tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post4479645303664871629..comments2024-01-16T08:40:53.682+00:00Comments on <a href="http://www.openeurope.org.uk">Open Europe</a>: not so fastOEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00556463374230498875noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-10782516138558952382008-08-13T14:33:00.000+01:002008-08-13T14:33:00.000+01:00Wishful thinking on Ackerman & the Guardian...Wishful thinking on Ackerman & the Guardian's part, I suspect<BR/><BR/>It seems that whenever something dramatic happens in or near Europe - eg the current aggression by Russia against a rather unwise Georgia - that this is a justification for euro-fanatics & euro-quislings to scream for "more Europe". Eg: Hugo Young's article in response to 9/11 - an event which somehow demonstrated the need for the UK to join the Euro!<BR/><BR/>Much more likely, Irish voters will see France & Germany doing their level best to sacrifice Georgia - to protect these two self-protecting countries' gas supplies from Russia - regardless of the harm caused to other countries (in this case, Georgia)! We shall see, but I suspect that this will reinforce even more any Irish rejection of a centralizing Europe which looks after its "old friends" at the expense of everyone else, including newer EU members in Eastern Europe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-20023507531711396972008-08-13T12:13:00.000+01:002008-08-13T12:13:00.000+01:00Nice reality check. For me, the Georgian conflict ...Nice reality check. <BR/><BR/>For me, the Georgian conflict has in fact brought the OSCE rather out from the EU's shadow as a broader, better grounded and generally more useful actor towards objectives of peace and stability on our continent than the dithering EU.<BR/><BR/>Quite contrary to ideas that the response should be 'more EU', the conflict has again provoked questions as to what exactly the EU is indisputably for? <BR/><BR/>In exchange for its vast cost, draining Europe's resources to fund its glass palaces and legions of lavishly-perked staff in Brussels.<BR/><BR/>For almost everything the EU claims to contribute to Europe, is there not a broader, international co-operative body who could do it better?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com