Blair 'worried' UK will exit the EU via a referendum

As relations between the UK and EU have developed since the inception of the Euro, it is legitimate for the UK to have a referendum. Some cultural differences make political "rapprochement" hard to reconcile with the Eurozone and, I am sure, a UK free of EU strings, would be an asset for the whole Continent, not least in terms of "competitive stimulus".

According to Mathias "The UK doesn't play any key role"
which is arrant nonsense as usual.
The UK is the biggest customer of the Eurozone by far - far bigger than the USA or China - so all I can say is tax us all you like at your peril.
As the EU's third most populous country ignore us at your peril.
In or out of the EU we won't go away - there are plenty of EU countries which the EU & Eurozone can live without, the UK is not one of them.
Political union is not worth someting as trivial as a common currency.

I'm a bit puzzled - we all keep talking about "the UK". However, by 2015 it is more likely to be 'Ingerland" - with Scotland once again an independent nation and the Welsh looking at the English and wondering about independence as well. This may cast a different light on things. I'm puzzled that Die Zeit gives space to a war criminal.

I give you one word "comitology" read the following link and tell me we should not get ASAP.

http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/1972/waking-up-to-the-european-commissions-power-grab

When devious lawyers put the treaties together you can have no faith that you are not getting/about to get well and truly Shafted!

Read the link and tell me that this is nonsense please.

For mainland Europeans, please be aware that Tony Blair has little credibility in the UK and if he had been able to deliver us to the Euro he would have done so immediately.

Rather than just throw about claims about how little the EU will miss the UK and how much we will miss them, let’s introduce some statistical information.

In 2009, by value of exports worldwide, Germany ranked first in the EU, the UK second and
France third. Total German exports were £1028bn, UK £561bn and France £522bn. Seems the UK is actually quite a big player.

But there is more, Germany exported £89bn to the UK and France £46bn. In return the UK exported £43bn to Germany and £36bn to France. Overall about two thirds of German and French exports go to other EU countries, while the proportion for the UK is slightly less than half. (All figures from Bundesbank, Banque de France and UK Office of Statistics Pink Book 2010 respectively, they have not been corrected for the Rotterdam – Antwerp Effect which further skews the figures to the disadvantage of the UK.)

Last fact, the UK was the biggest market for German passenger vehicle exports during the first half of 2011 both in terms of volume and value. During the first half of 2011, Germany exported 382,000 cars worth €6.8 billion to Britain. (source Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland)

In other words as has been claimed many times, the EU gains much more in trade from the UK than the UK gains, and that is before we factor in the UK payments to the EU.

Now, if the UK were to decide to leave the EU and return to a simple trading arrangement does anyone seriously think that the business leaders of the EU would damage this profitable trade ? If they did the UK is actually much better placed than they to substitute the trade with markets outside the EU. And by the way, let’s not forget the WTO and the standard approach to tariffs which would tend to prevent the EU launching a trade war even if they were minded to do so.

One final point about the single market; let us not forget that it predominantly relates to goods and not services, hence the reason why the UK tends to run a deficit with the EU but a surplus with the rest of the World. The major powers in the EU, including Germany and France, have constantly worked to prevent services entering fully into the single market precisely because it would allow the UK to compete more readily. So in some regards even the benefits of the single market have been closed to the UK since its inception in 1992.

Our ‘influence’ in the decision making bodies which we are constantly told we must maintain to safeguard ourselves amounts to 8% of the whole, essentially then it is marginal. That is understandable, there are after all 27 countries, but it can hardly be held up as a vital matter given the economics outlined above.

Whether the EU develops into the US of E or not, and regardless of whether the UK is involved or not, lets not pretend for one moment that either side would do anything to damage trade. Ultimately the creation of a US of E is a purely political decision for each national electorate, economics need not intrude and to claim it must is inaccurate. (Ask yourself, how does the EU have so many trading agreements with other non EU countries without the controls they require over the UK as a member of the EU.)

It is clear many Europhiles have reached the stage where they wish the UK would disengage from the EU to allow them to progress more readily to the US of E. Strangely most in the UK feel the same way. Given that, I really don’t understand the level of anger that emerges in some postings.

As to Scotland removing itself from the UK, that is a matter entirely for them and we will have to wait two years until the people pass their judgement. Currently opinion polls seem to suggest 32% in favour of independence and 55% against the remainder were unsure. Still too early to call but far from sure to vote for separation I think we can all agree.

Blair has ambitions to succeed Van Rompuy as President. That is why he wants the UK to stay in the EU. The man is a greedy warmonger who is responsible for thousands of deaths in the middle east. His socialist party dragged the United Kingdom into debt and opened the doors to uncontrolled immigration. The man is nothing but a criminal. He'd fit in well working for the corrupt EU but he can do it without the United Kingdom.

