To our UK friends, I am somewhat curious as to your opinions of the latest developments going on in the EU since Jean-Claude Juncker became Commission President. The UK since its acceptance in the EU in 1973 has spent a great deal of effort to insists on derogations to EU policy, especially when it came to metrication.
The policy of keeping miles on the roads was a condition negotiated by the UK with the EU. It was also the UK that campaigned furiously against the EU directive requiring full metric usage in the EU countries. The UK had also fought to keep out of the Euro. European leaders were so determined to keep the UK in and happy that they often gave into UK demands and derogations of policies. Now, that has come to an effective end and the threat is great that the UK (actually only England) will depart either by expulsion or resigning. No country is more opposed to Juncker’s appointment than the UK. Because the UK knows that the party is over for them. If the UK or just England ends up on the outside looking in, what will it do to the continuing of metrication? I can only hope that Juncker will reopen the EU directive on metrication and start to negotiate a more balanced plan, such that as far as the US is concerned, future allowances for US products imported into the EU to be dual dimensioned would require that the US allow metric only on EU products sold in the US.
