Europeans, how's the EU?

[Faux]

I'm ignorant about the EU, so is it good or bad? How integrated are the countries?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been seeing some theories of an integration between Canada, US, and Mexico with a similar connection to the EU.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a clip regarding that:

[BlueLancer]

The EU is a very integrated system from my experience. They even passed a law which allows any member country to collect, for example, speeding ticket fees from a member who is in another EU country, then pass it to the country of the offender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The EU parliament has very powerful legal authority. Their directives must be obeyed in every member nation (on the penalty of heavy fees, in the tens/hundreds of millions of euros)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, in the european Schengen-area (currently only includes fairly wealthy countries) you don't even need a border check to enter another country.

[Viktorkrum77]

Our 'exchange student's' (so-to-speak) dad who's living with us from Slovenia currently agrees with Slovenia's switch to the Euro in January, however is son, our 'exchange student' doesn't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their cousin in Sweden also agrees with the EU. So the opinion is varied widely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why doesn't Norway join?

[BlueLancer]

 

 

 

Why doesn't Norway join?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the same reason the UK doesn't want the Euro system: Mostly pride.. They don't want to give up their own currency, Finland is the only nordic country to take the euro and give up their national currency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The switch to an euro system is decided by a popular vote, Sweden is a most likely next candidate to adapt the system, they could be using it sometime soon. Norway and Denmark wont be using it probably for a long time.

[pompey_spud]

Well I am very opposed to the EU. They do nothing to benefit Britain. They provide us with harsh laws, most of which benefit the tiny minority of people, and silly taxes.

 

 

 

Not to mention the fact that we pour millions upon millions of pounds into the EU, only for well developed countries like Spain to claim massive amounts of it to fuel their boats to finish barnacles in our waters.

 

 

 

I am all up for finding a way to support struggling countries, much like the Marshall Plan did, but very few countries need ours, France's, Germany's, and any other financially well-off European countries' money to back them, and so I think the EU is flawed and pointless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Also, Brussel's stupid health and safety laws mean we can't play with fun things in Chemistry :P )

[Sumpta]

I'm all for the EU and proud European.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, I have the feeling the EU are overstretching themselves. Too many countries are joining in at a ratio which is too high. I sincerely hope this won't blow up in our face. More countries means more possibilities for the use of veto, which is very obstructive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, a lot of Europeans hate some of the European legislation, which they believe is too far-fetched. In referenda, the French and Dutch said no to a European Constitution, so the whole design and proposed text for such a constitution have been thrown away... A lot of problems are blaimed upon the EU instead of the local legislation. (Cfr. post above mine, lol)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In short, there's a long way to travel yet.

[Necromagus]

The EU is a nice idea on paper, but its execution is terrible. Just to satisfy French pride, every two weeks all the employees and pretty much all the office equipment gets sent from Brussels to Straatsburg, and the Union is ruled from there for a while before everybody gets flown back again. I don't have the exact numbers, but you don't have to be a math wizard to figure out that moving 1000+ employees plus their documents and office supplies back and forth between two locations hundreds of miles apart thirteen times a year is a terrible waste of money. French pride is the only reason the system remains intact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The decision process is based around a paradox. Either you follow the system where all 25 member have to agree, meaning that you have to base your decision on 25 different agendas, meaning that nothing will ever get done properly. The alternative is just following the majority vote, but then the smaller states will lose so much power that they'll just pull out of the EU alltogether.

[pompey_spud]

^^ Not to mention the slightly rogue states, like Turkey who will be joining soon. Their culture is so different to that of Western Europe i doubt there will ever be a unanimous vote again.

[Necromagus]

Meh, Turkey is decades away. I'm not too scared of them, but they do need to sort out quite a lot of their countrey before they're ready to join.

[baron8000]

Idiocy, simply because of the Euro - the most flawed idea for a currency ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of different economies are linked by the Euro, say Germany's economy needs a higher interest rate, but Ireland needs a lower one - Pre Euro they could just adjust their currency accordingly - now they cannot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All for the sake of people complaining about currency exchange.

[BlueLancer]

^^ Not to mention the slightly rogue states, like Turkey who will be joining soon. Their culture is so different to that of Western Europe i doubt there will ever be a unanimous vote again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... I don't think you understand at all the meaning of the word "rogue state" :lol: Turkey is a close ally of the United States and is one of the most liberal middle-eastern nations (note: Turkey is officially religiously neutral, not islamic).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey also has very close historical and cultural ties to Europe, and the patriarch of the orthodox christian church still resides in Istanbul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their problem is human rights abuse and the neglection of enforcing EU-required directives. The author Orhan Pamuk was arrested in Turkey for making a book about the armenian genocide, in the EU you obviously can't get jailed for writing a book. That's just the most visible example in the media.

