tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post4033092005048782489..comments2023-06-05T08:56:51.641+01:00Comments on Jon Danzig's World: What Nigel Farage told British expats in SpainJon Danzighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-36102789960080147232016-02-22T23:24:20.909+00:002016-02-22T23:24:20.909+00:00Thank you for your comment. I have asked EU law ex...Thank you for your comment. I have asked EU law expert, Professor Steve Peers of Essex University, to provide an answer. He wrote in response to your comment:<br /><br />“As a matter of EU law, the rights of EU citizens within the EU are conferred by the EU Treaties and EU legislation, not the EEA. The EEA merely extends those rights to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. <br /><br />“National legislation in the UK and elsewhere may refer to the EEA more generally but there is a distinction when it comes to the source of those rights. <br /><br />“If the UK leaves the EU it could remain a member of the EEA if it joined EFTA; that would depend on the willingness of EFTA members to accept us and the UK's willingness to join. It is not clear that the UK would seek to join since this would keep free movement of persons with the EU in place - the very thing that many on the Leave side highly dislike. <br /><br />“There is nothing whatsoever in any EU law that says that any EU citizens resident in another Member State get to keep all their rights if they are resident there for three years if their Member State leaves the EU. The Treaties say that EU citizenship depends on holding the nationality of a Member State. If your country of nationality ceases to be a Member State, you are therefore no longer an EU citizen.”<br /><br />I would add that the British prime minster, David Cameron, said in Parliament today (in response to a question on what would happen to British citizens living in the rest of Europe if we left the EU) that there is no certainty on what their status would be. It would be complicated and open to negotiation. The issue is certainly not covered by the Treaty of Rome. <br /><br />The former attorney general, Dominic Grieve, claimed that British citizens living in the rest of the EU would become 'illegal immigrants' if Britain left the EU. I am not sure that's correct, but the point is that nobody knows. It would be a walk into the dark, as Mr Cameron has warned us several times. <br /><br />The EU brings in much more than it costs us. Why would 27 other members of the EU, plus the EEA countries, agree to the rules and costs of the EU, if the costs outweighed the benefits? We are the only country having a referendum on whether to leave the EU, and not even EEA countries such as Norway or Iceland are wanting to abandon their commitments to EU rules and contributions.<br />Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-83026323467270184182016-02-22T21:57:53.189+00:002016-02-22T21:57:53.189+00:00The EU does not confer the rights of freedom of mo...The EU does not confer the rights of freedom of movement of people nor the rights to take their pensions or health benefits with them. These rights are conferred by the membership of the EEA, which includes non EU countries. So UK leaving EU would not have the effects that the don't leave thhe EU scaremongers want us to believe. Further, if UK left the EU AND the EEA, the expats who have lived abroad for more than 3 yrs (and the actual act of leaving would likely take at least 3 yrs to happen) get to keep all their rights in their new country of residence under the treaty of Rome. In summary, leaving the EU (and/or EEA) would make bugger all difference to everyone, except the UK taxpayer who would save a huge expense, and the EU gravy train parasites, who would lose some of their free money.Steve in Spainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07450142830600152912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-14178935916525731102015-09-02T15:00:26.902+01:002015-09-02T15:00:26.902+01:00Just an observation... It seems the majority of pr...Just an observation... It seems the majority of pro-EU comments are well written with reasonable spelling, grammar and punctuation, while most anti-EU comments have rather poor spelling/grammar and some pretty shocking punctuation. Just an observation from a Canadian...I think that about sums it up Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-36955435464007865882015-05-26T13:00:06.869+01:002015-05-26T13:00:06.869+01:00Hi, I just wanted to make a correction - Victor Po...Hi, I just wanted to make a correction - Victor Ponta is NOT the President of Romania (thank the lord!), and neither was he at the time when he gave the 2013 interview you mention. He is the Prime Minister.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-68539086726080598122015-05-25T11:22:28.672+01:002015-05-25T11:22:28.672+01:00As a british citizen living in germany i have had ...As a british citizen living in germany i have had to claim Unemployment benefit too.(and got retrained at a HUGE cost to the german taxpayer) but these EU workers have also paided NI and taxes too. If you have paid into the system you as entitled to claim benefits like anyone who has pain ad a UK National.<br /><br />Worst in this debate for me is Irish and Commonwealth citizens are allowed to vote 1.5 million expats ARENT! This vote effects me just as much as anyone living in the UK.<br /><br />magine being forced to leave your job and home. The first thing id have to do is CLAIM UK benefits because im unemployed. Is that in the intrest of the UK too?James Marrsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-53584835645403870362015-03-21T02:15:35.925+00:002015-03-21T02:15:35.925+00:00Well Anonymous Ex Pat, have you integrated and lea...Well Anonymous Ex Pat, have you integrated and learned either Spanish or Catalan?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-85084226128451442552015-03-21T02:11:26.325+00:002015-03-21T02:11:26.325+00:00How do You find the french language?How do You find the french language?