Current Affairs EU In or Out

[woodsyni]

Yes, that’ll be the document the UK helped put in place to stop European countries such as Germany from ruthlessly killing and abusing people as a result of WW2. However it’s now 2021, countries have moved on and perhaps some of the clauses are being used by clever legal people to undermine national requirements.….

Feels like "national requirements" are code for something else. Might be just me, though.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

We shouldn't really be surprised

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Tier 2 visas are granted to skilled workers seeking employment in the UK. According to the Home Office, applicants “must be able to speak, read, write and understand English” in order to gain entry. Tier 5 visas, meanwhile, are open to temporary workers – with visas granted for between six and 24 months. Both routes require an application fee of roughly £200, and a healthcare surcharge of some £600-a-year – unless the applicant is a health or social care worker.

These are presumably people we want here, and who official data shows clearly pay more into the system in taxes than they take out in services, and yet we still do our best to discourage them. We're run by utter morons.

 

[peteblue]

At this point, with Russia threatening Ukraine, we might remind the EU that this is actually their problem and not ours. Obviously this will not happen because we are soft, so we have a choice, either put a great effort in or a minimal effort in terms of its defence, having US or U.K. troops visible tends to be a deterrent. The EU tend to do very little but this is going to put them on the spot and they are going to have to step up, so who’s it going to be France or Germany ?????

 

[orchard]

At this point, with Russia threatening Ukraine, we might remind the EU that this is actually their problem and not ours. Obviously this will not happen because we are soft, so we have a choice, either put a great effort in or a minimal effort in terms of its defence, having US or U.K. troops visible tends to be a deterrent. The EU tend to do very little but this is going to put them on the spot and they are going to have to step up, so who’s it going to be France or Germany ?????

Sounds great. The current government's track record on effort is how high exactly?

Pretty much Homer Simpson level.

 

[Lobster Johnson]

At this point, with Russia threatening Ukraine, we might remind the EU that this is actually their problem and not ours. Obviously this will not happen because we are soft, so we have a choice, either put a great effort in or a minimal effort in terms of its defence, having US or U.K. troops visible tends to be a deterrent. The EU tend to do very little but this is going to put them on the spot and they are going to have to step up, so who’s it going to be France or Germany ?????

You've heard of NATO, yeah?

 

[peteblue]

You've heard of NATO, yeah?

You’ve heard that Ukraine is not a full member of NATO, yeah?…….

 

[spectateur]

You’ve heard that Ukraine is not a full member of NATO, yeah?…….

Is Ukraine in the EU?
Thought not!
So it'll be upto the merry cans once again, they're always ready to get involved in other people's squabbles.
They'll try to involve NATO of course.

 

[FrenchDarrenBent]

You've heard of NATO, yeah?

Is Ukraine a NATO-member?

This is Obama's diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland's, mess. A crude, blunt idiological hawk. They supported the Maidan protesters in their well known neo-con fashion.
It was bad enough in Afghanistan & Iraq, now they're messing with a major nuclear power & a state that may still have nuclear warheads somewhere, risking a confrontation near the Polish border with US-Polish troops.... Not to mention a fresh, new stream of war refugees.

The UK would be absolutely right to stay out of this mess. Who knows what'll happen... and how much the repercussions will cost.

The EU should keep the yanks out of their foreign affairs.

 

[tsubaki]

Is Ukraine a NATO-member?

This is Obama's diplomat for Europe, Victoria Nuland's, mess. A crude, blunt idiological hawk. They supported the Maidan protesters in their well known neo-con fashion.
It was bad enough in Afghanistan & Iraq, now they're messing with a major nuclear power & a state that may still have nuclear warheads somewhere, risking a confrontation near the Polish border with US-Polish troops.... Not to mention a fresh, new stream of war refugees.

The UK would be absolutely right to stay out of this mess. Who knows what'll happen... and how much the repercussions will cost.

The EU should keep the yanks out of their foreign affairs.

These are EU affairs though; Ukraine could (shorn of its Russian bits as Putin has so obligingly done) easily fits into the EU and NATO. Strategically, culturally and economically it would fit. They’ve also got the right to ask to be part of both organisations.

Then there is the precedent it would set, that Russias government thinks it’s policy mandates the countries around it are subservient. That’s bad for the Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Norway and conceivably everyone else on the other side of those countries; none would be able to make decisions without Moscow.

This problem is 100% of Putins making, first by backing bent puppets and then by removing Crimea and the Donbass (and stripping out millions of pro-Russian voters in Ukrainian elections). Everything he is doing is pushing Ukraine into the EU / NATO camp and we will be here again when Lukashenko falls.

 

[FrenchDarrenBent]

These are EU affairs though; Ukraine could (shorn of its Russian bits as Putin has so obligingly done) easily fits into the EU and NATO. Strategically, culturally and economically it would fit. They’ve also got the right to ask to be part of both organisations.

Then there is the precedent it would set, that Russias government thinks it’s policy mandates the countries around it are subservient. That’s bad for the Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Norway and conceivably everyone else on the other side of those countries; none would be able to make decisions without Moscow.

This problem is 100% of Putins making, first by backing bent puppets and then by removing Crimea and the Donbass (and stripping out millions of pro-Russian voters in Ukrainian elections). Everything he is doing is pushing Ukraine into the EU / NATO camp and we will be here again when Lukashenko falls.

EU-integration would be problematic at best, culturally & economically. They're not a full grown democratic state like France or Germany. There's absolutely no question they won't be allowed in in the near future. (it would also be a direct declaration of war to Russia)
They're not a democracy, there are huge corruption problems, not to mention the repression of gay people & the popularity of extreme right poltical movements and so on... The economy is a shambles & would undermine the internal EU market even more with (extremely) cheap labour.

What we think is irrelevant, Russia & Ukraine have a quarrel. Both are, contrary to the baltic states, not in the EU nor in NATO, so we don't meddle. No good can come of it, only tears. No other state (certainly not the US) should arm the other or motivate conflict. This is none of our or the EU's business.

 

[spectateur]

The EU customs thing is wonderful, can't imagine why the UK opted out.
On ebay France I ordered a garden implement from Germany, Sunday evening.
It was delivered here in the middle of France this morning.
No charges whatsoever.
Just though I'd mention it for the benefit of the brexiteers.

 

[peteblue]

The EU customs thing is wonderful, can't imagine why the UK opted out.
On ebay France I ordered a garden implement from Germany, Sunday evening.
It was delivered here in the middle of France this morning.
No charges whatsoever.
Just though I'd mention it for the benefit of the brexiteers.

I nipped down to the local garden centre and bought a garden implement made in Germany…..just thought I’d mention it for those too lazy to go to shops and keep the local economy going…..

 

[spectateur]

I nipped down to the local garden centre and bought a garden implement made in Germany…..just thought I’d mention it for those too lazy to go to shops and keep the local economy going…..

Garden centres a bit thin on the ground around here mate, can hardly just nip down to one.
Seems wherever the implement is purchased is good for the German economy though.

 

[FrenchDarrenBent]

The EU customs thing is wonderful, can't imagine why the UK opted out.
On ebay France I ordered a garden implement from Germany, Sunday evening.
It was delivered here in the middle of France this morning.
No charges whatsoever.
Just though I'd mention it for the benefit of the brexiteers.

Yes, only the delivery man was probably an illegal underage immigrant from Serbia.
It is where I live.