Thought I'd start a new thread as this is going to be a major talking point this year...have not made up my mind yet...(unlike bucksfizz)....but thinking of voting for an exit as Europe is not doing Britain any good at all it seems....

And people like it, Stan and Fred excepted.

Bank of England: 'Could'

Hmmm?

Turkey visa deal unravels as Erdogan defies EU on key condition


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoga has accused the EU of hypocrisy
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A deal to grant Turks visa-free travel to most of the European Union was hanging by a thread after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defiantly vowed Ankara would not fulfil a key condition set by Brussels.

With alarm growing over the deal's future, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker bluntly told Erdogan that Turks would only enjoy travel to the passport-free Schengen area if all conditions were met and it would be "his problem" if this failed to materialise.

The promise of visa-free travel is a key pillar of the landmark March accord for Turkey to stem the flow of migrants to the EU and this could now also be in peril.

Erdogan accused the European Union of "hypocrisy" for telling Ankara to adapt its counter-terror laws in return for visa-free travel while it was in the throes of fighting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.

"The EU stands up and says 'soften your approach over the terrorist organisation'," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara, referring to the PKK.

"Since when are you running this country? Who has given you the authority?" he asked, in one of his most stinging attacks in recent weeks on the EU.

"They believe they have a right for themselves (to fight terror) but find it a luxury and unacceptable for us. Let me say it clearly -- this is called hypocrisy."

- Explosion shakes southeast -

Turkey concluded a deal with the EU in March to curb the migrant flow to Europe in return for political incentives including the visa-free travel as well as billions of euros in aid from Brussels for refugees.

Ankara however is obliged to meet the remaining five out of 72 conditions for its citizens to enjoy visa-free travel to Europe.

But with the Turkish military battling the PKK in the Kurdish-majority southeast, Turkey says it cannot change its counter-terror laws.

On Thursday, a blast hit the southeastern majority Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, killing four "bombmakers" and wounding at least 10 other people, according to the country's interior ministry.

The explosion came hours after at least eight people including soldiers were injured by a remotely detonated car bomb aimed at a military vehicle in Istanbul, according to the local governor's office.

- 'Not my problem, his problem' -

Speaking in Berlin, Juncker indicated the EU saw no room for negotiation if Turkey did not fulfil all the conditions.

"We consider that it is important for these conditions to be fulfilled, otherwise this deal between the EU and Turkey will not happen," Juncker said.

"If Mr Erdogan wants to pursue his strategy, then he has to answer to the Turkish people why Europe is denying free travel to Turks. That's not my problem, that will be his problem."

The EU wants Ankara to sharply narrow its definition of "terror" to prevent recent cases like the prosecution of academics and journalists for publishing "terror propaganda".

A European diplomat told AFP: "We don't have a plan B" if the deal -- which so far helped migrant flows to Europe fall sharply -- collapses.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spearheaded efforts to conclude the deal, said, "We must recognise that we need such an agreement with Turkey in any case and that it is worth the effort to negotiate it even if difficulties arise".

The Turkish minister of European affairs, Volkan Bozkir was set to meet Johannes Hahn, the commissioner for European enlargement negotiations, in Brussels on Friday morning.

Turkey has for decades sought to become a member of the EU but its bid has hit repeated stumbling blocks, sparking increasing bitterness in Ankara.

Erdogan, who has sought to build closer relations with key Arab and Asian states during his presidency, said Turkey had alternatives to the EU.

"In the period ahead of us, either we will develop our relations with the EU and finally get on this road or we will find a new road for ourselves," he said.

"We prefer to build a new Turkey together with our European friends. We will now await our European friends' decision.

Well i don't know what to think about that good or bad , i wouldn't trust any of them .

Having thought about it , it's either millions of Syrians engulfing Europe or millions of Turks engulfing Europe really .

Or both !

Together with the rest of the World millions of course .

Vicky,

Why not emigrate?

