Do you support the European Union and if so why?
I like the original idea, the one which was democratically approved when Britain joined in 1973. Back then it was called the EEC and it was supposed to be a simple trading bloc which helped keep the peace in Europe and also allowed freedom to work and travel. I am not a big fan of the modern EU though (which by the way has never been tested democratically even though it has changed so much from what was originally voted for) and if I thought they had a chance of winning I would vote for UKIP (the UK independence party) in the next election. I'll give you my reasons and then you can make a response and try to convince me that Britain is benefitting from EU membership. Here in a nutshell is what I think of the EU -The organisation is undemocratic and is essentially run by anonymous bureaucrats. Despite this the EU passes aprox. 75% of new laws in Britain. I don’t like the idea that someone I've never heard of never mind voted for has the power to tell me what I can and can't do. If you want any more proof that the EU doesn't like democracy look at how politicians in most member states denied us a vote on the Lisbon treaty. -It interferes with British independence. With every new treaty member states give up more and more of their sovereignty and thus their independence. Like it or not the EU is still striding towards ever closer union. If we remain a member of the EU then sooner or later we will lose more and more of our independence and perhaps even lose the pound in favour of the Euro and thus lose a part of our heritage going back 1000 years. -The EU has become too powerful and readily interferes with so many aspects of our lives. I believe in the old phrase 'the government which governs best governs least' and prefer the idea of the night watchman state which only makes changes when something is wrong and which dos not try to control everything. The EU on the other hand would happily interfere and regulate every aspect of our country even when there is nothing wrong with our current systems.(Progress for progress sake?) -The EU is still dominated by its 2 main founding members France and Germany. They make the real decisions while Britain an equal in almost every other way is forced to tow the line. (I’ll admit the blame for that is more with our government and leaders than the actual EU but it does show how the British don’t get as much out of the Union) -Britain puts more money into the EU (our taxes) than we get out of it. That means that thanks to the EU our money isn't being spent on us. Surely this money could be better spent by us elsewhere- on our health service or our armed forces? -The EU is full of red tape and bureaucracy; it is responsible for the vast majority of the paperwork and regulation which currently strangles our industries. Such red tape and bureaucracy is what prevents the EU from functioning as it should do and what makes it slow to react to current issues (they still haven't responded to the credit crunch and it's been happening for a year now. The only thing they have managed to respond to is global warming and that took years to produce a very weak commitment which surprise, surprise; allows them to tax and regulate us even more and in the grand scheme of things wont have much effect) -There are 3 major benefits of EU membership that I can see Freedom of movement Trade Support of agriculture through the C.A.P. (Common Agricultural Policy) I believe these benefits are far outweighed by the EU's failures but putting that aside I believe that we could still receive those benefits outside of the EU. With the money we save by quitting the EU we could easily fund a viable alternative to the CAP As nations like Switzerland, Iceland and Norway have proven a country can still have strong trade ties with the EU without being a member. Besides leaving the EU would allow us to increase trade with other countries like the countries in the commonwealth. As for freedom of movement I believe that Britain could quite easily negotiate a way of maintaining that upon leaving the EU. But if we could not then at worst it is quite easy to get visas for EU countries anyways. That is basically my opinion on the EU. I know I'm not on my own here as many polls have shown that in Britain the EU is widely unpopular. I'd appreciate any response but I'd be really interested to see a response from someone Pro EU.
Other - Politics & Government - 1 Answers
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No, I don't support the EU and my reason are pretty much the same as yours, i.e. it's undemocratic, run mostly by the giants, it's a whole bunch of bureaucracy, it costs a lot of money to operate, it does very little for the public, it tries to regulate or dictate every aspect of people's lives to the point that it loses sense and decisions are made in Brussels, by people who don't understand or take into consideration the differences between the member states (what may work in one country doesn't always work in all the other countries). Also, it was supposed to make things simpler by having the same rules and system in each country, but in reality each country interprets the rules their own way, so those "common rules" are not really making things simpler like they are supposed to.
