Europe Day

[longhairedhippy]

Yesterday was Europe Day, though not that you would know here in the United Kingdom. Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity across the European Union, be we weren't observing it here as we were too busy celebrating a transient victory over old enemies rather than a lasting peace between new friends. Which I think says a lot about

Comments

[grok_mctanys]

OK, I'm not that sure about how all the parts of the EU government work, but the image (right, or (probably) wrong) that I have in my head is that there's a heck of a lot of bureaucracy out there. Yes, there's the people we vote for, and the people they appoint, much as there is in our UK government. But is there not a large EU equivalent of the civil service, who, while their job is to do what the elected officials tell them to do, are not actually elected by us, and have longer-term interests than the politicians who come and go

[rich_jacko]

To state the obvious, Europe and the EU are not the same thing. Europe is a continent full of amazing countries, fantastic culture and wonderful people. The EU is a customs bloc / political institution which has its usefulness but is also corrupt, undemocratic, self-aggrandising and in desperate need of reform.

I have no emotional attachment to the EU. I feel no closer to (say) Spain or Germany for being fellow EU members than I do to Norway or Switzerland who are not. I can't imagine the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration ever capturing the public attention in the same way as commemorating those who gave their lives to liberate a continent and defeat the evils of Nazism.

I don't think Britain is a special snowflake. Obviously as an island nation we're always going to feel slightly separate, but the EU has caused a lot of misery and I don't think it works properly for any of its citizens. Just ask the Greeks. The political movement right now is towards greater devolution and localisation, not more centralisation. "Ever

[little_frank]

A vote to leave the EU would mean a shift towards even more economic dependence on the US, and we all know where that leads (remember how the financial crash happened guys?).