The "Ask Higgins questions about the EU" Thread

Higgins

As most of you know - I defend the EU when I feel that it's appropriate - so keep that in mind when asking.

As I see a lack of knowledge about the EU, I thought that it's a good idea to open a single thread on EU themes.

Here is the fineprint:

1. The name is Higgins! Any posting that fails to address me properly, will be deleted and the user will be banned
2. I am not working for the EU! I am a happy and convinced European and in my opinion, the EU brought many good things to us in Europe. The biggest achievement that it brought was PEACE!!!!
But keep that in mind, my opinion is biased!

3. Populists: I'll refer often to populists which are plain evil in my opinion.
As a german citizen, I've lived in Austria 25 years ago - a time when Austria was not a EU member.

When you went grocery shopping there and knowing the prices in Germany - you noticed a massive price difference! All dairy products, bread, meat, vegetables etc where almost double than in Germany.

At that time, the first populist movement became "popular" - in Austria.
While being generally well off, people started to complain about illegalimmigrants from Hungary, Poland and Russia, people where unhappy and a guy named Jörg Haider went to stage - giving easy reliefs to the fears and angers from people.

That way, I've learnt how populists operate and you can see that pattern again and again.

Stage1: People are relative well off, but there are challenges which haven't been there 5,10,20 years ago.

Stage2: The Politic elite of the country become fat and lazy and don't address to those people. The people get fed up with the political system, particularly when things don't go always right. They blame the oliticians for that

Stage 3: Populists start to doubt the political elite, starting to fight against them, confirm the people's fears and radically fight anyone (opposition, media etc) which are against them. Conspiracy Theories spread, Easy replies are given and fears and hate are strengthened - preferrably against foreigners and the EU.

Stage 4: Populists start to enter the parliaments and get attention. They don't care about ethics, rules and morale - they manage to polarize the society, the tone gets more and more aggressive. People more and more distrust any authority (political class/media/experts) and are merely exclusively get their information from the populist propaganda - because everyone else lies!

So I am looking forward to a healthy and controversial political debate - let the games begin!


Let me add, that I'll not reply questions from members that decide or decided to greet me with Nazi or similar terms {:)

Barbel

As with all political threads here, civility and politeness are mandatory. I won't hesitate to close this (or any other) political thread if it descends into the kind of mess we have unfortunately seen before.

Barbel

Higgins wrote:

1. The name is Higgins! Any posting that fails to address me properly, will be deleted and the user will be banned

In your dreams, Higgy-babe.

Higgins

ok, Barbel, you're out!

Sir Miles please ) ) )

Thunderpussy

OK, just to get the ball rolling , as Indiana Jones might say ....

Why do you guys insist on driving on the wrong side of the road ?

Higgins

Dear Thunderpussy,

thank you very much for the question. The reply is:

Tradition, TP, tradition.
One upon a time, EU rule 427 demanded that men - who are undobtably better drivers - had to sit on the left side of he car and women, who are bad drivers and should not drive at all sit on the right side.

Because everybody in the Commonwealth is driving like a woman, you adapted that rule. For practical reasons of visibility, you all then had to change to the other street side.

Next!

Chriscoop

Dear Higgins,
Do you think the EU will have to make some reforms to move forward and be seen as truly representative of all its members?

Napoleon Plural

"And how do we get this van started?"

Higgins

Chriscoop wrote:

Dear Higgins,
Do you think the EU will have to make some reforms to move forward and be seen as truly representative of all its members?

I absolutely think so!
I am sure that in the eye of the Brexit results, everybody is aware that the EU must win more hearts than it currently has.

There is no doubt that the EU became fat and lazy and over-regulated in the past and was a kind of safe haven for useless politicians. I'd say that in the last 20 years, this changed slowly but steady.

The EU is still too slow - but keep in mind that it (currently) has 28 members.
All of them with different cultural backgrounds, political competition, individual problems, lobbygroups - you name them.

The problem is always to put those interests together and that's always a compromise.

A good way was that during the last election period, we had some EU debates and became to know the candidates a bit better.

I am also sure, that Mr. Schulz (president of the EU parliament (a brilliant man imo) would have loved to sparring Johnson or Farage but Cameron insisted that nobody from outside woule be campaining in favour of the EU.

Seeing that everything from outside was regarded as a "threat", he may have been right, but I'd have preferred to see some EU reps (van der Hoofstat is another good one) campaining.

As a general remark, my feeling is that the majority of EU countries and citizens would say that the EU represents them more than it doesn't.

But you can't please everyone in a Union of 28 countries and 550 million people.

Thunderpussy

Dear Higgins,
Is it true that one of the conditions of Leaving the EU. Foreign language movies will no
Longer be allowed to have English subtitles ?
Forcing us to have to learn a European language.

Thank you, waiting on your reply
Hugs and kisses
Thunderpussy

Higgins

Dear Thunderpussy,

I strongly support that rule.
English subtitles did so much harm to beautiful languages like Switzerdütsch, where you can find beautiful words like "Chuchichäschtli" or german terms like "Sauerkraut", "Bratwurst" and "Einbürgerungsantragsstelle"

Next EU initiative will have Taylor Swift only singing in dutch and having "God Save the Queen" translated to french for the anthems sung at the beginning of the Euro Cup matches.