[pompey_spud]

:P I do know that a rogue state is something like Iran or North Korea, i just wanted to spice my reply up with a few media buzzwords.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Turkey may well be friendly to the West, but their society works far too differently for there to be (realistically) any real co-operation.

[One Too Far]

yep you don't have border checks oh am i happy that i live in holland =). wel as far as ik now it boosted the economy cause of the less laws about passing stuff over the borders

[pompey_spud]

yep you don't have border checks oh am i happy that i live in holland =). wel as far as ik now it boosted the economy cause of the less laws about passing stuff over the borders

 

 

 

Well in that case, perhaps its thanks to the EU that gun crime is MASSIVELY on the rise in the UK. A reporter smuggled a gun from Eastern Europe into the UK, easy as hell, and this happens thousands of times a day, making guns very very accessible for young 'uns?

[BlueLancer]

A reporter smuggled a gun from Eastern Europe into the UK, easy as hell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern european nations aren't in the schengen agreement, so they went through normal customs and still managed to smuggle the arms. Blame the customs officials, not the EU...

[Viktorkrum77]

 

yep you don't have border checks oh am i happy that i live in holland =). wel as far as ik now it boosted the economy cause of the less laws about passing stuff over the borders

 

 

 

Well in that case, perhaps its thanks to the EU that gun crime is MASSIVELY on the rise in the UK. A reporter smuggled a gun from Eastern Europe into the UK, easy as hell, and this happens thousands of times a day, making guns very very accessible for young 'uns?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Has your Prime Minister ever heard of gun laws? They might help...a little.

[ctp080188]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the same reason the UK doesn't want the Euro system: Mostly pride.. They don't want to give up their own currency, Finland is the only nordic country to take the euro and give up their national currency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah I think mainly because of proud, and the fact that Sterling is one of the strongest currency in terms of exchange rate (I don't know if it is the strongest or one of them.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am completely ignorant otherwise of the EU and I live in the UK. Bah I hate London anyways.

[Bubsa]

It's moving scarily quickly to a United federal state of Europe.

[fat_hobbit22]

from what i gather the EU are letting really [cabbage]ty countries join now -.- great imagrents moving to England and we cant just kick them out, just what we needed.

 

 

 

i really dont know much about the EU so could someone actually post a list on the main good things and bad things they do. (yes i know thats what this whole post is about but im looking just for some straight facts on how the eu helps britian because i dont know any)

[assassin_696]

We should never have joined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know much about the specifics, but I remember doing the EU Common Agricultural Policy in geography and what a mess it created, a mess that they're still trying to fix now. That's just one of many.

[Loge_05]

Well I am very opposed to the EU. They do nothing to benefit Britain. They provide us with harsh laws, most of which benefit the tiny minority of people, and silly taxes.

 

 

 

Not to mention the fact that we pour millions upon millions of pounds into the EU, only for well developed countries like Spain to claim massive amounts of it to fuel their boats to finish barnacles in our waters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I completely agree. I see no benefit of the EU to Britain. For example, when the EU budget is up for review, France always tries to force us to give up the rebate.

[Ginger_Warrior]

You're right. The EUCA policy has really damaged the UK agricultural industry, which was weak to begin with anyway, considering people could just buy goods in from poverty-stricken places such as Africa. It also created a lot of friction between the French (which are much more agricultural and rural) and the UK, because the UK contribute huge amounts of cash towards the EU, yet the French were getting bucket-loads of money because of the policy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I, personally as a socialist, have never supported the EU anyway. The only good thing that has ever come out of the EU was its control over European affairs in the time during the Cold War, and that's it. We should never have joined in the first place.

[dusqi]

 

 

 

I, personally as a socialist, have never supported the EU anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This statement intrigues me. Does not the EU champion many socialist ideals? Such as minimum wages, maximum working days, limitations on the power of businesses, etc.?

[Duke_Freedom]

A huge money-consuming, time-wasting, typical political gibberish and mess. Does that describe it well enough in one sentence?

[Necromagus]

 

I, personally as a socialist, have never supported the EU anyway.

This statement intrigues me. Does not the EU champion many socialist ideals? Such as minimum wages, maximum working days, limitations on the power of businesses, etc.?

On paper, yes, but in the end the only true winners are the big business lobyists who shove stuff like the euro down our throats.