Article

2003-04-28 Britain

Blair warns Chirac on the future of Europe

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Posted by Bulldog 2003-04-28 09:22 am|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Agreed: stay the hell away from the Euro, Tony.
It's goin' DOWN, baby...

Posted by mojo 2003-04-28 11:16:08|| 2003-04-28 11:16:08|| Front Page Top

#2 Bulldog: Does the great British nation seriously intend to surrender one mote of its sovereignty to the EU? Churchill must be spinning like a top.

Posted by Matt 2003-04-28 12:03:52|| 2003-04-28 12:03:52|| Front Page Top

#3 Matt, British governments have been handing motes of sovereignty over to Europe for decades. Churchill and Hitler would be reacting very differently, I think.

Posted by Bulldog 2003-04-28 16:34:23|| 2003-04-28 16:34:23|| Front Page Top

#4 Matt,
There's a few things likely to be make-or-break for the UK in the next few months to year or two.

Blair might go for a snap referendum on joining the Euro based on his increased popularity from GWII. This would be a disaster for our economy.

Secondly, there is the more odious 'constitution' being bandied around by Giscard d'Estaing (sp?) which Blair is quite keen on. This would mean the end of British sovereignty as we know it.

The combination of these events would mean the end of the UK as we currently understand it. The thing is, that a lot of people in this country wouldn't realise that it had happened until years later.

I've seen (and appreciated) American sentiments about our involvements, and there has been a lot of support for Blair personally in this. However, what seems to be missed is that he is very pro-European and very left-wing. Not the usual ally for a Republican president.

He's gambled a lot, and its paid off - so far. He's now endangering all that though for some ridiculous vision of 'unity' with the European continent, and this when the relationship with the US has the best chance in decades of becoming something a little more tangible than a 'special relationship' (maybe even NAFTA membership).

It's rapidly coming up to 'make your mind up time' - look to the East (France, Germany etc) or to the West (well, you all know who's over there). This idea of Britain being 'European' when the rest of the world is embracing globalisation is simply ridiculous (very few people here consider themselves 'European').

Put it this way, this government is very left-wing. He got the vote for war with a lot of dissent from his own backbenches, and there was talk of 'payback' afterwards (I'm dreading to hear what deals have been made).

Can you imagine what would have happened if we had a right-wing government in place...we'd have probably told France to get stuffed, Germany to swivel and started the bombing runs without you! :)

Posted by Tony 2003-04-28 18:44:17|| 2003-04-28 18:44:17|| Front Page Top

#5 Bulldog and Tony: (1) I have said kind things about Blair and do not retract them. He gave his word and stuck to it, which is rare for a politican of any nationality. (2) While I have not seen a full draft, I have read bits and pieces of the D'Estaing draft, and it is what Merkins would call a "Lawyers' and Bureaucrats' Relief Act", possibly the greatest of all time. But I'm sure the sophisticated French can explain to my simple Merkin self what a "shared competence" will mean in practice. (3) Even assuming the drafting issues can be worked out, one can't draft around basic distrust, and the current French government is about as trustworthy as Baghdad Bob (but less amusing.) (4) The unspoken premise seems to be that the UK can't go it alone. Not to confuse military matters with economic ones, but the Royal Marines, paras and SAS just proved otherwise (again.) (5) As for what might have happened had a conservative British government been at the helm, my mind simply goes into overload at the thought of a three-way debate including DeVillepin, Rumsfeld and Maggie Thatcher. Trafalgar would have looked like a French triumph by comparison.

Posted by Matt 2003-04-28 20:40:27|| 2003-04-28 20:40:27|| Front Page Top

#6 I can't help but recall the poor grocer who was arrested and fined for selling his produce in pounds and ounces instead of kilos and grams. Wouldn't any loyal Brit vote against this madness and reject the Euro?

Posted by tbn 2003-04-29 01:07:19|| 2003-04-29 01:07:19|| Front Page Top

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