Ten myths about the european union
1. The european union brought peace to Europe.
No; that was NATO. Since the second world war American and British forces guaranteed peace in Europe, preventing Communist takeover. (Which would also, let's admit, have guaranteed peace!) Two major players in NATO were Turkey and Norway, exposed on the flanks of Europe, neither of them members of the e.u.2. The european union is not and will never be a superstate.
The e.u. has a flag, an anthem, a currency, a bank, a parliament, a passport, policies on agriculture, economy, fisheries, industry, employment, air travel and Law. It has a foreign and security policy, judiciary, police force and is developing an army. It has an (unadopted) constitution, diplomatic representation, and wants representation on the UN Security Council. It is working towards jurisdiction over all other nations in Europe. Jean Monnet set it up to be super-national.3. Churchill was all for the european union.
Er...no. To be blunt, he was for an Anglo-Saxon union: Britain, The USA and the Commonwealth. The European union he wished for was that of France and Germany, to prevent them from starting more wars and inviting the British to bail them out again.4. There is no rule about straight bananas. It's a eurosceptic fairy story.
Rule 404/93.
There are others; cucumbers not being unnecessarily curved, not selling loose items under a certain weight, the 'rickety ladders' directive, fish quotas... Not to mention the nasty habit our civil servants have of 'gold-plating' Brussels diktats, after Parliament has rubber-stamped them, by sneaking extra rules on top.
5. Ah, but sixty percent of our trade is with Europe...
Well, yes, very true... but what 'they' fail to add is that the trade is coming OUR way. If we withdraw from the european project, the e.u. loses out, as we switch our trade back to the Commonwealth and the world. Let us not forget, too, that much global shipping we are permitted is sent via Rotterdam: which is counted as trade with Europe, no matter where the cargo is destined.
Don't forget either, that we don't need to be in the e.u. to trade with it. Norway, Turkey, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, U.S.A. ...none of those are e.u. members.
6. We get huge amounts of funding from Europe.
A conservative (little c) estimate is that forty billion pounds per year is going from the UK to Brussels. If we subtract how much is spent on projects 'funded from Europe', experts calculate that for every £2.60 we send over, £1 comes back to us.7. The european constitution is a harmless 'tidying-up exercise'.
This is not tweaking the treaties of Rome, Nice and Maastricht so that they work better. If the e.u. constitution is accepted, it will change a group of trading nations into a Federation operating under one law; a whole new ball-game. Guess who will make the rules?8. Britain will lose influence outside the e.u.
Probably not, but it definitely will if we STAY in the e.u. Britain is a member of the UN, NATO, G7/G8, OPEC, the Commonwealth and other world organisations. When the eurozone becomes a Federation - with its common economic, foreign and defence policies - Britain will lose all control of these seats and its voice.9. We'll have to join the single currency eventually.
Why? The UK has the fourth largest economy on the planet. London is a major world financial centre - by far the biggest in Europe. The 'City' is reckoned to be stronger now than when the euro was launched- so of course Brussels wants a new exchange, run from Frankfurt...10. But think of all the benefits of joining...
The shortest answer is "Name three." Common Agricultural Policy? It brought British farming to its knees, and puts £250 a year onto food bills. The countries that benefit from the status quo outvote any proposals for serious reform.