Europe - your chance to have your say
Voters in the UK haven't had a referendum over the Lisbon Treaty, and there'll be no change if the Conservatives win the next election. So we're having our own referendum on 5 live Breakfast - do you want a more powerful, expanded Europe, or are you worried about being ruled by Brussels?
The French have described the Tories as 'pathetic', and have accused them of taking an 'autistic' approach to discussions over Europe. Yesterday, David Cameron emphasised he'd try and strengthen British sovereignty.
But is this even possible? What approach would you take? What are the best/worst aspects of the Treaty? It's our phone-in from 9, and we want to hear how you'd deal with Europe. Text 85058, email breakfast@bbc.co.uk, or post a comment right here
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Podcast
5LNPI: Would Britain still be great without Scotland? 30th Nov 09
08:36 Mon, 30 Nov 09
It is St Andrew's Day and the Scottish Government is launching its plans for independence. Does it makes sense for the country to be governed entirely from Holyrood? What will it mean for the UK if it decides to go it alone?
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Comments
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The Lisbon Treaty give any member state the right to leave. All they have to do is to send a letter to the 'President of Europe'. David Cameron's position on renegotiation is absurd since he won't get what he proposes. I challenge him to put to voters the proposition to send that letter. Or he can explain why exactly he and the Tories wish Britain to remain in the Union. I am in favour of staying in.
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What a load of nonsense that lady Laura spoke on the show. Does she seriously believe that one country will try to take over our culture etc? She may also be disappointed to know that she is already a European whether she likes it or not having been born in Europe.
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I voted to stay in the "Common Market" during the Wilson referendum, today I would vote to pullout of the "European State".
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.......do you want a more powerful, expanded Europe, or are you worried about being ruled by Brussels?...........
Yer what? I don't think either of these propositions are
really at issue. At the moment, politically, Europe has a weak federal structure, with power residing overwhelmingly in the nation states.
Do I want a more powerful expanded Europe? On the world stage, who wouldn't? Has no-one noticed the way the world is going?
Ruled by Brussels? Brussels does nothing that the nation states don't agree on - it is a bureaucracy, a civil service - and not a government.
The reason the European Parliament has no power and the president and foreign representative are to be appointed and not elected is to prevent the holders of these positions claiming a peoples' mandate - it keeps them under the control of the nation states.
We are nowhere near a United States of Europe, although to build structures compatible with an eventual united Europe is a sensible strategy if Eurpoe's character and interests are to be promoted.
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I emailed David Cameron this morning and told him that the stance by ALL politicians refusing the British people a referendum will make me either vote UKIP or not vote - some democracy eh! This and future governments need a mandate from the people on the EU and this has not been available to the electorate. With a firm mandate from the people ANY government will have to abide by what the people say not what they think should happen.
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Cameron...At one stroke he must have lost thousands of potential voters.
What a let-down !!!
The man is all froth and no substance !!
There is more backbone in a squid!!!!!
Dump the Dope !!!!
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One question is never answered. Why is it necessary to give up political control of the UK to unelected and unaccountable people in Brussels in order to trade with our European friends?
Here's another. If we believe in free trade, why are we happy to stay part of a Union that is harming African economies with protectionist trade barriers? We could sign our own deals with any country who wants to buy what we have to sell, but the EU prevents us and makes us accept second rate deals.
The big issue is democratic self determination. A free people can determine the direction of their country by electing and holding accountable their direct and sovereign political representatives. The EU does not permit this. It is a union whose sole aim is to become a country. Our role and say in the world is diminished through its membership.
Finally, answer me this. Does Katherine Jenkins join a large choir in order to give her a stronger voice? Or does membership of the choir dilute her voice and diminish her star quality? It's a no brainer.
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I want us to go in. The farther away from those crooks across the pond we are the better. They bankrupted us after the second world war (ruining my childhood) and have done it again (which will ruin my retirement). We need economic protection. Get us in.
