Alone amongst the EU countries, Plucky Little Britain and its plucky little Prime Minister has walked away from the negotiating table, noisily demanding the right to be profligate with its national budget if it wishes.

Quite right too!

Was it not the combined brains of the (now) British taxpayer owned Greenwich Capital Markets which helped to invent the sliced and diced toxic bonds now polluting the bond market? They provided 20% of RBSs income. RBS and the other big banks provide 10% of the British Government’s income.

We could not possibly allow the centre of such excellence to be taxed or regulated by the EU!

How dare the struggling Eurozone countries – or at least Germany – seek to ensure that those they bail out with their tax payer’s savings actually balance their budget? How dare the other 26 dare to agree to such a thing, losing their national sovereign right to spend as they wish and demand the savings of the German’s make up the balance? The isolated Germans are demanding that they do so, or forfeit the right to any more German money.

It is outrageous!

Cameron is quite correct; it is Britain’s inalienable right to be the safe harbour for those who speculate on the money market, our sovereign right to henceforth bear the blame for not wanting to help clear up the mess.

What choice did he have – his party would have been split from top to bottom had he forgotten for one moment the absolute right of every true Englishman to hate those continental Europeans from the bottom of his heart?

So, this morning, true Englishmen are speeding in their HP debt loaded monster cars, along EU funded by-passes, to their nearest car boot sale to sell their boxed set of ‘X-Factor – 2010’ and the DVD of ‘Little Britain’ to the beneficiary of welfare payments, in order to pay for their Marks and Spencer’s Christmas lunch for two.

Secure in the absolute knowledge that Cameron has Done-the-Right-Thing.

Britain insulated – Europe isolated. 440 million people can’t be right.

Dunkirk spirit folks, plucky little Britain can manage.

We can export to the Asian continent, or China, can’t we? We’ve got 10% of our GDP to shift. Roll up, roll up.

Perhaps the Special relationship with the US will allow us to trade toxic bonds with them for a bit…

For an alternative view of the British position, put the Daily Express down for a minute, and read some of the continental papers.

Don’t bank on a warm welcome in your French gite this year. I don’t know why you ever wanted one in the first place, I mean dammit, they don’t even speak English! What sort of a person doesn’t speak English?

sackcloth and
ashesDecember 13, 2011 at 21:33

‘Don’t bank on a warm welcome in your French gite this year’.

You could well be wrong. Your hosts may well remember the results of the
2005 referendum, ask themselves why the Eurocrats over-rode the outcome of a
popular vote, and ask themselves why they can’t have a government which does
what the Rosbifs have done (and indeed de Gaulle was prone to do) – namely
look out for their own country’s interests.

CheesePlantDecember 12, 2011 at 11:14

“EU funded by-passes”

And where did the EU get the money from?
Yet another bizarre post from
Anna!

M BarnesDecember 12, 2011 at 10:15

As far as I can gather, no-one in the city (apart from a few hedge-fund
companies) was particularly bovvered by this deal. The ‘Tobin Tax’ had a
requirement for unanimity, so Cameron didn’t need to pick a fight about that.
The rest of the treay would have no impact on the city – according to the
City. What Mr Cameron DID need to do was throw a bone to the slavering
euroseptics in his own party who managed to whip up a load of hysterical
nationalistic nonsense (What, what, we’ll all be forced to eat frogs legs and
bratwurst instead of good old churchillian bangers and mash, thin end of the
wedge donchaknow, agincourt, baaaahhhh). This veto has made absolutely no
difference to the deal, it will go ahead anyway. Cameron tried, and failed, to
get a few guarantees for the UK and US banks in the UK on the basis that he
would veto if he didn’t. His bluff got called. The treaty will go ahead
anyway.
So it seems all Cameron has got is a few days of publicity and load
of cooing MP’s sending him chocolate for Christmas. My objection is that he
isn’t representing the City of the long term interests of this country – he is
representing himself. What the hell is he doing demanding favours for American
Banks, don’t they have their own damn governement to make representations for
them? Well the USA and the rest of the world isn’t going to bother asking
Britain to help them (and so start a nice quid pro quo) because there will be
no point. Britain has no influence. Sarkozy, the jumped up little t****er, has
won. Congratulations Dave,a triumph of style over substance again.

Elena ‘andcart
December 12, 2011 at 09:11

Oh, and by the way, I know even less about The Money Markets, but The Euro
still appears to be stronger than The Pound, much to my regret and the effect
that it is having on my basic British Pension. But you can’t have
everything.

