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Blair: UK may face “interesting choice” over Euro

June 24, 2012 4:15 pm

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  • http://twitter.com/mistyblulabour dave stone

    “The rational for Europe today, it’s not peace anymore, it’s power.”

    More geo-political shenanigans in the pipeline, one feels. No wonder Blair was reluctant to argue the case for integration when in office – George W. and Murdoch wouldn’t have approved.

    There are three options: 1) oblivion, 2) become the 51st State or 3) become part of Europe.

    • jaime taurosangastre candelas

      Well, so say you.  How about Option (4), work with other sane Europeans in many countries to roll back the frontiers of power that the Eurocrats assume, back to being a free trade area of sovereign nation states.  Tell Mr van Rompuy and Mr Barroso to “sling their hook”, and give the MEPs their P45.

      • http://twitter.com/mistyblulabour dave stone

        Sure, the EU edifice needs to be opened to more extensive democratic process – that’s a prerequisite to further integration.

        I don’t see how sovereign nation states will be able countenance global challenges such as depletion of natural resources, climate change etc. International agreements will become increasingly important and necessary – and once international agreements are in place all signatories will find that they are no longer sovereign nation states. And those that don’t sign up will find their options seriously limited – their sovereignty will be only a theoretical conceit.

        • Bill Lockhart

          I think by looking at the relative histories of  the assertion of national interest in the EU by, say, France and the UK under New Labour it becomes clear that “loss” of sovereignty is, in practice, a matter of  political choice in individual nation states. France chooses to submit to nothing detrimental to her national interest: Britain under Blair and Brown practically begged to.

        • Bill Lockhart

          I think by looking at the relative histories of  the assertion of national interest in the EU by, say, France and the UK under New Labour it becomes clear that “loss” of sovereignty is, in practice, a matter of  political choice in individual nation states. France chooses to submit to nothing detrimental to her national interest: Britain under Blair and Brown practically begged to.

          • treborc1

             And look at us now.

        • jaime taurosangastre candelas

          I think you are being a little blinkered.  There are what? 150 or so nation states.  Only 27 of the are in the EU, so the place of nation states is still very much alive.  Also, all of the ever-closer union and Euro nonsense is completely irrelevant to global warming.  Not being in the Euro does not stop Brazil from making decisions as to how to approach international climate conferences.

          The two things are completely unrelated.

          As to being a “prerequisite for further integration”, well I want far less integration, to put the vehicle into reverse. Anything that positively hinders further integration is to me positive and to be encouraged. I don’t want to be a co-citizen with a Belgian or a Greek. Of course, I don’t want to be at war with them, and I am certain that each country has very good points. But they can have their Francs or Drachmas, and set their own policies and interest rates, and I don’t want to import onto our balance sheet their problems. They probably don’t want ours either, such as unfunded liabilities.

          • http://twitter.com/mistyblulabour dave stone

            “Not being in the Euro does not stop Brazil from making decisions as to how to approach international climate conferences.”

            But Brazil is a member of the Union of South American Nations which is modeled on the EU and is intending to introduce its own single currency, defence arrangements etc. The Brazilian response to international concerns will be powerfully informed by its regional ambitions.

            What you or I want doesn’t really count for much – we have a vote each and that’s about it. However, I’m a member of a political party – I have a say in the selection of candidates for positions in local and national governments – these are the people who you may choose to vote for. That’s why association with others is the only political option – for both individuals and states – if influence is to be achieved.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

        Only that’s not an option because no-one else actually wants it. 

  • Bernard

    When that MEP wrote an article last week claiming that Tony Blair was right all along that Britain should join the Euro I assumed it was an isolated case of acute financial illiteracy.
    Now I think it was a warm-up.

    Blair doesn’t like being out of the spotlight, and is known to be eyeing a ‘President of Europe’ type role.
    Because even he can see that it would be absurd for a British politician to take a role like that when Britain is (deliberately) peripheral to European politics he wants to change that.

    As usual he either has no knowledge of or, more likely, no interest in what’s best either for Britain or Europe. He just wants another job where he can grandstand, hobnob and do America’s bidding before eventually retiring there having made an even larger sum than he has now.

    Megalomania is really sad. Fortunately almost everyone can now see what he’s about.

    • treborc1

      What ever Blair does, it has to make his bank balance better. it’s as simple as that.

    • Chilbaldi

      Honeyball’s article was loopy loo, but what Blair has said on the Euro this weekend is completely correct. If there was full fiscal integration (a realistic prospect amongst some Eurozone countries) the Euro would work.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

        True – although Germany would have to stop expecting the remainder of Europe to be smaller models of them.

      • Hugh

        There would be precious little point in voting anymore, but the Euro might “work” with full fiscal integration, but that does rather overlook the ability of our European leaders to bugger it up in some other way. I’d say the odds of them avoiding doing so are miniscule.

  • robertcp

    I quite like the idea of the Euro in theory but it clearly does not work in practice.  Unemployment in the UK would be more than 10% if we had joined the Euro.  We would not have been able to let sterling fall nor keep interest rates at 0.5%

  • Daniel Speight

    Man those ‘power thumbs’ annoy me. Once you read that he has been tutored in the hand movements by some American appearance guru, you find it hard to stop looking at them and listen to what he is saying. I wish someone would chop those appendages off.

    • AlanGiles

      He needs his hands, fingers and thumbs to persue his hobby! :-)

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