How well is EU doing and how united?

[DonPeffers]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-refugees-migrants-crisis-quotas-legal-challenge-hungary-poland-slovakia-dimitris-avramopoulos-a7932376.html   "EU threatens to sue member states for not accepting their quota of refugees."    This threat goes back to Apr 2017  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/take-in-migrants-or-leave-eu-tells-hungary-and-poland-rscwfgtwn

Hungary.     https://www.ft.com/content/a0268234-fd59-11e8-aebf-99e208d3e521    ‘Slavery law’: Hungary set to pass widely criticised overtime bill. The draft bill, which is expected to pass, would increase the amount of time that companies have to compensate employees for overtime work from one year to three years. A recent poll by the Budapest-based think-tank Policy Agenda found that 83 per cent of Hungarians oppose the law. Given the three-year remuneration period, there was a risk that companies could go bankrupt before employees were paid for overtime work.

France.   Paris in flames over austerity and fuel price rises.   https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/paris-riots-eiffel-tower-closed-13702966

Germany.     https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/german-growth-momentum-evaporates-as-manufacturing-orders-shrink   German growth momentum evaporates as manufacturing orders shrink.

Italy.       https://www.investopedia.com/news/all-about-italian-economic-crisis-2018/   National debt over 100% GDP plus austerity ongoing. Government wanted to ease austerity and create more public spending but EU insisted on austerity budget. A very sad event in August with the Morandi bridge collapse and deaths.

Meanwhile EU leaders want a European army. The cost is as yet unclear but will mean higher member contributions so UK £11Bn net p.a. likely to increase after Dec 2020 when next 7 year budget decided, if we are still in transition and still due to pay. The £39Bn divorce bill only takes us to Dec 2020 and includes contributions due as well as planned EU road improvements, pension contributions and loans to Ukraine which is not in EU or NATO.

Unusual that EU wants to spend funds on an army when most EU Countries DO NOT meet their NATO defence spend commitment of 2% GDP.  In 2017 Germany's NATO spend was 29BN euros short!!!!        https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6745786/nato-contributions-country-who-pay-most-least-2-percent-gdp-target-trump/    with only UK, Estonia, Greece and Poland meeting the required 2% commitment.

The trouble with very senior politicians in all countries is that they are so far removed from any consequences they are about as much it touch as Marie Antoinette.

[Blatman]

They may have their own battles with the EU. Our issue is that despite their on-going national issues they are all united against the UK leaving. And for me that's extraordinary. Whilst on the one hand the EU mandarins will all say they are respecting the democratic rights we exercised when we voted to leave, they are being obstructive and obstinate. A situation conveniently ignored when remainers get in front of a microphone.

[wilsonch]

You have to ask yourself. If the UK was not already a member would you want to join the European union. 

Give them a bucket load of money every week, be told what to do, where to buy goods, accept people into your country who you don't want (talking about murders/criminals not general immigration), let the ECJ make our laws and the ECB run our banks............ I can't believe anyone voted leave.