Can the subjects (England's relationship with the EU and metrication) really ever be said to overlap? I don't know too much about it but I thought those issues were pretty much orthogonal... err... guess I should say "disjoint" so as not to mix metaphors.
On the one hand, I don't see why someone opposed to EU membership would feel pressed to oppose metric because of that. Peru, Uzbekistan, South Korea, New Zealand, West Xylophone, and Zimbabwe don't seem likely to join the EU and yet they've gone metric. Presumably they had other reasons for doing so. On the other hand, I don't see why someone who supports EU membership would feel pressed to support metric because of that. England is already an exception to numerous EU rules, is it not? And the EU has already decided they're willing to let England stay non-metric forever, right? And the EU isn't the only otherwise metric international organization that England is a part of, so if you claim that just being a member of the EU would "peer-pressure" you to be metric, you'd have to say the same about all those other organizations (The Commonwealth of Nations, etc.). Am I missing something? --- Stephen Humphreys <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Ezra, > > FYI: The only mainstream party that is more pro-metric than the current > Labour lot are the > LibDems - and thay have no chance in winning a general election. > > The Tories, who are the most likely to turn over Brown's government's > majority, are even less > keen (generally) on metrication. They are also more eurosceptic (for where > the subjects > sometimes overlap). > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected]> Subject: [USMA:40484] Re: > > EU > Council> Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:17:57 -0800> > Gene,> > Thanks for the > additional info. I'm > glad to hear that the Units of > Measurement Directive (what we have been > calling the "metric > directive") is > not yet before the EU Council.> > Even if the Units of > Measurement Directive is > amended as proposed, the UK > could go much further than it has in enforcing > the primacy of > metric units > and widening the scope of that enforcement to advertising and > product > > descriptions. (But that will have to wait for another day and another > > government, I'm afraid. > :-(> > Ezra> > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> To: > "U.S. Metric > Association" <[email protected]>> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 11:55 > AM> Subject: > [USMA:40483] EU Council> > > > Ezra,> >> > Below are some brief excerpts > from:> >> > > <www.counsilium.europa.eu/showPage.asp?id=242&lang=en&mode=g>> >> > The > Council is the main > decision-making body of the EU.> >> > The ministers of the Member States meet > within the > Council...> >> > Depending on the issue on the agenda, each country will be > represented by > > > the minister responsible for that subject...> >> > The Council...passes laws, > usually > legislating jointly with the European > > Parliament... END of Excerpts.> >> > > No currently > posted agenda includes the EU Metric Directive.> >> > Gene.> > ---- Original > message ----> > >>Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:01:11 +0000> >>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Subject: > [USMA:40473] Re: EU Metric Directive> >>To: "U.S. Metric Association" > <[email protected]>> >>> > >>My next question is pretty obvious: why does Elizabeth say that approval > > >>>>by the Council > (and which council, exactly?) is "uncertain'? What does > >>that mean? When > do they meet? What > are the forces in play? etc. etc.> >>> >>Anyone out there with suitable > history and contacts > able to drill down a > >>little further? I'd love to know!> >>> >>Ezra> > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Share what Santa brought you > https://www.mycooluncool.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
