I only could convince my countrymen to let us join as well.... 
Should Britain leave the EU?
- Thread starter Dr. Dr. Doktor
- Start date
MrPresident
Anglo-Saxon Liberal
Why not the countrywomen as well, you know they do have the vote now.
What kind of tax? Income tax? VAT? Corporate tax? Giant radioactive monkey tax?
The US has never had an isolationist policy.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
The last one.
Or aggregate taxation.
Used to think all the rumors of such a negative attitude of the English towards the EU were exaggerated. Seemingly, I was mistaken. 
Britain tried to make its own European axle - but it failed, and Britain rushed into the EC. Maybe they are still jealous of German-French success in building a working union?
Britain tried to make its own European axle - but it failed, and Britain rushed into the EC. Maybe they are still jealous of German-French success in building a working union?
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1160824.stm
There's been another one one this year, with few differences, IIRC.
There's been another one one this year, with few differences, IIRC.
Dr. Dr. Doktor
Emperor
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2002
- Messages
- 1,354
According to the BBC piece.
"However there was resounding enthusiasm for a common European foreign policy with 65% of people expressing their support and for a common defence policy with 73% in favour."
Yes, people still want their cake and eat it too. Do people not understand that internal European peace is best achieved by sharing wealth - unless the European army is supposed to act as the 'slave' army of Capitalism.
It is remarkable how it is the supposedly well-off countries who are the most anti - EU. I say: Misers!
"However there was resounding enthusiasm for a common European foreign policy with 65% of people expressing their support and for a common defence policy with 73% in favour."
Yes, people still want their cake and eat it too. Do people not understand that internal European peace is best achieved by sharing wealth - unless the European army is supposed to act as the 'slave' army of Capitalism.
It is remarkable how it is the supposedly well-off countries who are the most anti - EU. I say: Misers!
I'm aware of this. The situation about opinions has not changed much for the last decade. Ok, I can understand why Britain is so reluctant to go further, meaning introduction of euro etc. But what about Sweden? Though, I believe both take advantage of the free trade and other benefits of the EU.
Hamlet
Manic Depressive
Can't see any point in leaving. We benefit by being in tremendously.
MrPresident
Anglo-Saxon Liberal
Yes, but could we benefit more by being in ordinarily?
Hamlet
Manic Depressive
I can see how you could make a case for that.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
We do benefit from it. It also costs us tremendously, and for that reason I would like there to be a consideration of a review of our position, with withdrawal as an option.
Hamlet
Manic Depressive
I can't see how the costs (Which aren't immense.) outway the benefits.
What would the other options be? And don't say 'Trying to get out of stuff we don't like and accepting the stuff we do' because it aint gonna happen.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
I didn't say the costs outweighed the benefits. I said that the costs were sufficiently substantial (e.g. CAP) for it to be folly not to look carefully at what membership actually means, and what areas we can withdraw from (if any).
It'll all come to a head one day, anyway, and if I had my way we would be chary of getting too deeply involved before it drags us down with it.
Hamlet
Manic Depressive
We also get a lot back through development fund aid, and CAP itself, strangely enough. That's before we go onto the obvious economic strength it brings to us in terms of jobs, investment and business confidence, along with being in a unique diplomatic position, etc, etc ad nauseum.
Membership means if you sign up to treaties and ratify them, then you have a hard time pulling out of them. 'Re-negotiation' essentially requires all The EU countries to agree to that. Which won't happen. You can't just say 'Oh dear me, looks like that's a bit nasty, so we'll just withdraw from that.'
Was that suposed to be some sort of argument aside from being a rather pointless statement?
Switch625
I don't care.
I suppose by that logic I, as a resident of Illinois, should resent the residents of Mississippi. Should Illinois leave the US?
Hamlet
Manic Depressive
Terminate funding of all emergency services and the army as well, because the government is a net payer with regards to them. They are clearly no use whatsoever.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Development fund aid? That's our money anyway. We pay money into the EU, and they 'filter' it, and give us back some of it - about £6bn from £11bn, IIRC. I'd rather we just kept it and spent it ourselves.
The money we receive from CAP is absolutely tiny compared to how much it costs us, as you well know. So don't try that one.
Diplomatic position I'll give you, and is about the only reason why I don't advocate full and immediate withdrawal. If I were sure that we would be given the same attention out of the EU as we are given in it, then I would like us to be out like a shot.
As for jobs, investment, etc, I'm just waiting for the great Euro shambles to fall over, which it will. Then, I know which country the Japanese and American corporations will be investing in, and it ain't Luxembourg.
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Don't make the classic mistake of the bien pensants by assuming that the average Englishman feels the same level of afinity for a Frenchman that the average American feels for a fellow American in a different state.
Similar threads
