Lowdown The EU should we stay or should we go?

Kent Paul

Description

WHAT HAS THE EU EVER DONE FOR US?Why doesn't Posh Spice like the European Union?Which EU member nation is the grumpiest?How many people does it take to post a letter in the EU HQ in Brussels?When did Margaret Thatcher drape herself in a German flag?How does the EU recommend you dispose of a broken vibrator?Where can you go for an unbiased appraisal of the EU?The answer to that last question is: keep reading this blurb. There are literally hundreds of books and websites that deal with the history, workings, constitution and finances of the EU. But they all tend to fall into one - or both - of two categories: hopelessly biased or hopelessly boring. Until now, that is. Faced with the prospect that the UK electorate might be asked whether it wants in or out of Europe in 2017, Paul Kent discovered he didn't have the first clue which side he was on. So instead of relying on journalists, bureaucrats or politicians to feed him their distorted, dull or partisan half-truths, he decided to find out for himself - emerging with this short, pithy and, gasp, funny survey that puts everything in perspective so you don't have to. And he also promises he won't tell you which way to vote.So if you want to thank Paul for risking his sanity in this selfless act of public service, you could do worse than download a copy of The EU:Should We Stay Or Should We Go? It's the only EU guide you will ever need. And it will make you laugh while you learn a thing or two. And by the way, if you want the answers to those other five intriguing EU questions, they're just a few clicks away . . .

Informations

• Publié par: Creative Content
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781908807205
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE LOWDOWN:
THE EU - Should we stay or should we go?
by
Paul Kent
THE LOWDOWN: The EU – should we stay or should we go?
First published in 2013
By Creative Content Ltd, Roxburghe House, 273-287 Regent Street, London, W1B 2HA.
Copyright © 2013 Paul Kent
The moral right of Paul Kent to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher nor be otherwise circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published.
In view of the possibility of human error by the authors, editors or publishers of the material contained herein, neither Creative Content Ltd. nor any other party involved in the preparation of this material warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of such material.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of Creative Content Ltd. or any employing organization unless specifically stated.
Typesetting by Creative Content
Cover Design by Daniel at HCT Design
eISBN 9781908807205
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: 20 Questions
PART 1: Framing the Debate 1 .         What is the EU? 2 . What is the EU for? 3 . When and why did the EU start? 4 . How did the EU get as big as it is now? 5 . What are MEPs? 6 . How many MEPs does each country have? 7 . Which political parties do MEPs belong to? 8 . So how does the EU work? 9 . Can member states refuse to abide by EU law? 10 . How do nations get into the EU? 11 . How big is the EU's budget? 12 . Conclusion: what has the EU ever done for us?
 
PART 2: The Debate 13 .         Why now? 14 . When did the UK join the EU? 15 . When did the UK start getting anti-European? 16 . So who doesn't like the EU and why? 17 . Who likes the EU and why? 18 . What are the alternatives to the EU? 19 . What's the future of the EU? 20 . How shall I vote in a referendum?
INTRODUCTION: 20 QUESTIONS
 
