Friends Like These

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/


Quote Originally Posted by Peter Hitchens blog
It has been curious to watch as an American official and a German Bundestag member have boldly interfered in British internal affairs, more or less telling us to stay in the EU. Well, there’s no particular surprise that an establishment German politician takes this view, though I have the impression that many of the brighter Germans have realised that it is in the interests of Britain, Germany and the EU that we negotiate an amicable departure.

The standard German view is that German’s eternal interests should be dissolved into the European Project, and that the whole of Europe should therefore be enfolded in the sticky-sweet embrace of Brussels. Dear old Helmut Kohl used sometimes to rumble, between slices of cake and generous plates of stuffed cow’s stomach ( a favourite Rhenish delicacy), that war might result from any frustration of this objective.

Of course, he didn’t mean it *that* way, only that the road to peace on the continent was through integration – a perfectly reasonable view if you are trying to neutralise the centuries-old Franco-German conflict. It is always difficult, when trying to explain to the innocents of the modern age, who think that the world is a harmonious place without conflicts of interest, that Germany still has powerful economic and diplomatic desires, and that these must be served, not be accused of whipping up anti-German sentiment or of raving about a ‘Fourth Reich’.

It is far better that Europe falls under German influence by peaceful, benevolent means than through conquest. Who could doubt it? But Germany is simply so big and so rich that she will inevitably dominate the continent, now that Russia has been pushed back beyond the River Bug ( and in fact even further than that, thanks to the current unsustainable independence of Belarus) . It is a fantasy to say that the EU has prevented war in Europe since 1945. The old Cold War stand-off achieved that, and there is an argument for saying that the EU’s need to break up Yugoslavia may have *led* to the first modern European war.

(I cannot resist a small digression here, to say that one of the least attractive-sounding establishments in Europe (though as far as I know it is in fact entirely desirable and comfortable ) is the Hotel Bug in the fascinating city of Brest, currently on the Belarus-Polish border, though where it will be ten years hence, I wouldn’t like to say).

But the EU has without doubt institutionalised and stabilised the many conflicts which previously seethed in the continent, most especially the Franco-German one, but also those between Germany and the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Italy and the curious position of the Low Countries. We’ll see how it works out with Poland and the Baltic states, who would fly into almost anyone’s arms to stay out of Russian control. I still don’t see, myself, why British membership of the EU adds to this.

Because of Britain’s separate and global history, and because of its wholly different traditions of law and government, it could never be integrated into any Continental system without a terrible struggle. And precisely because it hasn’t been invaded or taken over by some dictator, it will continue to be resistant to such change for the foreseeable future . Ireland, which has inherited many British legal and political traditions, is so anxious to differentiate herself from Britain that she will do almost anything to prove that point. I still think an intelligent German government would readily make a generous trade agreement with us, and wave a cheerful goodbye.

They don’t need us in the EU. We’re not really part of the continental system . Why pretend we are?

But the Americans, well, I suspect they were involved from very early on in trying to shove us into the EU, partly to support US interests there, partly because they were frankly sick of the slobbering, servile ‘special relationship’ and the absurd assumption that Britain and the USA were in some way old comrades, apart from the rest of the world.

Some of you will recall me mentioning, some years ago, a legendary BBC radio programme, called ‘Document – A Letter To The Times’, broadcast on February 3, 2000. It recorded persuasively that the Corporation came under pressure from pro-Market lobbyists to sack Jack de Manio, widely believed to be an opponent of the Common Market, and that he was soon after removed. I wrote ‘Coincidence? You may believe that if you wish. I don’t. The Labour peer Roy Hattersley creditably recalls his personal disgust when he attended a high-level pro-Market breakfast meeting at which similar actions against anti-Market broadcasters were openly demanded by pro-Brussels conspirators.'

I seem to recall a faint suspicion that the USA were not unhappy with British integration in the EU, at that time (the early to mid-1970s) . This seems odd, given the anti-American attitude of the EU in many areas. But there it is. They still want us in it rather than out of it, and they’ve just made that very clear.
In recent days we've had US officials and a German minister warn us about our 'influence' if we leave the European Union and I thought this was a well thought out and historical rebuttal to those claims worth posting. The article is certainly worth a read if you buy the argument that outside of the EU our interests would be hurt, it's quite the opposite.

I posted a rebuttal to the economic scaremongering thats been thrown around in recent days on this topic (see Honda thread), and this one applies to Britain's foreign affairs and it's standing in the world. Again, we're being subjected to false claims from all sides. It goes to show that when the referendum does come, we have a hell of a battle on our hands against foreign and vested interests.

Thoughts?