Elena ‘andcart
December 12, 2011 at 09:02

I can’t say that I have got the remotest idea about what is going on, and
nor has this blog made it any clearer, but I do feel that Cameron has made a
very foolish decision, although exactly why escapes me.
I have watched this
whole thing from ground level which is when Britain should have joined, if it
was going to. Any time after that was too bloody late.
And no wonder that
DeGaulle was a bit put out when Britain later changed it’s mind.

And too right Anna. I live here on a basic British Pension, and it ain’t
easy. But infinitely preferable to living in Britain, which doesn’t have much
to do with money, obviously.
I am currently doing my normal Winter thing,
which is sitting in bed with my lap top, two duvets and a hot water bottle,
quite pleasant actually, and it doesn’t go on for all that long anyway. Spring
is only just around the corner.

DelphiusDecember
11, 2011 at 23:43

Cameron is no Europhobe: quite the contrary.

I believe pressure within the coalition from the Liberals (after all I’m
sure he wants to stay in power for a full term) amongst others will force him
back to negotiate with the EU.

What next? Well, if I know the political establishment in the UK, we will
have to go crawling back to Europe, proffer abject apologies, roll over and
play nice doggy (please let me stay) rather than stick two fingers up to them
and go our own way. Huge concessions will have to be granted to the EU
commission, not on City trading, that’s still probably sacrosanct, but
probably on fiscal oversight of governmental budgets and high street banking.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that old chestnut EU-wide taxation was thrown in
for good measure.

A prediction would be to allow the EU’s transaction tax, but to make it
only liable on high street banking transactions, not on investment
banking.

In other words, we get screwed for more tax. Again.

binaoDecember 11, 2011 at 23:26

I simply refuse to take too much notice of the eu politicians’ puffs (ours
included) produced for home consumption, or to take too seriously the
newspaper bias. I’m saddened by but understand the BBC bias because it’s part
of the culture.
I’ve lived and worked a bit in Europe (and elsewhere),
since the early 70s. I’ve enjoyed some benefits from our treaties, but I don’t
think we need to be joined at the hip to get along, or to relate to the rest
of the world.
I actually don’t care if in theory it might be better if we
all subjugated ourselves to Brussels. It just isn’t what I want to do.
I
don’t wish it, but I think whats been agreed is going to bring a load of
trouble to the eu and certain eurozone states in the coming year.

john malpasDecember 11, 2011 at 22:13

It is not all about money. Next will be driving on the right side of the
road. Maybe even reparations for not defending the maginot line. You never
know.

Châtelaine
December 11, 2011 at 23:19

I like irony
I’m very comfortable driving on the right [right] side of
the road.
As are many, many more, unless they happen to be British or
former Britihh colonies …

Before you correct me: Surinam, Indonesia, Namibia and South Africa are
left-drivers too

SaulDecember 12, 2011 at 00:59

45 countries in total.

RobDecember 11, 2011 at 19:40

The right to spend?

You really are in cloud cukoo land if you think an EU budget will ever
decrease!

The continental papers are a disgrace. What price democracy? One gets the
impression that the Germans think they have found just WHAT that price is and
think its a rather god deal for them. The French have no money of their own
they just hope to ride on the German money train using their weasel words to
gain some dishonourable advantage.

At this moment to be at the direct opposite position of those ………… suit me
fine. The opportunism disgusts me.

On another issue – does your reaction show just how effective a partisan
coordinated media operation can be? It can prevent people from thinking for
themsleves – just as intended.

gladiolysDecember 11, 2011 at 19:58

I take it you are talking about the British press? Do you think they
might be interested in British people thinking for themselves?

CascadianDecember 11, 2011 at 19:16

With the benefit of no research of the newspapers mentioned-why should I?
nobody else seems to have read them either (possible exception Chatelaine,
well done madame)-allow me to pontificate.

What was proposed was overview of the various members budgets, with
potentially some undefined interference should they not concur with the
colleagues wishes. I agree with the majority viewpoint that this is a bloody
cheek, but it seems to me that it was a restatement of Maastricht, which
nobody took the slightest notice of, and accountancy being what it is, open to
broad interpretation, essentially useless. No matter, because the problem is
now too big and will be resolved by the markets not the bureaucrats. Anything
the EU attempts is too little, too late.

