Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Catching up on some Brexit news while I was traveling.
BREXIT-WATCH — CAMERON SPEAKS OUT; ‘TAMPON TAX’ FUROR: Front page of today’s Daily Telegraph is Cameron warning that leaving the EU will not take Britain to a “land of milk and honey.” Meanwhile there’s a push to remove completely value-added tax from tampons, a move that would contravene EU rules limiting VAT exemptions (the EU does not however have the power to tax, as some opponents have suggested). http://bbc.in/1WhQwdQ
U.K. — QUIP OF THE DAY GOES TO ‘VAGINA ADDED TAX:’ That’s how Paula Sheriff, a Labour MP, described the situation where the U.K. is banned under EU law from exempting tampons from Value Added Tax entirely (it may, and does, apply a discounted rate). http://politi.co/1RBB3nr
SECOND LOOK — BREXIT QUOTE DU JOUR: “On its own, Britain is a significant pygmy, with less than 1 percent of the world’s population and less than 3 percent of global output; it is not in the 21st-century major league.” Roger Cohen in the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1P2WwGN
BREXIT — CAMERON PREFERS DENMARK TO NORWAY AS A MODEL FOR U.K.-EU RELATIONSHIP: The British prime minister rejects Norway http://reut.rs/1LYH1LL and embraces Denmark http://bloom.bg/1Xz0s54
FANTASY BREXIT: Think Fantasy Football applied to EU summits. Steven Blockmans and Stefani Weiss for the Bertelsmann Foundation and CEPS (Center for European Policy Studies) gathered 14 think-tankers to “slip into the role of their respective heads of state or government and negotiate with the U.K. on what is thus far known to be the British demands,” says Weiss. Treaty change is a non-starter, because Cameron is out of time. “Cameron thus might have to become much more realistic as well as constructive,” says Weiss. “It seems advisable that he changes his role from sole demander to a leading reformer and makes himself the spearhead of an all-out treaty reform. Getting the other member states to agree on a date for a European Convention seems more convincing than legally non-binding declarations” on ever-closer union, for example. http://bit.ly/1PWMLuG
REALITY BREXIT — LUXEMBOURG AND FRANKFURT GET READY TO DIVIDE THE SPOILS: If the U.K. leaves there are two financial centers with access to 10 million workers ready to step in to claim the mantle of EU banking capital, Bloomberg reports. http://bv.ms/1Wme0yx
REALITY BREXIT — HOW NOT TO DO A TV INTERVIEW ON THE SUBJECT: Former Europe minister Owen Paterson struggles to answer questions put to him by BBC’s Newsnight http://bit.ly/1ScFRAG
TRADE AND BREXIT — NEW ZEALAND PLACES AN EACH-WAY BET: Responding to a question I posed about whether New Zealand would prioritize a free trade agreement with the EU over a bilateral deal with the U.K., Prime Minister John Key said: “It is for the U.K. to decide [on whether to leave EU] but we would want to preserve both. We would need to find a way through.”
Britain's 'Brexit' Folly International New York Times
And so a British exit from Europe could well mean the end of the very Great Britain proudly invoked by the shoot-yourself-in-the-foot “Brexit” brigade.
No second British EU referendum, says Cameron aide Market Business News
EU membership attitudes Since 1977, overall, more people have favoured staying in than getting out. Recently, however, the Brexit camp has gained
In Britain's pubs, Brexit debate is well underway Reuters UK
LOWESTOFT, England Tempers flared and insults flew, but after more than an hour of opposing 'facts', a few scare stories and the odd saucy joke, the
Well some things I believe will happen if UK leaves EU are:
There won't be free travel from UK to the rest of Europe. This is good in a way since criminal gangs from East Europe won't be able to migrate freely into UK so less crime rate.
There will be less pressure on UK to accept immigrants and refugees.
The economy of UK will be free from any kind of external pressure or control.
But the good thing about European union was it brought the people of Europe much closer to each other .
I believe people of Europe share a common cultural bond.
Well not directly because the rating is only massively impacting when there is a 2nd rating agency that downgrades due to the 2nd best rating rule, assuming the issues are rated by 3 agencies at least.
