I'm blogging with my brother, before and after the UK referendum, to raise awareness of the deep-rooted flaws in the EU, predicting its likely collapse.
Forecasts are almost always wrong, we should take them with a pinch of salt,” says Iain Duncan Smith (BBC interview, 12 May). Is he right? Yes. There are practical and theoretical reasons why economic models are poor predictors. Here are two examples of their failure: the IMF said the UK Coalition government’s … More Economic Forecasts are wrong
The Daily Telegraph online business section has a startling article reporting on the views of other Europeans towards the EU, as surveyed by MORI. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/10/devastating-mori-poll-shows-europes-peoples-share-british-rage-o/ Here are some extracts, in case you haven’t the time to read the whole article: “[It] was still the view of the policy elites even after the Schengen fire had been … More Other European Views
An economic model is a rough approximation of some factors that affect an economy; this is fed with some approximate numbers or best guesses (possibly influenced by who made the guesses); the result may be interesting but it’s unlikely to be correct. Even the BBC (sometimes) agrees with this. The BBC have produced an entertaining … More On Economic Models
Time indeed! We’ve picked out some of the more honest quotations from Herr Juncker, which were included in a speech he gave in Strasbourg on 9 September 2015. We’ve tried to refrain from adding our comments as he makes our points well enough, though perhaps this was not his intention. ‘This is the moment for … More Still More Juncker
For people in some European countries the EU may seem like a better bet than relying on their own elected representatives not to rob them blind and manage things in their own interests. This is not the case for Britain. There is a tension between the wishes of the peoples of Europe and the wishes … More Why Some Countries Like EU
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission (http://juncker.epp.eu/my-priorities) “My first priority will be to put policies that create growth and jobs at the centre of the policy agenda of the next Commission.” So, he will put his policies on an agenda, which surely is where they belong. We know that not even elected governments can … More More Juncker
We have said that the unsound foundations of the EU will, eventually, lead to its collapse. So far this expectation is based mostly on the flawed logic of the Project and on the history of undemocratic regimes in Europe. Now the first signs of disruption may be evident in the rise of far-right parties in … More Break-up: Possible?
The website http://www.theunituk.org.uk has both background and up-to-date information on the EU, from a Brexit perspective. They trawl other sites and link to relevant stories. Here’s how they describe their site: “theunituk.org.uk reports on the latest news sourced from the European Union, and European Commission. As the EU Parliament works towards a Federal super state, … More Leave News
EU referendum issues guide: Explore the arguments A cheap and not-so-cheerful overview of key issues in the debate. The BBC highlights the main points under each heading and offers a few catchy impressions from the Leave and Remain sides of the debate. There are no comments (this is the BBC): http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36027205 Good for an overview … More A Balancing Act
“I have never understood why public opinion about European ideas should be taken into account.” Attributed to Raymond Barre, former French premier and European commissioner For us this quotation accurately, honestly and succinctly characterises both the original and the current attitudes that underpin the whole European Union project. From the Home page we discuss in … More Why Not Reform the EU?
This EU Won't Work 