http://timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/2007/03/50_reasons_to_p.html1 The end of war between European nations
NATO.
2 Democracy is now flourishing in 27 countries
The fall of communism.
3 Once-poor countries, such as Ireland, Greece and Portugal, are prospering
So are S Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand etc etc.
4 The creation of the world's largest internal trading market
True. But what about the zollverein? Shouldn't we have free external trade too?
5 Unparalleled rights for European consumers
??
6 Co-operation on continent-wide immigration policy
True
7 Co-operation on crime, through Europol
The application of foreign laws in Britain, including such things as thought crimes (xenophobia), extradition without a court case, trial without jury....these are good things?
8 Laws that make it easier for British people to buy property in Europe
We need the EU for this? It's just as easy to buy in the US you may have noticed.
9 Cleaner beaches and rivers throughout Europe
Could have been done by national law.
10 Four weeks statutory paid holiday a year for workers in Europe
An outrage: contracts should be freely negotiated.
11 No death penalty (it is incompatible with EU membership)
Council of Europe, not the EU.
12 Competition from privatised companies means cheaper phone calls
The privatisation of BT came from the EU?
13 Small EU bureaucracy (24,000 employees, fewer than the BBC)
24,000 too many.
14 Making the French eat British beef again
So?
15 Minority languages, such as Irish, Welsh and Catalan recognised and protected
We need a multi-national bureaucracy to do this?
16 Europe is helping to save the planet with regulatory cuts in CO2
Ho, ho. Let's see it work first, eh?
17 One currency from Bantry to Berlin (but not Britain)
A terrible idea, the EU is not an optimal currency area.
18 Europe-wide travel bans on tyrants such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe
So?
19 The EU gives twice as much aid to developing countries as the United States
Ah, no. The countries of Europe give twice as much in direct government aid as the US. Add in charity, people to people, and the figure is rather different.
20 Strict safety standards for cars, buses and aircraft
We need a multi-national....
21 Free medical help for tourists
We need a....
22 EU peacekeepers operate in trouble spots throughout the world
From national armies actually. NATO also does the same.
23 Europe's single market has brought cheap flights to the masses, and new prosperity for forgotten cities
Surely, boiling the planet?
24 Introduction of pet passports
We need a....
25 It now takes only 2 hrs 35 mins from London to Paris by Eurostar
Not an EU project.
26 Prospect of EU membership has forced modernisation on Turkey
True.
27 Shopping without frontiers gives consumers more power to shape markets
Would if such freedoms were not stifled by regulation.
28 Cheap travel and study programmes means greater mobility for Europe's youth
Err, 7,000 students a year drinking in foreign bars is worth the rest of it?
29 Food labelling is much clearer
We need a....
30 No tiresome border checks (apart from in the UK)
We need a...
31 Compensation for passengers suffering air delays
An idiotic idea anyway and, note that the US also has this, so we need a...
32 Strict ban on animal testing for the cosmetic industry
So?
33 Greater protection for Europe's wildlife
We need a....
34 Regional development fund has aided the deprived parts of Britain
A huge waste of money. Markets work better than bureaucrats.
35 European driving licences recognised across the EU
International driving licences are recognised around the world.
36 Britons now feel a lot less insular
We need a....
37 Europe's bananas remain bent, despite sceptics' fears
No, it is a criminal offense to sell one of excessive curvature.
38 Strong economic growth - greater than the United States last year
Give it time matey.
39 Single market has brought the best continental footballers to Britain
So?
40 Human rights legislation has protected the rights of the individual
Council of Europe, not the EU.
41 European Parliament provides democratic checks on all EU laws
No, it doesn't.
42 EU gives more, not less, sovereignty to nation states
Bollocks.
43 Maturing EU is a proper counterweight to the power of US and China
Power blocks now? A bit 1913 don't you think?
44 European immigration has boosted the British economy
True.
45 Europeans are increasingly multilingual - except Britons, who are less so
We need a....
46 Europe has set Britain an example how properly to fund a national health service
What, like the French? 25% paid by hte patient. Yes, I agree, good system, but nothing to do with the EU.
47 British restaurants now much more cosmopolitan
This is from the beneficience of the EU? Bollocks!
48 Total mobility for career professionals in Europe
True.
49 Europe has revolutionised British attitudes to food and cooking
As 47.
50 Lists like this drive the Eurosceptics mad
No, to despair. All we ask is that there is a cost benefit analysis. Is the above list, most of which is in fact nothing to do with the EU, worth the fishing out of the oceans (CFP), the rape of the consumers pockets (CAP), the continued immiseration of Third World farmers (CAP and the zollverein), well, you know the rest of the list.
BTW, do, if you have greater knowledge than I, run this list elsewhere with appropriate corrections.
