EU - the gloves are off ....

[cromwell]

Frank, I'm sure that the No camp told some lies as well in the 70's.
I've never had anything against the countries of Europe. Today I've been admiring Mont St Michel in the Telegraph, and the fields of lilac in Provence. As a family we went on six holidays to Italy.
But that doesn't mean I love the EU.
My main gripe is that from the off and throughout, the British public have been deliberately misinformed or left in the dark about the EU. If you asked the British public who Jean Monnet was, most wouldn't know and some would guess that he was a painter.
To be fair, European politicians have always seemed more open about the EU than our home grown ones have.

[Kaz]

Aggers you are right, the Nazis were voted in, but they were voted in 80 years ago! You cant possibly blame any living German for that! Almost nobody old enough to vote then will still be alive.........

[Aggers]

Aggers you are right, the Nazis were voted in, but they were voted in 80 years ago!
You cant possibly blame any living German for that! Almost nobody old enough to vote then will still be alive.........

Of course you are right, Kaz, but I'm afraid I am unable to explain why I feel this way. Perhaps a psychologist could.
I have read many books about the two world wars and about the Nazis. No doubt that has something to do with it.
One book in particular contains actual contemporary diary entries by German civilians and soldiers during WW2, and
it is horrifying to read of their hatred and cruelty towards innocent civilians of other races.

[KateLMead]

Oh Aggers..............

" the wonderful place it used to be "

If only. We used to go shopping at the local shops in the next street and leave the front door open and the vestibule door unlocked and thought nothing of it. Now they aren't even just breaking into the house and stealing things, they are stealing the cables bringing power into our houses!

As for the EU. We are at the mercy of idiots who spend their time studying the angle of bend of cucumbers.

Not so much time as they spend swindling the tax payer, stuffing their off shore accounts with their ill gotten gains, having illicit affairs, living in the lap of luxury, with expenses claims beyond a joke as they systematically destroy everything in their path. We are governed by lunatics.. They should change their title to Armageddon incorporated.
UKIP UKIP UKIP.

[Aggers]

UKIP UKIP UKIP.

Yes.Kate. I believe UKIP is our only hope.

UKIP UKIP UKIP

[cromwell]

There was an absolutely classic example of EU coverage here on BBC Look North tonight. Classic in the sense that the EU was never actually mentioned.
The subject was devolution. How Scotland had "done better" since powers were devolved from Westminster to Scotland, and wouldn't we do better if we had a regional assembly? OK they were voted down ten years since, but wouldn't we do better if we had more power here in Yorkshire?

This is absolutely typical of the BBC. Scotland is an EU 'region', as is Yorkshire and the Humber, which was created in the early 90's after the Maastricht treaty. Regional assemblies are part of the EU's 'federalisation' agenda, whereby in the long term national parliaments will be done away with to be replaced by regional assmblies based in Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire and the Humber, East of England etc.

Was there any mention, at all, of this in the BBC report? Like hell. Never once was the EU mentioned, but plenty of "more power here in YORKSHIRE".

It was massively dishonest TV and absolutely typical of the BBC. Balanced coverage? Shameful propaganda more like it.

[TheOstrich]

No citizens have ever been consulted about these Euro-regional assemblies, to the best of my knowledge. It's said they just came into being one day on an EU Map .... "oooo look, there's this thing called Arc Manche which incorporates Kent, Sussex and Brittany ....."

This from 2006:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1527886 ... rance.html

...... but the Arc Manche actually dates from 1991! source - wikipedia

The structure of these EU regions varies considerably, but is mainly at local government level and can involve a legal framework, policy collaboration and development strategies. All funded by Brussels of course. They may not sound like much - but they are the genesis of the federalisation process of the United States of Europe.

But there's no point in complaining, Cromwell. As they said in the Lords t'other day, the ordinary citizen can't be trusted to make any rational decisions on something as high and mighty as the EU ......

[Workingman]

I am a bit confused with all this region ballyhoo.

Yorkshire and Humber is a constituency of the European Parliament - one of nine in England - and returns six MEPs. It is not an EU region.

We did once have a region between the British Isles and Eire long before the Common Market/EEC/EU and Shengen came along. The way it worked might even have been the blueprint for Shengen and the freedom of movement within Europe.

We were also pretty good at creating (unwanted) regions long before we joined the Euro club: Cleveland or Humberside anyone? We also still refer to the more traditional and historical regions we all know and love: Mercia, Wessex and Anglia.

As for Europe, it too had its regions of shared culture, language and trade, long before the EU; how about Scandinavia, the Low Countries, the Balkans, Rhineland or the Danube?

Regions are not new and not unique to the EU.