The European Union - Discussion.

I have to agree with Tenshinai Democrats and Republicans alike are into keeping their particular fat cats happy and, well fed case in point the skyrocketing health care premiums Obama Care ("Un"affordable Care Act ) has given to insurance company fat cats like AARP.

Poker

Hmmmm, I sense some thread drift occuring....

Guilty as charged - it's my thread!

Now, to pull things back to Euro politics as they currently are, it would appear that Frau Merkel will be paying a visit to London in the not-to-distant future:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/461399/EU-reform-talks-set-to-take-place-between-Cameron-and-Merkel

http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/politics/9142072/only-angela-merkel-can-save-cameron-now/

This should be interesting. The fact that the UK is in the EU causes major tension in the Conservative Party - Cameron's not the first Tory leader to ride that particular Hexapuma! What makes it worse for him at the moment is that his coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats are very pro Europe. Which hacks off the Tory Europhobes even more!

Mike.

pokermind wrote:I have to agree with Tenshinai Democrats and Republicans alike are into keeping their particular fat cats happy and, well fed case in point the skyrocketing health care premiums Obama Care ("Un"affordable Care Act ) has given to insurance company fat cats like AARP.

Poker

Interesting that I also agree with Tenshinai about both Democrats and establishment Republicans being subservient to the Fat Cats. The TARP bailout in 2008 was THE issue that inspired the TEA party. The establishment politicians who serve the Fat Cats have been demonizing the TEA party is Nazis ever since. Of course people from the EU and other countries are credulous enough to accept this portrayal as accurate which then through recursive illogic enhances the credibility of the establishment propaganda to US citizens.

Just one more reason for the US to withdraw from NATO, SEATO, ANZUS and all the other entangling alliances.

Thank you for those links!

I am sure there is a lot of truth to them. Very interesting to get the British take.

Still: I can't help feeling there is some hype in those acticles too.
This 'Germany is so important' blabla is overblown. No question: Germany is an important country in the EU - but so is the UK.

Like with all topics there are fashion waves and once an opinion gets fashionable everyone jumps on board to appear knowledgeable. Wait a couple of years till we have more economic problems again here in Germany (those come and go in waves too) and suddenly it will become fashionable to have the opposite opinion.

Anyway - I hope they find some agreement both Mr. Cameron and Ms. Merkel and the rest of Europe can live with.

Michael Riddell wrote:Hmmmm, I sense some thread drift occuring....

Guilty as charged - it's my thread!

Now, to pull things back to Euro politics as they currently are, it would appear that Frau Merkel will be paying a visit to London in the not-to-distant future:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/461399/EU-reform-talks-set-to-take-place-between-Cameron-and-Merkel

http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/politics/9142072/only-angela-merkel-can-save-cameron-now/

This should be interesting. The fact that the UK is in the EU causes major tension in the Conservative Party - Cameron's not the first Tory leader to ride that particular Hexapuma! What makes it worse for him at the moment is that his coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats are very pro Europe. Which hacks off the Tory Europhobes even more!

Mike.

Now, to pull things back to Euro politics as they currently are, it would appear that Frau Merkel will be paying a visit to London in the not-to-distant future:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/461399 ... and-Merkel

http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/p ... meron-now/

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Will it be cosmetic reforms that sound good and get great press but essentially kick the can down the road? Or will they come up with the more controversial reforms required to fix the system?

US politicians are fond of the first solution. They get credit for "fixing" the problem and when the chickens come home to roost, they will be safely out of office.

Isnt that always the way? You very rarely see politicians propose policies that may cause short term pain for long term gain, especially if the gain is after their term is over....

biochem wrote:

Now, to pull things back to Euro politics as they currently are, it would appear that Frau Merkel will be paying a visit to London in the not-to-distant future:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/461399 ... and-Merkel

http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/p ... meron-now/

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Will it be cosmetic reforms that sound good and get great press but essentially kick the can down the road? Or will they come up with the more controversial reforms required to fix the system?