If I may summarize, nobody in that meeting had the slightest inkling of the
underlying problem, and were discussing issues several magnitudes removed from
the problem. Resolution of the problem now requires real cuts in government
expenditure as well as real control of banking excesses, no government is up
for that kind of hard and unpopular work.

And may I say how pleased I am that the landlady’s piss and vinegar levels
seem to have been restored. This discussion reminds me of the cacophany that
ensued when junior raccoon raided the crows nest in the backyard.

F**kw*t Tw***er
December 11, 2011 at 14:27

FREEEEEEEEEEDOM! Hello World, we’re coming back.
P.S. I really could not
careless what they think in Euroland, they’re too inward looking. Onwards,
outwards and upwards…

Smoking
HotDecember 11, 2011 at 13:12

So the EU have a plan but no details as to what or how it can be
implemented. Then there’s all the countries that are for it, maybe against it,
don’t know, need a referendum blah blah. A complete bloody mess that will get
worse … who wants to be part of that? When’s the next ‘most important EU
Summit meeting ever’? l’ve lost count of the number we’ve already had!

EngineerDecember 11, 2011 at 12:51

Cameron did the right thing.

The Euro is an almighty mess. Merkozy know it. They wanted control of the
City of London to milk it. They didn’t get it.

Friday’s summit did absolutely nothing to address the underlying problems
of the Euro – it’s still hurtling towards a steep cliff, and despite polite
suggestions from British officials, there has been no change of direction.
Britain decided to get off. To my immense amazement, others decided to get on.
More fool them.

No, Anna – Britain has a long tradition of going it alone if it has too, so
we’re used to it. At least we can still manage our own financial affairs (or
elect out the idiots doing so on our behalf if we see fit) – we are not
beholden to either Brussels or Berlin, neither of whom we can elect out if we
see fit.

Mick Turatian
December 11, 2011 at 12:36

FTT, Tobin Tax, whatever you want to call it was NOT in question.
Regulation of financial institutions in terms of capital adequacy was and
is.

2MacDecember 11, 2011 at 12:41

If it was not part if the plan then they would have allowed the Opt
Out.

Mick Turatian
December 11, 2011 at 18:15

I don’t think that follows either. Part of the problem was that Merkozy
wasn’t going to “blink” and expected Cameron to back down. Another more
important part is that the French banks that have just been downrated by
Moody’s ( Crédit Ag, Soc Gen and BNP Paribas) are all massively present in
London.

EU regulation of the Eurozone (or EZ+6) will drive more trades to
London unless they choose to hobble EU but non UK domiciled bandks
domestically in which case those bank’s clients will trade in London via
other institutions.

Political willpower will never trump economic reality in the longer
term and I’m sorry that a self-declared libertarian pub like this one
could loose sight of that eternal truth.

Woodsy42December
11, 2011 at 12:30

For once Anna I’m unsure whether to read your post as satire or
cynincism?
I can only note that most of my limited circle of French
neighbours and friends have a similar, if less emotional, negative view of the
Euro and the EU bureaucracy as the Uk does. I think we all enjoy and
appreciate travel, trade and friendship across Europe which the initial
European integration brought, and hope and expect that will continue.
As
for the EU, Cameron has of course done what is the right thing for Cameron,
sod the country or the mainland Europeans! No doubt he and his ilk will
continue with their idiot government ideas as always. But just by chance this
is a rare occasion when his action coincides with Uk sentiment.
Maybe UK
sentiment is wrong, perhaps we are arrogant Little Englanders and bound to
fail? Maybe the French are not trying to nobble our financial sector out of
spite by adding quite unnecessary rules to their ‘treaty’ plans which target
the UK? (without which the UK would have been happy to let the Euro countries
get on with whatever they wanted). Or perhaps we are the true
internationalists, sensibly wary of becoming further embrioled with the Little
Europeans and their internal power games?
Ironically Madame LePen might
make life difficult for English with property in France (moi!) yet in policy
terms she has far more in common with UK sentiment than Sarkozy, so I hope
not.

2MacDecember 11, 2011 at 12:09

Countries who receive more money from the EU than the put in decide to
agree with Markozy and implement a Financial Transaction Tax on their no
existent financial services industry. It costs them nothing and raises EU tax
grab on UK by £10-20 billion from FTT plus £50 million Per day EU club
fees.

We are not sitting at the top table. We are lying bend over it, trousers at
our ankles being financially shafted over the top table.

We can apply FTT to UK City trading and keep all the money.

