Your Labour is not Your Own

And so the illiberal ratchet continues to turn.

The European Union's highest court yesterday banned many British employees from choosing how much overtime they want to work.

So however much you need the money and how ever keen your employer is to use your labour, you cannot work more than big brother tells you.

The government, national or european, has no right to intervene in relationships between consenting adults. This is a principle that should be defended in the economic as well as the sexual realm.

Keeper of The Peace

I often see the argument put forward that the EU is responsible for peace in Europe after the second world war. Yesterday in a reply to such a comment, I posted the following over at Tommy England's Blog:

When I hear the statement "That the EU has kept the peace" I often ask the question "which part of the EU". Its instructive to think about it.

If we did not subsidised inefficient French Farmers, would we still have peace? If we had separate national regulations on the type of tree we are allowed to plant, would it lead to a Fourth Reich? Is a common tariff necessary to stop War?

Bear in mind that the EU is only 14 years old, though its forebears, the EC, EEC back to the Coal & Steel community go back many decades. With this evolution in mind, would we have gone to war is the EEC had never become the EC? At which point in the process did war become impossible? Do we need to continue to keep it that way?

You see what I am getting at. Even if the EU is responsible for keeping the peace, we still need a good debate on what the EU should or shouldn't do. And we need to identify what is it about the EU that keeps the peace?

Coming to the crux of the matter, I personally do not believe that we needed the EU to keep the peace. Since 1945, we had a number of things going in our favour.

1. World War II affected civilians far more than any previous wars. The gallant ideals of "Dolce et decorum est pro patria mori" had been shown up for what they really were. War is a dirty business. This meant that the appetite for war was miniscle in the decades after the 1940s.
2. Marshall Aid. We all know about the Treaty of Versailles and how war reparations destroyed Germany. We learnt from that lesson. By helping to build up Germany, the USA reduced the chance of war.
3. The Soviet Union: A malevolent Giant on your border is enough to keep the most blood thirsty war monger quiet. We could hardly ignore the fact that the USSR was an acquisitive imperial power, ready to take advantage of countries weakened by war. Which brings us onto...
4. NATO: By creating a common defence against a common enemy, we massively reduced the chance of fighting amongst ourselves.

You see, I believe that rather than being the cause of peace, the EU is the result of it. Look at the way that counties have willingly given up their power to a central organisation. They have surrendered without a shot being fired. That is how much they are scared of war. Do such pacifists really pose a threat to each other?

When Israel kills an unfortunate 1.000 civilians in the space of a month of bombing, the reaction in much of the west is as if they have raised major cities to the ground. Does anyone really think that such people could stomach a full scale conflict, where 1.000 people would be a drop in the ocean?

It is all very well to claim that the EU keeps the peace. However for the huge sums of money it costs us to belong, and the massive damage it does to our system of government and law, it is up to those making the claim to substantiate it, not the other way around.

A Sign of "Insanity"

Having been told off for snoozing by Ellee, I bring you another interesting development courtesy of Margot Wallstrom.

The campaign to end the European parliament's expensive monthly commute to Strasbourg received a boost yesterday when a European commissioner criticised it as a sign of "insanity".

I say interesting because a campaign that many Eurosceptics support, in order to highlight EU waste, is now being supported by Europhiles, worried at the damage being done to the EUs image. As France will certainly Veto any change, I think we have nothing to worry about.

In case the fragrant Margot should ever grace us with her presence, its the whole EU that is Insanity, not just the parliament merry go round. Compare the loose change that this costs us to the complete madness of CAP.

Yawn Yawn Yawn

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Go on. Just let it go.

Making it up, As they go Along

MEPs as we all know are a useless self righteous bunch of cretins. Their latest work of genius shows it off really well.

Turkey should recognize the Armenian genocide as a condition for its EU accession, MEPs argue in a highly critical report adopted by a broad majority in Strasbourg.

Whatever one thinks about the Armenian situation or Turkey's membership for that matter, Brussels always takes the worst possible course of action. Demanding something that in itself is unimportant, yet is politically impossible for Turkey to deliver on. To keep changing the rules in the middle of the game is unbelievably crass as well.

Wrongheaded as they may be, those in Turkey who wish to join the EU are generally the same people who want Turkey to modernise and stay secular. They are more likely than the average man on the street to support equal rights, freedom and democratic norms. The message they keep recieving however is don't bother, we will do everything in our power to stop you.

The religious nuts and nationalist loons must get really happy when the EU keeps increasing its demands. They had been worried that their dream to take Turkey back to the middle ages was dying, yet those useful idiots in the EU just keep giving them a helping hand.

Surely it is not beyond the realm of the possible to keep Turkey on the road to democratic normality whilst continually postponing membership, if that is what you are after.

No Region is an Island

Divide and Conquer, the slogan of empires through the ages. Now it becomes the vision of our glorious European future.

A team of cartographers is drawing up a version of the political map of Europe, taking advantage of a proposed Brussels directive. It is feared the directive, which is passing through the European Parliament, could allow a United States of Europe to be created, obliterating the British map.

So incredibly people living in much of the East of England, including the North-East and North Yorkshire, would find themselves inhabitants of a North Sea region. Language, culture and history be damned.

Best of all,

Parts of Scotland would become the North Atlantic region with Iceland and northern Scandinavia.

They have obviously chosen to ignore the slight problem that Iceland is not a member of the EU. Can't have reality spoiling the fun.

A Common Foreign Policy

I find the calls for a common front in the EU to be ridiculous, with the primary reason neatly illustrated here.

Most member states of the European Union are not in favor of the idea of imposing sanctions on Iran as it did not meet a Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment activity.

You see we already have an almost common front on one of the most important issues facing the world. An extremist religious government headed by a complete madman wants to develop nuclear weapons. The Blessed United Nations has ruled that they should stop.

So what should the super power of the future do?

Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed that "the most important thing is that the international community does not let itself be divided," with Russia and China disliking the sanctions option.

The answer: Bugger all. All A Common Foreign Policy would achieve is to muzzle those members who do not rejoice at the sight of Madmen with Nuclear weapons. Which is precisely the whole point of the exercise.

£100.000

£100.000. Just think about that figure for a minute. Thats the amount that EU membership will cost us in 2007. Not bad is it.........

Except that is £100.000 Per Minute (pdf)

For that kind of membership cost, you had better hope that we get something worthwhile.

Just a thought. If the reason for membership of the EU is peace, we could afford so many weapons with that amount of money, that you would have to be certified to want to mess with us.

The Bleats of Ignorant Sheep

The Guardian is unfailingly able to offer ignorant comment by economically illiterate idiots, combined with the encouragement of brain washed believers of fantasy. Hywel Williams offers up todays pile of crap.

Electoral reform and the euro were the two most important political issues in 1997, and both would have changed Britain for ever - and for the better.

After years of all the world's sentient beings talking about how badly the single currency has fared, Mr Williams is still of the opinion that it would have been good had Britain joined. He is not alone:

ChristopherDalby: Agreeing that the euro went through some troubled times in its early history, it has enjoyed a vigour in recent years that Britain could have shared in. Despite the fact that the pound is enjoying prosperity at the moment, its rise is slowing down as companies seek out investment in mainland Europe instead of our increasingly old-of-touch Anglo-Saxon bastion.

Mr Dalby is falling for that old favourite of people whose knowledge of economics is zero. That a currency is regarded as a success if it is strong.

AntonVDH Not joining the Euro is going to look like a bad move before much longer. The dollar is about to crash big time, not a question of if but when and who it drags down with it.

Anton seems to believe that we have pegged our currency to the dollar. Either that or he thinks that we should stop trading with the USA, because its dangerous.

whatithink Of course the UK should join the euro and as soon as possible. The opposition comes from the banks, who make huge amounts of money out of charging people to exchange money

My game is up, I have been rumbled. My real name is HSBC. The fact that ordinary people might have an opinion is completely discounted.

