Quote: "Yes, another irrational europhobe"
Not at all, Artie Fufkin, just the cold facts, am telling it like it is.
Obviously co-operation between European countries is desirable, but we don't need an interfering, nit-picking, self-serving, money-wasting bureacracy in Brussels, a gravy-train that cannot get its accounts audited. Suspending all payments to Brussels would solve the debt-crisis at a stroke.
You probably believe that the EU has "kept the peace" in Europe since 1957, not so. It is welfare states, increasing prosperity (despite the EU) and mass travel that has done this. It is inconcievable that European countries would go to war now, we all know each other thanks to travel and have too much at stake. It's a million miles from grinding poverty for the majority that characterised the warring Europe of the early 20th century.
Look at the EU now, its policies and interference in southern European countries is causing no end of distress and could threaten their stability.
Governments cannot offer aid to companies in trouble, and over-zealous intepretation of their pointless "directives" puts jobs at risk.
Monetary union for political rather than economic reasons is crippling the continent's economy. For all his faults, Gordon Brown played a blinder keeping us out of that particular mess.
Everything positive that the EU takes credit for could be done by agreement between individual governments, for example, a single European sky, common air traffic control and openskies arrangements with other countries.
That's brought the thread back to aviation!
As previously stated, the government cannot bail out BD, the EU prevents it. It is true that successive governments would probably have been dis-inclined to do so, but they should have the option!
Judging by the subsequent posts since you called me a "Euro-phobe", Artie Fufkin, it appears that you are on the wrong side of the argument!
Hope this helps