Should the UK leave or remain in the EU?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Lastly after seeing how the EU has acted over the past few years, I hold the EU in complete contempt at this point and do not care one bit what happens to it. It really should be nothing more than a trade agreement. The EU doesnt respect Free Speech Rights or Sovereignty one bit and actually deserves to be dismantled

I've been growing up during the transition from communism to democracy. I've seen my country before we've joined the EU and sister European institutions, and I can attest to a tremendous advancement we've experienced since, small wonder Poles have overwhelmingly positive opinion of our membership. Furthermore it's the European institutions are the ultimate guarantee that our present government whose authoritarian tendencies are well-known can't completely take away the rule of law and democratic values. Do I think the EU is in a need of serious reforms? Yes I do, which is another reason why I disagree with your apparent belief it's better to just dismiss all the great thing the EU achieved based on some selected problems of today. Not that I'd expect you'd be too familiar with the issue, given that earlier you've displayed your ignorance on the matted when you've assumed that the European Court of Human Rights was a EU institution, while it's a part of the Council of Europe, which is a diffrent entity.

Oh, and one more thing about the "sovereignty" issue. Member states have made a sovereign decision to enter into that partnership, much like former British colonies, that upon the declaration of independence were essentially independent states, have finally decided to form a permanent union. The fact Europe had overcame centuries of conflicts makes the feat even more impressive. A partnership, I might add, you're free to leave, as the British referendum showed (and it's not the EU's fault they haven't exited yet. It's the British that can't reach an agreement domestically how to leave, so they ask about extention after extention). If other EU countries decides it should go on, and they all pretty much do, then it should go on, as per their sovereign choice.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Lastly after seeing how the EU has acted over the past few years, I hold the EU in complete contempt at this point and do not care one bit what happens to it. It really should be nothing more than a trade agreement. The EU doesnt respect Free Speech Rights or Sovereignty one bit and actually deserves to be dismantled

I've been growing up during the transition from communism to democracy. I've seen my country before we've joined the EU and sister European institutions, and I can attest to a tremendous advancement we've experienced since, small wonder Poles have overwhelmingly positive opinion of our membership. Furthermore it's the European institutions are the ultimate guarantee that our present government whose authoritarian tendencies are well-known can't completely take away the rule of law and democratic values. Do I think the EU is in a need of serious reforms? Yes I do, which is another reason why I disagree with your apparent belief it's better to just dismiss all the great thing the EU achieved based on some selected problems of today. Not that I'd expect you'd be too familiar with the issue, given that earlier you've displayed your ignorance on the matted when you've assumed that the European Court of Human Rights was a EU institution, while it's a part of the Council of Europe, which is a diffrent entity.

Oh, and one more thing about the "sovereignty" issue. Member states have made a sovereign decision to enter into that partnership, much like former British colonies, that upon the declaration of independence were essentially independent states, have finally decided to form a permanent union. The fact Europe had overcame centuries of conflicts makes the feat even more impressive. A partnership, I might add, you're free to leave, as the British referendum showed (and it's not the EU's fault they haven't exited yet. It's the British that can't reach an agreement domestically how to leave, so they ask about extention after extention). If other EU countries decides it should go on, and they all pretty much do, then it should go on, as per their sovereign choice.

The US is much much more responsible for the defeat of communism than the EU is . Germany was set free by America (The west in the late 1940s and the east in 1990) not the EU . If that court  doesn’t affect European law than the EU should make it clear that that court has no jurisdiction anywhere in Europe , and if they don’t do that then we’ll then it’s indirectly their court as well .


I don’t want to throw away the EU as a whole I just believe it should just be a free trade agreement and nothing else , sorta like NAFTA

Yes, the ECHR doesn't have the jurisdiction anywhere in Europe, but it does have jurisdiction in all members states of the Council of Europe, which includes a number of countries that are not a part of the EU. There are many ties between the Union and the Council, but the two are still distinct institutions.

I can't dispute what you've said about the leading American role in the cold war, though I don't believe attributing the fall of the USSR entirely to the American policy is inaccurate, as the whole system was dysfunctional and the weight of its ineffectiveness was just as a major factor. I've mentioned this to illustrate where my country was thirty years ago.

NATO was not the only thing that kept the Western Europe together during the Cold War. The very idea of European community came from disastrous experiences of the two world wars, the sheer scale of devastation, and it played a role that cannot be underestimated. Joining the European Community also helped to strengthen young democracy in Spain and Portugal, when these two countries joined after years of dictatorship, in addition to improving their economies. It played a similar role in strengthening democratic values in post-communist countries, both during the period of candidacy (when we had to make our laws compatible) and after. It's important especially now when we have parties like Fidesz or PiS in power here. If the EU was merely a free trade associations, it would be unable to make such contributions. Just as it wouldn't have all the complex programs to foster development in member countries. I've been living both in big city and in the country and the difference I've witnessed is tremendous, thanks to EU programs. It's a very long topic on which I can gladly elaborate on some other occasion.

In general, if you believe the EU should rather remain an international organization rather than evolving into a confederation or federation, I respect your position. But I do reject the idea of this being but a loose economic association. All the things I've mentioned would never have been possible if member states didn't agree upon creating some strong supranational institutions with real powers to operate, which wouldn't happen under a mere free trade associations.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

As of the question at hand, I think the UK should leave the EU. Britain was never really committed to the cause of European integration, so a close partnership based on a mutually beneficial deal would be best for both sides, as neither side wants to cut natural ties betwen the isles and the continent.

If at some point in the future the UK wants to rejoin, we'd just go through the normal process of accession. Nullifying the referendum or simply holding another one wouldn't benefit anybody.