Their only arguments are conspiracy and scare tactics, and yet they wish to make irreparable changes to our nation and we should shut up and take it. After all we are demonstrably stupid. We disagree with them.

If any of these enlightened souls should happen across this humble blog, the real argument against the Euro is simple.

An economy is best served by interest rates that reflect the reality at that moment, not the average of a dozen or so starkly different economies. Only a national currency can achieve that. The Pound will go up and down against the Euro and other currencies. This is as natural as the sea going up and down with the tides. As long as it reflects the underlying economy, fighting against it is as pointless as Canute's stand against the tide. An unnaturally low interest rate is just as undesirable as an unnaturally high one. So by keeping our currency we maximise our chances of achieving good economic governance.

Oh and above all, The Euro is a political project not an economic one. So don't try and use economic arguments to justify it.

EU Actions harm Small Third World Businesses

The Vietnamese government is claiming that the latest EU dumping duties on shoes will cause small businesses to close. Bear in mind if you will, that the GDP per head in Vietnam is $630 . On the other side of the equation, this action will raise the price of shoes across Europe, forcing consumers to pay more. Not that it will effect wearers of Prada very much. The poor of Europe however, thats another thing. Great isn't it this EU thing. Screw the poor abroad and the poor at home.

EU Migration Costs

We are continually told by the government that immigration is good for the economy. True, but not the entire picture.

High levels of migration from new EU countries have pushed UK rental growth to its highest level in eight years, the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors lettings survey has found.

They are selling this as a great opportunity for property investors, which of course it is. First time buyers might not agree.

First-time buyers will find it hard to enter the housing market with higher rents making it difficult to save sufficient sums for a deposit.

Government lies and spin over this issue are legion. It is no surprise that the public is no longer willing to believe them.

Waste Waste Waste

Another day another small example of the waste that we have come to expect from our super state.

Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money are being wasted every year on EU interpreters who turn up for meetings only to find they are not needed. A report on the EU's annual interpretation budget to be published next week found 16%, or £17m, was wasted on staff who find themselves kicking their heels.

Apparently, MEPs, "our representatives", often order a translator for a meeting and then fail to show up. In a more rational world, such offenders would be punished, but this is the EU..... so..... nothing.

In God We Trust

We eurosceptics thought that the constitution was dead. When the Federasts started to pretend that it wasn't, we scorned them, thinking it would need a miracle to revive it. Now Angela is appealing to the leader in the provision of such miracles:

Europe's "Christian values" should be enshrined in a new version of the EU constitution, the German chancellor declared yesterday after meeting the Pope.

So she thinks that appealing to a higher court will do the trick.

One Seat

For those of you who have not added your support to the One Seat Petition, please do so. They want to reach 1 Million supporters by September 1st and currently have 920,000. What they want:

It costs European taxpayers approximately 200 million euros a year to move the Parliament between Brussels/Belgium and Strasbourg/France. As a citizen of the European Union, I want the European Parliament to be located only in Brussels.

It will achieve nothing, except upset the French. Reward enough I think :)

Helpful Government Regulation

I'm back, and to my surprise, not, nothing ever changes. EU regulations threaten yet more jobs.

North Sea oil industry employers fear that upcoming U.K. legislation putting offshore oil and gas workers outside U.K. territorial waters under E.U. rules covering working hours and holidays will lead to legal claims that could close large parts of their business.

Of course the fact that the workers spend days at a time away from home, means that the most logical form of employment is for them to work long hours whilst there, and then spend days at a time on shore. If they get to spend hours more hanging around on a rig, but lose some of their shore leave, will they be happier?

Thats to completely ignore the cost side of it all. As the North Sea fields become ever more depeleted, they become more marginal too. At $70+ a barrel, that made not be a problem, but who guarantees that the prices will not fall?

Never mind logic and common sense, this is the usual evil axis of EU rules and UK idiots that has done so much damage in so many ways. Everything must be harmonised and damn the consequences.

I'll be Back

For those of you wondering where the hell I am, I will not be blogging again until the end of the month. For those in search of a discussion, why not have a chat in the Right Links Forum. Meanwhile, on my other blog, we have scored an interview with Richard Barnes, London Mayoral candidate.

EU Regulation

Its a fairly bland press release, but it has a number of important points to make.

The perception of many is that chemical volumes increase year on year and so heath and environment risks must be increasing. In reality this is untrue. Over the last two years the movement of chemicals in the United Kingdom alone has reduced by up to 100 million tonnes!

So the common fallacy behind the push for regulation is wrong.

Governments are relying less and less on science and more on opinion. The problem with regulatory groups is that their existence relies on regulating! They seldom allow time to complete a task before offering more regulation.

There is always a stock reason though

When using a 'precautionary principle' it is not too difficult for them to justify their actions.

And to finish on a positive note.

The number of legal actions being taken against the EU is growing.

I won't hold my breath, but I am happy to support anyone fighting back.

EU allows Discrimination Shock

I found this story both funny and pathetic.

The European Commission said the EU's wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws did not apply to tobacco users. It was responding to concerns raised about a job advertisement placed by an Irish e-commerce firm which warned "smokers need not apply".

Funny because so many people are getting into a tiz over the actions of one small firm in Ireland. Pathetic because this is inevitably where the whole culture of anti-discrimination leads you to. A society where everyone is scared of making choices, in case they upset the thought police.

Bulgarian Crime Wave

According to a famous "Roma Leader" in Bulgaria, the entry of that country into the EU will spark a crime wave.

“Crime and corruption in Bulgaria are huge problems and once the borders open up the country will be exporting both to the EU,”

At least we in Britain don't need to worry. Our Home office is a well oiled machine, efficient and ruthless in its pursuit of justice, effective in controlling our borders and well placed to deal with whatever problems come its way. I hate to think what would happen if it were unfit for purpose.

Australia Should Know its Place

The Prince of Darkness is upset.

European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson criticised Australia on Monday for taking the U.S. side in stalled World Trade Organization talks on global trade liberalization.

You see, Mr Mandelson thinks that Australia should know its place, and bow down to its former Colonial Master. But instead the upstart colonials are completely disrespectful:

"At the moment we hear from some quarters, from the Australian government, a lot of bashing of Europe,"

Has it never occured to Mr Mandelson that Australia, as a sovereign country, has the right to side with who it likes in international trade talks?

Stupid me, of course not, how could we expect an EU commisioner to understand the concept sovereign country?

Wrong Kind of Democracy

We have seen in previous years how the EU has always held up democracy as an absolute, unless the wrong people win. Now it seems they are tearing their hair out once again over those barbaric Poles.

Poland's rightwing president has been condemned across Europe after calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty.

Oh how could he.......

Stefaan de Rynck, the European commission's spokesman, said: "The death penalty is not compatible with European values."

So Mr de Rynck is the arbitor of the values of 450 Million people. Again he shows why EU (not European) values are incompatible with Anglo Saxon ones. Evil criminals need to be strung up. The Polish President puts it quite well:

Mr Kaczynski said he hoped Europe would change its mind because "countries that give up this penalty award an unimaginable advantage to the criminal over his victim, the advantage of life over death".

The Kaczynski brothers are not really my cup of tea, but they are good for all of us. At least they are standing up to the wet leftie consensus that condemns us all tofuture irrelevance.

Fingerprinting Your Children

I saw this story a little late, but I can't pass it over.

British children, possibly as young as six, will be subjected to compulsory fingerprinting under European Union rules being drawn up in secret. The prints will be stored on a database which could be shared with countries around the world.

Bastards. They create the rules in secret, then they want to fingerprint our kids, and they will share the data with everyone else. Thanks to His Grace Archbishop Cranmer, for the story

Those Barbaric Poles

One of the "Polish Good Guys" is berating the Polish Government over their boorish and ignorant approach to Europe.

