Quotes on the European Union
"The people who support our membership of the Euro are the same half-wits who promised joining the ERM would deliver a land of milk and honey. Instead it delivered bankruptcy, homelessness, unemployment and misery."
--Richard Littlejohn (26th June 1998), The Sun.
"The process of monetary union goes hand in hand, must go hand in hand, with political integration and ultimately political union. EMU is, and always has meant to be a stepping stone on the way to a United Europe."
--Wim Dulsenberg, President of the European Central Bank.
"A Signal must be sent¼ that a single market and a single currency is not the end of the EU journey."
--Viktor Kilma, Chancellor of Austria (24th October 1998).
"Joining the Euro will close the book on Great Britain."
--Frank Field, Labour MP.
(Note, he excludes Northern Ireland. An indication of Labour's plan for Ulster, perhaps?)
"Tax co-ordination is now an ordinary, although difficult subject which has a permanent place on the EU agenda."
--Mario Monti, (26th September 1998).
"A European Currency will lead member nations transferring their sovereignty over financial and wage policies as well as monetary affairs. It is an illusion to think states can hold on to their autonomy over taxation policies."
--Hans Tietmayer, President of the Bundesbank.
"We deceive the British People and we deceive ourselves if we claim we are winning the argument in Europe¼ There is no argument in Europe. There is Britain's point of view, and there is the rest of Europe. The only question at Maastricht was how much Britain could swallow and what special arrangements could be made for us. There is not a shred of evidence at Maastricht or since that anyone accepts our view of Europe¼ The plain fact acknowledged by every continental politician - except those on the fringes of power - is that the other members want a European State, whether they express it in these precise terms or not."
--Norman Lamont (1995), Sovereign Britain, (Duckworth), p21-22.
"We ought to work on a common constitution to turn the European Union into an entity under International Law¼ that is my goal. It is the decisive task of our time."
--Joschlea Fischer, German Foreign Minister (25th November 1998)
"We are entering a new phase of European politics¼ What is decisive is not only do we have a single currency area, but also that it is accompanied by a co-ordinated economic and financial policy¼ We must drive forward tax harmonisation in Europe."
--Oskar Lafontaine, Ex-German Finance Minister, (16th November 1998).
"No longer is European Law an incoming tide flowing up the estuaries of England. It is now a tidal wave, bringing down our sea walls and flowing inland over fields and houses, to the dismay of all."
--Lord Denning, (1990).
"The Single Currency is the greatest abandonment of sovereignty since the foundation of the European Community¼ It is a decision of an essentially political nature. We need this United Europe¼ We must never forget that the Euro is an instrument for this project."
--Felipe Gonzalez, Former Prime Minister of Spain, (May 1998).
We have been warned