The break-up of the union now appears inevitable
With nationalism on the rise in every corner, 2008 will see the UK stretched to breaking point. Yet still Westminster is oblivious.
here's the link...
this article discusses essentially what we've discussed before. scotland's going to pull out (thereby dissolving the united kingdom), now there are rumblings from wales and (as always) more of a kerfuffle in N Ireland.
here's what i really want to talk about though-- england, scotland, wales, and northern ireland are all a part of the EU (because they are all a part GB, and GB is an EU member nation). if any of them pulls out of the union that makes them great britain it will all dissolve and there will be no more GB. england alone is not an EU member nation. neither is scotland, etc...
so, if it all falls apart do they all get grandfathered right back in? do they all have to re-apply for member status (which takes YEARS)? does that mean that people who know hold UK passports and are members of the EU will no longer be members of the EU? how do they let people decide where they want to hold their citizenship (say you were born in england, lived there until you were 20 and then moved to scotland to work. you've lived there for 20 years, your kids were born there, but you still consider yourself english- do you get to pick to be english? and then are your kids english by default? or do they get to pick when they come of age? do you get to pick at all or do you just become a citizen of whatever country you happen to live in (no matter how long you've lived there or where you were born)?).
this is so infinitely complicated i just can't even stand it!! there's no precedent for anything like this in the EU. i haven't read the entire EU Constitution so i don't even know if they've made a provision for something like this happening.
why is scotland really trying to make life so much harder on me? i've always wanted to live in the UK. i've always wanted EU member status. i'm married to a scottish national. i wanted (note past tense) to raise my kids in scotland, but not if it means they won't be EU members. it's the best club in the world to be a member of, and damn it my kids will be members!! i understand why they want to break away, i understand why they want and what they want, but is there not some way that they can amend treaties, etc and take more control over their own country without actually completely breaking away?
why are they going this to me?!?!?! (not to mention to the people of N Ireland, if they have to re-apply for EU member status they will NEVER get it. they're not economically viable enough. neither is wales). way to fuck it up for everyone, scotland. think of all the other subjugated lands that are your comrades before you run straight to dissolution!!!
they can take away my EU member status, but they can never take away my FREEDOMMM!!
2 comments:
I don't think Great Britain will dissolve if only Scotland withdraws. The union might be between England and Scotland but Wales was already governmentally united with (or subjugated by) England. And Northern Ireland is a whole seperate matter. So if only Scotland withdrew I think it would be like Great Britain sans Scotland.
But the article suggests that there is a trend towards dissolution in Wales and N Ireland as well. I don't know that N Ireland would not be economically strong enough to enter the EU (or Euroland) they're economy has been improving a lot in the last decade or so. And ("not to be snotty") but Portugal, Greece, I don't think the standard is super high.
ah, but the treaty as it was redrawn says that they are all integrated. that's what created GB. so, if scotland pulls out there will be no more GB. wales and england will have their own little thing (and n ireland will still be a mess), but it won't be called GB. that'll be gone for good.
and i beg to differ. n ireland may be improving, but right now there's no way their economy is strong enough. maybe in 5 years. maybe.
Post a Comment