What did the EU ever do for us? – by Simon Sweeney

Not much, apart from: providing 57% of our trade; structural funding to areas hit by industrial decline; clean beaches and rivers; cleaner air; lead free petrol; restrictions on landfill dumping; a recycling culture; cheaper mobile charges; cheaper air travel; improved consumer protection and food labelling; a ban on growth hormones and other harmful food additives; … Continue reading “What did the EU ever do for us? – by Simon Sweeney”

Not much, apart from:

  • providing 57% of our trade;
  • structural funding to areas hit by industrial decline;
  • clean beaches and rivers;
  • cleaner air;
  • lead free petrol;
  • restrictions on landfill dumping;
  • a recycling culture;
  • cheaper mobile charges;
  • cheaper air travel;
  • improved consumer protection and food labelling;
  • a ban on growth hormones and other harmful food additives;
  • better product safety;
  • single market competition bringing quality improvements and better industrial performance;
  • break up of monopolies;
  • Europe-wide patent and copyright protection;
  • no paperwork or customs for exports throughout the single market;
  • price transparency and removal of commission on currency exchanges across the eurozone;
  • freedom to travel, live and work across Europe;
  • funded opportunities for young people to undertake study or work placements abroad;
  • access to European health services;
  • labour protection and enhanced social welfare;
  • smoke-free workplaces;
  • equal pay legislation;
  • holiday entitlement;
  • the right not to work more than a 48-hour week without overtime;
  • strongest wildlife protection in the world;
  • improved animal welfare in food production;
  • EU-funded research and industrial collaboration;
  • EU representation in international forums;
  • bloc EEA negotiation at the WTO;
  • EU diplomatic efforts to uphold the nuclear non-proliferation treaty;
  • European arrest warrant;
  • cross border policing to combat human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling; counter terrorism intelligence;
  • European civil and military co-operation in post-conflict zones in Europe and Africa;
  • support for democracy and human rights across Europe and beyond;
  • investment across Europe contributing to better living standards and educational, social and cultural capital.

All of this is nothing compared with its greatest achievements: the EU has for 60 years been the foundation of peace between European neighbours after centuries of bloodshed.

It furthermore assisted the extraordinary political, social and economic transformation of 13 former dictatorships, now EU members, since 1980.

Now the union faces major challenges brought on by neoliberal economic globalisation, and worsened by its own systemic weaknesses. It is taking measures to overcome these. We in the UK should reflect on whether our net contribution of £7bn out of total government expenditure of £695bn is good value. We must play a full part in enabling the union to be a force for good in a multi-polar global future.

Simon Sweeney,
Lecturer in international political economy, University of York

Obsession

"If a man must be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble. If it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is … Continue reading “Obsession”

"If a man must be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble. If it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is without question the most compact and ingenious arrangement for living ever devised by the restless mind of man–a home that is stable without being stationary, shaped less like a box than like a fish or a girl, and in which the homeowner can remove his daily affairs as far from shore as he has the nerve to take them, close hauled or running free–parlor, bedroom, and bath, suspended and alive."

  • E. B. Quinton White

99 days until I’m qualified

Course booked Flights booked Accommodation booked Day Skipper Tidal here I come. 87 days to start, 99 days until I’m qualified. Day Skipper (Tidal) is an intermediate qualification which is better than a sailing qualification and more expansive than a “Competent Crew” certificate. But it falls short of the various Yachtmaster qualifications. The “Tidal” part … Continue reading “99 days until I’m qualified”

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  1. Course booked
  2. Flights booked
  3. Accommodation booked

Day Skipper Tidal here I come. 87 days to start, 99 days until I’m qualified.

Day Skipper (Tidal) is an intermediate qualification which is better than a sailing qualification and more expansive than a “Competent Crew” certificate. But it falls short of the various Yachtmaster qualifications. The “Tidal” part is slightly better than “non-Tidal” especially if you plan to charter someone else’s boat.

I’ve been thinking about this for ages – something a little more advanced than my dinghy sailing qualifications and now, in 2016, after a pretty damn-awful 2015, seems to be the first hint of peace and the first opportunity to do stuff for me.

Being trained and qualified doesn’t mean that I need it to sail. The sea is a relatively lawless place for a boat owner, especially in UK waters. I’m confident that I could take a 25′ boat around the coasts of Northern Ireland and wouldn’t do too badly based on my experience sailing last summer. Taking a wide berth around rocks, keeping an eye on the channel and the depth-sounder.

Of course, I don’t even have a dinghy at the moment (sold it to close off one more loose end) but that’s not going to stop me. There’s some money in the boat fund account and there’s also a course in woodworking and furniture design and production that I’ve signed up to. I figure it’s the best way to learn how to construct or repair the interiors of a cheap boat, including upholstery.

This summer will be camping and sailing and caravanning. I’ll be looking at stand-up paddle boarding, maybe even try my hand at surfing. And I’d like to try sea fishing.