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-79921246226600418772015-03-12T15:14:47.576+00:002015-03-12T15:14:47.576+00:00Anonymous (what a shame you couldn't have the ...Anonymous (what a shame you couldn't have the courtesy and courage to post under your real name) I wonder why British people living in Spain are called expats but the Polish people living in Britain are called immigrants?Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-69609109990733723412015-03-12T14:45:49.362+00:002015-03-12T14:45:49.362+00:00I'm a British ex-pat in Barcelona. I'm fai...I'm a British ex-pat in Barcelona. I'm fairly certain I have paid more tax to the government in the last year that the vast majority of the tattooed, long haired skateboarders know as 'Spanish young people'.<br /><br />And regrading the second comment, I'm aware that I'm an EX PAT. Not an immigrant, Google the difference. Besides which, as someone who has taken it upon themselves to try living in a different country, the little Englanders who vote UKIP look ridiculous and petty from over here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-26938559574115359082014-12-11T21:02:42.860+00:002014-12-11T21:02:42.860+00:00Dear Anonymous, thank you for your comment, althou...Dear Anonymous, thank you for your comment, although I am unsure I've been able to offer any reassurance about Britain's future in the EU - but I hope readers may be better informed on the good reasons why the UK should stay a member.<br /><br />I can't offer information or reassurances, unfortunately, regarding state pensions for Britons abroad. I am not in government and we are about to have a General Election. I suggest that we should scrutinise the manifestos of the parties when they are published in due course. Will you be able to vote in the UK's General Election?Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-74357345299662416072014-12-11T20:53:05.606+00:002014-12-11T20:53:05.606+00:00My wife & I are pensioners living in Spain. I ...My wife & I are pensioners living in Spain. I thank you for your blog & reply to questions & feel much more reassured of our continuing comfort in Spain into the future. However, I am disturbed by the prospect of free health care being withdrawn if Britain were to leave the EU. I have also heard that state pension would be frozen as in Canada, Australia etc. though this is of much less concern due to the pitiful annual increases we get. Can you offer me any further reassurances on these points?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-51777845520505704772014-12-11T17:23:38.531+00:002014-12-11T17:23:38.531+00:00Spain will only grant you Spanish nationality if y...Spain will only grant you Spanish nationality if you first relinquish your UK nationality. There is no agreement on a "dual" citizenship. Jacobite_athomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09645378243859523297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-90112529761865337582014-12-11T14:32:20.178+00:002014-12-11T14:32:20.178+00:00It's worse. It's scapegoating. Telling peo...It's worse. It's scapegoating. Telling people that our difficult problems and all that is wrong in this country is the fault of people who were not born here. This not only creates prejudice and fear, but also distracts us from the very real problems we face and looking at what actions really will start to address them.<br /><br />It's easy, when times are hard, to comfort people by giving them an easy explanation and target for their problems, but it isn't right. When we leave the EU and nothing gets better, who then will they turn their ire on?Alex Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910131302524150132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-4654721824598982452014-12-11T14:20:10.766+00:002014-12-11T14:20:10.766+00:00Have to take you up on that... the council of mini...Have to take you up on that... the council of ministers does not really comprise of elected representatives, it consists of representatives who have been 'selected' by the heads of state, who in turn were usually 'selected' by elected representatives (depending on each country's democratic system). The UK arguably has a pretty poor link through to the people, but that is because the UK democratic system is so poor, and nothing to do with the EU.Alex Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910131302524150132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-29837047731719305252014-12-11T14:17:12.677+00:002014-12-11T14:17:12.677+00:00Anonymous (again). The commission and commissioner...Anonymous (again). The commission and commissioners play the same role in the EU as the cabinet and ministers do in Westminster, i.e. to propose policy and laws. In Westminster the PM selects the cabinet, we do not vote for them (I certainly would never have voted for Michael Gove to be education secretary). Nor do we get to vote for the PM... he is selected by those who we elect to the house of commons as our representatives. The commission president is also selected by our elected representatives, and so are the commissioners. At least in the EU the parliament gets to interrogate potential commissioners and vote on the whole commission and its president afterwards... there is no such oversight for the Westminster cabinet.<br /><br />Laws cannot be passed without the parliament voting in approval... in both cases. In both cases there are methods of parliament proposing laws, but in both cases it is usually harder for those laws to get passed.<br /><br />Also, as in Westminster MEP's sit on committees who actually help steer the creation of policy and proposed laws. That is an important role in any government. It's such a shame that UKIP MEP's rarely show up to any committee they are a part of... just another way they are letting us down and getting paid to not turn up to work.