This is a conserved move to transfer FS trading to Frankfurt & create
EU Stock exchange under Markozy Control. It’s politics we are main rival
therefore we must be crushed & marginalized to ensure EU project remains
on track.

France has major banking difficulties. They have once again surrendered at
first sign of trouble.

Wait until they get the details & take it to the people. It will fail.
There must always be someone willing to stand up to undemocratic overlordship.
I am proud it was us. Even if Cam was dOing it for other reasons the result is
the same.

I will trade with EU not surrender sovereignty to europe

ChâtelaineDecember 11, 2011 at 11:51

Like you, I read far more than one newspaper, Anna. And have noticed a
distinct difference in reporting and opinion between the British and the
Continental papers. In fact I’ve read quite a lot, making fun of the united
British reaction

Having said that, I would wholeheartedly agree to the U.K. taking its
geographically isolated position: an island in the Atlantic.
A reading mark
between the European Union and the American Union, as I have in fact advocated
since some 30 years

Captain
RantyDecember 11, 2011 at 12:04

If the very best they can do is make fun of the wisest decision we have
made in decades, then we have nothing to worry about.

We succeeded as an independent island nation for 5,000 years. We can do
so for another 5,000 years.

You can have your 130,000 business strangling regulations back. You can
have your 3,500 new “criminal offences” back. You can keep your euro, and
you can sort out your own debt. I for one am heart-sick of dipping into my
wallet to bail-out a currency that should never have been born.

We’d like to be friends and trade and stuff, we just can’t be arsed being
a vassal state of the Fourth Reich. The French seem to aspire to that.

CR.

Châtelaine
December 11, 2011 at 15:28

I’m Dutch, Ranty.

Captain
RantyDecember 11, 2011 at
16:13

In which case, het spijt mij.

Not about the comment on the French, mind you.

m.v.g,

CR.

Mick Turatian
December 11, 2011 at 11:37

It’s “Der” not “Die” Spiegel, Anna, and I have. It’s a much more nuanced
account and it doesn’t make the factual howlers that your post makes.

It also points out that Angela Merkel is very far from being home and dry
and that the markets are still nervously waiting for some substance before
endorsing Merkozy.

As to the Figaro, I’d expect Carla Bruni to give a more balanced
assessment!

Anna
RaccoonDecember 11, 2011 at
12:35

Quite right Mick – it is Der not Die. My error.

alan scott
December 11, 2011 at 20:58

Is it not obvious that the continental papers are regurgitating the
Brussels officials’ press briefings and releases?

gladiolysDecember 11, 2011 at 11:35

I’m not sure of the degree of satire or sarcasm in your writing on this
today… but I know this puts me in the minority of your readers when I say I
prefer to take this at face value and agree with every bloody word.

Yes the EU is badly run. But so is Britain, with or without the EU, and I
don’t think running off in a huff and having a hissy fit will make things any
better.

Mick Turatian
December 11, 2011 at 11:32

Dioclese – I don’t think that the transaction tax was on the table in this
negotiation so that doesn’t apply here.

I also agree that the Treaty of Troyes was a rather good treaty but the
English ended up being trounced.

For all his grandstanding, you have to like Sarkozy’s line to Cameron the
other day:
“Vous avez perdu une bonne occasion de vous taire”!

It’s the best anti-British one-liner since Helmut Schmidt said of David
Owen (who had been disparaging about the Franco-German relationship – what
goes around comes around)
“Was der Owen, dieser vorlaute Schnösel, erklärt,
interessiert mich schon lange nicht mehr.” (What Owen, that self-important
whippersnapper, says hasn’t interested me for a very long time).

JohnnyrvfDecember 11, 2011 at 11:30

I was at a quizz lastnight in a small Bastide village not far from chez Ms.
Raccoon, the theme was films, the bar/retaurant owner is English and thee were
about 30 people attending in all, about 20 were French, it was a good evening
and the ambiance was very pleasant and relaxed with a lot of bantering at some
of the stupid questions asked about films made over 70 years ago in Britain,
France, Spain as well as plenty of U.S. titles. No one there gave a tuppeny
toss about what Cameron had done, simply because there are more important
things to worry about than the oversized and exponentianally related
undersized talent of the Politicians, Bureaucrats and Bankers w*nkfest going
on elsewhere.