"This government is focused on internal politics and EU affairs are a distant question. They don't adequately identify the impact of European policies on national politics,"

One might ask what the problem is with a Government focusing on internal issues, though one would hope they understand the power of the Brussels Politburo.

"The cost of this is that Poland won't be among those EU countries shaping new political realities,"

OK. Its the "Heart of Europe" cliche from a Polish point of view. But apparently it gets worse:

Poland could find itself short of qualified officials to run the EU presidency in 2011.

Wow they must be really worried by that one. Why can the Federasts not realise that right thinking people don't give a toss about their stupid little games. In what way will having a bad presidency be bad for Poland. To judge by past experience, a good presidency is one that takes the federast nightmare forward and a bad one is one that doesn't.

Anyone But Ken talks to Victoria Borwick

My other Blog, Anyone But Ken, has managed to score an interview with London Mayoral Candidate, Victoria Borwick.

Its well worth a read.

Free Movement of People

Were we right, or were we wrong? The UK was one of only 3 countries that opened its doors to the citizens of new EU members, back in 2004. The government very obviously lied to us about how many were expected to arrive. Because I believe in personal freedom, I was actually positive about us "doing the right thing" at the time. Now I am not so sure, and neither is Frank Field, former minister in the Blair government. Mr Field's particular area of interest is welfare, and he thinks that immigration is placing a huge burden on public services.

"We foolishly went ahead and had an open-door policy and instead of between 5,000 and 13,000 people arriving, in the first year something like half a million did."

Now he wants to limit the numbers coming from Bulgaria & Romania.

"We've now got Bulgaria and Romania coming down the road at us. We need to impose those barriers until there is a Europe-wide policy."

It's difficult to argue with the logic that says, if everyone shuts their doors, then they will all come to Britain.

However, I have one big problem with the whole argument. If we are being told the truth (that they all come here to work) then their utilising public services should be no problem whatsoever. They are all tax payers after all. If they are unregistered, welfare cheats or otherwise criminal lowlifes, then that's a different matter, but that is certainly not what the government is telling us.

So which is it? Are they useful additions to the work force or a drain on public services?

Our "Partner" the EPP

The joy and excitement of recieving an EPP newsletter is almost too much to bear. So I thought I would share some of their insights with you.

EPP AND EPP-ED GROUP PRESENT PROPOSALS TO ADOPT THE CONSTITUTION BEFORE 2009 In a joint letter sent in June to the Austrian Chancellor and President of the European Council, Wolfgang Schüssel, they said "the continuation of the ratification process is inevitable since fifteen member states have already gone a long this path".

So a treaty that requires unanimous ratification must go ahead, as a majority has accepted it. Hmmm.

EPP CONGRATULATES TOPOLANEK AND ODS FOR THE VICTORY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC The President of the EPP, Wilfried Martens, has congratulated Mirek Topolanek, President of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), for his “great victory” in the elections hold on 3rd of June in the Czech Republic.

For those of you not concentrating, that would be the election that ended in complete stalemate.

The Brewers of Europe

The Brewers of Europe is a group that I automatically feel kinship with. They have been responsible for some great times in all of our lives, and we should not forget that.

They also speak a lot of sense.

“Given that the extent and nature of any problems varies greatly from country to country, any pan-European anti-alcohol regulation will not work. For example, trying to pluck policies from Sweden and impose them on Italy would be a recipe for failure.

Whilst they are of course correct, their argument works for just about anything that the EU does. For this reason it is likely to fall on deaf ears.

A Greek Tragedy

If I were Greek, I would be very unhappy to hear this news.

Greeks entering the workplace from the mid-1990s onwards will have to work until they are around 75 years of age to avoid a collapse of the social insurance system, according to a study by the country's second largest bank.

To work until you are 75 is unbelievable. What makes it worse is that these people could easily save for their own pension, but their contributions will be needed for those that don't. Governments that over spend on useless state actions, and skimp on what the the real need is are completely immoral. In Europe we have another phrase to describe it though..... The European Social Market Model.

More Expensive Public Services

The EU is about to make public services in Ireland more expensive.

The European Commission warned the (Irish) Government yesterday that its practice of exempting public bodies from applying VAT to public services such as car parking and bin charges is illegal.

So rubbish collection, car parking and other local services will all get more expensive. Excellent, lets hope the Irish start to see the negative side of rule by Brussels.

Pretty Shrewd Operator

Mandelson, often tries to sell himself as a free trader. He blames the frequent protectionist things that he does on the rules that he must adhere to. Is he really telling us the truth? Andy Robertson, chief executive of NFU Scotland, and a protectionist like all of his kind, thinks otherwise.

"Mandelson is a pretty shrewd operator, and I think he understood after briefing from officials of the importance of agriculture to the rural economy right across Europe. It seems clear that he was not prepared to give any more ground."

He may be trying to spin this as a personal victory. However the importance of agriculture to the political elite, and Peter's propensity to suck up. People like him believe in nothing but furthering their own careers, and like all those who went before him, he has gone native with a vengeance.

Selfish Intransigence

This is the way in which the USA and EU are being described after the failure of the WTO trade talks.

The round had hit a roadblock “because the US and the EU refuse to stop dumping by cutting real money from their agricultural support”, Oxfam International said.

Having read that though I can't agree. After all the selflessness of EU and US consumers and taxpayers is praiseworthy indeed. They are apparently willing to pay more than necessary for their food as well as excess tax for the sake of their farmers. Personally, I would like to see a little more selfishness from Europe's consumers.

Subsidies Don't Work

Another triumph for Regional Development Aid

A chicken plant built with more than £1m of EU regional funding, is shutting for the second time in two years.

Surprise surprise, they cannot make it work. When the state chooses to take money from successful businesses and give it to unsuccessful ones, we should not be surprised when things go wrong.

National Interest

One of the things that led me to becoem an implacable foe of the EU was the realisation that even when they do something with the best of interests at heart, the results are usually completely unrelated to the aims. The reason for this is usually the competing national interests of the members. Take Climate Change

When European Union officials created a market for trading pollution credits, they boasted that it was a "cost-conscious way" to save the planet from global warming.

Whatever you think of Global Warming, theoretically they were right in making this statement. A pollution trading scheme, automatically cuts pollutions where the cost of doing so is least.

However, they managed to screw it up.

The mistake came when the European Commission allowed the EU's 25 governments to provide too many permits

Basically, if a national government provides too many permits, its local companies can make money by selling those to foreigner companies. So it becomes a way for governments to create exports with the flick of a pen.

The worst of this is that the incompetence that led to this situation, then allows extremist greens to attack the whole concept of emissions trading as somehow immoral.

So even when the EU chooses the best option available to it, they still make a mess of it.

Do Tariffs have an Upside

Now I am a hardline free marketeer, and would love to see a world without tariffs. My belief is that usually the cost of the tariffs outweigh the benefits. Our beloved EU has taken it a step further however, if this is to be believed.

According to the British Retail Consortium the EU decided to hike the tax even though it will provide no conceivable benefits to European bag manufacturers.

The tax in question is a tariff on plastic bags. So if there is no benefit to any EU based manufacturer, is this just a revenue raising exercise?

Doing Some Good

Now and again, I like to see how people are finding this Blog. The google search terms in particular are interesting. Today I found this one, of which I am very proud. Someone Chinese typed the question "Is trade a zero-sum game?" into google and came to visit this blog article. At least someone in the People's Republic is better informed now.

Completely Transparent

Or not as the case may be. We all know that the EU is a conspiracy by the powerful to throw off their democratic shackles, but now even some of the powerful are complaining about being left out. They are complaining that they are not told what goes on in EU meetings.

The UK House of Lords EU Committee says the public has a right to know what goes on behind closed doors. The peers claim important decisions are reached, yet no report is ever made to Parliament and no publicity is given about them by the Home Office.

