On 4th June there is an election for the European Parliament. So far I’ve received a leaflet from the Conservatives although I don’t know who my MEP is or what he or she does and the leaflet doesn’t tell me.
The Conservative leaflet says they are voting against a lot of things like the Constitution and EU Armed Force. I’m never sure about what to think of the EU. I do think it is blamed for a lot of things it doesn’t do. Also watching the European leaders jostling for place with Barak Obama was an embarrassment. Does the USA want to talk to these jostlers or to someone who represents them.
Should this uncomfortable relationship continue or should the EU be given some real powers and the members sit out of the UN Security Council etc. For example California is bigger than many G20 countries, Australia and Mexico aren’t planning to join an EU organisation. So what is the best solution for a country like the UK, to stand alone or be part of the EU or is there a halfway point. I don’t really know, California isn’t apparantly harmed by being in the USA in fact it seems to benefit. So I can see that a stronger EU could benefit. Although against this the UK is a proud country with a gritty history of independance. Many EU states are bordering on bureaucratic semi-socialist states so maybe the US model wouldn’t be as good with such interferance from the centre.
I guess that really I’d like a strong EU and to be part of it but on the other hand I’d like the member states to be strong as well. If countries like France and Germany can give up some sovereignty I think the UK can. It wouldn’t trouble me to be represented by an EU President if he was elected like the US President. Overall I don’t particularly agree with the Conservative leaflet but I do think some obstructionism isn’t a bad thing till the EU is made more directly democratic.