The more he opens his mouth, the further he paints himself into a tight corner...

Merkel would accept "UK exit from EU"

UK to seek changes despite "warning"

Juncker - EU FOM cannot be changed

...so that's us out then...

...& if horses were courses, I'm a turkey voting for Xmas :-)

The Turkey that voted for Xmas now changing his mind

...too late, the meat has been cooked & rather badly at that!

The more he opens his mouth, the further he paints himself into a tight corner...

Merkel would accept "UK exit from EU"

UK to seek changes despite "warning"

Juncker - EU FOM cannot be changed

...so that's us out then...

...& if horses were courses, I'm a turkey voting for Xmas :-)


The Turkey that voted for Xmas now changing his mind

...too late, the meat has been cooked & rather badly at that!

They will all change their tune once a referendum gets called...they will all
be cuing up to get up our backside by then....Yes UK, no UK, how many bags
full would you like, UK. Would you like equal voting rights the same as
France and Germany...any thing else we can do for you?

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

They will all change their tune once a referendum gets called...they will all
be cuing up to get up our backside by then....Yes UK, no UK, how many bags
full would you like, UK. Would you like equal voting rights the same as
France and Germany...any thing else we can do for you?

You are sorely overestimating your worth to the EU. Think about it, you have a history of uncooperative behavior, throwing little temper tantrums every time you don't get your way, and you suppose that we like you guys so much that we will do everything just to keep you in the EU? Even though we know you need the EU much more and that you will come back to us to negotiate for access to our common market and certain hugely beneficial policies? Except that when you do, you will be negotiating from the status as a non member, meaning you really have no say over any of it.

You should be happy if they don't throw a little party in Brussels when you leave.

You are sorely overestimating your worth to the EU. Think about it, you have a history of uncooperative behavior, throwing little temper tantrums every time you don't get your way, and you suppose that we like you guys so much that we will do everything just to keep you in the EU? Even though we know you need the EU much more and that you will come back to us to negotiate for access to our common market and certain hugely beneficial policies? Except that when you do, you will be negotiating from the status as a non member, meaning you really have no say over any of it.

You should be happy if they don't throw a little party in Brussels when you leave.

Sounds strangely like "Kremlin" rhetoric to me.

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Sounds strangely like "Kremlin" rhetoric to me.

Hardly. If youre not a member, you don't get to decide EU policy, its that simple. If you still want to be included in said policies, which is possible in some cases (its what Switzerland and Norway do) thats fine, but it simply means you gotta follow the rules as made by the EU. Take it or leave it.

And its not like those policies are specifically set up to hurt or punish those countries. But the mere fact that you can't represent yourself does mean that you can't try to stop policies that are unbeneficial to you. But hey, if you vote to get out of the EU, that are the consequences of your choice.

You have got to be joking! Since when has being a member state of the EU, given any state the ability to decide EU policy? Follow the rules or get out? What the Hell have a number of nations been doing for decades? Ignoring the rules completely, never mind not following the rules.

I can't wait to hear your excuses for the 'accounts' not being 'signed-off' for the last two decades!!! If any company acted in this manner, it would've been wound up and the directors banned. I'm prepared to make a bet, that the real reason the accounts have not been signed-off, is that even the bEUrocrats can't find auditors crooked enough to do so, without exposing massive fraud! Imagine that; they can't find auditors crooked enough, in this day and age! There I was, thinking that all the financial institutions were just gangs of crooks....maybe there really is honour amongst thieves.

As for policies not being set-up to hurt or punish countries....true, sort of. They are set-up to benefit certain nations, which have the effect of damaging other countries...CAP and Fisheries 'policies' come quickly to mind. As per above, some of the countries just completely ignore those same policies that you say should be blindly followed, no matter how flawed they are and they haven't left! Is it because they're doing rather nicely out of it, by picking and choosing which bits they like. That's a pretty strange sort of 'uniformity' to say the least, but one that is well suited to people wearing blinkers.

Finally, when did the people of this country even vote for 'political union'? They didn't. They haven't. I won't. I say I won't, not, "they", because the politicos would prefer to not give the people a vote, as they are on a nice little fiddle, so a vote is not likely to happen, unless I call myself Guido Fawkes and achieve what he failed to do! A little revolution now and again, is a good thing (from, The Hunt for Red October).

---

Don't take life too seriously, as you'll never come out of it alive!

You have got to be joking! Since when has being a member state of the EU, given any state the ability to decide EU policy? Follow the rules or get out? What the Hell have a number of nations been doing for decades? Ignoring the rules completely, never mind not following the rules.

Since they first came up with the whole concept back in the 1050's. Ever heard of the European Council? No? Well thats where your ministers and prime ministers go to vote on EU policy. Thats right, they vote on it and if it doesn't get enough votes (or sometimes it just requires one country to veto the whole thing) the proposed policy does not get adopted.

So all that talk of British politicians whining about how the EU is dictating their policy? Well they fricking voted for it!

I can't wait to hear your excuses for the 'accounts' not being 'signed-off' for the last two decades!!! If any company acted in this manner, it would've been wound up and the directors banned. I'm prepared to make a bet, that the real reason the accounts have not been signed-off, is that even the bEUrocrats can't find auditors crooked enough to do so, without exposing massive fraud! Imagine that; they can't find auditors crooked enough, in this day and age! There I was, thinking that all the financial institutions were just gangs of crooks....maybe there really is honour amongst thieves.

Yes, fraud is a problem. Sadly, its also outside the EU's ability to do something about. While the EU may set up policies, it relies almost entirely on national governments and other national actors to implement said policy. And thats where it tends to go wrong.