Vive la difference!

Thunderpussy

https://youtu.be/SjnWOnJK-zw
Thank you for your response, I have been learning Esperanto because since visiting that
Beautiful country, I fell in love with its people and culture.

Higgins

not to forget the strippers

Thunderpussy

Yes they have a very powerful union .

The_Commander

Dear Mr Higgins,

Can you tell me how an entity which only came into being in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty (one too many a's in there for my liking ) has achieved peace in Europe, stretching back 47 years before it was formed?

If you stand by the argument that it can trace it's roots back to the European Coal & Steel Community, formed 6 years after the cessation of hostilities in Europe, then two of the main allied forces, UK and Russia, were not involved. Even when the EEC was formed in 1957, the French opposed the entry of the UK, so basically, the whole shebang has been doomed by suspicion from the get-go.

I don't doubt that you enjoyed cheaper goods for a while - but that's how drug pushers work - give you the good stuff for a while, then slowly hike the price when you're hooked!

Kind Regards,

A EU-leave voter, but not someone who is anti-European (please don't confuse one with the other).

Higgins

Dear Mr. Commander,

you rightly mention the EU's roots from the European Coal & Steel Communits back in the 1950s, so the EU did not begin with Maastricht.
But it can't be denied that since 1945, we went to a unusual long period of peace so the idea of countries working together as a Union instead of drawing/expanding/defending their own borders and shoot at each other is not a bad one.

) And who knows if the Steel and Coal Union was a reason why the UK did not attack us just because we've been already an Union ) ) (Just kidding.....)

My personal theory (I don't really have factual info) is that France tried to secure their dominant position in Europe by keeping off the UK.

And from the last decades I can tell you, that in our opinion the UK mostly did use the Union for their own benefits exclusively.

While totally understandable (countries have their own interest), this is a lethal approach for a Union with 28 members where solidarity is king. The rich help the poor, the strong help the weak to make something better.

If you are only out for your own good - you are wrong in a Union.

As for cheap prices - those remain until today (relatively speaking) so your theory of just fixing the people to rip them off later is not really at place.

Chriscoop

Higgins wrote:

Chriscoop wrote:

Dear Higgins,
Do you think the EU will have to make some reforms to move forward and be seen as truly representative of all its members?

I absolutely think so!
I am sure that in the eye of the Brexit results, everybody is aware that the EU must win more hearts than it currently has.

There is no doubt that the EU became fat and lazy and over-regulated in the past and was a kind of safe haven for useless politicians. I'd say that in the last 20 years, this changed slowly but steady.

The EU is still too slow - but keep in mind that it (currently) has 28 members.
All of them with different cultural backgrounds, political competition, individual problems, lobbygroups - you name them.

The problem is always to put those interests together and that's always a compromise.

A good way was that during the last election period, we had some EU debates and became to know the candidates a bit better.

I am also sure, that Mr. Schulz (president of the EU parliament (a brilliant man imo) would have loved to sparring Johnson or Farage but Cameron insisted that nobody from outside woule be campaining in favour of the EU.

Seeing that everything from outside was regarded as a "threat", he may have been right, but I'd have preferred to see some EU reps (van der Hoofstat is another good one) campaining.

As a general remark, my feeling is that the majority of EU countries and citizens would say that the EU represents them more than it doesn't.

But you can't please everyone in a Union of 28 countries and 550 million people.

Thank you Higgins for a concise and courteous answer.

The_Commander

The EU DID only come into existence in 1993 - prior to this, there was no (or very little) political input to the club of member countries.

So when you judge that peace has been the biggest benefit of the EU experiment, what about the 1/4 million deaths on the borders of the EU when Yugoslavia broke up? Don't they count as they weren't in the club?

What about when Russia walked into Ukraine and seized Crimea - although not a full member, Ukraine does receive funding from the EU, so what about that?

Now there's a call for a European army, which would do what exactly? What is NATO for?

Cheap bratwurst and sauerkraut are the only positives demonstrable so far it seems, or are there 'side benefits'?

The_Commander

Higgins

The_Commander wrote:

The EU DID only come into existence in 1993 - prior to this, there was no (or very little) political input to the club of member countries.

Well, we have to disagree on this.
For example, the European Parliament exists since 1979.

The_Commander wrote:

So when you judge that peace has been the biggest benefit of the EU experiment, what about the 1/4 million deaths on the borders of the EU when Yugoslavia broke up? Don't they count as they weren't in the club?

The Yugoslawia crisis arose on the bottom of nationalism, radicalism, popuism and ill feelings among neighbors who basically hated each other. Not sure what you hold the EU responsible for - fact is that the EU and single nations did a lot to deescalate that conflict but the lack of any EU forces (police, army) kept the EU off from further activities.

I think that the conflict in Yugoslawia and how these different groups live together now mainly strengthen my claim that cooperation in a Union will keep former enemies peacefully together.
But the EU hopefully never be a military things. If people want to start wars, they will do - unfortunately.