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how on earth is cameron now being seen as having done something wrong ? all 3 parties promised a vote yet only labour had the power to actually carry one out. of course there was a vote on having a referendum in the house and yet again our so called lords and masters let us down . on a local level this was demonstrated so well by Chris huhne or MP down in EAstleigh. In an offical poll over 18000 people in eastleigh said yes to a referndum yet Chris Huhne promptly abstained on the issue in parliement. how is that representing your constituants?. and will somebody please tell me how a so called" tidying up treaty " can create new posts and new powers. we have been lied to all along and let down by those politicans wanting to see more pOwers given to europe. only the tories will actually stand up for this country in europe . REMEMBER THAT NEXT YEAR
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DC has upset the French, so he must be doing something right!
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It seems fairly obvious that Britons want all the benefits and rights of union with Europe but none of the responsibilities and duties that go with it. The British proclaim themselves skeptical about the European project yet push aggressively for its expansion? They claim to be uncomfortable with unchecked immigration yet every one of its political representatives would vote for the inclusion of 60 million Turkish citizens into the common labour pool tomorrow -- regardless of whether this would be practical or not and whether the institutions they criticise so much could cope or not.
The rapid expansion to the East promoted & negotiated into being by Britain hoping it would paralyse the EU project has not buried the Lisbon Treaty but it was a close run thing. The resilience of Europe in the face of the economic tsunami has calmed the chauvinism of Poland and the Czechs who had been banking on generous US patronage. And so now Britain has less leverage than ever in Brussels and wasted much of the political goodwill with which the election of Blair was welcomed. Perhaps it is time Britain try a less distructive approach.
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Why not a European state like the USA.
Each state has a degree of independence and an individual identity but on the major issues that effect everybody they have a united front and as a result are the most powerful nation on earth.
Why not EUROPEAN UNION with a president voted for by all with state governers.
Lets get real and be bold and make it work.
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The USA was formed from a blank sheet basically using Anglo-Saxon laws and customs.
I can't really see this working in Europe, it has been tried before and failed miserably.
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Sweden haven't changed to the euro, yet.
And it's the EU that have all those stupid rules that say that teachers can't discipline children and all that. I think the social chapter should have been adhered too, though. Why we could opt out of that and still habve rules that state you can't tell a pupil to take gum out of his mouth, I don't know.
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You're confusing the European Court of Human Rights with the EU Cheapjack. A lot of people do. They are not related to each other.
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I thought they were. If you joined one, you joined the other. I realise there's a difference between trade and justice, though.
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The European Court of Human Rights springs out of the European Convention on Human Rights which we signed up to in 1950. There are many more members than there are members of the EU. If you join one you do not join the other. It's a common mistake to associate the European Convention on Human Rights with the EU because both have 'European' in their title. Not so, though.
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No to Europe
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David Cameron said "I will hold a referendum.... but added if there are outstanding issues to debate".
All 27 EU members have signed the treaty so there are no outstanding issues to debate.
Gordon Brown said "I will hold a referendum....but added if there are constitutional changes"
Lisbon is a treaty not a constitution - don't ask me the difference
UKIP want a referendum anyway....how many would bother to vote now the treaty is signed by all EU members?
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Really tricky issue for the Tories, which is why they sat so hard on it during their conference, desperate to hold the line and appear united. Fact is that the Tories are extremely vulnerable to UKIP on Europe as, for many Tories, loosening ties with Europe [if not getting out completely] is the number one issue and may well determine the way they vote. I have the impression that - if UKIP had any policies other than on Europe - they'd be pretty Tory sounding.
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The whole idea of Europe is a joke. Just look at what happens when France doesn't like something in European law, they just ignore it. Prime example of this was when they rejected British Beef when European law said that they had to accept it and sell it in shops.
At the end of the day, the British public should be allowed a chance to decide the future of this country on an issue this big. Politicians, even if they were all trustworthy and not running their own agendas, are too narrowly focussed along party lines to be allowed the responsibility on behalf of the country. And I won't even get started on the corruption that we've already seen with EU MPs!
My opinion, get out of the EU and set up individual trade agreements with the various countries as we see fit.
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