First topic message reminder :

Here is a debate for all us members to voice our opinions. It doesn't matter whether you live in the UK, Bulgaria or even Timbuctoo It should make some interesting reading, and the first thing I would like to ask is "what are the implications involved to UK citizens who live in the UK and have property in Bulgaria"



EU Membership: Reasons For And Against Leaving

There are pros and cons of Britain's membership in the EU. look at some key arguments on both sides of the debate.

There are strong arguments for and against Britain's EU membership

David Cameron has started negotiating a new deal with European Union partners ahead of a referendum on the UK's membership in the bloc.


Here are five of the reasons for and against Britain's membership of the EU.

Reasons To Stay

:: Millions of jobs are linked to our EU membership

As far back as the year 2000, it has been claimed that three million jobs rely directly on our membership of the European Union. The figure was even cited by Nick Clegg during his time as Deputy Prime Minister.

An analysis by Full Fact found that millions of jobs are linked to the EU, but said there is no evidence to show how many would be in jeopardy if we left.

:: Some of Britain's biggest trading partners are in the EU

Some of Britain's largest trading partners - including France and Germany - are in the EU.

More than 50% of our exports go to EU countries, and our membership allows us to have a say over how trading rules are drawn up.

:: It's easier than ever for us to work and travel abroad

Around 1.4 million British people live abroad in the EU, and having membership makes movement around the continent incredibly easy. Driving licences issued in the UK are valid in all EU countries.

:: Crime fighting

The European Arrest Warrant cuts out the need for long and complicated extradition procedures and allows criminals to be brought to justice across the EU.

:: Influence in the world

The EU is the world's biggest market and plays a big role in world trade, climate change issues, development projects and more.

It has the clout to take on multinationals such as Google and Microsoft. At the moment Britain plays a key role in the EU, and leaving would see us forgo that.

Reasons To Leave


:: Border control back in our hands

The flip side of the freedom of work and travel for UK citizens is that people from other EU countries are free to travel to and live in Britain.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage says any attempt by the Government to control immigration into the UK is futile as long as we are in the EU.

:: We could make a large membership fee saving

Like most clubs, the EU charges a membership fee, and it has been claimed that the cost is around £55m per day.

Analysis by Full Fact estimates the figure is closer to £24m per day when rebates and other receipts are taken into account.

:: Institutions are seen as lacking democracy

The European Parliament is directly elected, although the powerful Commission which proposes legislation is not.

Because many of these laws supersede legislation made by individual states' parliaments, some see the system as undemocratic.

:: Other countries successfully go it alone

Many Eurosceptics look to rich Norway as a country which trades with the EU without being in it. It also controls its own agriculture and keeps its fish, rather than being bound by EU quotas.

:: Get rid of any threat to Britain's military freedom

There is a push within the ranks of the EU's leaders for it to have its own army.

The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said earlier this year that it would help show Russia the EU was serious about defending member values.

In the past the British Government has been forced to block moves to create EU-controlled military forces

Now theres a turn up for the books...interesting !!

If the rest of the member states of the EU can sign up and agree to any new directive that these prats can dream up, and then carry on completely ignoring it all. All we need do is to tell them to stick this £20 Bn bill where the sun don't shine and just forget article 50 and then state, Loudly and Clearly, three times, "We are leaving the EU". And then get on with trading with the rest of the world.
Europe is a great place, the problem is the EU

I see that we are being blackmailed even more now It seems that the UK have to Accept unlimited migration or NO free trade, however to trade with the rest of the world on WTO terms, a country must first have its own schedule of tariffs recognized by the WTO. These are the tariffs that it must levy on all imports from countries with which it doesn’t have a free-trade deal. The U.K. currently doesn’t have its own tariff schedule because it is a member of the EU’s customs union, which applies a common external tariff across all 28 member states. But agreeing a new U.K. schedule of tariffs is likely to be difficult since the WTO works by unanimity; just to get to the Brexit first base, the U.K. must seek the consent of all 160 members. Without an agreed WTO tariff schedule, the U.K. won’t be in a position to start negotiating new trade deals with non-EU countries, not least because it won’t be clear what it has to offer. But a WTO schedule on its own won’t be enough: Other countries are likely to want to see what deal the U.K. agrees with the EU before starting talks. This is crucial because the nature of Britain’s future trading relationship with the EU will determine the strength of the U.K.’s bargaining position in other potential trade deals. Will the U.K. remain an attractive base from which to continue to access a wider EU market of 500 million people? Or is the U.K. simply offering access to a domestic market of 55 million people? Britain’s priority will be to maintain tariff-free access to the EU market. But that may be the easy bit. Arguably more important is what deal the U.K. can strike regarding non-tariff barriers. These include recognition of U.K. regulatory standards, vital to reduce the time exports are held up by customs checks, and so-called rules of origin, which establish how much imported content a product can contain while still qualifying for any preferential tariff. In the modern world, these non-tariff barriers are typically the biggest impediment to trade since they act as a form of tax on exports. In a new free trade agreement with the EU this would have to be agreed sector by sector a process that could take years. Only then would the U.K. be in a position to go out and negotiate the ambitious new trade deals with the rest of the world that many Brexiters claim is the real prize of quitting the EU and which might offer some prospect of Brexit success.

EU Member States do not need a trade deal to export to the UK, and neither can the UK impose any barriers to goods from the EU, without also imposing those self-same barriers on all other countries selling goods to the UK. This is part of WTO non-discrimination rules, where the UK acquires Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. On the other hand, the EU – as an established Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) – is allowed to impose discriminatory access rules to its members' markets, applying to nations defined as "third countries" a complex series of hurdles that make importing difficult and expensive. Since it is extremely unlikely that the UK would want to beggar its economy by erecting trade barriers (over and above those already in existence, and perhaps not even those), it is unlikely to impose any significant barriers to trade with the EU. By contrast though, EU barriers apply automatically to "third countries", built into the EU.

From purely an economic perspective, the future solvency of the UK depends on much needed immigration. Europe(the continent, meaning UK too)needs more workers. It is well known that most parts of Europe have rapidly ageing populations. This results in slower growth and thus tax receipts, whilst simultaneously increasing government spending through pensions and healthcare. The UK, in particular, is about to embark on this demographic challenge with a mountain of debt. The easiest way to support more pensioners is to have more taxpayers. All the available statistics show that EU migrants contribute a tax surplus, meaning they pay more into the system that they remove in welfare. They also tend to be younger, fitter and healthier, putting relatively less stress on healthcare services. For the future of the country, we should be fighting for every young EU expat we can get our hands on. It's no wonder that Europe's strongest economies (Germany & France) are filling football stadia with non-EU refugees in order to integrate them into their societies for mutual benefit.

unfortunately most of the world operates on "blackmail" of one kind or another. In Asia it is baksheesh and that includes ALL Muslim countries and all of Africa now. Corruption, it is rife in the EU, however much they deny it. Just look at the corruption and the terms being demanded by the EU. The mere fact that hey have no approved accounts no for 17 years now, and that will continue, and the commissioners make sure that anyone wishing to expose the reasons for it are instantly sacked. Soon they will add continued contributions to the CAP as a red line, which France relies on heavily in which Germany does very well out of.

This is the latest from the IFS

No large country currently enjoys membership of the single market without free movement of people alongside a financial contribution.