Re: Anti-EU demonstration in Sweden

["Hugh Whinfrey" <econ@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Trond notes:

>The messages by Whinfrey below are so ill-informed that I do not know
>whether to
>laugh or cry. I have been a participant on this list since 1993, but a
>lurker mostly for the last year or two.

Being a little harsh there Trond. It's fairly well-known that Norway
is not part of the EU and has voted against it twice. I took
it that the readership was aware that Norway is not a member,
and never attempted to imply otherwise.  Since the discussion
was mainly about EU membership  in particular, it would stand
to reason that my comments had nothing to do with Norway in
that regard.

Moreover, my comments were not intended to address
any of the possible theoretical evils of the EU as a
whole but rather the question that was under discussion
of whether there was a sufficient level of critical mass to
cause the existing members in Northern Europe to leave.

My judgement remains that there isn't in the foreseeable
future.

That good reasons might exist to do so doesn't
make it any different if the population isn't tuned in
to them. Folks in Sweden and Denmark aren't in
general so fired up about these things as the
Norwegians are, and the outcomes of the national
referendums on EU membership certainly reflect that
fact.

I think a big apology is in order for the ad hominem.

There was nothing ill-informed about them. For what
it's worth, I translate a very heavy workload of Norwegian
professionally and probably have seen a far greater
range of significant Norwegian government and government-
related documents, etc  in the last 5 years than you
have. Norway is pretty much outside the EU in name
only, due to the strong sentiments among its voters. On
a functional basis, it is becoming more and more difficult
on a daily basis to tell the Norwegian laws and
regulations apart from those in the rest of Europe -
the harmonisation is on-going and so extensive
despite Norway being 'outside' that it approaches
the very undemocratic situation you speak of,
given that the population has expressed a wish
to the contrary. Again, this is how it is - whether it
ought to be otherwise is for those involved in the
politics of it  to debate on its merits.

It is interesting to read your perception of the events
surrounding the elections in Norway, and I would
encourage you to continue. I don't mind reading your
political opinions at all, and in fact I read them with
interest.

Hugh