I have just come across this Open Europe think tank, which wants to reform Europe, or at least it says it does. It has a lot of influential people in it and it looks quite eurosceptic these days. Here is what my MP had to say at a conference it organised a couple of years ago.

Originally Posted by :
David Heathcoat-Amory, a former member of the European Convention, was sceptical as to whether reform would be possible, arguing that the EU is “unreformable – I know because I tried”. He argued that the EU is not only undemocratic but is now undermining democracy, citing the lax attitude of many member states towards implementing legislation they have voted for. He also condemned the lack of debate in the UK Parliament on the important issue of the EU’s accession treaties, which give Bulgarians and Romanians automatic residence rights in the UK, as well as on the Free Movement Directive, which makes it illegal for the UK Government to deport foreign EU criminals from the UK. David also argued that the UK needs to be free to negotiate its own bilateral free trade agreements saying “what’s the point in [the Conservative Party] having policies if we can’t implement them… the question ‘why vote’ becomes unanswerable.” He argued that the EU is a “rival system of government”.

Open Europe - independent think tank calling for radical reform of the EU

Well that's a pretty strong argument and I hear the Conservatives in general say these days they want to reform the EU in an attempt to look like they are doing something about it. It seems pretty futile in my opinion, so what do you make of this think tank? There are a lot of top businessmen in it who are obviously not having a fantastic time with all the red tape, so do you think eventually they will decide that reform is a waste of time? Stewart Wheeler says reform can be tried using the withdrawal card to threaten them with. That might be the next logical step.
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Many Tories know that the EU is unreformable but they stay in a party that will continue to act as though it can.
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Originally Posted by eublues:
Many Tories know that the EU is unreformable but they stay in a party that will continue to act as though it can.

Heathcote-Amery is a member of Bonde's EU Democrats which advocates, and I quote directly from their website:

"An EU of diversity and flexibility
We advocate an EU of diversity and flexibility, based on free cooperation among independent countries, who agree on some common standards and values. These could be summarized in a simple document, comprising about 50 articles.

Europe in the people's hearts
We believe that if citizens know and understand how Europe is developing, they are more likely to embrace the concept and become involved in it. A constructive, competitive debate concerning new ideas and concepts for a better EU will aid the cultivation of a European identity.

Many new ways of cooperation
In a reformed EU, new methods of cooperation will emerge, ideas will be broadly exchanged among the member states, and policies could be implemented selectively rather than uniformly.

A decentralised 'Europe of the Citizens'
In a decentralised 'Europe of the Citizens,' politics will focus on the 'Citizens Agenda'. Decisions will be made close to the people or even by the people themselves.

Transparency and democratic control
The EU�s activities will be utterly transparent and democratically controlled. Civil liberties, cultural diversity and a high degree of democracy on all levels would be considered important values and assets.

A new political conscience and greater accountability
A more democratic EU will impact positively on national democracies. Politicians who genuinely consider themselves responsible to their electorate will benefit from a new political conscience, making it worthwhile for everyone to get involved in politics.

A dynamics of prosperity, solidarity and life-quality
Europe can set an example of how flexible cooperation, cultural diversity and a common idea about Europe can bring about a new dynamic of prosperity, solidarity and better quality of life, not only on a material level".
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Originally Posted by eublues:
Many Tories know that the EU is unreformable but they stay in a party that will continue to act as though it can.

I suppose they think , "better the Devil I know"! Some also like to brag they're on the winning side, especially now that Labour are taking such a pounding in the media!
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I think this MP is just involved with as many EU talking shops as possible in order to get the message out to all the robots, that are really europhiles. See the comments by other speakers after he had his say. They give it the 'I agree with him except that I think the EU can be reformed' type of mantra. Now how many have actually tried to reform it though? He certainly has and he actually resigned from a top job in government because of the Euro. We still don't have the Euro in the UK many years after this happened.

There are only a few solid eurosceptics in the Conservative Party and I think he is certainly one of them. However they are a good influence on the up and coming Tories, and I think they do make a difference. He's just celebrated 25 years of being an MP, so I think he can wield some influence over Cameron. What other hope do we have? Labour won't get us out, the Libdems wont either and the UKIP are not going to be in power any time soon. What they can do though is to exert pressure on the Tories to get us out.
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