The first Parliament will know about the decisions will be when they are asked to rubber stamp them.

The billion euro Babel

Cranmer has a great post about translation.

It is projected that next year the costs of translating speeches and documents into all the languages of the European Union will reach the astronomical sum of a billion euros.

So their modelling of the Euro Parliament on Babel was a good idea. When they did so however, they forgot how the story ends:

The Lord destroyed the Tower of Babel, and scattered the peoples over the face of the earth. Does such a fate await the European Union?

Well I have always thought of the other side as being a religion, but Serf would be pleased to be an agent of the almighty.

Bloggers Block

The Serf is clothed in sack cloth and ashes. The announcement at the end of last week that the Conservative Party will continue to be friends with Federasts has made him depressed. Writing about a butter embargo, a crack down on banking profits or the EU's relations in the Middle East, hold no appeal. So I am temporarily blocked.

Vodaphone has Been Sleeping

Interesting remarks from Vodaphone on the new regulations over roaming charges.

"We believe this whole initiative is illegal because the EU treaty protects companies and customers from arbitrary and unjustified regulation,"

As they appear to have been sleeping for the past few years, I have a pointer for them.

"arbitrary and unjustified regulations R US"

Edith Cresson Goes Unpunished

Its official, there is no penalty for helping your friends onto the gravy train.

Europe's highest court ruled yesterday that Edith Cresson, the former EU commissioner, acted improperly in hiring her dentist as a top scientific adviser but should keep her £30,000 a year pension from Brussels.

She is guilty but she recieves no punishment. Just a thought, but what do you think they would do if a former commissioner joined the Better Off Out campaign. Do you think they would be so forgiving?

Help, I Agree With MacShane

I am in a somewhat delicate state, having just read the old traitor Denis MacShane and agreed with what he said.

Germany can now wave its red-yellow-and-black flag as proudly as France waves the tricolour, or Americans plant the star-spangled banner, everywhere. To love one's country is no longer a sin between the Rhine and the Elbe.

Despite what the Federasts would love to believe, Serf is most definitely not someone who hates Germans. I have visited Germany a number of times and enjoyed the experience. I especially enjoyed the sausages and beer.

I do however have one question for Mr MacShane, a little thing that is niggling at the back of my mind. You see, I too believe that everyone has the right to be a flag waving patriot, and yet there are some countries that still do not have that right. What does he think about this, or this, does he agree with this train of thought?

It is just that Europhiles seem to be anti English / British rather than representing some continental love in.

Dead Africans are No Problem

We all know that the CAP (Cruelty to Africans Policy) is immoral and makes the poor suffer. Not content with that, Environmental rules are responsible for closing down a charity.

A highly-responsible charity that helps to save thousands of lives in Africa faces possible criminal prosecution, thanks to the bizarre interpretation of EC waste rules by officials of the Environment Agency, who prefer to see valuable medicines buried in landfill rather than put to use in Africa.

Note this seems to be a combination of stupid EU regulations and Officious Idiots. The charity has this to say:

As a result of legal action against Inter Care by the Environment Agency we are in the process of suspending all activities involving collection and screening of returned prescription medicines as they, allegedly, contravene environmental protection legislation. The legal fees incurred in fighting this prosecution threaten to bankrupt us.

We have gone from a law abiding nations, whose laws were designed for our benefit, to a lawless society whose laws are apparently for the benefit of no-one.

The reason for this is that a generation of politicians has been too stupid to understand our Common Law system and have instead imposed an inferior one courtesy of the EU. The common law ideals worked well against the jobs worths who wish to spoil our lives. Why on earth did we have to downgrade?

EU Slogan

As has been mentioned here before, the EU needs a new slogan. The Guardian is asking for ideas. Some of my favourites were:

1. Don't call us, we'll rule you
2. "Throwing good money after bad since 1992".
3. "Bureaucracy is enlightenment"
4. "Peace in our Time" - with Neville Chamberlain's picture on the flag.
5. "Robbing Peter to pay Paolo"

Attack of The Puritans

Since they are no longer able to offer Marxist economics, and sexual freedoms are the norm, the left has struggled to find a role. With every passing year, it is clear that the role is that of the Puritan. The left hate fun and they hate freedom. Green politics has been a major boon for them, allowing them to ban all kinds of things as well as increasing taxes (for the planet of course).
As global cheerleader for the left, the EU has been at the forefront of multinational nannying. Their latest target is alcohol.

Finland (Current EU President) wants EU-wide laws in place by 2010 to ban alcohol ads before the 9pm watershed as well as sports sponsorship deals such as Budweiser's association with the World Cup. The £28m deal with Fifa covers the South Africa 2010 and 2014 tournaments as well as Germany 2006. Other proposals in the commission's strategy against binge drinking include controls on the prices of alcohol and discount offers as well as health warnings on alcoholic drinks.

Now many countries already have tyrannical approaches to alcohol, but on a country basis these are always reversable. Now these bastards want to control the price of alcoholic beverages, on a European Scale!!!!!!
They also want to ban sponsorship by drinks companies. Imagine sports without alcohol sponsorship. Where would they find alternative sources of cash?
Oliver Cromwell made the people of Britain miserable with his Puritan revolution. He banned everything that was pleasurable and fun. But the reign of his philosophy was limited. We should make sure that history repeats itself.

New Blog

There is a new Eurosceptic blog in town. The Tap

My Argument in a Nutshell

Timothy Garton Ash is one of those completely deranged people that fawn non stop over the European Union. He is more in love with it that Ken Clarke. So I was interested to see that in his latest piece he successfully showed why I hate the EU so much.

Take the list of things that many Europeans consider to be most characteristic of us - by contrast with the United States. We Europeans believe that the free market should be tamed by values of social justice, solidarity and inclusiveness, realised through a strong welfare state. We don't have capital punishment. We believe that military force should only be used as a last resort and with the sanction of international law. We support international organisations. We love multilateralism and abhor unilateralism. We tend to think that men and women should be able to live more or less as they please with whomever they please, irrespective of gender and sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on our diversity.

Lets look at those carefully.

1. Social justice, solidarity and inclusiveness are code word for screwing the taxpayer so that lefties can get useless jobs in the public sector.
2. A strong welfare state, is the root of all evil
3. We don't have capital punishment, but we have hordes of evil bastards that deserve the chop.
4. Military force should only be used as a last resort and with the sanction of international law, equals, lets give China and Russia a veto over national interest.
5. We love multilateralism and abhor unilateralism, which is why we do nothing but talk
6. We tend to think that men and women should be able to live more or less as they please, which is why we have created tens of thousands of regulations to ensure that they don't stray from the prescribed path
7. We pride ourselves on our diversity, except diversity of opinion.

You can take you horrible lefty vision and stuff it. I want to live in a free society where those in power are truly accountable to the people they lord it over. Where the government does as little as possible and individuals are free to choose their own way of life. However until we completely destroy the EU and the Marxist philosophy that runs it, I cannot see that happening.

Safety of Citizens at Risk

And only the EU can save them......

Franco Frattini, the EU commissioner for justice, freedom and security, is expected to urge governments to end the "stalemate" caused by the need to vote unanimously on areas such as Europe-wide investigations, the "hot pursuit" of criminals across frontiers and the rights of foreign criminal suspects.

Only then can the safety of European's be guaranteed. We would be foolhardy not to listen to him.

On the other hand, it could just be a power grab?

Brown Pick a Losing Battle

Gordon the thief, is trying to improve his image prior to his coronation. His latest gimmick is to play tough on the EU, and try to undo the "deal" that Our Dear Leader made over the budget.

Gordon Brown has launched an extraordinary attempt to claw back almost £100 million a year for Britain from a European Union budget deal struck last year by Tony Blair.

He knows he will lose, but wants to look tough and eurosceptic. As a Briton far greater than he might have said, Full of sound and fury, signifiying nothing.