The UK has always been suspicious of Europe; our island status virtually guarantees that.
This chariness (some might call it fractiousness) perhaps originated when Julius Caesar landed with his legions in 55 BC, to be followed by various German tribes, the Scandinavians and lastly the Normans in 1066. The Spanish tried it in 1588, and the Germans (again) in 1940; indeed, England itself is named after one such group of Teutonic invaders, the Angles, who, along with the Saxons, the Frisii and the Jutes, gradually moved in as the Romans moved out in the 5 th century AD.
Such incursions have continued into the 21 st century, although rather more stealthily: by population, London is now the 6 th largest Gallic city in the world, and has its own French language radio station. We drive German Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, sip ersatz cappuccinos in Italian-style cafés, glug Dutch and Belgian lager down the pub, holiday in Spain, Greece and Croatia, and buy flat-pack Swedish furniture while employing Polish builders to do our home improvements. And it's a two-way traffic: 1.4 million Brits live and/or work in Europe, and countless of our citizens have second homes across France, Spain, Greece and Italy.
On the whole, we're a pretty cosmopolitan lot.
Yet the UK's welcoming embrace – even its love – of many aspects of European life and culture does not seem to extend to its dealings with that bureaucratic behemoth the European Union , (hereafter referred to as the EU ).
At the time of writing (July 2013), polls typically reveal that between 40 to 50% of Brits wish to withdraw our membership, while a mere 30 to 40% want to stay in. A 2009 Europe-wide survey revealed this latter figure to be only half the satisfaction levels of Luxembourgers who are at the top of the happy tree, making us the second grumpiest of the EU's 28 members after Latvia.
And not only that: UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence Party) is a political phenomenon whose main ambition – to get us out – has thrust it into the limelight with unwonted speed following a very slow burn since its foundation in 1993; in a poll published in The Observer in June 2013 it was reported to be receiving as much as 21% of domestic electoral support, biting at the heels of the second-place Tories on 26%. Moreover, a sizeable group of Conservative Eurosceptics appears to be siding with them, threatening to split both party and government and perhaps even triggering a general election.
EU-phobia has rather suddenly spiked – and I use the word “phobia” in its exact clinical sense, viz: “a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational.” Because this neurosis is proving to be no nine-day wonder; there's even jargon to describe it: “Brexit” (or sometimes “Brixit”, a contraction of “British exit”) is now a serious item on the political agenda.
It's for this and many other reasons that the debate as reported by the British press seems even more febrile than usual – which means that we're being fed an almost uninterrupted diet of what the psychologists call “phobic stimuli”. Recently it was noted that interfering EU mandarins now wish to limit the electrical consumption of British vacuum cleaners – “This is probably very nice for our European neighbours where they have tiled and wooden floors but not so much here where we all have carpets. Vacuum cleaners need a much bigger suck factor here,” said a spokesman for some obscure trade body or other. “There is even a potential health risk because lower powered cleaners will not pick up allergy-provoking dust properly.” So now the EU wants us to turn into a nation of wheezy asthmatics.
And these stories don't just appear in the usual-suspect Tory tabloids; the EU recently scored a direct hit on the Achilles’ heel of one of its staunchest defenders – the Guardian newspaper, house journal of the left-leaning middle classes – when it proposed banning the “double-dipping” of bread in small bowls of olive oil at restaurant tables by requiring said bowls to be replaced by individual bottles topped with tamper-proof nozzles. Infection control, apparently.
It's as if the EU deliberately goes out of its way to offend everybody . But particularly the UK.
Yet although these stories are silly, distorted and usually filed with the kind of malicious intent a child could spot, they set off a Pavlovian response in a certain kind of Brit whose anti-European hostility is hair trigger sensitive. Nothing provokes apoplexy over the breakfast table like a good old Euro-scare, no matter how improbable. In fact, so many and various are these stories, the European Commission has collected no fewer than 69 of them on its website, each accompanied by a refutation. Subjects range from the uniform shape of cucumbers to the disposal criteria for worn-out vibrators, the requirement for rock climbers to use scaffolding, and tightrope walkers to wear crash helmets.
But we're not just sweating the small stuff here: in addition to cruet- and suckage-related issues, it's immigration , over-regulation and sovereignty that are perceived as the meddling Eurocrats’ most serious threats to the British way of life – not to mention the spectre of monetary union with the troubled euro. And it's no great surprise to find xenophobia raising its ugly head at the more hysterical end of the debate: “[D]ue to the EU's systematic demolition of our borders,” one nationally syndicated columnist thundered recently, “no fewer than 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians will be able to settle here next year, with rights to claim housing, benefits, education and healthcare.” Which unlikely scenario would leave both countries completely uninhabited. And, of course, German hegemony within the EU really riles those for whom ze war isn't over – despite the fact that Chancellor Angela Merkel's favourite TV series is a British import – Midsomer Murders . Perhaps she thinks they're documentaries about Middle England . . .
So shrill and emotional has the clamour become, Prime Minister David Cameron has been forced to bow to those he previously branded “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”, and has undertaken to introduce legislation paving the way for an in/out referendum by 2017 – following, he says, some tough renegotiating of the UK's terms and conditions of membership. No longer, it seems, is Euroscepticism the exclusive province of “swivel-eyed” activists deep in the Tory shires; it has now gone mainstream to the point where even the metropolitan political elite have had to sit up and take notice of what is being portrayed as a grassroots rebellion.
But what is this antipathy based on? Disregarding the yellow press for a moment, is there a reasoned and reasonable explanation reflecting the prevailing economic, social and political climate in this country? Or is it naked prejudice pure and simple?
One thing's for sure – the standard of debate on the issue in the UK is for the most part lamentable, embarrassing, and even a little scary, considering the seriousness of the subject.
And it is serious. For a start, no full member has left the EU before, and when Cameron notes that it is the UK's “destiny” to be part of Europe, it is clearly not a principle that is universally acknowledged by a majority of the citizens he represents – or even within the ranks of his own party. Commentators taking the long view ruefully remind us that the UK has never really known where it