Boris Johnson: Just What Is The Point Of The European Union?

[naomi24]

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/mayor/boris-johnson-just-what-is-the-point-of-the-european-union-9022283.html

Well? What is the point of the European Union?

[naomi24]

Mikey, regardless of your poor opinion of Boris - or of any other Conservative - the question is what is the point of the European Union?

[jomifl]

Much better to live in poverty in a small country where only a few benifit, it works for Africa...

[jake-the-peg]

The point is that the World is changing rapidly and relatively small European countries do not have the power and influence they once did.

Sorry you may think Britain is important but in world terms we really aren't.

The EU on the other hand represents the Worlds biggest and most powerful economy.

As one of the big 3 members of the EU we have real clout.

When Microsoft stepped out of line the EU fined them - can you imagine the UK government doing that?

George Bush imposed illegal steel tariffs - The EU got them overturned - can you see the US backing down to number 10 like that?

I work for a major US based multinational and in a big merger last year the sign-off they were really worried about getting wasn't UK or US monopolies and mergers it was EU approval.

The point of the EU is that it is big and has real teeth in today's global markets

Frankly the UK is not big enough for multinationals to care about - 'don't like what we're doing we'll go elsewhere'

They'll say that to the UK not to the EU

That's also why people like Murdoch hate them with a passion - they have a nasty habit of standing up for the consumer

Remember what happened to Freddy Laker? Now we have the sort of cut price airlines thanks to EU rules.

We have cheap international mobile phone calls thanks to EU rules.

It's quite a long list but you get the idea

[jomifl]

jake, I know you are right......

[New Judge]

“It made getting out of the UK a lot easier for me. “

I don’t recall before the EU that it was all that difficult to leave the UK. Do you mean getting out of the UK is now easier, jomifl, or that getting into other European nations is less difficult? If the latter (as I suspect it is) then it is a convenience we would be better off without. The reason for this is that the ease with which UK citizens can enter other European countries is matched by the ease with which citizens of other EU nations can enter the UK. As you have seen from some of the posts here, many of us “Little Englanders” (and I’ll not react too strongly to that oft-hurled insult) are none too keen on that arrangement.

“In the UK you can have the vote even when you can't speak English and that cannot be blamed on the EU. “

No it most certainly cannot. The problem lies with the succession of politicians who have allowed the UK to be occupied by vast numbers of foreigners, many of them taking advantage of the ridiculous “freedom of movement” afforded by the EU. So whilst it is not the fault of the EU that non-English speakers can vote it certainly is the fault of the EU that many of them are resident here in the first place.

I read the entire article in yesterday’s Torygraph and BoJo makes some very pertinent points. The idea of a united trading bloc has undoubted merits and many of the features to which Jake refers are testament to that. I don’t think too many people (even among us “little Englanders”) would deny it. There are plenty of free trade areas throughout the world and they seem to work perfectly well without having to subjugate the citizens of their member states, with no need for “free movement” facilities and certainly no attempt to impose a single currency, a single foreign policy, legislature or defence arrangements. The EU has indeed outlived its purpose principally because the Federal ambitions of its leaders are causing friction within and between member states. Most European nations are not prepared to take the step into a Federal nation state and have no wish to become so. The plans for a Federal Europe as a single nation state are the aspects that the EU that most people who object to it rally against. It seems, fortunately that the tide is turning and further integration (i.e. interference in the affairs of sovereign states) seems less likely. I’m hoping that this will lead to the reversion of the EU to a simple free trade area and ambitions of a single state are consigned to the place they belong - the dustbin.