US politicians are fond of the first solution. They get credit for "fixing" the problem and when the chickens come home to roost, they will be safely out of office.

Spacekiwi wrote:Isnt that always the way? You very rarely see politicians propose policies that may cause short term pain for long term gain, especially if the gain is after their term is over....

Göran Persson, Socialdemocrats, here, mid 1990s.

After the conservatives screwed up, finance yuppies added further to it by playing with the currency, his govt took over and pushed through one of the harsher budget cleanups you can probably find anywhere anytime.

Far from all was good for the longterm, but it did change a longterm deficit into a fairly steady surplus.

He´s a complete bastard, but he still rightfully retains respect for managing what he did.

I rather doubt a US politician could step up and say "we´re going to put the nation through an economical steel bath" and get full SUPPORT for doing it.
Obviously that´s likely true in a lot of places, so the question should probably be, where could a politician do something like that and not get punished for it?

Bruno Behrends wrote:Still: I can't help feeling there is some hype in those acticles too.
This 'Germany is so important' blabla is overblown. No question: Germany is an important country in the EU - but so is the UK.

Try looking at the national GDP, Germany is 40% higher than UK, 30% higher than France and 70% higher than Italy.
And those are the 4 largest economies in the EU.
You need the next FIVE economies together after that to reach the same size as Germany.
(Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Belgium)

That IS important.

Yes, it is.

Still France, Germany and the UK are playing in the same league economy-wise. As is Italy with about 55% of German GDP.

What I want to say is that Germany does not dominate the EU economically. What is true though is that it is the biggest among several other big economies in the EU.

Then there is the political side of the EU:
Each country has a representation and no single country can push anything through. On most issues each and every country has veto power. And on the issues where that's not the case anymore there are majorities needed.

My point being it is true that there is German influence and there are reasons to resent that (some valid, some less so) but the whole issue is still overblown in my opinion. Other countries are influential too and no single country can decide anything alone.

Tenshinai wrote:
Try looking at the national GDP, Germany is 40% higher than UK, 30% higher than France and 70% higher than Italy.
And those are the 4 largest economies in the EU.
You need the next FIVE economies together after that to reach the same size as Germany.
(Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Belgium)

That IS important.

Well, Merkel's visit was a bit of a non-event!

She said pretty much what I was expecting her to say - some sympathy for Cameron's position, but not willing to compromise Europe for the sake of one country.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/feb/27/angela-merkel-uk-strong-voice-eu-membership-parliament

If Cameron thought he was going to get more, he was being optimistic.

We'll see what the Tory Eurosceptics plus UKIP come out with tomorrow.

Merkel's visit in pictures:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-26369703

Mike.

Right then, some reactions to Merkel's visit from the UK press:

The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10668242/Europe-David-Cameron-cant-match-Nigel-Farages-simple-message.html

Daily Mail commentator Simon Heffer:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2569874/Dave-utterly-deluded-thinks-Iron-Chancellors-going-help-end-Euro-nightmare.html

The Spectator Blog:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/02/merkel-visit-now-its-time-for-david-cameron-to-tell-us-want-he-wants/

It's been a bit difficult to find any positive articles.

There's also been some activity by UKIP as it's been their party Spring Conference, Farage has rallied the troops by predicting that he'll make major gains in the European Parliament elections in May and possibly get some MP's at the UK General Election next year:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26392687

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26376026

UKIP are very popular in the South East and Home Counties and they're trying to make inroads in the north of England:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timwigmore/100246464/ukips-souffle-isnt-deflating-northern-tories-beware/

However, they've fallen flat on their face in Scotland so far. They contested my local Westminster seat in a by election and did so poorly they lost their deposit!

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/how-ukips-big-spend-backfired.21825354

Some more articles on how they're doing in Scotland:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/ukip-push-lib-dems-into-fifth-place-in-scotland-1-3281885

http://thebackbencher.co.uk/ukips-unpopularity-in-scotland/

Personally, I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole as they smack of the "Little England" attitude which get's up a Scotsman's nose, but I will admit they do have a point in some areas.

Mike.