Portugal becomes third Eurozone country to require bailout

[-:Undertaker:-]

Obviously they wouldn't pay towards the GBP as that isn't their currency - there is no chance it could effect them if our pound screws up, but the euro falling would/could effect other countries.

The United Kingdom is one of the biggest trading partners for the European Union along with the UK footing much of the bills in the EU - you are quite right they wouldn't support us because thats exactly their mindset, if the Pound Sterling failed (which they would very much rather like) then we would be coxed into joining their Euro.

The Pound Sterling is one of the biggest reserve currencies of the world, it would affect other countries.

would you like to provide the source for that information? i highly doubt that figure is accurate - i was referring to overseas trading in any case. the EU along with the US are one of two major trading partners and don't forget that portguals trouble could affect other countries with the common currency - france, spains and in particular germanys growth rate may be negatively affected from a change in the strength of the euro vs other currencies.

I can't find the source at the moment so you'll have to discount it, however yes most of our trade will be internal if you think about it with trading between shops and so forth. Now as for the Euro failing, it can be avoided - if the Euro is broken up. The bailouts will not work because borrowing more does not get you out of debt - it only prolongs the problem and makes the crash worse.

The best help we can give the Eurozone is the advice of leaving the single currency, if the politicians choose to ignore this advice then on their head be it i'm afraid. It is not the job of the United Kingdom to bail out a failed project which will fail either way, except by bailing out the Eurozone we will take much more of a hit than we would of otherwise.

but matt the thing is we've always been trading partners with peeps in the EU, i cant remember what the treaty was called but we all signed it and it was a trading agreement between now-EU countries. funnily enough it was said at the time that the treaty wouldn't be used politically, boom here we are now. so reeeeeeeeally we're paying money to be part of a club we were part before it cost naything. dandertaker could probs give a few more facts im just going on vague knowledge.

its this kinda stuff that means we seriously need a referendum on EU, it's a joke we havent had one already

The simple fact to give regarding trade is that we'd still trade with the EU whether or not we were a part of it, the only difference being that the elected British government itself would be able to secure deals with both the EU and the world rather than unelected foreigners who, being foreign, simply do not have the interests of Great Britain at heart.

The thing with having referendums is that people will start wanting one for everything - they must cost huge amounts of money in themselves to run etc.

"80% of our trade is internal" - does this include things like warehouses buying products in, who then sells in to those trading places, where local shops then buy the products (which would boost the amount of internal trades..)

The referendum point; the EU is the most important issue in politics, it merits a referendum far more than the referendums on devolved regions, devolved parliaments and voting systems do. I think the stance Tony Benn takes is correct, that at every election the MPs borrow the power from the people and at the end of 5 years return those powers they were given - it is wrong that MPs and the government give away these powers when in office without permission from the people, therefore a referendum to decide whether these powers leave or stay is required.

Whether we are in the EU or not would not affect whether we could trade with the EU. Outside of the EU we would be able to trade freely with other nations without having to abide by EU rules and regulations, which damage free trade.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/da...-leave-the-eu/

1. Since we joined the EEC in 1973, we have been in surplus with every continent in the world except Europe. Over those 27 years, we have run a trade deficit with the other member states that averages out at £30 million per day.

2. In 2010 our gross contribution to the EU budget will be £14 billion. To put this figure in context, all the reductions announced by George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference would, collectively, save £7 billion a year across the whole of government spending.

3. On the European Commission’s own figures, the annual costs of EU regulation outweigh the advantages of the single market by €600 to €180 billion.

4. The Common Agricultural Policy costs every family £1200 a year in higher food bills.

5. Outside the Common Fisheries Policy, Britain could reassert control over its waters out to 200 miles or the median line, which would take in around 65 per cent of North Sea stocks.

6. Successive British governments have refused to say what proportion of domestic laws come from Brussels, but a thorough analysis by the German Federal Justice Ministry showed that 84 per cent of the legislation in that country came from the EU.

7. Outside the EU, Britain would be free to negotiate much more liberal trade agreements with third countries than is possible under the Common External Tariff.

8. The countries with the highest GDP per capita in Europe are Norway and Switzerland. Both export more, proportionately, to the EU, than Britain does.

9. Outside the EU, Britain could be a deregulated, competitive, offshore haven.

10. Oh, and we’d be a democracy again.