It's Time To Break Off EU Membership Talks with Turkey

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Turks have voted to give their autocratic president even more power, with few checks and balances. By doing so, they have cast their ballot against the values of the European Union. It's time for the EU to take action by ending membership talks with Turkey.

With Turkey's vote on Sunday for sweeping constitutional reforms, autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has consolidated his power and divided the country. The referendum on the Turkish Constitution is just one further example in the year of Brexit of the dubious value of referenda. There is likely to be much talk in the coming days of a majority vote, regardless how narrow it was (51.4-48.8), and how it must be respected.

For the European Union, however, there can only be one outcome: Membership negotiations with Turkey should be terminated.

The Turks have voted for autocracy, for the repression of political opponents and likely also for the introduction of the death penalty. None of these can be reconciled with membership in the EU. For Brussels now, at the very latest, the time has come to call the accession process what it is: dead. » | Markus Becker in Brussels | Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Jean-Claude Juncker Compares British Membership of EU to Doomed Romance

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: EU Commission president says people should not stay together if conditions aren’t the same as when things started - the first time he has contemplated a British exit

Jean-Claude Juncker has compared British membership of the EU to a doomed romance and suggested it is time for Britain to get a divorce from Europe.

It is the first time the president of the European Commission has publicly contemplated a British exit and he reinforced his message by insisting he would not get down on his knees to beg Britain to stay.

“People shouldn’t stay together if the conditions aren’t the same as when things started. It’s easy to fall in love and more difficult to stay together,” he said in Paris this weekend.

“I am for the respect of member states, respect between the institutions and member states. I am against all forms of grovelling.”

Mr Juncker, whose appointment to the EU’s top job was opposed by David Cameron, told an elite audience of French officials that he was ready to discuss British demands for treaty change, but set out “red lines”.

In a blow to the Prime Minister, the commission president said the EU would reject, without debate, Conservative calls to change treaties to give national authorities more powers to stop-large scale inflows of migrants from Eastern Europe.

“When one mentions the end of the free circulation of workers, there can be no debate, dialogue or compromise,” he said. “We can fight against abuses but the EU won’t change the treaties to satisfy the whim of certain politicians.” » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Sunday, January 18, 2015

Things Are Beginning To Turn Ugly!
THE DAILY EXPRESS: THE Daily Express today becomes the first national newspaper to call for Britain to leave the European Union.

From this day forth our energies will be directed to furthering the cause of those who believe Britain is Better Off Out.

The famous and symbolic Crusader who adorns our masthead will become the figurehead of the struggle to repatriate British sovereignty from a political project that has comprehensively failed.

After far too many years as the victims of Brussels larceny, bullying, over-regulation and all-round interference, the time has come for the British people to win back their country and restore legitimacy and accountability to their political process.

Following the debacle of the Lisbon Treaty – disgracefully imposed upon the public without the referendum they were promised by the three main political parties – many had expected matters European to take a lower profile in British politics.

But the opposite has been true as those on board the European gravy train have mounted one power grab after another.

At a time of austerity throughout Europe they have expanded their bloated budgets, pushing Britain’s disproportionate contributions even higher.

And despite not being part of the failing eurozone, British taxpayers have learned that under Brussels rules agreed to by Labour after it had lost the election they are liable to help bail out economies wrecked by the single currency.

A payment of up to £10billion for Ireland is apparently just the start, with speculators now starting to target the embattled economy of Portugal.

Despite unemployment across Europe averaging more than 10 per cent, Brussels continues to propose new job-destroying regulations and conspire to turn the whole EU into a zone of high taxation.

It is also seeking to take an ever more dominant role in border control issues, leaving its member states powerless to control migrant flows not only from other EU countries but from Asia and Africa too.

The European Court of Human Rights has continued to trample on British justice, preventing the deportation of terror suspects and demanding that convicted prisoners are given the vote.

Withdrawal from the EU should be accompanied by a withdrawal from the jurisdiction of this alien, pan-European tribunal so that matters of British justice are decided once again in British courts. Get Britain Out Of Europe >>> The Daily Express | Thursday, November 25, 2010

This is a sad article indeed. Winnie must be turning in his grave! Of course, there is a lot of truth written here; but so much has been left out.

You have forgotten to write about the positive things Europe has done for Britain, preferring to concentrate on all that is negative.

The idea of a single currency is a wonderful one. Unfortunately, in their haste to get things done, the powers that be in Europe went the wrong way about it. They should have been a little more patient and let it grow country by country, bit by bit. They should have also realised that it is difficult to have a common currency where there is no common governance.

But the EU has enabled many people to move home to sunnier climes, And British travellers are entitled to free medical treatment in European countries. The EU has indeed at times been meddlesome; but it must also be said that it has ensured human rights for many, too. And think of the great variety of European goods in the shops, especially foodstuffs we had hitherto not been able to buy. I am old enough to remember having to go to a specialist delicatessen in a large town or city to get continental foods, whereas now it is possible to obtain them in any old supermarket in any old town or village.

We must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We must be careful not to turn inward and think that everything British is good and everything European is bad. And do we want to return to the bad old days when international strife was the norm in Europe? Don't forget that this was one of the main catalysts for its inception. Think of Churchill's Zürich Speech delivered in 1946.

This article, whilst in many ways rather convincing, has one serious omission, namely that we will not be a sovereign nation even if we come out. Only today was it reported that this craven government is allowing outside forces, namely the Gulf (for Gulf read the Islamic world) dictate our foreign policy. Islam is winning the day.

All right, I understand that many resent policy being dictated to by the EU. In many ways I do myself. But I resent even more my country’s policies to be dictated by an alien culture; and all in the name of appeasing our oil suppliers and grovelling for arms contracts.

In such a case, give me the EU every time. At least we share similar cultures. At least the EU is still predominantly Judeo-Christian. At least all Europeans are free. – © Mark

This comment was also posted here.

Iceland to Be Fast-tracked into the EU
Plan for cash-strapped state to become member by 2011
Iceland will be put on a fast track to joining the European Union to rescue the small Arctic state from financial collapse amid rising expectations that it will apply for membership within months, senior policy-makers in Brussels and Reykjavik have told the Guardian.

The European commission is preparing itself for a membership bid, depending on the outcome of a snap general election expected in May. An application would be viewed very favourably in Brussels and the negotiations, which normally take many years, would be fast-forwarded to make Iceland the EU's 29th member in record time, probably in 2011.

Olli Rehn, the European commissioner in charge of enlargement, said: "The EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could join the EU in parallel. On Iceland, I hope I will be busier. It is one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategic and economic positions would be an asset to the EU."

Rehn's support for swift Icelandic membership was echoed by senior European diplomats in Brussels. "We would like to see Iceland join the EU," said one. The current and next holders of the EU presidency, the Czechs and then the Swedes, are also strong supporters of EU enlargement and will deploy their agenda-setting powers to help Iceland. >>> Ian Traynor in Brussels, additional reporting by Valur Gunnarsson in Reykjavik | Friday, January 30, 2009

Listen to audio: Iceland into EU: 'A society that has hit the rails and the currency has been wrecked' – Ian Traynor on fast-tracking Iceland into the EU and the euro >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>