Being reasonable

Open Europe is nothing if not reasonable. For the span of its existence it has provided the rest of us with excellent research - they have the staff dedicated to it - and with plaintive calls for the need to reform the European Union. If only everyone was as reasonable as they are, they imply, there would be none of this mess.

Their hour has come, one might say. After all, we now have a coalition government, led by Tweeedledum and Tweedledee with Dum assuring us that his party wanted to be in Europe but not ruled by Europe.

The actual plan the DumDee coalition produced for their policies on Europe is also in line with a great deal of Open Europe's thinking - sound tough but avoid all difficult problems and never go too far. For instance they do not intend to join or prepare to join the Euro in this Parliament, which is quite sensible of them, as Britain is no longer eligible for the Euro.

The coalition will also

ensure that there is no further transfer of sovereignty or powers over the course of the next Parliament. We will examine the balance of the EU’s existing competences and will, in particular, work to limit the application of the Working Time Directive in the United Kingdom.

Not quite repatriating powers but that promise was in another political era before the new politics of Britain had begun by the new coalition government that will build a new country.

Nothing daunted, Open Europe has produced a number of ... ahem ... "broken promises" from the EU elite on the euro. Actually, most of us would call them lies and, indeed, that is what we called them all at the time. So, we are not altogether surprised by the fact that all those promises were "broken" or, to be quite precise, unfulfillable.

Still, it is nice to have at least some (not very many) of those quotations in one place, so we can refer back to them and quote them in future when the DumDee coalition decides that, well, perhaps, we ought to have a look at the advantages of joining a stable single currency in order not to pay transaction charges (the biggest red herring in that entire debate).

However, Open Europe, bless its good-hearted attitude, is ready to give good advice. If only was as reasonable ... oh I do beg your pardon, I am repeating myself. Anyway, here is the advice:

While it is a reminder that the experts and our elected representatives do get it wrong, more importantly, it is a call for greater honesty about the future of European cooperation and a reminder of the urgent need to find a new model that is both politically and economically sustainable; one that is more in tune with the interests and preferences of European citizens.

Well, here is my advice to Open Europe: why not collect all those suggestions that you made to the EU, its politicians and bureaucrats in one place and call it Tales of Porcine Aviation?