What is your opinion about the European Union?

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Saskia, Nov 21, 2014.

  1. Saskia Registered Member

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    What is your opinion about the European Union? I am doing a project for school and that is the reason why I need this information. It would help me a lot if you would answer this question and if you wouldn't mind you could at your origin so I get to know target groups. Thanks a lot!
     
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  3. Landau Roof Registered Senior Member

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    What can I say? I think it's an excellent idea that the Europeans have got together. I remember when the Euro currency first came out around the year 2000. It was remarked that it was the first time since the Roman Empire decisively and finally fell that Europe (or a large part of it) shared a single currency.

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    I find it amusing that the Euro flag s so similar to the original American flag. I think the Europeans knew, but just forgot about the American flag, and decided on a rather obvious symbol of (inter)national unity- subconsciously perhaps. I guess they blocked out our tacky red and white pajama stripes, and recalled the classy part.

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    All this reminds me of a Frenchman I knew who boasted that La Révolution began in his country in 1789. I politely pointed out that while it's true Ben Franklin hung out in France as the American ambassador after independence, and our American forefathers were strongly influenced by French philosophes in their radical views, the American revolution was in 1776. He was such a clever Frenchman that he knew 1776 was before 1789 and admitted I was right. Yeah, the Europeans are like that. As an American (of Franco-German (Alsatian) heritage, I tend to think that all of the Europeans of the last half millennium with any get up and go, got up and went to the United States, or at least Australia, Argentina or Brazil, but try to tell them that...
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2014
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  5. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Your question is a little ambiguous, but I live in the US and I think the EU is good. It enhances the wellbeing and safety of the world. By eliminating trade barriers among member states, it enhances economic growth of member states. It promotes cooperation among member states. It promotes peace. However, it is not without problems. The EU financial system remains vulnerable because of its looseness. The EU central bank is a relatively weak institution and that has been problematic for European recovery from The Great Recession. The EU also has other governance issues, but then what country doesn't. The EU is a work in progress, all nations are.

    PS

    If you are doing a school project you might want to revise your OP to include a poll. If you need help with setting up a poll, you might want to contact a moderator for some assistance.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2014
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  7. Jake Arave Ethologist Registered Senior Member

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    French nationalist living in the U.S., The E.U. isn't a bad system at all, it makes it easier for Europeans to travel, and it gives us a large amount of unity despite language barriers. My biggest complaint would be the economics (which, as you may know, aren't doing so well.)
    All in all I think that it is a massive step toward global unity, but it could do with some fixing up.
     
  8. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    It is a good idea if everyone would cooperate with each other and not take advantage of the currency all the same for most European countries. As we see today there are countries that have not been very smart and have terrible economic problems which put them in debt over 5 billion euros or more. I don't believe that kind of taking care of their economic condition should be shared with other European countries to get them out of debts they owed. There should have been stipulations that would make any country that got into trouble follow certain rules that would have an austerity program they would get them back in the black economically speaking. If they wouldn't adhere to that policy then they should be excluded from the EU currency and make their own.
     
  9. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Well, where do I begin? You are alluding to the disparate fiscal and monetary policies among member nations. EU member states surrendered monetary responsibility to the EU central bank, yet retained fiscal responsibility at the national level which has set the EU up for some difficult times. However, the EU as a whole has been pursuing fiscal austerity at a time when that is the last thing a responsible state should do, largely because of German insistence. And that is why the EU remains on the cusp of recession 7 years after the liquidity trap known as The Great Recession began and the US has recovered. The US recapitalized its banking system, loosened monetary policies, and provided economic stimulus packages and the EU did the opposite. One fully recovered, the other didn’t and remains on the cusp of recession…just doing enough to keep it out of recession and nothing more.

    I would like to see a stronger central authority. But the EU is a work in progress. It is evolving.
     
  10. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    As I stated in post #5

     
  11. Captain Kremmen All aboard, me Hearties! Valued Senior Member

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    Being in the EU makes us stronger.
    A problem is that like all organisations they try to aggregate power to themselves.
    We could do with redefining where the EU has jurisdiction, and where it doesn't.
    I'm from the UK.

    As regards your school project, don't assume that the opinions of individuals are representative.
    If you asked a hundred people from the UK you would get a hundred different answers.
    Polls would give you a better indication of national opinions.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2014
  12. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    After more than two centuries and a civil war, the US still struggles with that issue...federal versus state or local power. It isn't an easy issue.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2014
  13. Captain Kremmen All aboard, me Hearties! Valued Senior Member

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    Happens everywhere probably.
    There is a saying along the lines of "All revolutionaries end up as tyrants".
    Power corrupts, etc.

    It happens at every level.
    I was once on the committee of a small club, and you wouldn't believe the Soviet style power grabs that occurred.
    It was the Cold War in miniature.

    In any endeavour, someone manages to gain control and makes up a long list of stupid rules.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2014
  14. synthesizer-patel Sweep the leg Johnny! Valued Senior Member

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    lemme guess ..... sounds like either a BSAC or CAMRA club
     
  15. Gorlitz Iron Man Registered Senior Member

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    290
    Hi, I'm from the UK and I am quite supportive towards the EU.

    I actually think the European Union is a great idea that is struggling to function correctly to achieve it's own lofty ideals. In principle most of the stated aims and objectives are noble and righteous, ideals of greater freedom and equality for all European Citizens, shared collective innovation on scientific and enviromental projects and development, the harmonisation and standardisation for all European Institutions, a minimun standard of human rights guaranteed for all, the rejection and outlawing of both capital and corporal punishment i.e. execution or torture, strong safety standards and regulations governing all food production or imported foods, collective trade benefits and the economies of scale on the global stage, collective strageries towards greater security, the free movement of trade and labour, these are indeed all highly worthy objectives.

    In practice the reality is somewhat more complicated due to nature of the EU's make up. Originally the EU, back then in 1958 it was known as the EEC, was set up by the Treaty of Rome as a trading group block to allow easier trading to take place between some of the big players in Europe at the time namely the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, West Germany and Italy. This has of course changed drastically over the decades and with advent of the Maastricht Treaty of 1993, the EEC changed from a trading block to the EU a far more politically inclusive organisation that now effectively preforms the function of a higher level of governance for most of Europe. Obviously given the expansion of EU and the far more wide reaching scope of it's current mandate internal problems do now frequently hamper real progress, so many countries that make up the EU are still so highly motivated by self interest at a national level and this is having a direct knock on impact on how the EU is actually functioning. Perhaps no where more so can this be evidenced than by the single European currency, the Euro, orginally concieved and designed as ideal trading solution to link to both trade and politics as the EU expanded. In practice the Euro has experienced many problems in it's short lifetime as political leaders have sort to use it for their own nationalistic interests, to often to the greater detrement of the greater European harmony that was orginally envisaged.

    The Euro situation has only sort to highlight some of the problems the EU has faced when expanding, the diversity of so many countries has proved difficult to intergrate in such a short space of time, relatively speaking. The fact the EU is today an imperfect organisation and faces many problems should always perhaps though be considered against the scale and magnitude of it's own high ideals and the huge political hurdles that it faces whenever progress is actually being made.

    If the political will can be maintained then the EU can be a real force for good in the world and help to shape our future, if however it falls apart because of nationalism triumphing over collective unity it might just become a mere footnote in history, another failed project and the future and indeed the whole world would surely be much much diminished for it.




     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2014

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