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Listed below are comments made by chill0 between Wednesday, 17th December 2008 and Wednesday, 17th December 2008.

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• MEPs reject UK opt-out 3:40pm on 17 Dec 2008 Menedemus and threnodio
  The UK government must do what is in the best interest of the UK. I believe this 'cherry-picking' is exactly that.
  
  The regional issue is one that the EU has exploited for many years in an attempt to undermine the nation states in the EU. It is significant that in an opinion poll last year there was a larger majority in England for Scotland to leave the UK than there was in Scotland. The Union may well break up. So be it.
  
  I am sure you both know that the EU will just muddle along. The French approach to NATO over many years was similar. They are still there, still picking and choosing what they will do.
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 2:11pm on 17 Dec 2008 #17 I meant to say 'we are not the only selectors of fruit' but that's like explaining a joke.
  
  And that's Mark Mardell's job.
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 2:05pm on 17 Dec 2008 Menedemus and threnodio
  
  I don't know why you think that a referendum on the EU in the UK would resolve the issue - if the UK voted to stay in. It would certainly resolve things if we voted to leave.
  
  We had a referendum in 1975 (I volunteered in the Get Britain Out campaign despite belonging to the Liberal Party) in which we decided to stay in. The EU has become radically different since then.
  
  If the CAP were abolished and the democratic deficit addressed, it would change the political landscape again.
  
  In my view, the problems with the EU are quite fundamental. The difference in social models; views of governance; foundation and application of law and many other areas vary widely.
  
  I believe this 'cherry-picking' you deplore is the only way to deal with such a heterogeneous organisation.
  
  We are not the selectors of fruit.
  
  It would be an interesting exercise to compare the differences between states in the USA with those between states in the EU.
  
  But then of course, there's the language....
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 1:33pm on 17 Dec 2008 #14 threnodio
  On re-reading your post you are right, my apologies.
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 1:31pm on 17 Dec 2008 #8 Menedemus
  

  
  The Irish were and will be deciding the future of the Lisbon Treaty as it applies to the implementation within the EU. The Irish are far more committed to their membership of the EU than the British are - allegedly
  

  
  Irish commitment to the EU could have to do with the net flow of money into/out of Ireland - which has changed for Ireland in recent times as, coincidentally, the Irish attitude to the EU appears to have.
  
  I certainly disagree that the Irish "...will be deciding the future of the Lisbon Treaty as it applies to the implementation within the EU...". The Lisbon Treaty will be implemented exactly as originally intended (which is the provisions of the Constitution with more opaque wording) whatever the Irish do.
  
  Were that not true, the treaty would have to be re-ratified in all of the nations which have already ratified it. That's not going to happen.
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 1:19pm on 17 Dec 2008 #9 threnodio
  The opt-out already includes a provision which does not allow the threat of dismissal to be used.
  

  
  If you are 18 or over and wish to work more than 48 hours a week, you can choose to opt out of the 48 hour limit. This must be voluntary and in writing. It can't be an agreement with the whole workforce and you shouldn't be sacked or subjected to a detriment (for example, refused promotion or overtime) for refusing to sign an opt-out.
  
  If you sign an opt-out, you have the right to cancel this agreement at any time by giving between one week and three months' notice. You can agree this notice period with your employer when you sign the opt-out. You can cancel an opt-out even if it's part of a contract you've signed.
  

• MEPs reject UK opt-out 1:13pm on 17 Dec 2008 #7 threnodio
  You mean '...Strasbourg and Brussels have miscalculated badly...'.
  
  I believe that whenever the EU parliament is mentioned it should also be pointed out that the EU cannot decide where it sits.
  
  It costs a lot of money for the EU parliament to keep hopping to and fro between Brussels and Strasbourg.
  

  
  A study of the impact of the monthly commute between the Brussels and Strasbourg seats of the European Parliament concludes that it not only costs tax payers an extra €200m [which is about the same in pounds at current rates] a year, but does the same environmental damage as a total of 13,000 round-trip transatlantic flights.
  

  
  The Public Accounts Committee recently found an £81million loss by the Department of Transport a 'stupendous' piece of mismanagement.
  
  How about 200million euros per year.
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 12:41pm on 17 Dec 2008 #3 Menedemus
  "...Let the British people decide once and for all..."
  
  Like the Irish did on the Lisbon Treaty ?
• MEPs reject UK opt-out 12:40pm on 17 Dec 2008 #1 Gheryando
  I don't know who the '...common worker who has to work set hours...' is, given that you don't think managers work 'set hours'.
  
  If you mean people who have to 'be there' like call centre workers, they would probably get paid less.
  
  It's all specious, though. It won't change anyway.
  
  The EU parliament cannot even organise its own building into one place.
  
  This is well beyond them.
• Labour MEPs to defeat Brown? 11:53am on 17 Dec 2008 #20 JohaMe
  You did not look at GDP per capita for which Wikipedia pulls together many sources which show the USA below Norway but above all of the EU nations except Luxembourg - which probably has to do with Luxembourg's rather specialised economy.
  
  It also shows the UK above Belgium, Germany and France but below Holland and Ireland.
  
  The point was about your original remark about reducing labour law and wages to Vietnamese levels. That does not seem to be a requirement for a high GDP but economic flexibility does.

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