Current Affairs EU In or Out

[davek]

 

[dead_soft]

I know there is, and has been, hyperbole on both sides of the debate, but reading an article in the Guardian about Syria and the Eu and it’s lack of clout, I couldn’t help but wonder why we keep denigrating ourselves.

The last paragraph of the article...

”Whether the issue is Syria, the conflict in eastern Ukraine or Palestine (where Trump has again ignored EU policy), Europe is punching well below its weight, Von der Leyen’s strictures notwithstanding. This is not a new problem. But it is getting worse. As the US, China and Russia and their imitators play destructive global power games, the EU can only watch and fret. And Britain, drifting off, rudderless and irresponsible, into transatlantic limbo is no help at all.”

I do wish they would take a day off........

What do you want them to say? 'And Britain's really nailing it with its current trajectory'?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

And for those who are still confused about migration policy and racism, the below is racist.

 

[Walken]

And for those who are still confused about migration policy and racism, the below is racist.

Prepare yourself for some mental gymnastics from those who have only ever considered things from a very safe majorities point of view

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

I got my Belgian citizenship at a cost of €127. I had to go to a centre and have a conversation in Dutch and fill out a few forms. The whole process took 6 months.

I just heard yesterday that the Danish husband of one of my friends, who has lived in the UK for 22 years, STILL has no word on his settled status, applied for dual citizenship a year ago and is still in limbo with no idea when a decision will be made. He had to travel to London and back from Skipton 4 times and the whole process has cost him to date over two thousand pounds.

What the hell has Britain become?!

 

[zzr45]

I got my Belgian citizenship at a cost of €127. I had to go to a centre and have a conversation in Dutch and fill out a few forms. The whole process took 6 months.

I just heard yesterday that the Danish husband of one of my friends, who has lived in the UK for 22 years, STILL has no word on his settled status, applied for dual citizenship a year ago and is still in limbo with no idea when a decision will be made. He had to travel to London and back from Skipton 4 times and the whole process has cost him to date over two thousand pounds.

What the hell has Britain become?!

Become? Mate that’s British bureaucracy at its finest.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

Become? Mate that’s British bureaucracy at its finest.

Belgium is normally hell on stilts for beaurocracy. It took me 3 months to get a refund for a train ticket and the same to get a new card for the tip. I will admit, however, that my jaw dropped when I heard that yesterday.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I got my Belgian citizenship at a cost of €127. I had to go to a centre and have a conversation in Dutch and fill out a few forms. The whole process took 6 months.

I just heard yesterday that the Danish husband of one of my friends, who has lived in the UK for 22 years, STILL has no word on his settled status, applied for dual citizenship a year ago and is still in limbo with no idea when a decision will be made. He had to travel to London and back from Skipton 4 times and the whole process has cost him to date over two thousand pounds.

What the hell has Britain become?!

By contrast, the UK citizenship fee is £1,330 (which I believe is a fee that has risen significantly over the past few years)

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

By contrast, the UK citizenship fee is £1,330 (which I believe is a fee that has risen significantly over the past few years)

Yeah, his 2000 is factoring in official translations, train fares etc. Madness I say.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Yeah, his 2000 is factoring in official translations, train fares etc. Madness I say.

Oh, of course. All documents need to be translated and approved (we had to do the same for our wedding), which costs money, and if you don't happen to live near the embassy, then it's hugely expensive. I'm sure Brexiters would like to think the 'hostile environment' is just for those who shouldn't be here, but in reality it's like that even for those who are here properly and making a tremendous contribution to British society.

It's perhaps worth considering that without migration, Britain would be shrinking as a nation, and that shrinkage would be especially pronounced in the places like Boston and Stoke that voted so heavily for Brexit. Small towns withering away into insignificance. London is a classic example, as the population of the city fell by 1.5 million people between the end of WW2 and 1981, with more than that figure leaving inner London. It left the city in a perilous place and at risk of turning into a British version of Detroit. Since then, the city has been revitalized, and a big part of that is the role migrants have played in its vibrancy.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

Oh, of course. All documents need to be translated and approved (we had to do the same for our wedding), which costs money, and if you don't happen to live near the embassy, then it's hugely expensive. I'm sure Brexiters would like to think the 'hostile environment' is just for those who shouldn't be here, but in reality it's like that even for those who are here properly and making a tremendous contribution to British society.

it baffles me that you would treat people who want to become citizens that way... I mean, they must have been living and working here for a significant amount of time to meet the criteria, they want to become part of the fabric of your society... So you treat them like crap and make it as hard as possible. Bravo.

By the way, I was reminded of one of my favourite statistics yesterday. Care to guess which country contributes the most to illegal immigration into Britain?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

it baffles me that you would treat people who want to become citizens that way... I mean, they must have been living and working here for a significant amount of time to meet the criteria, they want to become part of the fabric of your society... So you treat them like crap and make it as hard as possible. Bravo.

By the way, I was reminded of one of my favourite statistics yesterday. Care to guess which country contributes the most to illegal immigration into Britain?

It is baffling. Re your question, I'm going to guess one of our beloved Commonwealth.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

It is baffling. Re your question, I'm going to guess one of our beloved Commonwealth.

Australia: Backpackers overstaying on tourist visas in big cities.

 

[edge]

By contrast, the UK citizenship fee is £1,330 (which I believe is a fee that has risen significantly over the past few years)

shouldn't cost anything , if people have the right to be here, have been doing so and living lawfully for years and contributing to the economy ect and want to be here should be free.

 

[peteblue]

What do you want them to say? 'And Britain's really nailing it with its current trajectory'?

“The UK economy will outpace the struggling eurozone in the first two years after Brexit, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted for the first time.
Britain also outpaced the monetary union in 2019, giving it three straight years of faster growth, according to the IMF's latest forecasts.”......