Category Archives: Europe

Referendum at Last

Posted on by

So now it’s official, we will have a referendum on June 23rd to determine whether or not our country remains a part of the European Union.

The Common Market or European Economic Community (EEC) seemed a great idea back in 1975, when the last European referendum took place. What could be better than trading openly with your neighbours, free of national trade barriers or tariffs and allowing goods to pass easily and speedily between trader and customer? Such an opportunity for British business.

It was all a trick though, all smoke and mirrors, because it was never just about trade, it was about the creation of a federation, a United States of Europe, and laws passed by an unelected and undemocratic European Commission based in Brussels, leading to an inevitable loss of national sovereignty.

We were never consulted on political union and, when the word “Economic” was dropped and the EEC became the EC (the European Community) followed by the more ominous sounding EU (European Union) alarm bells began to ring.

We were told that it was too late and we could do nothing about our nation’s seemingly inevitable drift into membership of a European Super State. We could do nothing about the bureaucratic bungling and incompetence, the appalling waste of natural resources and the corruption of overpaid and unaccountable Eurocrats.

Well, now we can and we must grasp the opportunity with both hands because it may never arise again.

Crisis in Europe

Posted on by

To anybody possessing even a modicum of common sense, the crisis caused by  largely unsupervised mass migration to Europe can hardly have come as a surprise. Last year in Germany alone the country’s premier, Angela Merkel, authorised the entrance of over a million migrants and that’s not counting illegal immigrants. Here in the UK our Prime minister, David Cameron, was a little more cautious and was promptly and loudly criticised by liberal and politically correct idealists for (in their opinion) not doing enough to take in more refugees. Those critics have been rather quiet since the turn of the year.

The result of Europe’s naïve policies has been a crisis of untold proportions and consequences with EU member states turning on one another, passing the buck and blaming everybody but themselves whilst trying to cope with the virtually unmanageable influx of immigrants and refugees. Last week the French Prime Minister was quoted as saying that the EU is at “grave risk” and “our societies will be totally destabilised” without a change in policy.

Socially, the results of the EU’s policies have been even more disastrous with the New Year’s Eve attacks by mobs of young Muslim men on Western women in Cologne particularly but also in Helsinki, Stockholm and other European cities. Following incidents in swimming pools and other public places some cities have even set up classes to try and teach these men that in Western society all are equal and women do not exist merely to be exploited and sexually abused.

There has been a predictable response and backlash by right wing groups who have taken to the streets to express their opposition to the EU’s  immigration policies and numerous violent clashes  have occurred presenting the sorely-pressed forces of law and order with yet more problems.

Whilst Europe’s  politicians are now waking up to this alarming crisis and struggling for answers there is surely one question that needs to be asked. Why is it that they are undoubtedly careful as to who they invite into their homes but not so when it comes to their countries? For sure, the whole of Europe is now beginning to pay the price for their carelessness and stupidity.

Perfect Summary

Posted on by

Last week the European Union announced that it intends to set up a new border force to police illegal migrants. The new force will be granted powers enabling it to effectively override the policies and interests of individual members of the Union.

In response, a Hungarian government minister called the proposals “Undemocratic and a threat to national sovereignty”.

In those few words he unwittingly, yet perfectly, summed up the whole European Union.

 

Crisis in Calais

Posted on by

Many of the last week’s news headlines related to the ever-present and, seemingly ever-worsening migrant crisis in Calais where thousands of people, mainly young men, are attempting to enter the UK illegally via the Channel Tunnel.

It is undoubtedly a serious and sad humanitarian crisis and one cannot fail to have sympathy for those people fleeing war, oppression and torture in their own countries to seek a better life elsewhere. However, not all migrants are political refugees and many are clearly opportunity seekers who see the UK as a soft touch where successive governments have handed out taxpayers’ money, housing and medical care to all and sundry.

The present government, at last, are showing a more sensible approach and are seeking to reduce benefits and, at least partially, to close the door. It is a difficult problem, of course, and as a civilised nation we should not (and must never) turn our back on the suffering of others. That has to be balanced with a tough and pragmatic immigration policy where those seeking to enter should be individually screened and interviewed and each case decided on its merits.

The fact that thousands of potential immigrants are seeking to force or trick their way into the UK is a sad indictment on the lack of policy and direction of both the United Nations and the European Union. If the United Nations had done its job in taking action in the world’s trouble spots then half of these humanitarian crises would not exist in the first place. The only utterance made by the UN last week on the escalating crisis was the less than helpful criticism by a politically correct spokesman/person of our prime minister for accurately describing potential immigrants as “swarming” over the barricades at Calais. Apparently, this was akin to comparing the migrants to insects!

The UN and the EU should cut the rhetoric, stop prevaricating and do something about the crisis and accept that it is a world problem and certainly European rather than just something to be resolved by the UK and France alone. In the meantime, we should continue to tighten our borders and deliver a message that the UK, whilst fair and civilised, is not El Dorado and those found to have entered illegally (and without passing all tests for political asylum) will be fed and briefly accommodated before being shipped back to whence they came.

That is undoubtedly politically incorrect and some might say it is brutal or ultra right-wing but it is not, it is common sense, pure and simple.

Bad Losers

Posted on by

Evidently Francois Hollande, the French president, has vetoed Belgium’s proposal for the issue of a special two euro coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo on June 18th.

