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Originally Posted by Theodoric
As Lenin famously said over a century ago, "What is to be done?" So, we elect a UKIP government and promptly withdraw from Europe. Then what? I don't fancy becoming the 51st state, or even becoming part of Nafta so that all our jobs can move to Mexico rather than India or China. As someone in Norway once said, they are now ruled from Brussels by fax.
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Norway is an interesting comparison - afaik they are still not official members of the EU, but they have several factors which make their 'survival' possible.
- the population is only about 5 million people.
- over 90% of their electricity is generated by hydro power
- they export massive amounts of gas & oil (only Russia & Saudi do more)
but - the majority of their trade is with EU countries and to do that they must comply with EU legislation. I guess this is what was meant by the 'ruled by fax from Brussels' quote. Food producers have to have EU licences, for example - and to get them they have to comply with EU standards.
notwithstanding that, the Norwegians enjoy a good standard of living, reliable,sophisticated communications & transport, plus they have a culture that combines being outwardly modern, with retaining a true pride in their tradition & heritage.
It may change when the oil & gas run out, but for now Norway demonstrates you can live
with the EU, without having to be
in it.
I'm quite happy to retain the mechanism of the trading agreements and the consistent standards for export licences, for example - but when it starts to involve a constitution & a common currency, I'm not so sure.