You could take dumbo with you to play with and Granny's boy wth you to carry your baggage.

Your too kind Freda .

Or too soft .

Would be much better if Fred went and helped out on one of the Greek islands instead of sitting at home ranting in a drunken stupor .
Do something useful and feel better about yourself.

The gap between ONS migrant figures and the truth is as wide as the Grand Canyon. We are owed an apology






By Allison Pearson
12 May 2016 • 10:00pm




So, it turns out the British people are owed an apology.

An apology for every parent whose child can’t get a place at a secondary school of their choosing.

An apology for every plasterer who claims that his wages have been driven down remorselessly by Eastern Europeans, yet been told to shut up because migrants are really good for the economy.

An apology for those damned as “racist” when they dare to wonder why families who have lived here and paid their dues for several generations can’t get priority on the housing ladder.

A huge sorry is also owing, it seems, to every heavily pregnant woman turned away by her local maternity unit because it’s “full”. (Half of all UK maternity units have rejected women in labour over the past two years, particularly in migrant hotspots where the birth rate is going through the roof.)

Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s say sorry to that poor woman’s husband who has to drive 35 miles, with his wife groaning like a stricken moose, to find another hospital in which she can give birth. And this in the world’s fifth richest nation.

The apologies are due because of a report – or, as some will call it, a confession – issued by the Office of National Statistics. And what the ONS admitted to was The Gap.

Official figures show that, in the five years to 2015, just under one million immigrants came to this country from the EU, as they are perfectly entitled to do. But hark. Over the same period, the number of National Insurance numbers issued to EU migrants was more than 2.2 million.



Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/12/the-gap-between-official-migrant-figures-and-the-truth-is-as-wid/

Allways had this fear .

Frightening!

--==-==-==

Leave now, while you have a chance.

Yes owed an apology (good article) but would we get one from anyone ?the answer is obviously no ,they are still telling us that migration is good for this country and these morons are in power !!

Fred you are perhaps the biggest idiot i have ever come across .

Yes it is frightening isn't it , but you don't realise do you , just more bull from you same old same old . Head in clouds attitude .

Thank you Dumbo.

I value your opinion as much as I valued tankers.

That's nice of you Fred.

Why would we leave this is Britain we were born here ,maybe some others should leave ,like the 2.5 million who came in .

And what about money in your pocket at the end of the week on paying less for shopping?

ANOTHER REASON TO LEAVE: Weekly shop will FALL by £40 under Brexit, finds top economist

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Professor Patrick Minford revealed how British families would see the cost of a weekly food shop PLUNGE if Britain were to leave the European Union and move to a model of 'free trade' or no trade tariffs.

The Professor of Economics at Cardiff University and former advisor to the Treasury, said: "We go to free trade, that means that prices come down on all the goods we import from around the world, and prices come down on what we import from the EU too because they've got to compete with the rest of the world when they sell to us."

He added: "That's worth a whopping £40 a week on the average worker's budget."

Professor Minford found through mathematical modelling of a Brexit that the 'protectionist' elements of the EU currently mean we pay up to 20 per cent more for manufacturing and agriculture.

Lower prices would have wider benefits for the economy, making it more competitive with industry growing in areas where Britain does well, explained the founder of the Liverpool Research Unit.

Under the world free trade model, Britain would still be able to protect the industries or parts of the economy, which are at a disadvantage compared to other countries - for example, the steel industry or manufacturing.

Crucially, Britain would be able to do this financially shield areas specifically important to the UK economy.

Professor Minford told Express.co.uk: "One of the things about leaving the EU is we become free to give help to any particular industry we want to stop contracting or stop contracting so much, like steel. The US, for example, just put a big duty on steel an anti-dumping duty of 267 per cent and it's a free trading country."

He added: "That's what the British voters will be able to do after leaving the EU, they'll be able to decide for themselves who is deserving of their help."

Currently, the EU is protecting areas under the demands and influence of powerful unions in Germany and France, according to Professor Minford.