You may consider the attitude of such a staunch supporter of the European Union to be somewhat surprising, particularly when the allied victory freed Europe from the tyranny of the French dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte, and led to over 50 years of peace on the continent. However, Hollande feels the coin might undermine European unity and would “risk engendering unfavourable reactions in France”.

Of course, the real reason for the President’s snub is that Bonaparte was defeated by a largely British force led by the Duke of Wellington and the fact of the matter is that, in spite of centuries of practice, the French have always been such bad losers.

I suggest that instead of leaving it to the Europeans, the British government should order the striking of a two pound sterling coin to commemorate the battle. On one side of the coin would be an engraving of a charging British grenadier and on the reverse a troop of fleeing French cuirassiers. That would really irritate his eminence, the French president, wouldn’t it!

A Trading Community

Posted on by

Last week APEC (the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) met in Beijing for their annual convention. This trade group comprising over twenty countries, including the USA, Canada, China, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Chile, Peru and Australia, was set up in 1988 with the sole aim of advancing trade between its member states.

It now comprises 54% of world trade with few tariffs and minimal red tape. It has no common currency, no common defence policy nor any form of political union, but why should it? It is a trading community and nothing more.

Just like the European Common Market was supposed to be.

Saving our Seas

Posted on by

Greenpeace revealed this week that one foreign-owned fishing vessel (a Dutch super-trawler with huge nets covering vast areas of the ocean) controls 6% of the entire UK fishing quota. Meanwhile approximately 5,000 small family-owned British fishing vessels, (comprising nearly 80% of the British fishing fleet) between them control just 4% of the UK’s fishing quota. It almost defies belief.

Fishing quotas were introduced in the 1980s to safeguard fish stocks throughout Europe and the fact that one large foreign-owned commercial vessel has the right to catch considerably more fish than the entire British small fishing boat fleet is nothing short of scandalous.

How and why have successive British governments allowed this to happen? No wonder so many family fishing businesses have gone bankrupt and no wonder our fish stocks continue to suffer in the face of these huge factory ships vacuuming up the ocean.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope since fishing quotas are due to be discussed and re-fixed next month, presenting our government with the opportunity to do something about it. Greenpeace have set up an online petition to put pressure on the government (https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fair-fish).

Whilst we may be sceptical about the success of such petitions it is surely a worthy attempt to both protect the UK’s seas and prevent further struggling fishing communities from sinking into oblivion.

A Soft Touch

Posted on by

I have often wondered whether politicians are unique among human beings with their apparent ability to see only what they want to see. Or is it that they simply ignore those inconvenient truths obvious to the rest of us?

This week, it took a Frenchman (a woman actually – the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchard) to tell our government what many of us have been saying for the last 30 years or so. Madame Bouchard is evidently driven to distraction by the problem of thousands of African and Middle Eastern illegal immigrants camping on the streets of her city while they wait to cross the Channel to the UK. She said that these immigrants see the United Kingdom as a “soft touch” and that our generous benefits system “acts as a magnet” to them.

These unfortunate people are clearly desperate to try to get into the UK by whatever means they can and the British government (to quote the Mayor once again)is doing nothing to dissuade them of their belief that Britain is “El Dorado”.

Our government needs to get a firm grip of this problem and, after it has strengthened our border security, needs to make clear to the European Union that it is not solely a British problem. In fairness, it is not solely a French problem either but instead is a problem to be dealt with by the EU. Unfortunately we all know what that means and that really is a problem.

Political Posturing

Posted on by

The European Commission (the unelected decision makers of the European Union) has just ordered the UK, and therefore the British taxpayer, to pay an additional budget contribution of £1.7 billion to the EU because our economy is performing better than the rest of Europe. In effect, we are being punished for our economic success whilst countries like France and even Germany are getting rebates because they are not doing so well.

The figure represents an increase of 20% of our normal annual contribution to Europe’s coffers and predictably our Prime Minister has responded by saying that the demand is “totally unacceptable” and the UK will not pay up by the December 1st deadline.

It would be quite an achievement and a considerable victory for David Cameron if we didn’t pay up especially since such a move would actually be illegal under EU legislation. However, I suspect that this is just a bit of posturing by our Prime Minister and an attempt to appear strong and forceful in the face of EU bullying particularly since there is the small matter of a general election coming up in 7 months’ time.

In spite of all the bluster and sharp rhetoric there will no doubt be some horse trading behind the scenes and the UK will end up paying the monies one way or another. The fact is the European grandees don’t want the UK to leave the EU and nor does Cameron. So if something can be done whereby Cameron appears to look strong and the UK caves in behind the scenes it’s a victory for both Cameron and the EU.

The British public will think that their PM has acted tough in apparently refusing to allow the UK to be bullied and so they will be less inclined to vote against European membership in a referendum. Our rulers take us for fools but if and when we do get the chance to vote on our continued membership of the European Union they may well be forced to reconsider their opinion.

Pie in the Sky

Posted on by

Today, September 5th, is the anniversary of the final break-up of the Soviet Union or USSR in 1991. The Russian leader presiding over this long awaited event was Boris Yeltsin, a man who (not least because of his alcoholism and eccentric behaviour) often seemed one of the more human leaders of what Ronald Reagan called the “Evil Empire”.

Following the Soviet break-up, and clearly in one of his more lucid moments, Yeltsin said “Let’s not talk about communism. Communism was just an idea, just pie in the sky”.

Such a pity that millions had to lose their lives before that truth was finally accepted and articulated.