NationStates Jolt Archive

For all those that shun the European Union.. know that without it, your wallet will be hurt.

Without the Lisbon Agenda, Europe may lose an opportunity for growth (http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/SMEs/lisbon.2005-03-16)

For all those that shun the European Union.. know that without it, your wallet will be hurt.

Without the Lisbon Agenda, Europe may lose an opportunity for growth (http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/SMEs/lisbon.2005-03-16)

Finally some sence over this subject. AGREED

There are very few politicians who argue against the defensive and econmoic benefits of membership within the EU. However these are nothing that normal treaties and defensive pacts wouldn't give us anyway.

What I and many others object to is bein forced to form legislative and judicial union with a virtually undemocratic body made up of foreigners who are completely insensitive to the traditions and ideals of individual member states. I completely object to the British courts being overruled by the two EU Supreme Courts. I also object to Britain being forced to implement EU proposals into our legal system - as the Human Rights Act of 1998 has amply demonstrated, EU law is not compatible with British law.

I have nothing against freedom of labour or freedom of trade that the EU allows. However I do firmly stand against the freedom of movement because in effect Britain has signed away its border controls and I stand firmly against the single currency, primarily because the Euro is a weak, weak currency.

Yes, I too think it would be terrible if our great anglo-saxon traditions were ignored by for instance ruling Germans. We are proud of traditions like our Queen. Who is German. Like Angles and Saxons. (Who are also German).

The "insensitive foreigners" angle is a ridiculous one to take in a multicultural nation hybridised from all the invaders and immigrants from other nations that have entered it in the last 5000 years.

As to the economic arguments, I doubt that anyone here is qualified to distinguish between genuine concerns and scare stories over the predicted growth of the EU economy.

I'm concerned that the EU is undemocratic, and that most EU economies haven't been doing as well as ours lately. But I'm for EU integration in principle, and believe that it makes up for a lot of economic problems. Democracy will come later.

Democracy will come later.

We're completely buggered if it doesn't, though.

We're completely buggered if it doesn't, though.It's a trade. Every bit of national power that goes, there's an increase in EU democracy. I hope.

The EU is an undemocratic and bureaucratic nightmare. I am not a fan of it. We aren't even allowed to ratify or refuse the EU "constitution" by referendum. In that, our country is quite undemocratic aswell, since in major political decisions, the people have no say. The politicians know that the population would otherwise vote contrary to what they would like to see happen.

The Euro is not so bad - it's doing much better than the US dollar and is growing in importance throughout the world. Due to that I have no idea why the British pound is so highly valued. The British economy is not the largest in Europe (Germany's is) so the German Mark would have been stronger than the British pound - but it wasn't... very odd.

It's a trade. Every bit of national power that goes, there's an increase in EU democracy. I hope.

If you keep giving up power, eventually the UK will have the same power as North Dakota - a state within a larger Federal system (except that you'll be a state with nuclear weapons, like North Dakota).

Ein Deutscher']The EU is an undemocratic and bureaucratic nightmare. I am not a fan of it. We aren't even allowed to ratify or refuse the EU "constitution" by referendum. In that, our country is quite undemocratic aswell, since in major political decisions, the people have no say. The politicians know that the population would otherwise vote contrary to what they would like to see happen.

The Euro is not so bad - it's doing much better than the US dollar and is growing in importance throughout the world. Due to that I have no idea why the British pound is so highly valued. The British economy is not the largest in Europe (Germany's is) so the German Mark would have been stronger than the British pound - but it wasn't... very odd.

You are aware that in recent surveys, the German economy is the least prosperous in Europe and now going throgh a recession

I am for almost total EU economic integration, and I think Europeans should be able to travel freely around the EU. But I am not in favour of forming a federal EU superstate.

Ein Deutscher']The EU is an undemocratic and bureaucratic nightmare. I am not a fan of it. We aren't even allowed to ratify or refuse the EU "constitution" by referendum. In that, our country is quite undemocratic aswell, since in major political decisions, the people have no say. The politicians know that the population would otherwise vote contrary to what they would like to see happen.

The Euro is not so bad - it's doing much better than the US dollar and is growing in importance throughout the world. Due to that I have no idea why the British pound is so highly valued. The British economy is not the largest in Europe (Germany's is) so the German Mark would have been stronger than the British pound - but it wasn't... very odd.


You had elections for the European Parliament, free, democratic, transparent. What is undemocratic about it? The European council is constituted by the ministers of our countries.. those are elected, too.

About the bureaocracy.. the EU is ran by 30.000 officials. That is alot less than even the smallest European national bureocracy. If in your country people don't vote on a referendum, it is your politicians that you should fry, not the EU itself; The Spanish had their referendum, they voted yes. The French, the Brits, the Portuguese, and more, will have their own referendums.


And the value of a currency is a bad way to see the strenght of that economy.. The UK is only the 4th largest economy of Europe, and the pound was always pricier than the Mark, the Franc, or the Lira.