We are liked to second rate people by some of our EU partners, but good for a good a good pound or two every year GBP that is
My original post was one that I am basically on the fence, I actively campaigned not to join in the first place but now we are in and at this moment in time I am not sure that we will be better off out of it, the old saying "better the devil you know" comes to mind. I agree fully with what you are saying in the above quote and I would love nothing better than to be presented with the full independent facts so that everyone can make an informed decision, unfortunately we will only be fed the rhetoric that the "vote in" and "vote out" lobbies feed us. Again, I agree with what you say about the PM's so called demands for our renegotiation of membership, even those in his own party have called it a damp squib and it doesn't even get a mention on the BBC News website this morning.
I think we should leave. But I also think it actually should be a ten year exit plan. We'll need that time to allow businesses to sort out all their admin, software changes to make the UK entirely separate from the eu again, establish trade and defence agreements, probably reshape our military to reduce our current reliance on France etc. To attempt to sort everything out in less than a few years is a recipe for disaster.
That would, in an ideal world, be nice, Clueless. But in the selfish world of international politics and what seems to be the EU's motto of "If you're not with us, you're against us, and if you want to leave us there will be "repercussions"", there will be political bad feelings and, behind the scenes, punitive action being taken against us. We've seen how they threatened and pressurised Greece and continue to do so and, although we're not part of the Euro, we would not be forgiven to wanting to leave the EU.
This morning I heard the definitive answer to EU , in or out question . Apparently the Daily Express thinks we should come out. So the obvious conclusion from this daily rags view is we should stay in ! Simples
At the end of the day the UK and that means you me and everyone else in this country gives circa £12 BILLION pounds a year to Europe. We spend countless other BILLIONS a year on NATO which is main objective is to protect them from the Russians. And what do we get in return ? Most corporations base themselves in Europe so they pay next to no tax here in the UK. Most European politicians hate the UK and its people and use us to support their economies. Most British people wouldbe better off financially outside of Europe. And remember they need us more than we need them because if we leave Europe will crumble. Save yourselves and your country`s future too and vote to leave .
And another thing Have you all noted that most of the sporting bodies headquartered in europe mainly switzerland are bent ! Fifa,Uefa,Olympics(IOC),IAAF(athletics),UCI & ASO (cycling and tour de france) are all bent from the top down just like the european parliament that never publishes its accounts to show where all the billions of pounds has gone year after year.
Drat , another one of my wonderful theories is shown to have major flaws ! I'll go and sit on the fence again.
I am not a great fan of the European Union but please don't let us believe that it just spends (our) money without any regulation what so ever. Among many other financial reports the Annual Financial Report reviews how the budget of the Union has been spent and the results on the ground. It is structured by: main heading of the financial perspectives in the financial frameworkheading and country.Its annexes provide detailed historical data on budget revenue and expenditure, and lists the expenditure allocated by each EU country.
I'm beginning to think the so called cameron negotiations are pretty much a set up between him and Merkel, possibly the french bloke as well. One reported said that cameron will have to appear to get "a bloody nose" in order for the British public to swallow the fact that he has gained ground against the EU. If he comes out of it looking like it was a hard struggle but got a few minor concessions the public will think differently, as opposed to them just saying yes from the start, to insignificant changes.