Attitudes to the E.U.

[tjwmason]

Having seen the posts about the E.U. Constitution potentially over-ruling, I wondered about other DUers attitude to the E.U. itself.

Personally, I am not keen at all. I did a few European Integration Studies courses at university, and know a dash about how the whole system works.

It strikes me that there can never be any effective democratic control over the E.U., and therefore that it will always be a bureaucratic institution.

The European Parliament is the only body which is elected to fulfil its European role (the Council of Ministers is, of course, elected but to fulfil national policy goals); and its election leaves very much to be desired. For example, the British Conservatives sit as part of the European Peoples Party - which is fervently Eurofederalist (hardly the position of the Tories). People tend to vote for M.E.P.s on the basis of national politics, and especially the popularity of the current government, rather than European politics.

Anybody else have 2 Eurocents to throw into the discussion?