My views on the EU can be broadly summarised as:
- Freedom to trade and travel throughout Europe is the "positive" aspect of the EU
- Relatively relaxed about immigration (but understand that many have significant concerns)
- I want Britain to be "outward-facing" and play a leading role internationally & globally
- Concerned that EU institutions appear to be bureaucratic and undemocratic
- Unhappy about the continuing transfer of powers to the EU
- Opposed to the UK being subsumed into a Federal Union / "United States of Europe"
Polling reports I have read suggest this is pretty close to
the average UK position, although I am probably more liberal on immigration. Polling also suggests
that a majority of UK citizens support the idea of a “reformed” EU or at least
a reformed relationship between the UK and EU, which was also my position at the start of 2015.
However,
now that I have read more into the subject, I have realised that this is
naïve. The EU is unwilling and
incapable of offering such reform - we should accept that it is and always has
been a political project whose aim is a Federal Union (as European politicians
and EU officials have been telling us for decades).
Nor is
David Cameron actually seeking fundamental reform. At best we will be offered “Associate Membership”, which will
essentially be a holding position for states not yet ready to commit to full
integration. This will effectively be
“second-class” membership and will result in a further reduction of UK
influence. Inevitably, pressure will
build over time to upgrade to “first-class” membership, which will entail adopting the
euro and all other aspects of integration. "Associate Membership" will simply delay the inevitable decision that the UK has to make.
I have also become aware of how the emerging global
single market is a crucial issue (and how little attention this gets in the
mainstream media). The regulations we
assume as coming from Brussels are actually generated by global organisations (the
real “top table”) and are implemented as far a-field as Australia. The EU has exclusive control of trade policy
for all member states, so speaks for the UK on these global bodies as well as
negotiating all trade deals. The coming years will provide a unique opportunity for the UK in global trade - should we entrust this opportunity to the EU ? - or should we have an independent voice on the global stage, and engage with partners/allies across the globe ?
Hence, I believe the EU question comes down to a clear choice for the UK :
·
Remain in the EU, and commit to the the principle of “pooled
sovereignty” (UK has 12% vote in Qualified Majority Voting in Brussels) leading
to eventual Political and Monetary Union inside a United States of Europe.
·
Leave the EU, continue to trade and co-operate with the
EU (and countries around the world) and have an independent voice on the global
stage as a self-governing nation-state.
Dear Paul
ReplyDeleteThank you for your contribution to this much need debate and to counter all the hyperbole coming out of the Stay In/Remain campaign.
I am James Joshua Director of Grassroots Britain: www.grassrootsbritain.com
I can be contacted on 0790 28 333 00
Our Chairman is Robert Woollard has been called on by the BBC for his views about Cameron's so-called EU 'deal' - which we at Grassroots Britain view as a triumph of form over substance.
Can I ask for your help in drawing up a table that we can use on our website on a drop down menu to be called Swiss-Norway Contribution to draw a line under this debate.
I can be reached on my mobile (best after 7pm but before 9.30pm) or via my email: jamesjoshua@gmail.com
I ould very much value your urgent help in this as the PM and the Remain campaign are hell-bent on scare mongering voters. They are good at this. They did it with the Scottish referendum and then again in the general election in May last year stoking voter fears over the disastrous consequence of a possible Miliband-Sturgeon political alliance and its consequence to the UK as a whole.
These are some of the links I discovered:
http://www.eu-norway.org/eu/Financial-contribution/#.VskE-o1WLIV
https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-Switzerland-pay-into-EU-budget
https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/bulgaria/en/home/enlargement-contribution/switzerland-s-contribution-to-eu-enlargement.html
where did you get your facts from
ReplyDeleteSuggest you look through the blog posts for details. This is just an intro page.
Delete