Where Have They All Gone

I thought it was an EU directive which was left to nation states to implement into law.

They have to implement directives, they just have a bit of discretion on the details of the implementation.


the EU created the mobile phone charger harmonisation rules -which is a benefit, no longer do we have a million different leads,

Fewer power leads. Wow!

I wonder about downsides too: how will new technologies be introduced? What about devices that have a legitimate reason to use a charger that cannot work with USB?
 
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You would be surprised how many people are getting second passports for where they are linked to around the EU. Alex

Why would I be surprised? I’m not surprised at all.

Because of Brexit, the British Passport is losing all the advantages of an EU passport, so if you can get a second, EU, passport then why wouldn’t you? It will insulate you from some of the tangible negatives of Brexit.

Sadly, I (nor my family) are eligible for a passport from another EU country, otherwise I would have applied long, long ago.
 
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Because of Brexit, the British Passport is losing all the advantages of an EU passport, so if you can get a second, EU, passport then why wouldn’t you

Those advantages are:

1. you can live in an EU country without a visa: only a minority of people want to do that.
2. you can travel to any EU countries that decide to require visas for tourism or business travel. We do not know what the situation with this will be.

One disadvantage: dual nationality means the Home Secretary can cancel your British citizenship. Do not annoy Priti Patel!
 
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Those advantages are:

1. you can live in an EU country without a visa: only a minority of people want to do that.
2. you can travel to any EU countries that decide to require visas for tourism or business travel. We do not know what the situation with this will be.

One disadvantage: dual nationality means the Home Secretary can cancel your British citizenship. Do not annoy Priti Patel!


I can’t stay in Europe for more than 90 days in a 180 day period - not a problem (for me) now, but in a few years time I was planning on spending quite some time in Europe, these plans will need to be adapted.

My travel insurance will go up, as my E111 will no longer be valid, therefore the cost of medical in Europe will go up, hence my insurance goes up.

I will need extra documentation to drive in Europe (whether that be my car, or a hire car)

I will no longer be able to use the EU citizens queue at immigration, therefore the time it takes me to pass through the airport will no doubt take longer.

Ok, so none of the above is insurmountable, but all tangible annoyances for no obvious (to me, at, least) advantages
 
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I can’t stay in Europe for more than 90 days in a 180 day period

Really? I live in Europe anyway, as does everyone else in the UK. I think you mean the EU, which only contains about half the population of Europe, and a lower proportion of Council of Europe member nations.

All pretty minor annoyances, and which only affect some people to any great extent (e.g. with regard to travel insurance, people who travel regularly to the EU, but do not travel regularly outside the EU)
 
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They have to implement directives, they just have a bit of discretion on the details of the implementation.




Fewer power leads. Wow!

I wonder about downsides too: how will new technologies be introduced? What about devices that have a legitimate reason to use a charger that cannot work with USB?
I wonder about the downsides of having no standard for mobile phone leads.....oh I remember it was a right pain.



Its a tiny example of the huge benefit of harmonising regulations -it removes trade barriers for businesses.

The cost of brexit red tape is due to be higher than the cost of EU membership

Brexit: the only trade deal in history that massively increases trade barriers, not reduces them.
 
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All pretty minor annoyances, and which only affect some people to any great extent (e.g. with regard to travel insurance, people who travel regularly to the EU, but do not travel regularly outside the EU)
Before covid I traveled to the EU 3 or 4 times a year. Please tell me how arranging insurance 4 times a year for a person with existing medical conditions is cheap and a minor annoyance?
 
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Those advantages are:

1. you can live in an EU country without a visa: only a minority of people want to do that.
2. you can travel to any EU countries that decide to require visas for tourism or business travel. We do not know what the situation with this will be.

One disadvantage: dual nationality means the Home Secretary can cancel your British citizenship. Do not annoy Priti Patel!


The cancellation of my British Citizenship would be an annoyance, but only that. A minor blip. Not enough to warrant my actually returning to the UK.
 
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All pretty minor annoyances
losing the right to live, work and retire in the EU is more than an annoyance.

after Jan it will become hard and expensive to do and no guarantee it can be done.

a significant freedom lost.

what freedom have you gained?
 
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The cancellation of my British Citizenship would be an annoyance, but only that. A minor blip. Not enough to warrant my actually returning to the UK.
Same here! Indeed, I may have to choose, in which case I'll choose the nationality that allows me to live and work in over 30 countries worldwide and travel visa-free in countless others.

It's not really much of a choice - if and when you actually think about it!
 
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So did the UK govt have to implement the cookie thing?

Yes.

Before covid I traveled to the EU 3 or 4 times a year. Please tell me how arranging insurance 4 times a year for a person with existing medical conditions is cheap and a minor annoyance?

Get an annual policy, and it would cover non-EU travel too.

The cancellation of my British Citizenship would be an annoyance, but only that. A minor blip. Not enough to warrant my actually returning to the UK.

IN which case you should really take citizenship of the country where you live anyway.

A minor blip for people who do not even live in the UK is hardly a significant argument against brexit.


a significant freedom lost.

what freedom have you gained?