Still you are right, its a major problem and it needs to be dealt with. The EU must enact measures that help them follow the money and make sure it gets spend as its supposed to get spend.

As for policies not being set-up to hurt or punish countries....true, sort of. They are set-up to benefit certain nations, which have the effect of damaging other countries...CAP and Fisheries 'policies' come quickly to mind. As per above, some of the countries just completely ignore those same policies that you say should be blindly followed, no matter how flawed they are and they haven't left! Is it because they're doing rather nicely out of it, by picking and choosing which bits they like. That's a pretty strange sort of 'uniformity' to say the least, but one that is well suited to people wearing blinkers.

The CAP hurts no one. At its worst, some countries just don't benefit as much from it as others. And boohoo, there is a fishery policy designed to make sure that my children will live in a world where there are still fish left in the sea.

In any case, EU policy is not a zero sum game. There are no winners and losers. Everyone benefits in some way or another, or policies are just not adopted.

As for policy compliance, well sure, some countries don't follow all the rules. Inform the Commission so they can take that country to court.

Finally, when did the people of this country even vote for 'political union'? They didn't. They haven't. I won't. I say I won't, not, "they", because the politicos would prefer to not give the people a vote, as they are on a nice little fiddle, so a vote is not likely to happen, unless I call myself Guido Fawkes and achieve what he failed to do! A little revolution now and again, is a good thing (from, The Hunt for Red October).

Clearly you don't understand the idea of having a representative democracy. It means you vote for people and those people in turn do what they think is in your best interest. But they are not obliged to consult you every time they want to vote for something. Objectively the EU has always been in your best interest, even if you and your countrymen are unwilling to recognize this. But whatever, have your vote, vote to get out, see how well it works out for you.

Vacuum motors too strong...

whatever next?

...Toilet paper tested to see if it's strong enough to wipe a butt?

EU Anti-Corruption Unit corrupt

"Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for East of England, said he had met senior EU officials about the case. ‘These allegations are credible and very serious,’ he said. ‘The EU has to have zero tolerance to corruption. It is clear the existing investigation is inadequate. It appears it could be a cover-up. Maria Bamieh has been let down badly.’"

Vacuum motors too strong...

whatever next?

...Toilet paper tested to see if it's strong enough to wipe a butt?

I'm no great fan of the EU, but testing oven gloves to make sure that the user won't burn themselves on hot things (which is kinda the point!) seems quite sensible to me.

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

Vacuum motors too strong...

whatever next?

...Toilet paper tested to see if it's strong enough to wipe a butt?

I'm no great fan of the EU, but testing oven gloves to make sure that the user won't burn themselves on hot things (which is kinda the point!) seems quite sensible to me.

Pretty sure that Trading Standards would be on top of that if they weren't.

Pretty sure that Trading Standards would be on top of that if they weren't.

In the UK perhaps. But this is EU wide regulation. The way the internal market works is that once you can legally sell something in one EU country, you can generally also sell it in every EU country. A product might be of poor quality, but it couldn't be banned as long as its legally sold in other EU countries. Otherwise you would be hindering the free flow of goods in the internal markets. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule, but you can be sure that this would not fall under one of those exceptions.

In the end, why do you get so angry when the EU introduces reasonable safety standards for products that are meant to protect you from high temperatures and skin irritating cleaning chemicals?

Bacon sarnie anyone?

France causing problems again...

...in more ways than one :-)

& possibly a future one for Germany?

Bacon sarnie anyone?

France causing problems again...

...in more ways than one :-)

& possibly a future one for Germany?

A lot of dark clouds over Europe, I'd say!

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Bacon sarnie anyone?

France causing problems again...

...in more ways than one :-)

& possibly a future one for Germany?

A lot of dark clouds over Europe, I'd say!

Very dark & they've been darkening for some time. Stuff the rest of Europe, what we need is another "Iron Lady" - that'll have them quaking in their boots.

Bacon sarnie anyone?

France causing problems again...

...in more ways than one :-)

& possibly a future one for Germany?

A lot of dark clouds over Europe, I'd say!

Very dark & they've been darkening for some time. Stuff the rest of Europe, what we need is another "Iron Lady" - that'll have them quaking in their boots.

Boots that at one time were nearly all made within Europe. Not so today,
nearly all made from outside of Europe.

---

The Kite Fliers

--------------------
Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet
belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes.

Hmm, it seems the EU capital has its own problems...

Belgium in lockdown

Guns in Belgium

...weird! The police don't know what's happening ?

Edit: For those who have been stating that the EU is wise & all-knowing with their rules, regs & laws...

Really?

The EU gets it right...

European court give UK visa direction

...about time they got something right.

If only this was true...

"Given that few (if any) of the current 19 sovereign governments which make up the eurozone would choose to create such an entity at this time, that means - for Greenspan at least - the euro is doomed."

...Getting closer to VE VEU Day?

...if so, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM

Yep, we've got wise to all your "claims" dave

What else you got up your sleeve?

Let's all head off to Europe for our holidays & boost its economy :-)

"David Lamb, senior dealer at foreign exchange company Fexco, said the ECB’s announcement ‘had already put the euro-dollar rate on the ropes’.

Craig Erlam at Oanda said: 'Between the ECB realising that 18 months of QE will not be enough and the Bank of England potentially hiking rates later this year, I think the euro has a lot further to fall. I wouldn’t be surprised to see EUR/GBP trading around January 2007 levels of 65p [€1.50 to the pound] by the end of the year.'"