Knowing your views on Brexit differ from mine , has Junckers latest statement (re Catalonia) in any way made you uneasy,even if it has not changed your views on being tied to the EU.?.. "" ..it could result in a region too complicated for the European Union (EU) to govern." "...to govern"??? It is a clear indication of the way that the EU or at least the commission sees the future. i.e. nations states subservient to the will of the Brussels (Merkel)
Got to be honest Tekktyke, I don't take Juncker too seriously. I don't think Macron or Merkel share his federalist ambitions - or at the very least, not to the same extent. Everyone is waiting for the infinitely more sensible Mr Barnier to succeed him, which I gather is expected. Catalonia is too complicated for me - Grandfathertyke has more of a handle on what is going on there. It seems to me that notwithstanding his excessively heavy-handed tactics Rajoy has the upper hand, and I don't think the Catalan president has played his cards particularly well. What can't be doubted though is that if Catalonia left, Spain would have big problems given that it already has it's economic difficulties.
Well funnily enough Tyrone, we were watching a rerun of Andrew Marr's 'Making of Modern Britain' the other night about the lead-up to the Second World War and we came to the view that many of the same factors seem to be coming into play just now. Hopefully, not to the same extent.
Yes but they also have Verhofstadt and Tusk with federalist ambitions. If they were not federalist they would distance themselves from Junckers federalist utterances. Strangely they never do. Also do you think Barnier is actually controlling the 'negotiations'. Merkel is pulling the strings. The showstoppers blocking any agreement are just that. Moving into your area of expertise -Name one country in the world that would accept EU courts jurisdiction over the domestic ones. Moreover who in their right mind would agree to pay an amount for something when they have no idea what the other party is offering in return. In fact they are not offering anything until an undefined amount is settled on. Madness and yet some blame the UK govt 100% for the impasse. I cannot comment on the Irish border situation except to say it SHOULD undoubtedly have been sorted . Then again it is a conundrum.
Well now, there's plenty to chew on! I agree that Barnier can only negotiate within the remit he has been given. He's answerable to all of the 27 because, as I understand it, any deal could be negated by a vote against from any member state in the EU Parliament. I think that comments about Barnier's lack of flexibility have to be seen against that backdrop. As regards ECJ jurisdiction, I think that if the transition deal is virtually 'status quo' as May has indicated then ECJ rule has to apply. It is adjudicating for 27 + 1 for the transition period as I see it, so it has to be a supra-national court no? It could hardly be our court ruling over any one or more of the 27 in a dispute, and there is no sense trying to convene a new 'joint' authority for that time period. As for citizenship disputes beyond the transition, I'd go with a joint judicial panel comprised of an even number of EU and UK judges adjudicating on an agreed body of EU/UK law, which despite the leave campaigners' protestations probably wouldn't look too dissimilar. Money. We agreed to pay our share of EU expense for the current budget period. I doubt much of that expense is now avoidable, and I think we should therefore honour the commitments we made earlier up to the end of the budget period. If we were to walk away I would assume that our credit standing vis government borrowing would be affected, which would cost us a huge amount in interest costs. Anything above that needs to be itemised and we need to know what we'd be getting in return. Simples. We can then decide whether we think it's worth it. I think this has to be sorted to the satisfaction of both sides before we enter into any new understanding, so I guess I think the EU are right on that. As regards Ireland, I think it should be reunited - which it will be eventually. That would sort it. The border then becomes the Irish Sea. I can't see any other realistic solution. Others can and will disagree - those are my views