How significant it is subjective.

The freedom gained is self-determination.

That brings us back to my original point. It is much the same trade-off as with Scottish independence, or any other secession.
 
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Same here! Indeed, I may have to choose, in which case I'll choose the nationality that allows me to live and work in over 30 countries worldwide and travel visa-free in countless others.

It's not really much of a choice - if and when you actually think about it!

That is exactly what I am anticipating might be a possibility.

I may have to choose. And both my business, and my only personal preference, would mean I would instance choose to stay out of the UK.
 
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IN which case you should really take citizenship of the country where you live anyway.

A minor blip for people who do not even live in the UK is hardly a significant argument against brexit.


You, see, up until now there has been no requirement for me to do so - because under EU rules I can live and work anywhere.

That facility having potentially been removed, I will cheerfully begin that process.
 
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That is exactly what I am anticipating might be a possibility.

I may have to choose. And both my business, and my only personal preference, would mean I would instance choose to stay out of the UK.

It worries me the number of businesses that have or are moving from the UK to be inside the Single Market

I also hear there is lots of new business being generated within the Single Market as EU companies end contracts with UK suppliers and take up new ones within the EU
 
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It worries me the number of businesses that have or are moving from the UK to be inside the Single Market

I also hear there is lots of new business being generated within the Single Market as EU companies end contracts with UK suppliers and take up new ones within the EU


One of our largest clients made it clear that, following Brexit, they would be sourcing nothing from within the UK - which they have a perfect right to do, of course.

For that reason, we moved to comply with their wishes.
 
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It worries me the number of businesses that have or are moving from the UK to be inside the Single Market

I also hear there is lots of new business being generated within the Single Market as EU companies end contracts with UK suppliers and take up new ones within the EU

Business going where their customers are or where the business can survive?
Hardly unknown.

Setting up new supply chains etc inside the EU? Good business sense.
Just like UK companies will, where they can, have made arrangements to improve supply chain or take advantage of local supply & demand.
 
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Before covid I traveled to the EU 3 or 4 times a year. Please tell me how arranging insurance 4 times a year for a person with existing medical conditions is cheap and a minor annoyance?

Funny that.
Up to a couple of years back my parents travelled to the EU sometimes up to 6 times a year.
Every year they purchased annual travel insurance. They stopped in their late 70s, multiple existing medical conditions for probably the past 20 plus years each.

Cheap? No. A minor annoyance? No.
Not an annoyance at all, they'd even say essential. Having come across people without insurance....
 
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I suspect what will happen will be similar to just after the referendum.

A lot of speculative doom and gloom how the economy will tank overnight but in reality, life will continue pretty much as normal.
 
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I think you would be right if this was a normal trade deal.

However, I do not think this is about economics: it is more about identity and ideology. For remainers and the EU, leavers and the UK are traitors to their country (even if its not officailly called one, people are loyal to it in the same way) just as any sessionist movement is. To leavers the EU is a threat to the independence of their country.

When ever those that want to leave the Eu run out of arguments it starts to get close to that thing about other people in my country

Before you touch on I want my white country back !
Check who last won the Victoria cross defending your precious Brexit land

Plugs, connectors and end bits vary the world over compatibility in and out of the Eu is not even a subject just bollox
 
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My sister moved to France. She’s settled and a paperwork freak so got on well with the French system and has her status all sorted. There’s a few ex-pat Facebook groups who are inundated with new members. Brits living in France who have just lived there with their British eu medical card, and British bank accounts and credit card, and British number plates and insurance. They buy from Amazon Uk and other uk mail order sites. Suddenly they’ve realised that they might actually get chucked out, and have discovered the paperwork has a timescale of months, and the feeling is they will be asked to leave. Sis tells me there are simply loads of them joining each day and first post is “what do I need to do to become a resident?”
 
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I think it's important to separate the actual process of extracting ourselves from the EU, and our longer term ability to survive outside it.

It was pretty obvious to anyone with more than 2 brain cells that the leaving process was going to be very tricky. That was my - frankly rather weak - reason for voting remain. It's also the reason for now being desparate to leave, seeing how entwined we have become with a bunch of greedy, corrupt, self-serving bureaucrats.

Moving forward, I genuinely believe that we can survive and prosper on our own. though of course each business will need to adapt to the new way of doing things.

My prediction last year was that the EU itself would implode in 10 years. I now believe it will take a little longer as its members clamour for aid post-Covid.
 
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.... It's also the reason for now being desparate to leave, seeing how entwined we have become with a bunch of greedy, corrupt, self-serving bureaucrats.

I absolutely understand this reasoning, and think it is a valid reason to leave the EU.

However, I fear we will just exchange one set of greedy, self serving and corrupt set of individuals for another. One only needs to look at our current government and cronies to arrive at that conclusion.
 
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However, I fear we will just exchange one set of greedy, self serving and corrupt set of individuals for another.
Then we should debate how we can reform politics.

Should we have PR voting? If so which system?

Do we need a written constitution?

Should we abolish the HoL? And if we do what should replace it?

Leaving the EU means that our electorate now has full power. 'We the people' as the Americans put it.
 
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