The EU is far from perfect.
It was built on a false premise, which was that freedom of movement for capital would deliver growth. As is very clear that's not true: it has delivered inequality within and between states.
And the EU has also never been able to shed some of the economic logic of the 1950s that is so deeply embedded in the Common Agricultural Policy, for example.
In addition, the EU has moved forward too quickly towards economic integration through the Euro when cultural and political integration has not been following in its wake.
The stresses of all these situations are now obvious. And the stress of trying to reconcile them is equally obvious. I do not underestimate that.
But the reality is that like it or not the EU is also a success story. It has kept the peace. It has allowed people to move in a way unimaginable before. It has aided trade, enormously, and that trade has overall been of considerable benefit. It has created dialogue and tolerance. The result is that if there was a referendum on Europe tomorrow I'd vote to stay in. Not unreservedly: decidedly reservedly, but unambiguously I'd vote yes.
Why? Because I want that trade. It would be much harder for the UK to secure it without EU membership.
Why else? Because being inside the tent is in the end of the day the only way to change things - and as Norway knows all too well, watching the EU form the sidelines means complying with all its demands and having no say upon them.
And because I'm a European and always have been. My name alone helps give that game away. I believe we're better off with open borders. I believe we're better off with fairly free trade. I believe we're better off on things like tax with the EU because it has lead some of the most successful challenges on tax abuse internationally. And I believe that the EU can be improved.
Outside the EU I see isolation and inter-state competition prevailing. That leads to lost income, and worse, to a lack of understanding and intolerance that in turn leads to the threat of war.
I want none of those things. I'm not a fan of the EU. But we're much better off with it than without it.
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“I was built on a false premise …” ?! I don’t think that’s what you meant – though some of your enemies might agree. Quick edit needed!
Done – thanks!
And of course, while the EU is far from perfect, it’s done a better job of providing social protection and workers rights than our own so-called democracy. No wonder the libertarians and social darwinists who now compose most of the right in the UK hate it so much, and want out.
While I agree on first glances the concept of the EU presents itself as a force for good, the idea of a united market of 800 million moving in unison has to be better than a country of 65 million struggling to make it’s way. Unfortunately the politicians didn’t listen to the economists when they said there has to be fiscal union before there’s monetary union. Instead they listened to business, which is very happy about being able to exploit the free movement of Labour and capital across borders and differences in costs of production and Labour, all to the disadvantage of the lower social classes, in the more developed countries. Did the Ford workers at Dagenham rejoice at the factories choice of moving to the continent as running costs would now be cheaper? Did the workers at Sofia Aventis cheer when told their place of work was also being moved for the same reason? Youth unemployment rose by 40% since 2004 and unemployment amongst women by 24% from the same year,how coincidental that in 2004 we opened the borders to the Eastern european communities,effectively giving the jobs away as the incentive was greater due mainly to monetary exchange,and cost of living differences. Peace in Europe hasn’t been because of the formation of the EU, but if working peoples see themselves disadvantaged across borders,and the media can’t stop them from realising it,the future may not be so bright.
As I said, the free movement of capital was a false premise on which to build a union when labour clearly would not move and would therefore be exploited
I deny none of that
But I am also a realist
nthing unrealistic about needing a living wage.
Keith,
Peace was partly the result of a common threat (from the USSR). We joined NATO in 1949 and take it for granted today that our defence is best served by alliances. The USA was and is the dominant power but the only other non-European members were Canada and Turkey (which has a bit of land in Europe). It is experience of working together which led to the EEC and then the EU and rebutting the demands of nationalism. Nationalism drove the IRA, the break up of Yugoslavia and ETA. I differentiate nationalism from patriotism : patriots love their country: nationalists hate other people’s!
Working together European scientists created the technology for texting and the world wide web. Airbus is another example of cooperation. We create work by research which is betting than cutting costs (usually wages rather than dividends) in existing technology.
My only problems with the EU:
Lack of transparency
Undemocratic
Its technocratic (neoliberal) bent
Recklessly expansionist in both territory and policy
The european gendarmerie force
Its mercilessness towards the victims of its policies
Its increasing role as a centralised, supra national authority which seems to favour very big business lobbies over all others
The destructive and ridiculous euro
The deadbeats it attracts (bolkenstein,mandelson, van rompuy for instance)
Its vindictiveness towards critics (eg Marta Andreasen,Paul van Buitenen,Hans-Martin Tillack)
Its blurred system of corruption and patronage
Its callous disregard for its subjects’ health (eg banning of SNUS, GMOs in livestock feed)
Apart from these, its great.
PS I’m not in the BN,EDL or UKIP
Richard, I think your points are quite valid. There are many benefits to the existence of an entity like the EU. I think the problem with the EU is that the intentions of its creators were/are not necessarily in sync with the interests of the vast majority of the people who live within it. Those who are created it are more in sync with the interests of big business and big finance. They are more in sync with the people who run the IMF and World Bank. They are more in sync with the neo-liberal and globalist agenda. Hence you have the current austerity drive instead of projects to build infrastructure, provide jobs and security for the people. I have considerable doubts that the people at the top of the pyramid have much interest in the vast majority at the bottom.