Well, AJ Astely, what makes you relate “freedom to work anywhere in Europe” with “a fine mess our leaders have got us into” or “we’re all going to be bull-whipped and shot by European policemen”?

I’m British and work in Italy. In the past, I’ve worked in France, Belgium, Holland and Poland. I work(ed) in those countries for three reasons:

1) There’s not really any decent jobs in UK anymore.

2) When I do apply for jobs here, I’m told that I’m too old.

3) Because I can.

You talk about a Euro Gendarmerie as if such a thing actually exists and there’s an agreement in place, courtesy of the Home Secretary, for armed para-miltaries to jack-boot into England and shoot all the poor workers. The law prevents even our own army enforcing law and order on the streets except under special provision, so I’m not sure where you get the idea that we’re soon due to get ferry loads of heavily-armed policemen arriving in the UK, intent on suppressing British democracy and torturing good old Tommy on the say-so of some menacing European star-council and with the agreement of the Home Secretary.

You also feel that the Trades Unions, (who have been very vocal at the refinery strikes in calling for “British jobs for British workers”), are conniving with the government and “Europe” to flood the labour market with cheap, foreign workers to undermine the conditions of their own members! I’m not sure where the logic is there – why do you think that they would do that.

Apart from the “Little Englander” mentality that you display, I’m worried that you may not quite understand the fallacy of your argument – that if we all retract to nationhood, everything will be cosy.

Well, let’s hope that Total don’t stop refining in the North East and take the refineries back to France to give “French jobs for French workers”.

And let’s hope that all those European companies that have invested here don’t pull out and head home to ensure that the jobs are kept for their country’s workers.

And above all, let’s hope that my Italian employer doesn’t decide that my job should be “an Italian job for an Italian worker”, because I’ll really struggle to find another one in this British wasteland.

Report abuse

A J Astley,

You are indeed scaremongering. As other contributors to this thread have pointed out, the EU’s regulations benefit many UK workers allowing them to broaden their employment and career prospects by working abroad. Perhaps if we as a nation were as good at foreign languages as our mainland European neighbours, our propects would be even better.

The problem in the Total dispute was not EU legislation, but instead the unfettered power of globalisation and the cynical willingness of global multi-national companies to exploit perfectly sensible laws for short-term profit.

Report abuse

I think the spectre of an armed EU Gendarmerie on our streets is a bit far fetched and basically misinterprets the way the EU works. If the need ever does arrive for such a force it will not be an EU force but a fully British force, backed by the British government and the British courts. The letter writer makes this point; he says Westminster was made to pass laws, rather they have agreed to pass these laws, I feel the British Government will also ensure these laws are maintained.

The facts relating to EU workers and the power of the British government to control our own borders are that basically Westminster has voted to allow the EU to be the controlling power in these matters. So when Gordon Brown wrapped himself in the Union Flag and said British Jobs for British Workers he was lying to the British public, because he cannot deliver on such a promise, he should have said EU JOBS for EU WORKERS.

The real question that should be asked is what is the purpose of a British parliament as it does not control the executive and cannot oversee or control most of the new laws that are passed. These people have already outsourced the major part of their jobs to the EU perhaps it is now time to let the majority of them go.

That is not to ague that such a force as EU Gendarmerie does not exist and would not have the authority to operate in Britain, David Miliband confirmed that they could enter Britain with Britain’s “consent”, by Britain’s consent he surely meant the consent of the government.

The EGF is an initiative of 5 EU Member States – France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, Poland has expressed a interest in joining, Britain cannot because we do not at present have a separate political military police force that would be capable of joining this organisation, however we do have such a force in embryo form under the auspices of ACPO, but that is a different question relating to the European security and investigation force. The units would have a capability for: intelligence, general surveillance, judicial police and maintaining order. ACPO is already setting up several units that could be integrated into the EU force. As these units are not accountable through the normal police authorities but through ACPO directly to the Government.

On the point about open borders, ought this not be a question for all of the people of Britain and not be imposed to the determent of British workers without a proper debate. We do after all elect our government to protect the British state and the British people, including British workers. When we elect them we do not also give them the authority to destroy our state on the name of closer integration in the EU. Our Last Prime Minister equated this with treason, if it is not that it is at the very least an indication of a chasm between our elected government and the people.

Report abuse