On 5/7/16, Jaume Lahuerta, discombobulated, unleashed: >Interesting conversation. > >As a citizen of 'the rest of Europe' my view of the UK as a member of >the EU is: > >- They just want the good things of the Union (free trade) but not the >bad things (immigration,...). Brexit leaders promised to achieve this >perfect equation.
Your assumption that immigration is a bad thing puzzles me. Why is it bad? I actually think immigration is a good thing. That said, complete freedom of movement, unrestricted, to a relatively small island with a population already in excess of 65 million is untenable. We have an overstretched national health service, housing shortages (pushing prices up) amongst many other problems. Our government has already agreed to immigration quotas that have been negotiated within the EU frame. Beyond this, one has to ask the question: why the UK ? Why do so many people want to come here? Many people travel from the middle east, all the way through Europe and strive to reach these shores. Why? This is not the land of plenty that somehow has seemingly burned itself into the immigrant consciousness. >- They are (were) in, but with their own rules (currency, somehow >restricted borders,...) Believe it or not we are still 'in' and will likely be so until 2019. We do have some opt-outs from the EU, currency being the main one. This was negotiated and agreed upon by the EU. It is not a unilateral decision. Your government, Juame, agreed to this opt-out along with all the other EU governments. So how is this all our fault? The somehow restricted borders are also negotiated. Britain is not the only EU member with restricted borders. Please see this wiki page on the Schengen Area: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area> >- They always try to deactivate (from within) all the attempts for a >closer political union. I don't understand this statement at all. To my knowledge this is not true. Where's Bob Walkden when you need him ;-) (he's cycling in France!) My idea of 'a closer political union' probably mirrors most Brits' by being part of a central union of countries standing together with trade and social links. It does *not* include any notion that overall control of our country will be decided by a European Parliament, a European defence force (army). I am in two minds about a single currency, but given the financial failings of some member states, at the moment, I would prefer to keep the British Pound. >So, yes, probably the Brexit is a bad thing in the short term, but maybe >is a good opportunity for both parties, specially for the Europeans that >are willing to build a closer and more supportive Union. How close do you want to get? -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ Broadcast, Corporate, || (O) | Web Video Production ---------- <www.seeingeye.tv> _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