SaulDecember 11, 2011 at 11:17

“The UK is as isolated as somebody who refused to join the Titanic just
before it sailed” – Terry Smith on learning that Cameron had vetoed the
European Treaty

Edward.December 11, 2011 at 11:11

Out, is still a better alternative to having that French weasel and his
German mistress along with the Berlaymont commissars telling us what we can
and cannot do [with our money, armed forces, our energy needs, our borders,
our finances etc], next, democracy for Britain and repatriation to Spain for
Nick Clegg.

AntisthenesDecember 11, 2011 at 11:10

Oh dear what a terrible load of spiteful rubbish you are spouting today.
Like you I live in France and have done so for nearly nine years first running
a business, hotel, now retired. I entered Europe a Europhile but very quickly
turned into a Euro sceptic. There is much to commend France their health
service is excellent or at least ten times better than the NHS and their
commune system has merit. However their regulations, tax, customer service and
bureaucracy is abominable and as France has such a strong and disproportionate
influence on EU institutions it is making the EU into it’s own image but only
the bad bits it is also using the EU for it’s own ends. That is a fate and
consequence I wish on nobody least of all my home nation the UK and would
heartedly recommend they quit the EU forthwith.

Anna
RaccoonDecember 11, 2011 at
11:22

Spiteful? To point out that a continental viewpoint doesn’t exactly agree
with the Daily Express?
Spiteful? To point out that there are two ways of
looking at the issue?
Have you read Die Spiegel or Le Figaro today?

Antisthenes
December 11, 2011 at 11:45

What The Express, Die Spiegel or Le Figaro have to say is of no
consequence they are only spouting what they believe their readers want to
read and at the same time defend their nations leaders stance. This will
change over time as events unfold and make plain who did or did not do the
right thing or make or did not make the correct decision. Your diatribe is
based on your experiences and observations and so is mine. I think that
you are woefully wrong and that what you wrote was put in a very defensive
vehement way as to be spiteful. I regret using such a word as it was rude
and unkind so make a humble apology for using it. As for who is right in
our opposing views then perhaps time and patience may reward us with an
answer. As always your articles are well worth a read even if sometimes I
do not agree with that which is expressed in them.

Confused of
bristolDecember 11, 2011 at 12:04

Am I getting this right, you think we should be in this EU deal?

It’s our toxic assets that are the problem? Not profligate spending in
Europe, and the single currency? We didn’t tell them to commit financial
suicide by going in to that, did we?

The French, being more nationalistic than even us British, are
obviously going to blame the UK – cowboy country run by a midget married
to a supermodel, with a pension system which is doomed to collapse……and Ze
Germans, well, it took a few years but they finally have a chance of
having their unelected technocrats running governments through Europe!

I know it’s fashionable within the middle classes to cherish
continental culture, but peolple like me (and my family, friends etc)
can’t afford to go and retire there, so we couldn’t really give two hoots
what the frogs or the bosche think/say/do.

Antisthenes
December 11, 2011 at 12:22

Confused of Bristol I am now also confused. If you are asking me the
question then the answer is that I believe the UK should quit the EU
post haste. I know I live in France but it is from that experience that
I make that recommendation for the reasons I made above. You may say
that my living in France I am making some kind of suicide attempt as the
French may make my existence here very uncomfortable in the event the UK
leaves the EU. Well yes you would be right but I cannot in conscience
defend the indefensible for my own well being. I think that Anna and
probably rightly so who has much more to lose than I would strongly take
the opposite view to mine.

Confused of
bristolDecember 11, 2011 at
12:35

Sorry, question @ AR.

How can the French make your life difficult? I thought under the EU
you can get pretty much everything anywhere – like people coming to
the UK?

