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To whom exactly should they be 'grateful' to, and for what reason exactly?
The UK economy has benefited enormously from the unified market area of the EU. Not only that, due to deregulation in the EU financial market, London has acquired a leading role in financial markets around the EU and event he world.
Without he EU, the UK would have succumbed to the market pressure.
Still, the UK pays less to the common policy budgets than any other country, has negotiated countless exceptions from programs and directives while reaping all the benefits of EU integration. The UK is an unreliable partner, just like the french, but that's expected.
Look at Belgium. That little spec of land has the most advanced integration policy of the entire Schengen space and it's doing great. During the entire financial crisis, it never went below 1% GDP growth, while others like France, the Netherlands and even Germany went into 4% deficits. Spain, Portugal and Greece even in double digit deficits.
The Euro should stay, it's a strong currency. The fact that the Greek crisis (which was an absolute abyss) hasn't brought it down shows it can handle itself.
I've been in shipping and production for decades and I've seen Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Italy, Poland, Czechia, Slowakia, ... soar under the umbrella of the EU. Every new country that has joined the EU has had a tremendous economic uplift.
When you look at the level of incorporation in the US, you can only aim for more and better integration. Larger scale works, that's basic economy and we should be really happy to have a strong cultural ally in the world to withstand China and Russia.
Yes, the EU seem to have problems, most of it is because of too rigid monetary policy and the global crises that have been rocking the entire world the last decades. Going back to nation states would be a tremendous stupidity.
Still, if the need to dissolve, I hope they keep Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Czech Rep, Slovakia and the Baltic States in one group. Economically driven by Germany and military by Poland with a vast industrial base in Czech Rep., Slovakia and the Baltic States.
A strong Dutch/Baltic Marine, Belgian/Polish/German Air force, Belgian/German/Polish and Czechoslovak land forces and the thing would be indestructible. If the French and the UK still want to join and play nice, the thing would even have vast nuclear capabilities.
In a global conflict, having the phenomenal US forces aligned with a strong EU ally, we would rule the world...
The € is a blessing. I've seen Europe evolve in the last 40+ years, and I strongly believe the EU is a better place than if the countries would have gone on their own for all that time.
Look at Poland, the Czech republic, Finland, Croatia, ... all success stories thanks to the EU.
I'm not a EU citizen, but I spent more than half my life overseas and I really think they are better off together. If they should kick out a country, it should be Greece, Italy and Spain. and the UK. The former three because they are economically insalvageable and the latter because they are ungrateful little pricks.
...so please allow the EU citizens to decide their future for themselves.
It seems right now that the EU is far more popular with non EU people (1 million of them are right now trying to enter it illegally) than with most EU citizens. And that is saying a lot on the evolution of the EU, which is more and more an undemocratic behemoth made to benefit foreign people, not locals.
I'm not implying that Finland was a Eastern Bloc-styled wasteland, on the contrary.
Finland has always been the last stretch of free land to keep the Russians out of Western Europe. Thanks to the membership of the EU, Fins have had the opportunity to build a better economy without having to fear or humour the Russians too much.
Since joining the Eurozone, Finnish GDP growth has been soaring.
I understand you are Finnish, don't you prefer the EU to mother Russia? :-)
which is more and more an undemocratic behemoth made to benefit foreign people, not locals
Oh, come on! From what far-right pamphlet did you extract that stupid quote?
I'm in Brussels every fortnight and I have been dealing with a lot of Eurocrats of all walks. That is simply not true. And it's not true for the US either.
Immigration has always existed and it will exist until there's nobody left to immigrate. My ancestors were Germans who immigrated to the US and chased the Native Americans.
The UK used to be Celtic, until the Romans came, then the Saxons and the Angli who chased the Romans after being chased themselves by the Franks who were chased by the Slavs who were chased by the Huns and so on...
we share the same Continent! unless you want a war...
I'll be very frank with you. I don't like you. I don't like what you did after WW2. I don't like what you did in the Cold War and I don't like what you do in Syria today. So yeah, excuse me to prefer western styled allies than Russia.
And I don't want a war. I want you to stay where you are. you've got plenty of room already. You don't need more.
And I don't want a war. I want you to stay where you are
I'm French. And I don't feel threatened by Russia one bit. But I feel threatened by unbridled immigation (Europe is already a very densely populated territory) and by the hawkish policies (including supporting Al Qaeda in Syria) of US governments. And I don't want lobbies in Brussels deciding what's good for my country (like imposing such orwellian measures as "summer saving time" when at 10 am you have to believe it's noon). And I bet a lot of EU citizens feel like me. So please don't meddle with us Europeans and go back to Obamaland where I've heard there are enough problems already. Thank you.