Good Intensive Care

Austria's presidency has been praised by the Finns:

Speaking in Vienna on Monday, Finland's President Halonen praised Austria for its success in keeping the EU constitution alive during its chairmanship of the EU presidency.

On life support of course. It would have been kinder to pull the plug.

The Green Calling

Following on from the hyperbole of the week, I thought this report was interesting:

The new annual report on the EU's greenhouse gas emissions published on 22 June by the European Environment Agency showed an increase of 0.4%, following an increase by 1.5% in the previous year.

That wonderful EU that we need to be able to save the planet is at best irrelevant.

Hyperbole of The Year

The following is a quote from David Miliband and Geoff Hoon

Global problems demand global policies. For Britain, that overwhelmingly means co-operation in the European Union, which - without exaggeration - could be as important to the environment in the first half of the 21st century as it was to peace in the second half of the 20th.

Assume if you will that the EU had anything to do with peace in the 20th century. What of the second part of their claim: Also from the Guardian (in 2003):

Margot Wallstrom, the EU's environment commissioner, warned that the EU's own efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions were in crisis. Ms Wallstrom said that only two countries, Sweden and the UK, were on track to meet the EU's target of cutting 1990 greenhouse emissions by 8% before 2010 and that 13 of the EU's 15 member states would easily miss that goal.

So not so good so far. How about the EU's agricultural policy?

The negative impacts of intensive farming practices have led to an impoverished countryside, polluted water systems and an increase in greenhouse gases.

Then of course there is the Common Fisheries Policy. (ppt)

• 70% of the main commercial fish stocks in EU waters are considered heavily overfished.
• Numbers of large, mature fish capable of spawning in EU waters fell nearly 75% between 1995-1999.
• More than 928 million juvenile plaice are discarded annually in EU waters – nearly 18 million euros in lost value.
• 89% of hammerhead sharks have disappeared in the Northeast Atlantic in the last 18 years as a result of bycatch.
• NE Atlantic contains nearly half of the 20 most wasteful fisheries globally.

Meanwhile the EU continues to subsidise the replacement of fishing vessels.

I could go on. The Three most important cross border environmental issues are protection of habitats, protection of migratory species and reduction of pollutants. In all three cases the EU's policies are useless or even counter productive. So there is no merit in the EU helps the environment argument.

EU Benefits

On a previous post, an anonymous commenter asked pro-EU commenter Gary Elsby to name the benefits we get from EU membership. I am publishing his reply, along with my thoughts on the points. His answers are in Bold. EU Benefits

• Stable economy: Notice that EU members range from sick man of Europe, Italy to overheated Tiger, Ireland. Stable is in the eye of the beholder.
• Stable currency: Stable versus what? When the Euro was launched, it was seen as under valued whereas now it is seen as over valued. The one thing we do know about its value, is that it is "wrong" for just about everyone. One size does not fit all.
• Charter of rights: No doubt he means the Socialist Shopping List of rights that the government will provide to people at someone elses expense.
• Freedom: Because we were all slaves prior to EU entry no doubt.
• Equality: Equality under the law? No I didn't think so.
• Citizens rights: Again, did we used to have no rights?
• Justice: You mean justice for nonces and murderers?
• Single Market: Not this does not mean free trade which is what we really need. The single market is actually a set of rules about what you are and are not allowed to sell.
• Freedom to travel: For those of you too young to remember, there was a barbed wire fence around the country and machine gun toting gestapo until we joined the EEC.
• Identity: None of us knew who we were prior to entry.
• Social Charter: Socialist stupidity that we could have brought into law ourselves had we really wanted to.
• Peace: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
• Power: EU = Power, you have been smoking something.
• Force: May the force be with you.
• CAP: Immoral, inefficient and incredibly expensive
• Euro: A stupid political project with no real benefits to ordinary people.
• Expansion: If you don't want the menu, why would you get happy about the supersized one?
• Democracy: Again, the young may not remember but Britain was a facist tyranny in the 1960s
• Invitation: Invitation to what, waste our money?
• Change: Our so new labour, change is good change is your friend. Change for the sake of it is stupidity.
• Security: No thanks, we've already got Nato. Forgive me my cynicism but with the exception of our old nemesis France, I don't see anyone substantial with the stomach to fight.

As usual, worthless platitudes are all that we get for our £40 Billion per year.

Your Children Are Our's

As if the current level of powers of meddling were not enough to explode the heads of Eurosceptics everywhere, they are coming for your children. I give you the European curriculum

A draft of the European Commission's recommendations sets out how European citizens should use their native languages, with knowledge of "basic vocabulary" and "functional grammar". The draft says citizens should have a "positive attitude towards communication in the mother tongue", based on a willingness to strive for "aesthetic qualities" and an interest in interaction with others.

Typical Eurospeak, full of platitudes that mean nothing. The real issue is that we should be considering allowing the EU to have even an opinion on education. After all the way it works is 1) Opinion, 2) Recommendation, 3) Area of interest, 4) Qualifies majority voting.

Don't give them an inch, or we will see a wholesale take over. Don't listen to me, a man of far more stature is saying the same thing.

Conservative higher education spokesman, Boris Johnson, described the government's support for the proposals as "madness" today.

Followed by:

"What we have here is the first attempt to use the European curriculum to create what the commission regards as its ultimate goal - a common European identity."

Glad someone else recognises their game.

Slovakia To Go Backwards

Unfortunately the new government of Slovakia is poised to undo much of the good work done by its predesessor.

Fico (Likely Prime Minister) has already pledged to scrap one of the key pieces of legislation introduced by Dzurinda’s government – a 19 per cent flat tax – which, along with low wage levels, has been credited with generating the high economic growth.

This just goes to show that we cannot count on the new members from the east to support liberal economic policies.

Our Dear Leader's Wisdom

One doesn't have to be a cynic to wonder why sworn enemies are offering you advice. The latest to do so is Our Dear Leader.

The Prime Minister warned the Tory leader of the danger of cutting ties with the moderate European People's Party. Mr Blair said the move could cost British jobs and important trade.

1. The is nothing moderate about Federasts
2. Is Our Dear Leader tacitly admitting that his own partners are socialist extremists, who would be strengthened if the EPP were no longer the biggest group?
3. In what way can it have any impact on jobs & Trade? Are we going to vote against EPP proposals that we agree with just because we belong to another group?

I have never seen so many people out to offer us their wisdom over an issue that is none of their business. Why I wonder?

EU to be More Transparent?

The UK government has lost another battle in Brussels. However, this time, one has to ask why they wanted what they did.

European leaders have hammered out a plan to open up all ministerial meetings dealing with EU legislation.

This was something that his royal Blairness didn't want.

London complained about the package in the run-up to the summit, arguing that it risks leading to crucial negotiations on EU laws moving from the meeting rooms to the corridors.

Is this the reason, or do they wish to keep everything under wraps, so as to stifle opposition to their positions on various EU issues. I personally haven't yet made up my mind.

Help for Hoon

Geoff Hoon needs your help.

On the eve of the EU summit in Brussels Britain’s new Minister of State for Europe Geoff Hoon called today for a new debate on Britain’s’ place in the EU

My Suggestion is as follows. Why not help Mr Hoon in his quest and email him at the following address: waltersa@parliament.uk with you suggestions.

Britain’s’ place in the EU = Waving out the back window as we leave, or Britain’s’ place in the EU = Causing as much grief as possible

Depending of course on your viewpoint

Full of Great Ideas

That Wolfgang Schussel chappie, such a lark, brimming full of wonderful ideas:

In an interview with Germany's Bild am Sonntag, Mr Schussel said "I can well imagine a referendum that takes place simultaneously in all EU states. The constitution would be accepted if the majority of the European population and the majority of states approves it."

