www.Britainineurope.org.uk - A rebuttal

The following post does not represent the views of www.yourparty.org:

What's the case for Briain joining the Euro? ...and my very pointed response to www.britainineurope.org.uk





Let me answer the points this site makes one at a time:



1: Britain Can't afford to go it alone. Half of our exports are to Europe.



Rubbish. We can still stay in Europe and not adopt the euro - This line that's trotted out by europhiles suggesting that a rejection of single currency is a rejection of Europe period is a falsehood. The nature of imports and exports is that it's a two way street. They NEED us more than we need them. If the argument is about free trade then we should renegotiate our terms of entry to get rid of the hugely expensive CAP along with the host of other unfair and uncompetitive taxes, tarrifs and directives which are increasing the cost of employment, keeping French and German farmers' pockets lined and destututing third world economies when we dump our subsidised produce on the market.. Norway and Switzerland have the highest GDP per capita in the world ($39,000) and they are not single market members. They get all the benefits that we enjoy and none of the baggage through membership of EFTA, the WTO and many other free trade agreements. The European Union was supposed to be about free trade - so far it hasn't come up with the goods and instead has been about political union. Put simply - you don't have to be part of Federal Europe just to trade with it. Inside Europe we are not even allowed to negotiate outside trade agreements on our own behalf. The EC does it for us!



2: The quotes from Thatcher are hopelessly out of context and not refelective of her feelings toward Europe. She wants out immediately and renegotiation to follow. Read 'Statecraft' for the fuller picture and a scathing indictment of the European project..



3: In response to the quote: “I can only confirm that the EU is not a ‘super-state’. Neither shall the EU become a ‘super-state’.” By Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, 5 October 2000



I give you this:



Hans Teitmeyer - President of the Bundesbank: "The European Currency will lead to member nations transferring their soveriegnty"



Wim Duisenberg - President of the European Central Bank - The process of monetary union goes hand in hand with political, integration, and ultimately political union



Romano Prodi - President of the EC "The Euro was a decision that completely changed the nature of the nation states. The pillars of the nation state are the sword and currency and we changed that....the real goal is to draw on the single currency and create a political Europe. A common European Army is the next logical step.



I've got pages of quotes just like these. Anyone want me to go on?



4: I won't even justify the wild assertion that 3.5mm jobs are at stake if we don't accept the euro. This figure is plucked out of nowhere. Do you seriously think that a UK firm that currently does it's business in sterling with a french firm will be sent out of business just because we continue with the status-quo? Trading in a different currency never seemed to hurt our very healthy balance of trade between US/UK, UK/Mexico UK/Japan etc etc.



5: Being out of the Euro makes our currency volatile!

Does it really now? Why is then that the major cause of volatilty in the last 15 years was when we got involved in the Exchange rate mechanism (ERM) - limiting our ability to be able to control our currency and sending the pound into a flat spin becuase the Germans had completely different economic circumstances and huge public bills to pay following reunification. We lost the struggle with the Bundesbank on that occasion and we'll lose control again to the ECB if we join the Euro.



6: Interest rates are lower in Europe...

Yes but unemployment runs at 11.5%!!!!! Low Interest rates are great for mortgage payers but they are very unnatractive for investors. ...and yes - that includes foreign companies looking to invest in Britain. In fact interest rates are so low in Germany right now that they risk deflation. Is that a risk we are prepared to take when we hand over all monetary control to the ECB?





7: ....and best of all: Our European partners are even more imprtant since September 11.



Name me just ONE issue that the UK agreed with our EU 'partners' on since 9/11. They showed us that they have no interest in working alongside us or the US and would do their utmost to obfusticate and deride all joint UK/US initiatives. Blair ,has now been forced to go cap-in-hand to Chirac to build bridges.



I could go on - ......I guess mine'll be a "No" vote then

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