The UK economy has benefited enormously from the unified market area of the EU. Not only that, due to deregulation in the EU financial market, London has acquired a leading role in financial markets around the EU and event he world.
Without he EU, the UK would have succumbed to the market pressure.
Still, the UK pays less to the common policy budgets than any other country, has negotiated countless exceptions from programs and directives while reaping all the benefits of EU integration. The UK is an unreliable partner, just like the french, but that's expected.
Look at Belgium. That little spec of land has the most advanced integration policy of the entire Schengen space and it's doing great. During the entire financial crisis, it never went below 1% GDP growth, while others like France, the Netherlands and even Germany went into 4% deficits. Spain, Portugal and Greece even in double digit deficits.
The Euro should stay, it's a strong currency. The fact that the Greek crisis (which was an absolute abyss) hasn't brought it down shows it can handle itself.
I've been in shipping and production for decades and I've seen Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Italy, Poland, Czechia, Slowakia, ... soar under the umbrella of the EU. Every new country that has joined the EU has had a tremendous economic uplift.
When you look at the level of incorporation in the US, you can only aim for more and better integration. Larger scale works, that's basic economy and we should be really happy to have a strong cultural ally in the world to withstand China and Russia.
Yes, the EU seem to have problems, most of it is because of too rigid monetary policy and the global crises that have been rocking the entire world the last decades. Going back to nation states would be a tremendous stupidity.
Still, if the need to dissolve, I hope they keep Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Czech Rep, Slovakia and the Baltic States in one group. Economically driven by Germany and military by Poland with a vast industrial base in Czech Rep., Slovakia and the Baltic States.
A strong Dutch/Baltic Marine, Belgian/Polish/German Air force, Belgian/German/Polish and Czechoslovak land forces and the thing would be indestructible. If the French and the UK still want to join and play nice, the thing would even have vast nuclear capabilities.
In a global conflict, having the phenomenal US forces aligned with a strong EU ally, we would rule the world...
I'm sorry but its a 'two way thing', I still don't see why the UK should be 'grateful' and to whom in particular? Unless of course you are seriously trying to suggest that the UK is the only country benefitting from the EU while all others are just 'giving' to the UK!!!? Incidently while I don't doubt the assistance that being in the EU has had in making London the worlds financial centre I would like to point out that this is only 1 of the many reasons why this is the case.
Ah, that explains a lot. Maybe you should ponder the fact that the French are even worse than the Brits when it comes to disloyalty.
I understand your preference to Russia, you'll probably create another Vichy regime to accommodate them the day they decide to invade you.
It's something really peculiar about the French, claiming they won the second world war when you were annihilated in less time than Belgium and then resorted to so far-reaching collaboration the Brits had to scuttle your fleet in order to keep it from meddling with the invasion of Sicily. Just another example of the French way of doing politics.
Second of all, I need to remember you that daylights savings time is not and has never been an invention of "Brussels".
Quote:
Starting on 30 April 1916, Germany and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST (German: Sommerzeit) as a way to conserve coal during wartime. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year and the United States adopted it in 1918.
Broadly speaking, Daylight Saving Time was abandoned in the years after the war (with some notable exceptions including Canada, the UK, France, and Ireland for example). However, it was brought back for periods of time in many different places during the following decades, and commonly during the Second World War. It became widely adopted, particularly in North America and Europe starting in the 1970s as a result of the 1970s energy crisis.
Quote:
the hawkish policies (including supporting Al Qaeda in Syria) of US governments.
I know where that information comes from. The well informed and totally unbiased Putinist press.
Syria is a hell hole with a dozen factions. While I don't agree with everything our government does, I do agree that we need to destroy Daesh and Al-Assad.
Quote:
So please don't meddle with us Europeans and go back to Obamaland where I've heard there are enough problems already. Thank you.
Ha! If we didn't meddle with Europe you'd be speaking German and gassing Jews. Or even worse; speaking Russian and deporting minorities to Siberia.
I know what your problem is, you're feeling bypassed. You just can't stomach it that the Germans are running the show and that you are left to play second or even third violin. Sucks to be ****ty, but then again, you haven't won a war in 80 years, your economy is in shambles and your influence is all but non existant. Sucks to be you, honestly.
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you're not a EU citizen
