In the first part of my two part European bash-a-thon you may remember I talked mostly about how a superstate comprised of Britain and the European mainland simply wouldn't work because we can't stand eachother. That may seem trivial at first, after all, what's a bit of deep rooted and seething hatred in the grand world of geopolitics? Well, try instead to think of it as a marriage; Mr. Britain goes out to do actual work on the World stage, maybe throws back a few cold ones with his mates from the Commonwealth, only to come home each day to a nagging, whiney, money-grabbing, spendthrift of a wife in Mrs. Europe who does nothing but criticize him and who he's pretty sure is having an affair with Mr. China anyway. It's more than a man can take! No human being would enter into a marriage that they knew would be like that, so why should countries be any different?

 All of the hatred aside, there are other reasons why a union with that crazy continent would be a bad idea. The main one, and one I've alluded to before, is that of sovereignty. I mentioned in part one that various European states have done their utmost to conquer us annoying Brits, and since 1066 they have all failed (miserably I might add). Some of the times we only overcame by the skin of our teeth and one has to wonder if the big man in charge wasn't giving us a helping hand, after all, Philip II of Spain himself said that God must be English after the Channel swallowed up his Armada.

 Thus endeth my patriotic tangent.

 Back on point: sovereignty. We Brits have worked very hard to keep Britain British, so it vexes me that politicians can be so willing to throw it all away. Take for instance a law that's been in effect since September, 2005 that states that British citizens can be arrested and jailed for laws that the European Supreme Court makes. That's right; a Brit can be hauled out of his home and sent to Brussels for something a Belgian considers a crime. As I've ranted about before, our justice system in this country is a bit of a joke as it is, so I can't imagine adding in obscure laws from abroad will help improve matters.

 One thing I feel I should clarify about my views of Europe is that I'm not in anyway opposed to a European superstate. In fact, I think it's a very good idea. I just don't believe that it's in Britain's best interest to enter in to it. As it stands we're in a very good global position. We have a very close relationship with the United States, our diplomatic and trade links with the Commonwealth, and of course, our occasionally icy but strong links with Europe. We have our fingers in more pies than we know what do with, so it's a wonder why we would ever want to settle for just one.
Ok, it's a big pie with lots of different flavours and textures but don't be surprised when it gives us all food poisoning.

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