Friday, June 20, 2008

When does no mean no?

...I suppose you could ask most females that question and they'd answer with aplomb.

I expect I know the answer to the question - "why does the male dominated populus of EU ministers not know the answer then?"

I place on record my distrust and general concern over most things EU. I go so far as to say I am a complete Euro-sceptic.

When you take the right of a referendum away from a country that's undemocratic and wrong, not just cynical of all things Euro.

When you have a country vote 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty - Ireland being the latest, you don't then question their integrity, talk about booting them out because you don't like what they say or simply look for a back door to ignore a democratically settled answer. Equally, I cannot understand the gall of our English Parliament ignoring the rights of its people to even have a referendum. At least Ireland took a vote - Brown simply signed the papers without a second thought. How's that representing a people? Knowing there's massive disquiet about the treaty, and simply swanning off without a bye or leave to sign the document quick before anyone notices? The worrying thing is, we all noticed.

When I represent a client at court and have a guilty verdict or Judgment against my client, I don't stand to my feet and say "Best of three your honour?" or decide to settle the dispute following Judgment by a game of paper, stone, scissors or noughts and crosses.

I studied EU law and was incredibly concerned about the things I learnt, from the legal perspective. European law demands - yes, demands sovereignty. National law has it's place - and it's below the whim of Europe.
Don't bother doing a Google search or looking at some half - wit's interpretation on Wikipedia. I'm not trying to be rude, but most of the garbage I hear people talk about that is Europe related is just that; garbage. Europe isn't about straight bananas and dusty books, it's insidious and now essentially entirely undemocratic....... and we're allowing this nonsense to happen. Talk about Europe in sceptical terms, and the right on gang snootily try to make you feel as though you're insulting the disabled.

Study it, or work in it for a year or point to a recognised scholarly article and then talk to me. So many people have such little interest or knowledge and it aggravates me. The things that millions fought for are being written off in the stroke of a pen. Why are we not screaming from the roof tops about this?!

I'm fiercely English first (before you shout, ask a Welsh or Scotsman that question), British second and do not consider myself in any way European. What do I have in common with a Latvian, Bulgarian or Polish person? The answer is simple - the same that an American has in common with someone from Venezuala, Peru or Chile. What? They're both from the same continent...
Why can't we all be proud of our heritage and fiercely protect our national pride? I do not want to be subsumed into a soup.

I'm sick to death of the fact that our Government is slowly but surely eroding our rights without taking a blind bit of notice of what the national voice says. Even if we say no, we can see that carries little or no truck. I don't want to live in a Totalatarian state. 1984 was 24 years ago.

In brief, the UK allows the EU to have sovereignty for the time being. We operate a dualist approach where we channel EU law into our system. If we don't want it, we walk away. Germany have the same approach. I think I've blogged this before... some academics suggest we're entrenched. I say we let the people decide once and for all with hopefully a much improved Government as quickly as possible.

I'm waiting for someone with a strong enough voice to kick Europe and it's bullying ways into touch. If not, sorry, I'm off.

3 comments:

Brennig said...

Strong words, nicely put.

Anonymous said...

"So many people have such little interest or knowledge and it aggravates me."

You can't blame the people for that, though. The British media are only interested in reporting the sensational 'straight banana' stories, while the everyday erosion of freedoms and accountability continues apace. Most people don't know who their MEP is, or what goes on in Brussels, and have no easy way of finding out.

We hear more about the workings of the US political process than we do about the one we're directly involved with in Europe. Perhaps the BBC, within the educational aspect of its remit, should start to make it a priority to ratchet up its coverage of EU matters in an engaging way. That would be to the benefit of all in this country.

Unfortunately, it may not suit the government for the people to be so well-informed.

Anonymous said...

But this has been simmering for that last 35 years Paul. The slow but steady lowering of the UK into the boiling pot of hegemony was started back in 1973.
The Tories were responsible for that, nulabour are merely upholding the status quo.
It's like an unstoppable freight train I'm afraid, with no brakes, hurtling torwards the collapsing bridge. Meanwhile, the Brussels Club in the third carriage along with the hanger-ons and failed politicos continue to bury their snouts further into the trough