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Reply With QuoteLet them. It will be a hoot to watch.
The rest of Europe except Russia
Russia
Turkey
Certain additional Near Eastern/North African states
NOTE: The above poll is multiple-choice, select all that you think the EU should expand to include.
British foreign secretary Dave Milibrand wants the European Union to expand beyond Europe... Russia and the Arab states should be included, according to him. Britons largely oppose further European integration, and I imagine it'd be quite difficult to politically integrate with the Arab states and Russia. Some French conspiracy theorists (and the mainstream French of old) perceive Britain as an American trojan horse!
Are there ulterior motives in Mr. Milibrand's message?
Read more here: BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | EU 'should expand beyond Europe'EU 'should expand beyond Europe'
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has suggested the European Union should work towards including Russia, Middle Eastern and North African countries.
He said enlargement was "our most powerful tool" for extending stability.
In his first major speech on the UK's relationship with Europe, he said the EU would not become a "superpower" but should be a "role model" for the world.
It could be a "model power of regional co-operation" dedicated to free trade, the environment and tackling extremism.
He said the EU must "keep our promises to Turkey", adding: "If we fail.... it will signal a deep and dangerous divide between east and west.
"Beyond that we must keep the door open, retaining the incentive for change and the prospect of membership provides."
Mr Miliband made his address at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, where Baroness Thatcher delivered her famous warning against "some sort of identikit European personality" almost exactly two decades ago in September 1988.
US 'only superpower'
Mr Miliband said that speech had been "haunted by demons - a European superstate bringing in socialism by the back door".
But he said: "The truth is that the EU has enlarged, remodelled and opened up. It is not and is not going to become a superstate. But neither is it destined to become a superpower."
Instead he said the EU had the chance to be a "model power" which could develop shared values between countries.
"As a club that countries want to join, it can persuade countries to play by the rules, and set global standards. In the way it dispenses its responsibilities around the world, it can be a role model that others follow."
Let them. It will be a hoot to watch.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
Plays 'Match of the Empire' on his Ipod.
"an American trojan horse"? Hell no, we are just trying to kick start the Empire againGOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
Personally I dont think the EU should grow much more. Seems big enough to me, and we have plenty of countrys on side to act as a buffer to Russia/China/Asia now.
Turkey benefits from low inflation and reduced debt even after the EU says "no," but it was the real prospect of entry that kick-started economic reforms in the first place
No expansion past Eastern Europe - that's where Europe ends, leave it at that (and only allow more expansion when the new states are integrated, let's not get greedy).
Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
- John Stuart Mill.
They need to absorb Russia. Then they can de-throne Putin and have cheap energy prices.
How about an option for disbanding it altogether? Much easier to pick up the pieces of a bunch of little countries over time than it will be to try and rescue the whole thing at once when the Euro War erupts.
But if you have to have an EU, I say the Aussies should run it. Oi! Oi!
-dale
I think Millband is just vocalising the EU's long standing mantra similar to the US's recent "democracies don't attack other democracies" or whatever it was.
The idea is that to get in the club you have to improve your act and once improved and enjoying the benefits of said improvements (and of course the handouts from the UK and Germany) you keep your nose clean to stay in the club.
I think the constant carrot of further expansion has to be there for the EU's neighbours no matter how large the EU is at any period of time. So that they try to smarten up their act. The EU i guess is an eztra-national equivilent to the idea that the only thing that might get all nations to cooperate is extra-terrestrials turning up.
I don't as a rule think there should be a limit just because the name says Europe (which could easily be changed).
So .... why not integrate the Commonwealth and the EU into an uber trading bloc - keep the Queen as head of the Commonwealth and rename the whole thing to be the United Kingdom, European Merchantile Platform Incorporating Refuge and Expansion. Of course that is a bit of a mouthful, best to just use the acronym.
HAHAHAHA. No sarcasm. Honest. Back in the Soviet days we had the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Now that's an acronymOriginally Posted by Trooth
GSCCCPUSSR
Why do you guys even stay in there?
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
Trade, pure and simple, in my opinion. I haven't looked at the figures but i think (could be wrong here) we do something like 70% of trade with EU countries. Of course we could trade and be outside the EU but at that sort of level it makes sense to be in the tent pissing out.
The EU purely exists so France and Belgium could exert some sort of peace time political control over Germany and, in particular, German industry (especially since the post WWI reparations annexassation of the Ruhr went so well ... ) However without the UK they cannot make that stick - well before the Euro the Franc was ostensibly controlled from Frankfurt due to the way the central banks of France and Germany operated.
I think it would be churlish to argue that the UK has not itself kept its nose clean and improved its standards because of European directives. Environmental issues are a prime example where cross border working simply has to happen. Car safety worldwide is driven by the European system of rating.
Also the de facto second language of the world is English. By us being in the EU the French cannot ignore English as an official EU language . That surely has got to be worth the price of admission
I guess that does make sense.Trade, pure and simple, in my opinion. I haven't looked at the figures but i think (could be wrong here) we do something like 70% of trade with EU countries. Of course we could trade and be outside the EU but at that sort of level it makes sense to be in the tent pissing out.
The EU purely exists so France and Belgium could exert some sort of peace time political control over Germany and, in particular, German industry (especially since the post WWI reparations annexassation of the Ruhr went so well ... ) However without the UK they cannot make that stick - well before the Euro the Franc was ostensibly controlled from Frankfurt due to the way the central banks of France and Germany operated.
I think it would be churlish to argue that the UK has not itself kept its nose clean and improved its standards because of European directives. Environmental issues are a prime example where cross border working simply has to happen. Car safety worldwide is driven by the European system of rating.
Also the de facto second language of the world is English. By us being in the EU the French cannot ignore English as an official EU language . That surely has got to be worth the price of admission
By the way, most European cars won't pass our safety tests.
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
At this point leaving the EU would be very difficult to do - trade between members is massive (in fact I believe that EU states are always each others largest Trading partner), it's ingrained in many aspects of society and perhaps most importantly from a geopolitical standpoint it's very chilly on the outside.........Who would want to be Switzerland when it comes to the EU?
On paper, it sounds great to moderate isolationists like me, you get to trade freely with the bloc, no passport requirements and sovereignity over all issues effecting your nation.
Of course that's until you take off the rose-tinted glasses and realise that Switzerland is forced into conformity with EU policy, particularly economic policy, just to stay competitive within the region, that it is essentially a member state, just without the perks (no representation in Strasbourg, no say over EU policy) - the same applies to Norway and Iceland, to a lesser degree.
I think the EU is an excellent institution, that it has a great deal of potential and that it's been a major driving force in building a closer Europe for the last 50 years, but I definetly think some serious questions need to be asked over the next 50, over direction and where we (her citizens) want it to end, how many limits we want placed on Brussels.....for me, I'm not sure yet, but I feel it's an issue we should be at the very least discussing.
Last edited by crooks; 21 Nov 07, at 22:44.
Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.
- John Stuart Mill.
Well the standards are coming out of the NCAP ow whatever it is called. But i suppose they might not be bullet proofed enoughI guess that does make sense.
By the way, most European cars won't pass our safety tests.
Not quite bullet proof. More like SUV proof.Well the standards are coming out of the NCAP ow whatever it is called. But i suppose they might not be bullet proofed enough
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.
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