What - in your opinion - should have been done by the EU to deescalate this conflict?

The_Commander wrote:

What about when Russia walked into Ukraine and seized Crimea - although not a full member, Ukraine does receive funding from the EU, so what about that?

You rightly mention that Ukraine is not a part of the EU. What did you expect the EU to do in this conflict?

The_Commander wrote:

Now there's a call for a European army, which would do what exactly? What is NATO for?

As far as I know, the call for an European Army is dead and never was seriously considered.
I haven't heard much about it here - in my opinion this was one of the blatant lies in the Brexit campain - together with the potential turkish membership. Not only in my opinion, Turkey never was ready for the EU and in the last years lowered their chances for a EU membership to virtually zero.

The_Commander wrote:

Cheap bratwurst and sauerkraut are the only positives demonstrable so far it seems, or are there 'side benefits'?

I strongly believe that the free exchange of goods and people strengthen the involved countrie's economies.
Environmental protection targets is another positive. After committing for reductions, EU rules applied down to the reduced power consumption of the famous vaccum cleaner to ensure that those really happen.
Freedom of travel is another big advantage.
I am very much looking forward to the point, where gobal blocking is prohibited on the internet so that I can book the better offers on Cunard.co.uk instead of being redirected to the more expensive Cunard.de page.
I can buy James Bond collectibles from the UK without paying duties and taxes and they arrive in a short time. Compare this with a purchase on ebay.com.

Knowing how "market-friendly" UK governments tend to be (this is very polite being more social-democratic oriented) the EU was the last line of defense to prevent the cruelest social cuts which several UK governments had in mind.

And lastly, I've said this before: In a globalized world where India and China will soon become the largest markets and the US market as a competitor counts - size matters.

You are strong and large, you make the rules - you are small and you follow them.
EU market is currently the strongest market and the most important one. Leaving it will weaken your position because alone you are just a drop in the ocean

Higgins

The_Commander wrote:

Great looking, but I am solely buying EU products

Sir Miles

Higgins wrote:

As far as I know, the call for an European Army is dead and never was seriously considered.
I haven't heard much about it here - in my opinion this was one of the blatant lies in the Brexit campain - together with the potential turkish membership. Not only in my opinion, Turkey never was ready for the EU and in the last years lowered their chances for a EU membership to virtually zero.

I hadn't heard about the European Army until after the referendum vote...

Isn't it true that the current European leaders have signed a letter of intent to expedite Turkey's EU membership ?

Sir Miles

Higgins wrote:

The_Commander wrote:

Great looking, but I am solely buying EU products

You won't be buying much then - everything is made in China or Taiwan...or Turkey...err...wait, hold on

Higgins

As for Turkey, there where some negotiations where Turkey failed to comply to certain ctriteria.
Merkel's party where doing everything to prevent a EU partnership and the recent developments there make a membership impossible.

Merkel also made that very clear.

So there may have been a letter of intend a long time ago, I am sure that Germany did not sign something like that in the last 2 years. Turkey in the EU will not happen in the next 15 years.

Sir Miles

Higgins wrote:

As for Turkey, there where some negotiations where Turkey failed to comply to certain ctriteria.
Merkel's party where doing everything to prevent a EU partnership and the recent developments there make a membership impossible.

Merkel also made that very clear.

So there may have been a letter of intend a long time ago, I am sure that Germany did not sign something like that in the last 2 years. Turkey in the EU will not happen in the next 15 years.

During the TV debate it was stated that many years ago Turkey wanted to join the EU, they were given 35 'conditions' they had to address before they could...in about 30 years they have completed one of these 'conditions'...but very recently the EU member nations had all signed a document to help Turkey expedite their inclusion...including Merkel !

Higgins

Turkey's membership was a big debate here.
For many years, Turkey where offered a "Priviledged Partnership" which could end in a membership.

I know that the conservatives defended that staus with their teeth, the left wing wanted to give them a full membership.

Merkel never wanted to give more than the "priviledged partnership" but the last 2 years make it impossible for Turkey to have the slightest chance for a membership.
I can only reply, that Merkel would have never signed such a letter in the last 2 years and nobody here really supports the membership anymore.

Won't happen - trust me
Turkey is virtually at war with us since the parliament signed the Armenia Resolution and called the massacres then "genocide".

Higgins

I get to realize that I should have opened that thread during the Brexit campain.

Too late, sorry guys.

Silhouette Man

Q: Higgins, how do you know so much about the EU?

I studied two modules of EU law as part of my Masters in Law but you put me to shame!

Thunderpussy

I think there's a section about it on PornHub !

Higgins

Silhouette Man wrote:

Q: Higgins, how do you know so much about the EU?

I studied two modules of EU law as part of my Masters in Law but you put me to shame!

I am actively following politics here.

I know that many slam the BBC (partly rightly so..) but federal TV and radio is something that we should protect if you look at the rubbish that you get from certain media.

Higgins

Thunderpussy wrote:

I think there's a section about it on PornHub !

) ) )