Anna
RaccoonDecember 11, 2011 at
12:58

As far as the French knee jerk position – the exact replica of the
Daily Express position is concerned (and I agree with neither!) the
British have very bloody hands when it comes to the reasons for the
economic crisis. Or rather their lack of regulation of their banking
sector does. All hindsight of course – the ‘British should have known
what the banking sector was up to’ – ipso, it is all their fault. With
Britain walking away from the negotiating table – or alternative view,
with Britain refusing to be part of the necessary clean up – that view
will be set in stone – the same as the British view of the French is.
Gordon brown’s spending in Britain was equally profligate to that of
other continental countries following the ‘support the public sector’
ideology. ~We have nothing to crow about there.
‘but people like
me (and my family, friends etc) can’t afford to go and retire
there’ France is full of English pensioners that couldn’t begin to
afford to retire in England. I have several English friends who live
here on the basic English state pension – without heating allowances or
all the little extras that pensioners get in Britain. They aren’t in any
way ‘middle class’ – ordinary working people, a hairdresser’s
receptionist and a taxi driver amongst them……so nothing to do with
cherishing continental culture.
No I do not believe that, as another
commentator has said ‘we should succumb to France and Germany telling us
what we should do with our armed forced etc’ – where was that ever on
the table? and even if you are looking into the future, and saying that
is where this will lead to – that is not what Cameron walked out over –
he walked out over the issue of city financial regulation.
My own
personal view is that Britain should never have joined the EU – they
were never wholeheartedly behind the project. There were mistakes made
in the beginning, it was wrong to turn a blind eye to the truth of some
countries finances, it was equally wrong to allow some countries to pick
and choose their ‘opt outs’. It could only ever have worked as a true
fiscal and monetary union between small countries. That is the only way
the damage has a chance of being repaired.
Having said that –
Cameron’s decision to walk out over what is being seen as a very
damaging refusal to repair the damage, and only to walk out of that part
of the union, is being viewed very differently on the
continent.
Whilst those that are cheering as they see Britain in part
returning to an independent nation that has succeeded ‘for 5,000 years’
(albeit bolstered by a commonwealth we no longer have, or a ‘special
relationship’ with the US which we no longer have) Cameron’s actions are
being seen in a very different light on the continent. It’s not a good
light.

Engineer
December 11, 2011 at 16:20

I wonder if some of the continental commentary is down to a
misunderstanding of the economic position.

The 2008 crisis was the result of banks aquiring too many ‘assets’
which turned out to be worthless, and Britain’s banks were at least as
guilty as anybody’s. The 2011 crisis is more to do with governments
borrowing beyond their means. (In Britain’s case, that’s entirely our
own fault, and it doesn’t really affect anybody else because we’re not
part of the Euro.) In the case of the Eurozone countries, central
banks set a low base interest rate, allowing the PIIGS to borrow far
more than was advisable. That’s a problem for the Eurozone, and not
one that can be pinned on Britain.

That’s my reading of the situation – I may be entirely wrong of
course; I’m no economist!

davidb
December 11, 2011 at 21:56

The banking crash has much to do with regulation or the lack of or
the incompetence of by the previous British administration, but the
Euro crisis was predicted at the outset. I long, long ago knew Broon
was an eejit, so it beats me why noone else spotted it.

All these countries elites decided they would have no problems
running a dozen different economies within a common interest rate
area. The construction booms in Spain and Eire were predicted. The
decision was political and not based on economic considerations. I
have been reading consistently for the whole of the past 11 years that
it was not possible to have one interest rate for all the different
economies. Now, no matter what they do, they still refuse to accept
that central flaw. Add now the Chinese deflationary mask hiding the
rampant inflation to the toxic mix, and a fair pinch of denial by
people personally lining their own pockets, and presto, we are where
we are.

They want us to pay to sort out the mess by crippling the only
“industry” we still have left. I loathe the banksters too, but we are
not going to dig our way out of this mess by shipping all the
financial jobs to Singapore.

The ordinary Greeks are being treated disgracefully. One of the
most enduring, fundamental and important things they gave the world,
Democracy, is under threat now. The Italians have a PM appointed, not
elected, appointed. This is a colonial administration being set up.
Was that not in the end why Broon was so damned unpopular? He wasnt
elected!

The currency is toxic. When it crashes – sooner than later I expect
– maybe from the wreckage we will be able to see the good things the
EU has brought. Development in poor regions, common standards for
manufacturing goods, free movement of people, and peace. It is supreme
arrogance on the part of the elite to think that theirs is the only
right way, and that its their way or no way.

Confused of
BristolDecember 12, 2011 at
07:17

Do the French and German papers understand the structural flaw in
the Euro or is it a similar “it’s bankers fault” line seen in the left
wing here?

My understanding of Europe is the average Frog or Kraut is much
further to the left of us here in Britain – especially the surrender
monkeys. This would explain why they hate the city of London and would
blame all their overspending and inefficiency on them.

….let’s be fair as well, they don’t really believe in the powerful
being held to account, just supporting them on a nationalist basis. I
mean really, does the average Frog think people like Sarkozy give an
image to the world of anything but laughable?

alan scott
December 11, 2011 at 20:53

As a resident of France for nearly 20 years, I regretfully endorse
Antisthenes’ views. Odd that eevry Frenchman (well, nearly) I have met I
have liked and/or respected; but somehow en bloc or as a political
phenomenon, quite the opposite.

