“For what it’s worth, I have yet to meet a British eurosceptic who is enjoying the economic turmoil on our doorstep. It is plainly in our interest that the eurozone-which takes 40 per cent of our exports, and comprises our allies and friends-should flourish. That’s precisely why we are alarmed at the readiness of eurocrats to sacrifice their peoples’ prosperity so as to keep their monetary union together. Not that Norman Davies is much interested in what eurosceptics actually think. One of the oddities of the whole debate is that euroenthusiastic commentators who are quick to spot prejudice in others when it comes to racism, sexism or xenophobia are quite unable to detect it in themselves when it comes to people who don’t share their Weltanschauung. (By the way, Professor Davies, one uses nouvel before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel – le nouvel an, but le nouveau franc. When loftily dismissing people as anti-Europeans, it’s a good idea to get your own French right.)”
– Daniel Hannan, MEP, having a go, among others, at the historian Norman Davies.
Good thing too, methinks.
I am as utterly opposed to the EU as any on of the commentariat for Samizdata, but I have to agree that I find absolutely nothing in the crisis engulfing the Eurozone – not only is it NOT a laughing matter, it’s not even a matter for a little mild Schadenfreude.
What is happening in the Eurozone is a tragedy for their population at large and this entire farce (for it has gone beyond crisis) must be entirely laid at the feet of Jacques Delors, José Manuel Barroso and the other cheerleaders for a Federal Europe. These are the guilty men and they should be punished to the uttermost limit of the law.
However, the reality is that they will be given vast pensions and a comfortable retirement for their work progressing the EU project into its final form. It is the poor proletariat across the EU who will be made to suffer through unemployment, reduced pensions, austerity and inflation.
For once I find my self disagreeing with Daniel Hannan.
In context, nouvel âne would have been so much more appropriate.
Hey, so what’s changed, Sr Galt?
Was it not always about stripping the wealth out of the proles, and the jumped-up proles (middle class/bourgeoisie) and secondarily impoverishing us all to the point that we shall welcome the all-pervasive Empire with gratitude?
I used to be pretty pro-EU till I worked for them, me and a mate sat down and tried to figure out the budget for a project we were working on, 50% was unaccounted for. Free trade and free movement of people is only a good thing but there’s some shady shit going on with that institution.
Norway’s way is the future for the UK IMHO
MajicMonkey,
What makes you think that the EU is about “free trade”? It is not, were it such we could buy from anywhere in the world at market prices without paying duty to Brussels. We would be richer and so would the people supplying us. The other point, of course, is that the big companies love the EU because they can get it to provide regulations that new and small businesses cannot cope with, destroying their competition to the large concerns.
There is no joy in watching a European-style barbecue.
Great Britain has many things that excite no admiration of any kind from me BUT Mr. Hannan is an exception.
God grant the US find a few more like him because we most assuredly need them.
Good post and, mostly, good comments.