Is there an element of paranoia in the British/English attitude towards the E.U and Europe in general?

Question

There seems to be an element in the British public perception of the the E.U and europe in general that borders from a superitory complex to almost fear

Answer 1

no, its a genuine fear of total defeat of our country.Maggi thatcher spelt it out for us she said she wanted, and i quote "a service nation" have a look at all the foreign cars on the road and realise who makes the proffits from the sale of them. it is not the british, we only repair them when they go wrong. thats a service nation. left and right wing politics have worked together on this project the left wing cause trouble and strikes providing the excuse for the right wing to dismantle our home grown industries. have you not noticed that foreign car manufactorers dont have strikes, only british. its called "sabotage" thats why left and right are identical these days. they are both traitors.

Answer 2

The British people have little or no historical connection with Europe save that of war. It is extremely difficult for the British to even begin to understand so-called European culture.

Question and Answer re the French.

Do the British hate the French - NO
Do the British trust the French - NO
Do the British like France - YES

From the British perspective, most Europeans are judged as being untrustworthy and on the whole do not stick to a deal once it has been agreed upon and struck. The British on the other hand, follow the letter of the agreement to the full and we obey each and every edict issued by the European Parliament in Brussels, even though we are aware that these edicts are often not arrived at by any democratic process which the Anglo Saxons know and understand.

Most other member states of the EU either ignore agreements or select by the pix and mix method, those parts of the agreement which they like or think their people back home will like. Not so the British - we follow the agreement to the full, including cutting back on the time allowed at sea for our fishing fleet in our own home waters around the coast of the Island of Britain. We could, I suppose, if we felt like it, impose a ban on all foreign fishing boats entering British waters, but we do not.

The list of gripes against the EU from the British people is endless. In particular the cosy arrangement shared between the French and Germans is not liked by the British. Both these nations have a deep resentment of the British, not only for our historical success but also our modern success. Our economy is booming while they languish on the dole queues.

Answer 3

I wouldnt call it unjustified paranoia, id call it justified anger.

The UK follows the EU rules to the letter, other countries do not.

There was an illegal ban on British Beef by the French, France was fined & didnt pay. The EU commision then decided there was no point in France paying the fine after the ban was lifted!!!!

Britain pays BILLIONS into the EU budget, and every year the EU's own Accountants dont sign the accounts off due to corruption & mismanagement.

Illegal immigrants are supposed to settle in the first EU country they arrive at, but French police cheerfully ignore them as they gather on the North coast of France to get into the UK.

The Spanish fishing fleet gets brand new Ships, while UK ships are BANNED from Fishing.

I could go on, and on, and on but im depressed now.

Answer 4

i extremely under no circumstances heard a lot about unions when I lived interior the U. S. cant remark about europe yet sick study australia and the U. S.. australia - unions hated with the help of massive organization. besides the indisputable fact that there continues to be a huge union move. at the same time as john howard extra interior the anti worker regulations the unions organised australias best ever protests with an anticipated 546000 workers rallying antagonistic to them interior the important cities and local centres. being an electrician i understand a lot of human beings interior the union and anybody seems at liberty with what they do. US - unions hated with the help of massive organization and stupidily with the help of the employees. the union club fee is extremely low as businesses and the media have fooled american workers into wondering unions are the reason behind sackings and so on and under no circumstances in truth the money hungry ceos. untill human beings awaken and understand the unions are scuffling with for his or her rights they're going to proceed to have very few interior the workplace

Answer 5

Brits don't like being told what to do in our own country.

Thats why so many are anti-Europe.

I'm not anti-Europe personally but I can see where the anti-Europe lobby is coming from.

To be honest, the only thing being part of Europe seems to have got for us is loads and loads of East European immigrants taking all the jobs! I'm yet to see it benefit the people of Britain. It just seems that the poorer countries in Europe are taking advantage of the richer ones and dragging everyone down.

Oh and I'm Welsh not English.

Answer 6

I think it would be closer to a superiority complex.
Not towards the people or culture. More towards the civil and political infrastructure, and accepted practices.
Sure, if we could pick and choose the best of what Continental Europe has to offer, Britain would be better for it. But if that means giving up our financial and political independence to what is a hodge-podge of bureaucracy and tradition - no thanks.

The only fear is that, as a fortress island that has been protected by British thinking individuals and the channel from the worse excesses of European extremism, we would feel safer just playing by ourselves. Worst comes to worst you could all camp here overnight whilst we all fix the problem, like the last several times.

Answer 7

Yes I believe there is. I think there are elements in the British establishment that view the friendship and close ties between mainland European states (Germany and France in particular) with alarm because they see it as a threat to their own power. In fact I sometimes wonder if the main reason some British politicians insisted on joining the EU in the first place was to try and destabilise it from the inside.

Answer 8

I think it may be an inferiority complex rather than anything else.Things like the general transport infrastructure, the health service and youth behaviour are often much better in Western europe but the British can't bear to admit it.
Also they are under the delusion that they might lose their sovereignty as if the americans didn't already dictate their foreign policy and their defence capability.

Answer 9

It is paranoia, the english people are excessively "anti-everything",you don't even have to go to europe, you regrd scots, welsh and irish with ignorance and contempt. Milllions of britons live abroad (870.000 in Spain only), where they traditionally refuse to learn the language, live in their english gettos, eat fish and chips,...etc.etc.
Regarding historical reasons to hate/fear europe, all european nations have reasons to hate each other, but none appears to be as resented as Britain.
England mentality is well behind european mentality by today, despiete historically being a nation of lead-thinkers.

Answer 10

I wonder why...................................
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