The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #123812   Message #2730234
Posted By: Richard Bridge
24-Sep-09 - 05:08 AM
Thread Name: BS: Irish vote on Lisbon treaty looms
Subject: RE: BS: Irish vote on Lisbon treaty looms
There are ups and downs to the EU.

A unified currency is a major problem, IMHO, in that it takes major aspects of control over local economic conditions out of the hands of local governments.

Similarly unified border control.

And of course there is "straight cucumber" regulation - and the farcical situation about drainage appliances that has meant that the intrinsically failworthy French "clapet" lavatory cisterns are now permitted in the UK as well as the vastly superior and failsafe siphonic system - so resulting in millions of gallons of fresh water running to waste annually.

And some of the overzealous safety regulations have left for example car finishes and upholstry glues less reliable and durable than they were 50 years ago.

On the other hand, things like antidiscrimination law and the Working Time Directives represent huge advances for the working person.

But the freedom of movement of capital and some aspects of the freedom to provide services have led to profiteering by capital and the oppression of the workers.

I don't think I'd entirely kick it out, but I would restrict some of the powers of the central cabal. And I'd dismantle the entire system of EU law and start again with a proper system of precedent and judicial logic.