Comments on: The state of British EU news coverage http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2008/04/the-state-of-british-eu-news-coverage/ In search of a European identity Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:16:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Jon Worth http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2008/04/the-state-of-british-eu-news-coverage/comment-page-1/#comment-52770 Jon Worth Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:25:00 +0000 http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=1746#comment-52770 Congratulations! Sorry it's taken me a while to say so - managed to miss the post somehow. I'm a big fan of Mark Mardell's work, but I must admit I'm a little perplexed why the others are there. Congratulations!

Sorry it’s taken me a while to say so – managed to miss the post somehow.

I’m a big fan of Mark Mardell’s work, but I must admit I’m a little perplexed why the others are there.

]]> By: john somer http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2008/04/the-state-of-british-eu-news-coverage/comment-page-1/#comment-52658 john somer Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:57:35 +0000 http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=1746#comment-52658 One reason why British journalists cannot explain the EU's workings in simple terms is that they have the Anglo-Saxon bent for analyzing in detail instead of giving a broad picture as good continental journalists can. Instead of starting with a full-blown constitution, like the USA, the EU has been built incrementally, like case law and is therefore very difficult to describe if you don't have a synthetic mind. The problem with Britain;s position in the EU is that it has been sold to the British public by conservative governments as a "super-EFTA" and not as political union. When it comes to that point, the UK behaves pretty much as de Gaulle did, insisting on inter-governmental cooperation instead of integration (cfr Tony Blair's latest proposals) I am not pro-EU, I am a European ever since I heard Churchill's speech in 1947 calling for continental Europe's union (without Britain, by the way) and I must say that both Mark Mardell and the Economist's "Charlemagne" sound very Eurosceptic to me. One reason why British journalists cannot explain the EU’s workings in simple terms is that they have the Anglo-Saxon bent for analyzing in detail instead of giving a broad picture as good continental journalists can. Instead of starting with a full-blown constitution, like the USA, the EU has been built incrementally, like case law and is therefore very difficult to describe if you don’t have a synthetic mind.
The problem with Britain;s position in the EU is that it has been sold to the British public by conservative governments as a “super-EFTA” and not as political union. When it comes to that point, the UK behaves pretty much as de Gaulle did, insisting on inter-governmental cooperation instead of integration (cfr Tony Blair’s latest proposals)
I am not pro-EU, I am a European ever since I heard Churchill’s speech in 1947 calling for continental Europe’s union (without Britain, by the way) and I must say that both Mark Mardell and the Economist’s “Charlemagne” sound very Eurosceptic to me.

]]> By: Ken Adams http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2008/04/the-state-of-british-eu-news-coverage/comment-page-1/#comment-52643 Ken Adams Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:00:24 +0000 http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=1746#comment-52643 I think I may have made this point before, those who are pro-EU integration are seeing the flow is going in their direction, so they can just sit back and wait for the inevitable. In a debate with pro-EU people to them is matters not that they have great difficulty proving the benefits of the Union, because they know that they are getting their way in any case. If that were not the case and authority was flowing in the other direction towards the nation state, we might see more pro-interaction, if they had to actually argue their point and try to win that argument in order to try to have some affect on an outcome with which they disapproved. We EUsceptics are literally forced to continually explain and point out the deficiencies of the project in order to try to change the flaccid acceptance of the construct. When both the major political parties are fully behind our membership in some form or other and the third party is also fully behind the project, we do not really have much choice in the matter other than giving up. I think I may have made this point before, those who are pro-EU integration are seeing the flow is going in their direction, so they can just sit back and wait for the inevitable.

In a debate with pro-EU people to them is matters not that they have great difficulty proving the benefits of the Union, because they know that they are getting their way in any case.

If that were not the case and authority was flowing in the other direction towards the nation state, we might see more pro-interaction, if they had to actually argue their point and try to win that argument in order to try to have some affect on an outcome with which they disapproved. We EUsceptics are literally forced to continually explain and point out the deficiencies of the project in order to try to change the flaccid acceptance of the construct.

When both the major political parties are fully behind our membership in some form or other and the third party is also fully behind the project, we do not really have much choice in the matter other than giving up.

]]> By: Devil's Kitchen http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/2008/04/the-state-of-british-eu-news-coverage/comment-page-1/#comment-52642 Devil's Kitchen Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:42:11 +0000 http://www.jcm.org.uk/blog/?p=1746#comment-52642 <i>"There seems to be no such thing as “a passionate pro-European”...</i> I might suggest that this is at least partly because most pro-Europeans are like yourself: very pro-EU in theory, but not keen on this particular incarnation. Thus, were you to cover the politics in detail you would, I suspect, find the whole thing utterly depressing, precisely because you like the idea. Me, I'm agin the whole project so I find it enraging but never surprising... DK “There seems to be no such thing as “a passionate pro-European”…

I might suggest that this is at least partly because most pro-Europeans are like yourself: very pro-EU in theory, but not keen on this particular incarnation.

Thus, were you to cover the politics in detail you would, I suspect, find the whole thing utterly depressing, precisely because you like the idea.

Me, I’m agin the whole project so I find it enraging but never surprising…

DK

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