EU disconnects even more from reality

Respenus · 02-05-13, 06:19 PM

Ah, my favourite EU commentator, Mr. Waterfield. I remember him when he attacked the European Food Safety Authority for its decision on bottled water and dehydration. For those of you who do not remember, the experts at EFSA decided that according to current legislation, bottled water cannot be say that it prevent dehydration due to a) different quantities of bottled water, b) differences in human physiology and c) different sources of dehydration. Think of the decision what you wish, I don't see this as another EU banana rules, which, again I must remind everyone, have long since been repealed and even when they were put into place, were more of a power politics thing than an actual technical element (the UK just lost preferential agreements for its favoured importers, so the law remained a sore thumb for a long period of time).

Doing a quick search through the more credible EU news sites, I was unable to find any comments on the "Political guidelines for the institutional information and communication campaign" at this time (although such news will probably surface in the next couple of days). I will return if any such news arises or the document is published.

Going to the argument itself, I can see both points of debate. Media publications, especially the British media (and well, all other populist media), severely misrepresent how the EU actually works, how decisions are made and what legislation is actually in place and most importantly, the legislation that can actually be put into place. The Lisbon 'dictate' (Hello Skybird!) actually went a long way in getting the Member States back into control and we see a constant push towards it as we move along, at least in the more sensitive areas. On the other hand, I do see where an official institution, rather than political groups/parties at European level, would act in defence of a particular policy and the conflict of interest this would raise.

I am all for representing the truth (as I do on these forums and those of you who know me, remember that I always present my opinions backed by facts) and I agree that there are many problems with the EU, but please, can we stop with the senseless attacks and outright lies and actually debate the EU like rational individuals?

02-05-13, 06:19 PM	#5
Respenus Ace of the Deep Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,169 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Ah, my favourite EU commentator, Mr. Waterfield. I remember him when he attacked the European Food Safety Authority for its decision on bottled water and dehydration. For those of you who do not remember, the experts at EFSA decided that according to current legislation, bottled water cannot be say that it prevent dehydration due to a) different quantities of bottled water, b) differences in human physiology and c) different sources of dehydration. Think of the decision what you wish, I don't see this as another EU banana rules, which, again I must remind everyone, have long since been repealed and even when they were put into place, were more of a power politics thing than an actual technical element (the UK just lost preferential agreements for its favoured importers, so the law remained a sore thumb for a long period of time). Doing a quick search through the more credible EU news sites, I was unable to find any comments on the "Political guidelines for the institutional information and communication campaign" at this time (although such news will probably surface in the next couple of days). I will return if any such news arises or the document is published. Going to the argument itself, I can see both points of debate. Media publications, especially the British media (and well, all other populist media), severely misrepresent how the EU actually works, how decisions are made and what legislation is actually in place and most importantly, the legislation that can actually be put into place. The Lisbon 'dictate' (Hello Skybird!) actually went a long way in getting the Member States back into control and we see a constant push towards it as we move along, at least in the more sensitive areas. On the other hand, I do see where an official institution, rather than political groups/parties at European level, would act in defence of a particular policy and the conflict of interest this would raise. I am all for representing the truth (as I do on these forums and those of you who know me, remember that I always present my opinions backed by facts) and I agree that there are many problems with the EU, but please, can we stop with the senseless attacks and outright lies and actually debate the EU like rational individuals? __________________