Marvelous isn't it. The Prime Minister of a member state is unaware of the gravity of his remarks. What he is suggesting is that the rules of the club can be changed without all the members agreeing. This would effectively set a precedent that would completely over rule nation states.

The entire population of a country could be against something but powerless to make it happen.

The EU to Bring us The Internet

No doubt they will get Al Gore to advise them on this.

Ministers of 34 European countries have endorsed a plan to bring internet technology to more people throughout Europe, setting e-Inclusion targets such as halving the gap in internet usage by groups at risk of exclusion, boosting broadband coverage to at least 90 per cent, and making all public web sites accessible by 2010.

Wonderful, I feel much happier now. All those poor folks who were hoping to perhaps find a job, will be given internet access instead.

The modern Marie Antoinette:

Let Them Watch Porn

Constitution faces a significant rewrite

So says the New Italian Premier.

Romano Prodi, kicking off his first official European tour with a stop in Austria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said the 25-nation bloc will not do anything major to resurrect the constitution until after France holds presidential elections next year.

Even then, "the constitution will not be the same" as the one rejected by French voters in May 2005, he said. "That is obvious."

What is also obvious is that given the cahnce we will reject that one as well. Which rather suggests that they will try to stop us geitting such a chance.

Coservative Partners

The recycling of lies continues.

But where would they sit if they went, turning their back on Germany's powerful CDU and the rest? Alongside Jean-Marie Le Pen and the wilder shores of rightwing idiocy?

Pray tell, when did anyone from the Conservative Party suggest sitting together with Le Pen?

Also please answer me this. Why is no-one attacking the Labour party for sitting in the same group as ex communists from the East. Le Pen may be an unpleasant chap, but he has never been in a position of running a tyranny. Some of Labour's friends have.

I Could Have Told You So

A piece of surprising news (for all of us that live on Mars).

Cyprus was threatening to use its right of veto over each stage in the accession process to prevent the Turks completing the first step in its EU marathon smoothly.

Thus is the intellectual bankruptcy of the EU's expansion process shown up for what it is.

Threatened with a Greek Veto, the EU allowed Cyprus into the fold without solving the issues surrounding the split of the island and Turkish occupation of the North. Once in, The Cypriots have predictably been loathe to compromise on anything, whilst out in the cold Turkey is much warmer towards proposed solutions.

We know that the EU has far more power to influence those countries wishing to be members than those already inside (excluding areas covered by QMV of course). So they should have pushed Cyprus and Turkey to the negotiating table before either of them were admitted. It was a chance spurned. Now the Cypriots are effectively taking control of the EU expansion process.

The EU Consulate

They are at it again.

The European Commission yesterday called for national governments to join it in shared diplomatic and consular facilities "inspired" by the idea of an EU diplomatic service.

They desperately want to undermine the view around the world of EU member states as nation states. They are also doing something else.

Such a service would have been created by the moribund EU constitution and in the absence of that treaty the commission wants action now to increase the EU's "visibility" worldwide.

Yes is cherry season and the EU is busy picking.

EPP Divorce Back On

I'm getting dizzy from all this.

The Tories said that they will press ahead with plans to quit the main centre-right block in Europe to form a breakaway group, despite a probable split among the party’s MEPs.

Good news, I suppose. Until the next twist in the story maybe.

Too Much Wine

Our hard earned cash is often spent on wine, but not usually in this way.

The European Union (EU) member states on Wednesday nodded proposals from the EU executive European Commission to open crisis distillation of wine in France and Italy.

They are to buy vast quantities of wine and distill it into industrial alcohol.

The EU budget will pay the price for the wine to be distilled and the total cost is around 131 million euros

Perhaps we should consider not paying these farmers to produce the stuff in the first place.

Risks To Turkey

I read this article in The Business and was very impressed. For the first time I see that someone actually understands what is at stake in Turkey's EU accession.

By following its deeply held principles, the west may thus insist upon a religious/political freedom that could destroy the Turkish secular project. And, if worst comes to worst, it could lead to the real gathering of power by an Islamist government in Ankara.

This is my biggest worry concerning this issue. European's fail to understand the tenuous hold that secularism has in Turkey. Until the standard of education and level of income rise to a suitable level, meddling with the undemocratic institutions could be playing with fire. HT: Duff & Nonsense

Depressing News

Cameron seems to be backing away from his pledge.

David Cameron has re-opened Tory divisions over Europe by dropping a firm promise to pull Conservative Euro-MPs out of a federalist alliance in the European Parliament within a year of becoming leader.

The problem is linked to an argument between our Polish & Czech allies. They are refusing to work together. Personally I think we should have puılled out first and created our own group later. The only people who would have lost out would be the gravy train riding quislings who have gone native and no longer stand up for Britian's interests.

The Angela & Jacques Show

It doesn't matter who the individuals are and it matters not a jot what they say about their relationship with other countries. The German Chancellor and French President always see each other as the really important partner. Angela & Jacques are no different.

The leaders of France and Germany have agreed a new timetable for trying to revive the EU constitution setting 2008 as the year when decisions on the document should be taken.

They make their minds up and then try to strong arm everyone else into their plan. A bit like the CAP agreement.

At the informal bilateral meeting in Rheinsberg castle near Berlin on Tuesday, chancellor Angela Merkel said ""A functioning Europe needs this [constitutional] treaty"

Note to all those talking up Ms Merkel. She is wants to reform the EU so as to stop it crumbling. She is like Gorbachov in that respect and we should not be surprised when she makes statements supporting further integration. Nothing will ever shake this partnership and spending political capital to try is a complete waste of time.

What's it to You?

Compromise is apparently not possible over the issue of working hours.

London together with several "new" member states resisted attempts to remove the opt-out from the directive, while states like France and Sweden pressed for it to be scrapped.

The only rational response to the scrap is......What the hell do Sweden and France think they are trying to achieve? Why should such a decision be made at a European Level, and why do they care so much?

Czechs In Stalemate

We were hoping for a clear victory for the Civic Democrats. It was not to be.

Czech politicians are facing difficult coalition negotiations after the election created a parliament balanced equally between right and left.

Instead of getting a Conservative Eurosceptic government in The Czech Republic, we get a political nightmare of both sides effectively with equal seats.

Tax Freedom Day

Your life becomes your own on Tax Freedom Day. You are no longer one of Gordon Brown's Serfs.

Police Answer to Foriegn Masters

Soveriegnty of our police forces is no longer.

The Government signed up to a European Evidence Warrant yesterday that gives foreign judges the power to send British police into a British home and seize evidence in connection with suspected crimes committed in other European Union nations.

Seeing as those suspected of serious crimes like terrorism can be dealt with under existing laws, what will this be used for?

My guess is that judges in countries such as France and Spain, whose role is very different to our judges, will use it to launch politically motivated witch hunts. (Remember Pinochet).

Why we would want to agree to it is beyond my comprehension.

Adieu EPP

This morning, I came across the following website. Adieu EPP states:

We believe that the Conservatives are badly done by with our present alliance with the European Peoples Party. We would be electorally, structurally and financially better off if we move out with our real ideological partners. At the same time, we would be able to keep a friendly though more distant association with Europe’s Christian Democrats, dealing with each other as good neighbours rather than as bad tenants.

As this is totally in keeping with my views on the EPP, I have gone and listed myself as a supporter.

Service Deal

They say they have clinched a deal.

EU competitiveness ministers have sealed a deal over a new Services Directive aimed at opening up the sector over the coming years.

But what does this mean?

Crucially, the directive will not – as originally envisaged by the proposal – allow service providers to work in other member states according to the rules of their home country. Instead, the directive simply tells member states to give service providers free access to their country and allow them to freely exercise their business.

So basically nothing has really changed, but we get a news story that pretends that it has. The Services Directive is Dead, long live The Services Directive.