Elena
‘andcartDecember 12, 2011 at 08:36

They feel the same way about us.

DiocleseDecember
11, 2011 at 11:03

The transaction tax would have crippled the UK economy. We couldn’t afford
to agree to it.

Anyway we have been fighting the French for hundreds of years. so why
change now?

There is no way we could afford to go with this and at the end of the day
if you don’t agree to something then you don’t sign up for it. It takes
courage, but it’s the right thing to do.

Why on Earth would you agree to have your budget approved by unelected EU
bureaucrats so you can contribtue to a club you don’t belong to? We’re not i
the Euro and t baffles me why the other countries that are not in it either
have agreed to this. I think we would be better off adopting the Norweigan
model – trading partners but not in the EU. It seems to work well for
them.

MarkDecember 11,
2011 at 10:55

It’s not impossible to imagine Britain effectviely “out” of the EU, and
Marine LePen as president. That would make life interesting for British
ex-pats living n France.

I fear we are living in interesting times. Perhaps one of my ancestors was
cursed by a Chinese.

MaverickDecember 11, 2011 at 10:51

We in this mess because we joined the farce that is the EU. I wonder what
the UK would look like today had we retained control of our destiny. (Mind you
we would still have voted the Labour clowns into power anyway .. just means
they would have had more money to spunk up the wall !!)

Disenfranchised of BuckinghamDecember 11, 2011 at 10:48

We are only good Europeans when we go along with them. That gives us
“influence”. Actually take an opposing position and we are isolated. A case of
heads they win and tails we lose.

Mind you I think Richard North over at EUReferendum has the right of it.
Veto? What treaty?

Dave HDecember 11, 2011 at 10:44

I think he did the right thing. What’s the point of paying all that money
for a seat at the top table when no one takes any notice of what you say
anyway?

As for talking about EU-funded bypasses, one could argue that as a net
contributor to the EU, we could have paid for them ourselves and gotten them
cheaper without having to fund the EU bureaucracy/gravy train as well.

Freedom has a price, and compared to the dictatorial approach of the EU
elite, we’ll probably be better off longer-term even if it’s bumpy to start
with. Especially if the EU still sinks under the weight of all its
harmonisation and compliance regulations.

Captain
RantyDecember 11, 2011 at 10:40

I agree with Mav.

The EU is like a party game in which the rules of play get ever more
complicated. It ceased to be any fun quite some time ago. Those making the
rules -the von Rumpoys, the Merkels, the Barrosos, and the Sarkozys-are just
miffed that someone said “Hang on a minute, I’d like to add one small
rule”.

“No! It’s our game, our rules!”.

We don’t need to play with them. We have other friends to play with. As a
matter of fact, the EU need us more than they let on.

It’s not worth playing with them anymore. £50m a day we send them. They
launder it, and send us £6m back in subsidies. Subsidies we wouldn’t need if
they didn’t have 10,000 regulations mixed in with our fishing and farming.

But you think we should be grateful for a couple of by-passes?

Non. Nein. No.

I’m up for a bit of isolation. Only I call it independence.

Very few rats jump on to sinking ships. We did the right thing. What we
have to do now is step well away from the mess that is coming.

CR.

Mick Turatian
December 11, 2011 at 10:36

This is so completely cock-eyed that I don’t even plan to take it
apart.

Sorry

MaverickDecember 11, 2011 at 10:16

methinks you’ve been in France way too long my little froggie !!!

2MacDecember 14, 2011 at 14:02

Stolen from GF but worth posting here

“In 1966 upon being told that President Charles DeGaulle had taken France
out of NATO and that all U.S. Troops must be evacuated off French soil
President Lyndon Johnson mentioned to Secretary of State Dean Rusk that he
should ask DeGaulle about the Americans buried in France. Dean implied in
his answer that that DeGaulle should not really be asked that in the meeting
at which point President Johnson then told Secretary of State Dean Rusk:

“Ask him about the cemeteries Dean!”

That made it into a Presidential Order so he had to ask President
DeGaulle.

So at end of the meeting Dean did ask DeGaulle if his order to remove all
U.S. troops from French soil also included the 60,000+ soldiers buried in
France from World War I and World War II.

DeGaulle, embarrassed, got up and left and never answered.”