Its fascinating that instead of pointing out where Michael Dougan's excellent and reasoned analysis of the EU constitutional and legal position, all that you can manage is:
"My experience of academics is that their grasp of the real world is limited"
"He earns his salary because of the EU. He has thus a vested interest in its survival"
In other words "i don't like / understand what he is saying, so I'll take the easy way out and sneer that he is "an expert" or "an academic".
If you are going to make a case for Leave, then at least do so on the basis of facts and argument - not ill informed opinion. This decision is too bl**dy important for our children.
So where is he wrong on the EU?
Just a couple of points will do.
Oh OK then I will listen to his speel.
He claims the UK is a major player with the EU and has great influence. As suspected, he has over egged it to suit his own agenda. Every member has the same voting right so a consensus of eastern bloc entities can simply vote to suit their own particular needs. Certainly the big three as he refers to them can veto any vote but that sort of defeats the whole purpose of it supposedly being a democracy in the first place. Do we have enormous influence? No, not necessarily, we just give away more than just about anyone else for the privilege. As to being a major player within the EU, well, a major net contributor yes.
He goes on to introduce the Balance of Competencies EU review which was undertaken by the UK government between 2012 and 2014 which according to the Foreign Secretary hardly represented a glowing report card.
Welcoming the conclusion of the review, the Foreign Secretary, Phillip Hammond, said:
This two-year review to examine the impact of EU membership on the UK is unprecedented in its size and scale. Many themes that have emerged chime with priorities that the UK and European partners have pressed the Commission to pursue. In particular, they underline the need for the EU to focus on those areas where it genuinely adds value, alongside pursuing an ambitious reform agenda for the benefit of all 28 Member States. There are many areas where action can and should be taken in Member States rather than at the EU level.
The review provides a wealth of material that anyone interested in reform can draw upon and the 32 reports provide evidence about every area of EU activity, allowing people to judge for themselves how the current arrangements are working. These reports provide further evidence of the need for a change in Britain’s relationship with the EU.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/final-reports-in-review-of-eu-balance-of-competences-publishedAccording to Dougan every major stakeholder saw no problem with the EU, the emphasis being on the word major. Unsurprising really given their own vested interests. Undoubtedly the majority of those major stakeholders have their corporate headquarters in London and see themselves as the centre of the universe.
Sorry JP, cannot watch any more of that video as it sounds like a #remain propaganda broadcast.