Spat Between Tranzis

The EU is involved in a turf war with the UN

Ireland violated EU law by taking a case about the UK's Sellafield nuclear power plant to the United Nations instead of to the EU courts, the bloc's highest court has ruled.

Apparently only the EU is allowed to intervene in such disputes. Much as it seems more logical to use EU channels in this case, I can't help but enjoy the scene of two Tranzi bodies fighting for turf.

Simplified EU charter

Apparently we need a simplified EU charter, so says Prodi.

During a "sentimental trip" back to Brussels, the new Italian prime minister and ex-president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said the bloc needs a new "simplified" EU constitution text, developed in a more "optimistic atmosphere" and acceptable to citizens.

There is of course a serious problem in trying to make a simplified treaty. The majority of the text was there to replace existing treaties. So without adding a single sentence, the treaty will already by complicated. So whats the betting that they will simply take the additions and make a treaty with those. They will then sell it to us as a slimmed down treaty evn though its essentially the same.

Don't Mention Strasbourg

Strasbourg has apparently become the subject that cannot be mentioned.

The Austrian chancellor has warned the European Parliament's chief not to create a fuss over the two seats of the bloc's legislature at the EU leaders summit next month.

The problem is Mr Chirac you see.

But the Austrian presidency has moved to prevent a clash on the matter with French president Jacques Chirac.

Can someone please explain to me why one of the core jobs of the EU seems to be not upsetting Chirac?

Also note the hypocrisy in the following statement:

"It is a pure demagogy to say we're going to leave Strasbourg," French vice-president of the parliament, Green MEP Gerard Onesta told the EUobserver.

Even a raving capitalist such as myself would question the necessity of adding thousands of tonnes per month of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in such a carefree way. But for a Green Politician who lectures us on our lifestyle choices as a career, this wanton waste is not a problem.

We can't discuss Strasbourg, because it would need agreement of all 25 nations to change it. However, top discussion topic will be.....

The Constitution, which if memory serves correctly, needs the agreement of all 25 nations.

Intransigent Member States

I thought I had heard it all. But apparently not.

Belgian foreign minister Karel de Gucht said on Tuesday in Warsaw that treaty changes should be agreed by a qualified majority of member states, rather than by unanimity, AFP reports. He said member states' current veto on treaty revisions is "a recipe for immobility."

Immobility in EU parlance being a crime worse than tyranny of course.

What he is actually suggesting is that countries should no longer have the right to decide which treaties to sign. He pretends otherwise:

"Countries belonging to the rejecting minority would, of course, have the right to opt out."

Nice. The EU constitution contained within it the voting structure for future. Tell me exactly how a country opts out of the voting structure agreed by the others?

Doesn't work does it.

Great Debate

Our Leaders are to hold a weekend retreat in Austria, to try and plot a course for the EU. Some of them have a few ideas:

Many leaders are calling for a "Great Debate" to establish a consensus on the EU's future and deliver a new manifesto on the principles and values of an increasingly united Europe. Ideally, the declaration would be issued in 2007, when the EU marks its 50th anniversary.

Us Eurosceptics have been calling for a debate for as long as we can remember. But rather than "What should we do for the glory of Europe", we want the topic to be "Whats the bloody point".

Why is it that whenever anyone calls for a debate its about how to push this useless project forward?

That has nothing to do with free speech

Whenever politicains want to do something controversial, they get their retorts in first. The EU is not trying to control free speech.

EU proposals to regulate content on the internet are aimed at protecting society not undermining free speech, European Union Media Commissioner Viviane Reding says.

Who are we to question her. As a blogger however, any effort at regulating the internet worries me. So why do they want to so it?

She said the proposed regulations reflected "basic societal values" - the protection of young children and restrictions on incitement to hatred.

Reflecting on the fact that I spend my time online inciting people to hate the EU, that doesn't really answer my fears.

Thanks to AntiCitizenOne for the tip.

The Little Red Book

Its out.

The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze is now in the shops, go out and buy one. It is a collaborative effort written by bloggers, detailing major sleaze and scandal in The New Labour Government. I contributed 1% of the book.

To find out more, it has its own website.

EU Generosity

One of the gripes of Eurosceptics such as myself, is that when the EU is kind enough to give a little of our cash back, they make a huge song and dance about it. Like This:

KELVINGROVE Museum and Art Gallery was yesterday announced as one of the main beneficiaries of an £11 million European funding package aimed at promoting visitor attractions in the west of Scotland.

Which is nice. I have heard that Kelvingrove Museum is a very important one, so I don't begrudge them the cash. However, how important is this cash?

The £180,000 award to the museum would help Glasgow City Council to promote it on the international stage when it opens its doors again in July, following a £27 million, three-year refurbishment.

Yes that's less than one percent, and in return, the project will have EU flags flying all over it in exchange.

In total £11 Million is peanuts anyway. The English Taxpayer, subsidises the Scots to the tune of £19 Million per day and the media says nothing about it. We don't demand that they fly our flag either.

Fishing for Cash

We know that the waters around Europe are overfished. The European Environmental Agency has this to say:

Overfishing in Europe's waters and the deep ocean has proved hard to tackle. Some fish stocks that have high reproductive rates, in conjunction with reduced fishing pressure, have successfully recovered from past overfishing. Most notable are the herring around Iceland and Norway and in the North Sea.

Fish stocks are declining or well below what they should be. So what should we do about it? (Note that non EU members, Iceland & Norway are shown as successes) Why not subsidise even more fishing?

An alliance of European Union Mediterranean and Baltic states will mount a massive assault on the reformed Common Fisheries Policy today by voting to reintroduce subsidies for fishing vessels amid strong opposition from conservationists.

Not only do they want to completely denude the sea of life, they want us to pay for it. Repatriation of fishing rights anyone?

The Roman Circus

The Emperors of Rome kept the population quiet with public circuses. The new Empire has similar thoughts.

The EU is making a move to takeover and control not just the Premiership, but also have overruling power over every national Football Association. The aim is to enable the European Commission to "direct the sport" at a pan-European level.

Lets just hope they keep their hands off of Rugby.

Update on Europe United

After mentioning the Federalist Europe United Party, they noticed and commented about it on their forum. I wanted to highlight this comment

We have a vision, we have a dream, we have love; they have only hatred! We are not afraid of them Nikolas

Nikolas who is so full of love, has a website. Why say NO to Turkey. What are the odds that Nikolas is a Greek, full of love for his neighbours. I also suspect that he was the anonymous commentator bandying about the word fascist with such abandon.

France Gets Special Treatment

Whilst the likes of me may have a problem with the vision of a Kum Bi Ah united Europe, and we don't like the idea of rule by Brussels, it doesn't mean that we necessarily think that everything the EU does is bad. In general I am infavour of free trade, liberal markets and freedom of movement. Where the EU makes movements in these areas, I cheer the philosophy if not the methods. Unfortunately, the EU fails to live up to even its own rules.

The European Commission declared Tuesday that France did not violate internal market rules by promoting a mammoth merger between two French energy companies, disagreeing with complaints by Italy that the deal was engineered to thwart a bid from an Italian rival.

A blatant piece of economic nationalism from the French, is waived through. So the French get to ignore bits of EU law that they don't like, whilst forcing their choices down our throats. Why am I not surprised.

Scary

When I see sites like this one, I fear for our childrens' future.

Europe United is the first pan-European party, which works towards United Europe. We serve the needs of an important and fast growing group of people, the pro-Europeans. Our mission is to defend integration and ultimately, advance the establishment of United Europe.

People actually believe in this crap?

Anyone But Ken

I have launched a new blog, together with a friend. We plan to narrate the train wreck that is Ken Livingstone's management of the worlds greatest city. We think he is the worst possible choice of mayor. I give you Anyone But Ken.

A Firm Maybe

The difficulties that would occur if the EU said either yes or no to Bulgaria & Romania, were avoided yesterday.

