Published: 5 Nov 12 06:53 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20121105-45973.html
Amid wrangling over the EU's budget, Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to London on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron after first outlining her views on the bloc's future in Brussels.
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Your comments about this article:
No serious person anywhere thinks the UK has any interest or prospect of becoming the 51st US State.
There is a real possibility though of the UK and several other North European States either leaving or declining to join the EU, and it could well be that those states might join NAFTA rather than the EU, along with Canada, the US and Mexico, this organ preserves national sovrienety as well as provides a common market in goods and services.
In this model NAFTA would become a North Atlantic Free Trade Association, rather than a North American Free Trade Association.
Frankly I see it as in the interest of wealthier EU states to negotiate seriously with the British so as to not see this happen, it would certainly not be in the EU's interest and yet it seems the aggressiveness of the pro integration camp tis forcing this to be the most practical solution.
If Canada, Australia, New Zeeland, UK, Mexico,US and other Nations established free trade with the eventual intent to provide security cooperation with the view to end NATO ,NAFTA and participation in EU defense initiatives.
I think NAFTA would be more benifical to the UK especially when you consider that the United States is the largest foreign investor in Britain and Britain is the largest foreign investor in the United States, than a regional protectionist trading bloc like the European Union which in many cases does not consider Britain's Banking establishments as part of Europe.
True the US would most likely dominate this as Germany has dominated the EU.
Actually a pointless argument as this is not going to happen. But this is a good issue to ponder.
All of the likely members of NAFTA on this side of the Atlantic are already members of NATO and seem quite happy with it.
I support the EU maintaing it's own defense deterrent based on its concerns.True many members are happy with NATO especially those that are under its protection all the while giving very little in man power or financial support., It would seem better if members in the free trading zones many of which are presently NATO members were to provide their own security.
Its only an opinion,times and the world has changed a great deal since the fall of communism along with security needs.
NAFTA would have to change, in the sense that it no longer represents North America only. Like I said it is only an opinion.
The Americans spent $711 Billion on defense last year, according to EU Observer, much of it to defend Europe, where would the money come from to replace this, especially since almost all European countries are running big deficits while at the same time shrinking their defense budgets?
Thats my point, America can no longer afford to support the EU defense, the US is also undergoing difficult times. Europe needed that support in the days of the Warsaw Pact but this is no loner an issue.
It is time they foot the cost of their own defense as their concerns are no loner always in line with the US, alliances with the EU for sure. The concerns in the East are out weighing the concerns in the west and much of that 711 billion is needed there more than here.
But I doubt any initiative will come from the European side, since while the Americans can be overbearing, from a European perspective, why not just let them keep paying?
Some of what we see now is downright ironic, Germany phasing out all of the nuclear plants that provide cheap energy which allows industry to thrive, while at the same time American nuclear weapons, whose only purpose is mass destruction continuing to be based on German soil. with no end in sight.
What can one say, I suppose that is the price of having someone else pay for much of your defense.
I would hope only because of the big border he shares with China, who are also hugely increasing "defense" spending, but how are we to read his mind? He is certainly no democrat, if you don't believe me, ask Bashar Al Assad,
Did you mentioned Assad because NATO is/might be used to protect the traditional US protegee, Israel, against him?
I suppose you could saty the same of the gulf states and the USA though.