Could make a divide from the EU couse an inflation in the UK?
Is the UK heavily dependent on EU goods, raw materials and cheep workforce?
In case of a departure can and will China or the US balance this new sortages out?
Could that make the production of England more expensiver? Weekenig it's competitiveness? Decrease the export of England significantly? Witch seeds up more the inflation...
Could that be that China and the US balance the sortage of English goods in the EU either? Becouse right now they need money more, than friends.
Is the expence side of UK's budget so lean, that it can take this shock? Or have the UK the reserves for this scennario?
In case of this financian and economical crisis will the CBU or the IMF help out the UK? Would solve that any problems mentioned above?
(Sorry for my bad English)

Charles,
Growth rates in the UK were much lower than on the continent while it was trying not to be part of the EU and went on shipping in butter from new zealand... that's why Mcmillan begged De Gaulle for more than a decade to let us in, because everyone realised such "detachment" was completly crazy in today's world (maybe splendid Isolation is a nice fantasy but it's economic madness).

Now you think if we were to leave they would give us a special agreement to make us enjoy all the delights of their single market, just to thank us as a goodbye present or something...Of course not. The EU would need to show that if countries want to leave they cannot possibly have their cake and eat it.

And if we were to leave that doesn't mean we'd stop driving cars, our economy would still need them, just that we'd pay a higher (taxed) price for them. (And shipping them in from America would not be cheaper). On the other hand, what they buy from us could easily be replaced (if it were to be taxed and therefore uncompetitive) within the EU mainland.

Economics is not like choosing a new bathroom in an Ikea catalogue.

The EU does not tax goods from Turkey, Norway, Switzerland - why would the UK suddenly be the exception?

Since the end game of all this is a federal Europe, are you really willing go the whole way so that you can (perhaps) have a new TV or car every 3 years? Is growth in the rest of the EU better than ours, even at 0%?

Iwantout

Germany exports far more to all the other countries than to Britain, who would go on buying its goods anyway, just more expensively. The economic price for Britain of leaving the EU would be high. Your "figures" do little to counter this economic certainty, and I suspect you know this yourself.

If you think this price is worth paying, in the name of an abstract Sovereignty or freedom, then come out and say it.

Otherwise I'm afraid you are not going to convince anyone. British people have cars and mortgages, Bank accounts and Summer holidays to think of.

Eurosceptics will never succeed in their project using Thatcherite arguments. How can you be in favour of the free market, the free movement of capital people and services, the dismantling of the Nation state, the privatisation of police services etc etc, and then argue that we should leave the world's largest and most liberal common market with our closest neighbours, and close in on ourselves in our island nation? Kisses to Fidel Castro? Your arguments don't add up. Protectionism and isolationism are at the other end of the spectrum from liberalism. You should make a choice. This is the real world, not Disneyland.

Sia Magyarok,

Turkey, Norway or Switzerland never left the EU... quite a better position to negotiate trade advantages with us! Britain is another piece of meat than those countries and we would anyway have to show members like say Czek Republic, austria or finnland they couldn't just pick and choose, staying out, then become a member, negociae opt outs, and then leave... but keep some advantagous agreements! the EU is not a Market where you change your mind every couple of sundays.
kicit sok nekunk

The trouble has always been with Blair is that he gets his advice from nondescript advisers who know little of the real world and only of politics that get it wrong time and time again. You only have to look at his so-called great statesmanship to see that he has created more harm in the world-at-large than good. The problem again is that he has not the ability to think for himself because he was always brainwashed by his so-called wise men. But where in reality these and others were/are not the wise whizz kids that Blair thinks that they are as they like Blair have got it so horribly wrong in the past as they will do again in the future. Indeed why should anyone take note of him and especially when he is so secretive with his wealth creating company Blair Associates. If he was open and transparent he would openly let people know about this entity. At the last visit to his website there was not even a mention of Blair Associates but this is where he channels his multi-millions every year. No, typical Blair here and someone who you just cannot trust. If you do, even the EU will get matters far worse than they presently are. In this respect because of his pathetic economic policies with Brown, the UK became an economic disaster. Boom and bust were in reality his economic cornerstones and which Brown always said was not the case – another lie that this administration orchestrated. History can clearly show that this was indeed the case. Keep away from this man is my advice for the EU.

Dr David Hill
World Innovation Foundation

Typical Blair shite!

The UK, like Greece, will realise once they start looking at the benefits of membership that they would be mad to leave. The sooner we get UKIP back into the asylum the better - lets get back to talking about real issues!