The European Commission has recommended that Bulgaria and Romania should join the EU next year as planned, but only if they fulfil key conditions.

A firm maybe then? I guess this covers the potential critics from all angles. Bulgarians and Romanians think that joining the EU will help them to root out corruption. Which in the circumstances is quite funny. Their leaders meanwhile, look forward to stealing their share of the EU cash.

Make Poverty History?

That man of conscience Jacque Chirac has spoken often about aid to the poor, about how we bear a responsibility to help those in need. As the main cheerleader of CAP, he is of course a complete hypocrite. His beloved farming subsidies are responsible for poverty and squalor across Africa and the Developing world.

The £30bn-a-year EU agricultural subsidy regime is one of the biggest iniquities facing farmers in Africa and other developing counties. They cannot export their products because they compete with the lower prices made possible by payments.

Not content with stopping them sell goods to us, we also screw up their domestic markets.

In addition, European countries dump thousands of tons of subsidised exports in Africa every year so that local producers cannot even compete on a level playing field in their own land.

A few startling facts:

1. Mozambique loses more than £70m a year - equivalent to its entire national budget for agriculture and rural development - because of the trade distortions.
2. 12,000 workers in Swaziland have lost their jobs because the local industry cannot compete.
3. European farmers are guaranteed a price for their sugar three times higher than the world price and there are restrictions on foreign imports - backed up by import tariffs of 324 per cent.
4. The dairy subsidies have driven farmers in India and Jamaica out of business.

Finally for those that do not care about the poor:

The CAP costs British taxpayers £3.9bn a year and also adds £16 a week - £832 a year - to the average family of four's food bill.

This extra cost is of course much more significant for the poorest people in EU member states than it is for the better off. That such a scheme still exists is a black mark against all of us. Get rid of CAP and make poverty history.

Oneseat.eu

Thanks to reader Gavin Whenman, I have learned about a campaign to get rid of one of the European Parliament's homes.

The European Parliament should be located in Brussels

It costs European taxpayers approximately 200 million euros a year to move the Parliament between Brussels/Belgium and Strasbourg/France. As a citizen of the European Union, I want the European Parliament to be located only in Brussels.

To sign the petition, go to the website. OK so hold your nose over the citizen thing.

Bear asks Fox, not to Defecate in Woods

There is hyprocrisy and then there is the EU.

The European Union trade chief on Monday urged Washington to make deeper cuts in farm subsidies to ensure that stalled global trade talks can be successfully concluded this year.

Now I would never let my disgust with the EU cloud from me the reality that US farming subsidies are also a complete disgrace. The EU lecturing others on the topic of agriculture is like John Prescott giving lessons in fidelity. Cut ours unilaterally and then we have some credibility on the matter, not to mention cheaper food.

I have noticed a flow of visitors due to an old joke we played on the Deputy Prime Minister. Now I am confused. Was it supposed to be Fuckwit or Two Inches ?

The EPP, a Suitable Partner?

The Conservative Party has made a commitment to leave the European Peoples’ Party umbrella and create a new, more eurosceptic alliance. This is a move that has upset a good half of the current Conservative MEPs and numerous others. They claim that we will be forced into partnership with totally unsuitable partners.

The EPP, having recently held their congress, and published a manifesto, I though it would be a good time to assess whether we can regard the EPP in any way as a “Suitable Partner”.

(The complete manifesto can be downloaded here)

Throughout the document, the EPP refers to itself as the party for Europe, something of which it is proud. For example:

Throughout history, the EPP has been the European party with a clear vision for Europe because we are committed to solve the problems and to address the concerns of our citizens. Europe has to take the necessary actions to achieve its goals.

They clearly see themselves as the heirs to Monnet and Schuman and are proud of their integrationist heritage. As such they are strong supporters of the Lazarus Treaty:

The EPP is convinced that it was the right decision to draft a Constitutional Treaty as a new basis for the European Union.

And worse:

Therefore the EPP proposes that the process leading to the ratification of a European Constitutional Treaty should be continued after the period of reflection

So sod the voters, we think we are right so we go ahead.

As semi detached members, the Conservative party may not be required to put their signatures to such an abomination, but are still not able to fight against the ideas that are behind it.

Despite all the evidence that refutes such a theory, they claim at every opportunity that the “citizens of Europe”, want a stronger EU. For example

Our citizens want a strong Europe and they want Europe to deliver an added value and to deal with the problems that concern them

And

The EPP is convinced that a clear majority of people all over Europe wants a strong European Union that deals with problems swiftly and effectively at the European level

Two referendum defeats and a downward trend in the polls, is not enough to convince then that there made be a problem in their ideas. The reason is that they are ideologues. Their Europeanism is almost a religion.

As such, they reject any alternative view of Europe:

It has been a long time since Europe was just a customs union that promoted common economic policies. The European Union has already developed into a political union with common borders

Fait accompli, they cry, all doubters can give up now. They fact that majority of Brits, see a value in the economic cooperation but not in the political, is irrelevant. The, project must go on. Show them a problem and they will show you a “European Solution”.

Our success in innovation will largely depend on establishing a European Higher Education Area

How the EU can solve the failures in our education systems centrally, when its clear that even the national level is too centralized an approach, is not explained. We just need faith.

A European energy policy strategy and the creation of a Single European Space for Energy, will help energy supply and energy independence

Energy is a problem? Bring on the EU. They speak at length about the idea of subsidarity, and yet they have yet to see a problem whose solution is not Brussels. Despite being notionally right wing, and making some encouraging noises about regulation, these are people steeped in the intellectually bankrupt social model. It has proven to be a bad idea, but they refuse to let go.

The respect of appropriate social protection and of social rights contributes to highly motivated and productive employees.

So economic growth is somehow linked to making employees more expensive, and

The European Social Model is rooted in Christian-Social thought and based on performance and social justice, competition and solidarity, personal responsibility and social security. These remain relevant in conditions of globalized markets and rapid changes in economic life.

The fact is that The European Social Model worked much better in times when there was a lack of global competition. It is precisely the rigours of globalization that have highlighted the fact that this model doesn’t work.

Its not enough for them that the EU is destroying nation states, they wish to go further:

The EU must develop an action plan to put its European Security Strategy (ESS) into practice, and to strengthen the authority of international law, effective multilateralism and international bodies

So can we look forward to rule by the UN, with its body of upstanding, liberal democracies for members?
They are not completely without wit though, they realise that many Europeans think that the EU is irrelevant or worse. So they propose more propaganda, in good EU tradition. The list of achievements is as follows.

This can include the achievements already made by the EU affecting the everyday life of the people (e.g. increased mobility, lower telecommunication costs, lower flight prices, a common market and a single currency with greater choice and lower prices for all consumers, cross-border environmental protection, peace-keeping missions, democracy-building beyond the EU, transnational police cooperation, the concerted fight against terrorism, the promotion of student and youth exchanges, etc.).

So many of them are nothing to do with the EU, or of such low importance as to be irrelevant, but lets not allow the truth to stop us eh? Because its for the good of us all, just think of the children:

Only when a new generation of leaders emerges, which are capable of convincing and committing their citizens to the European idea, will it be possible to assure the future of their people.

So we sit and wait for the great leader to deliver European Socialism.

I challenge anyone to read the manifesto on still be able to swear, hand on heart, that these people are suitable partners. There is nothing remotely Conservative about them, and the sooner we split the better.

EU Tax

They never let it lie do they.

The European Union needs to overhaul its "irrational" budget procedures and consider an EU tax to provide part of its financing, according to a group of European members of parliament.

These would of course be those same people who costs us a million quid or so each every year, whose parliament has been paying too much rent since the time of dinosaurs and whose carnival of movement between Strasborg & Brussels costs sums too large to mention. I think they got their words mixed up. The European Union needs to overhaul its "irrational" spending, is what they should have said.