BREXIT — COMMISSION TO PUSH DANISH MODEL; EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CUT OUT: Anticipating the U.K.’s demands, the Commission is preparing a new reform proposal to curb migrant access to welfare payments across the EU, reports Matthew Holehouse. Tara Palmeri lays out in POLITICO how the Commission plans to respond to the U.K. Top of the bill will be support for giving national parliaments more veto powers over Commission proposals (in effect the “red card” system Cameron wants, which would enable a “clear majority” of national parliaments to force an end to negotiations on any unpopular proposals). The Commission is also planning to speed the process by not granting co-decision power to the European Parliament.
BREXIT PODCAST — THE ECONOMIST’S POLITICAL EDITOR JOHN PEET: In conversation with eSharp’s Paul Adamson http://bit.ly/1Mrx5K3
BREXIT — 12 REASONS WHY CAMERON WILL LOSE: “Here’s why the pundits are wrong, and why Britain will vote to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum,” writes Denis MacShane. http://politi.co/1MdOPwJ
BREXIT — GEORGE OSBORNE’S LOVE NOTE TO BERLIN: Move over France, Germany’s got a new suitor. “The U.K. and German economies are the beating heart of Europe, the engine for growth and jobs,” the British Chancellor of the Exchequer told his German counterpart, Woflgang Schäuble, last night. Today Osborne will address the BDI, the German federation of industry. http://bbc.in/1NNp99k
BREXIT — BY THE NUMBERS: The U.K. has been losing votes much more often in the European Council since David Cameron became prime minister. Is the 500 percent increase in their loss rate due to U.K. intransigence, EU mission creep, or convenient posturing? The Guardian examines the data: http://bit.ly/1LMR0Wu
George Osborne presses for EU changes. The UK chancellor delivers a speech in Berlin laying out the case for renegotiating Britain’s membership in the European Union, demanding legal guarantees over Britain’s status as a non-euro member in the bloc. The ruling Conservative party is planning a referendum on the UK’s EU membership no later than 2017.
BREXIT — 12 REASONS WHY CAMERON WILL LOSE: “Here’s why the pundits are wrong, and why Britain will vote to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum,” writes Denis MacShane. http://politi.co/1MdOPwJ
Well, well. The predictions of the slimy McShane (born "Josef Denis Matyjaszek") himself. As the first line of his Wiki entry declares: "is a British former Labour Party politician and a convicted *********"
(edit: why is that word asterisked out by the site? It purely means someone who has committed fraud. McShane did. He want to prison.)
How that must make him squirm.
For once, I think he's right. As every day passes, I'm more certain it will be an "out" vote, which will be a big shock to everyone, including the rest of the EU - even if they're pretending they don't care/won't make any difference/good riddance.
Does worry me as it is a leap into the dark. Still undecided which way I will vote.
What do Europeans (meaning the Continent and the UK both) think of the prospect of a British exit?
The Scots already have announced that they will have another Referendum about leaving GB and they will most likey secede if Britain leaves the EU, because the Scots are staunchly pro Europe.
The British economy will suffer, because it loses uncomplicated access to its most important market.
In return there will be very few advantages for Britain, if any.
The reluctant European
There is a growing risk that Britain will leave the European Union. It needs to be countered
The Scots already have announced that they will have another Referendum about leaving GB and they will most likey secede if Britain leaves the EU, because the Scots are staunchly pro Europe.
The British economy will suffer, because it loses uncomplicated access to its most important market.
In return there will be very few advantages for Britain, if any.
The reluctant European
There is a growing risk that Britain will leave the European Union. It needs to be countered
I know, i know. But still it would do more harm to Britain then it would be beneficial. These are just facts.
Of course facts never mix really well with nationalist gut feelings.
I know, i know. But still it would do more harm to Britain then it would be beneficial. These are just facts.
Of course facts never mix really well with nationalist gut feelings.
I don't, I'll be honest. And I'm widely traveled in Europe, own a business that trades with NL, D, SW, I, DK.
The pleasure I get from the fact we.....:
1) drive on the correct side of the road
2) have proper electrical plugs/sockets
3) still drink pints of beer
4) weigh ourselves in stones/lbs
5) buy fuel in £/litre but still compare vehicle economy in miles/gallon
6) have buses you can go upstairs in
7) call potato chips "crisps"
8) have Chicken Tikka Massala as our national dish (according to Gordon Brown)
......is quite ridiculous
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
