Originally Posted by
Slant
So, two things... I mean there's a lot to unravel, but the main two issues you have are these:
1. Loss of control
2. Creation of a superstate.
I can address both at the same time with how the EU works. When the EU legislates anything, where does that authority come from? There's various ways we did it in history, the Egypts thought their Pharao was a God. In the middle ages they thought the King or Emperor was given authority by God, and so on. Well, those are pretty stupid ideas, so we got rid of them. So what about now? Well, typically, modern democracies say the authority comes from the people. Probably the best solution we have for now to answer the question: "What gives you the right to impose rules on me?" A pretty good answer: "Well, most of the people in this country, actually."
And that is essentially your problem. Now, about the EU? Who gives them that right? Well, the member states do. Every single right has been granted to the EU by every single member state. And that's not a one way street. As the German constitutional court has established a long time ago, the ultimate sovereignity on German territory lies with the German Government, given by the German people. Now, as part of that authority, The German Government can grant the EU certain rights and aspects of authority to act on behalf of Germany. And that translates into common speech: Germany can take that authority back anytime it chooses to. For instance, by quitting the EU. Just like the UK did. And the same is largely true for any member state in the EU, because the democratic principle that derives authority from the people is mandatory for all member states (one reason why Poland and Hungary are so much in trouble now is because they break that rule).
So, when you think national sovereignity is eroding, you couldn't be further from the truth. You just demonstrated it. In the most stupid fashion, I'll say, but you ultimately proved the reason why you want to leave wrong... by leaving. It's like someone saying I bet I can't fly, and I'll prove it by jumping off this cliff. Well, nobody ever disputed that you can't fly and now you're just falling to your death. Congrats?
About the creation of a super state, the EU does not have the authority to do that. There are several things that need to happen. Remember, authority is merely granted by the member states. And it's not a blank cheque, either. We're talking about very specific aspects of authority that need to be specifically named. And that is temporary. For a superstate to exist, and let's just call it a country, because that's what you're clearly thinking of, the EU would need to derive its new sovereignity directly from the people. Not the member states. There is some direct democracy going on in the EP, believe it or not, but I doubt that could be seen as enough for an actual country. It's enough for an entity that gets given state-like authority acting on behalf of its member states, but really, you'd want to go more into the direct democracy direction than it is now.
Second, the people in the EU are not ready for that idea, yet. The people in Brussels know this, the member states know this, everyone, even the most pro-EU nutjob knows this. And this is why your fear is so irrational. You're afraid of something nobody wants, nobody even seriously talks about. Based on what? There is no evidence suggesting that the EU is even moving in that direction. If you follow the actions of the EU, you will notice very quickly that the EU is merely reacting to events happening. There is little to no proactive legislation going on. Homogenisation of regulations is a big topic here. Whenever something gets regulated, it is because someone (typically a consumer protection agency of some sort) saw a deficiency that could be solved by aligning things like Banana classification. If Bananas had a type rating A, B, C based on their shape and size, it would make ordering and sorting Bananas on an industrial scale much simpler, the consumer would know what type Banana they have in their hands regardless of them being in Croatia, Spain or Germany. But when there's no need for regulation, or the regulation's benefit doesn't outweigh the effort needed to implement it, it's not done. Take your British power plugs. They're very different from continental plugs. It might be smart to align everything, but we never did, because the effort it would have for you guys to change EVERY PLUG is just disproportionally high in comparison to what... what would the benefit be? That we can buy appliances from UK stores and plug them into our walls? Doesn't happen often enough to be relevant if you ask me. But me going into a British supermarket buying fruit, I can guarantee you, that'll happen every single time I'm in the UK.
So, I know you don't care, but that's just a small glimpse of why you're irrational, why you're falling prey to cheap propaganda (hint: only Brexiteers talk about a superstate) and why your reasons are not factually valid. You may still have them, and I probably can't talk you out of them, but they are invalid. One look into the treaties would show it to you, too. But you never looked. You enjoy being fearmongered and looking into the actual legal text would take that illusion from you.
And all you accomplished by leaving is that you can't even influence the thing you don't like. Whereas every normal Eurosceptic stays in the EU and tries to make their voice heard, get things fixed they don't like. The EU isn't perfect, but quitting is the least constructive type of participation. And most of us are in it to win it. Quitters never win.