<br /><br />Like Peter I agree there is room for improvement in the EU democratic framework, but if we are going to criticise a lack of democracy, then we should be looking to lead by example and start with the worse democracy that is our own parliament, with it's unelected house of lords and the archaic and unrepresentative first past the post election system which distorts the real desires of the public for their representatives.Alex Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910131302524150132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-73846224227357675772014-12-11T14:02:58.522+00:002014-12-11T14:02:58.522+00:00Wrong. UK citizens who have lived there for five y...Wrong. UK citizens who have lived there for five years or more have the right to apply for citizenship. As for 'nest' there are a whole host of points above for you to consider.Alex Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910131302524150132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-12564494532201229182014-09-21T14:12:30.398+01:002014-09-21T14:12:30.398+01:00What has EU migration to do with French ports bein...What has EU migration to do with French ports being "over run"? All EU citizens - including Britons - can travel freely across our continent using legitimate means of transport. What exactly was "tosh" in my challenge of the statements made by Nigel Farage? <br /><br />In times of international crisis, I feel safer for Britain to be part of the European Union rather than on our own.Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-13515351137907681502014-09-21T14:05:23.428+01:002014-09-21T14:05:23.428+01:00Reading this in Sept 2014 what a bag of tosh you w...Reading this in Sept 2014 what a bag of tosh you wrote. We now have IS; french ports over over run. Eu reps being voted in by the back door with no say given to any of the people in the Eu states;Scots trying to split from the UK.What a lovely EU we live in.<br />I agree that Mr Farage was wrong in some of the things he said . Things are much worse than any one could have ever thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-46959024999010452112014-08-29T18:24:10.546+01:002014-08-29T18:24:10.546+01:00Dear Mr Anonymous, you have attempted to post anot...Dear Mr Anonymous, you have attempted to post another comment here that is nasty and a classic 'ad hominem' approach that I simply do not permit on my blog comments section. You wrote in addition to other unfounded allegations against me that I am an "enemy to this country and one day i hopd to see you and your kind pay for your crimes" etc. This of course is defamatory and I note that you still do not have the courage to post under your real and verifiable name. Subsequently your comment has been deleted and will not be published here.<br /><br />You asked if I had a Wiki entry and if I requested for such an entry to be removed. I can confirm that I have never had a Wiki entry about me and therefore I could not have ever requested its removal. <br /><br />I suggest now that you go and infiltrate someone else's blog; you are not welcome here.<br /><br />Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-43392847962136074082014-08-17T09:39:29.000+01:002014-08-17T09:39:29.000+01:00According to the Telegraph, more than 10,000 Brito...According to the Telegraph, more than 10,000 Britons were claiming unemployment benefit in Germany. See: ‘Thousands of Britons claim dole in Germany’<br /><br />http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10392257/Thousands-of-Britons-claim-dole-in-Germany.html<br /><br />According to The Spectator magazine, fewer than 7,000 Poles were seeking Job Seekers Allowance.<br /><br />See: ‘The myth of the Immigrant Benefit-Moocher’<br /><br />http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/alex-massie/2013/02/the-myth-of-the-immigrant-benefit-moocher-part-two/<br /><br />Obviously these figures are in a state of flux, and never fixed. They are changing all the time.<br /><br />With regard to foreign prisoners in our jails, your statistics are way off the mark. At 30 June 2013 there were 10,786 foreign nationals in prisons in England and Wales from 160 different countries. Poland, Jamaica and the Irish Republic are the countries with the most nationals in prison establishments. The proportion of foreign national prisoners in the prison population is around 13%.<br /><br />Source: Prison Population Statistics, UK Parliament<br /><br />http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN04334.pdfs <br /><br />Your claim that less than 375,000 Britons are working in other EU member states is also wide of the mark. Compared to the 2.3 million EU citizens in the UK, which includes people who came after Poland and nine other states joined the Union in 2004, British consular authorities estimate that 2.2 million Britons live in the other 26 EU countries, excluding Croatia, which joined in 2013. The UK government has stated that the real numbers could be higher, due to “a high evidence of non-registration” in France, Portugal and Spain. Of the total, some 400,000 are British pensioners.<br /><br />Source: Two million British people emigrated to EU, figures show<br />http://euobserver.com/social/123066 <br /><br />I am prepared to publish more of your comments here, but only if you have the courtesy and courage to post under your verifiable real name rather than anonymously. <br />Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-56160808686409695562014-08-16T00:02:12.255+01:002014-08-16T00:02:12.255+01:00Mr danzig, as you seem so kean on quoting stats he...Mr danzig, as you seem so kean on quoting stats hear are a few you may wish to look at , with regaurds to your claim we have more british claiming unemployment in germany than we have polish claiming hear, there are around 8000 british nationals claming in germany there are 13500 polish claming unemployment hear so your claim is wrong , there are 700 polish in uk jails there have been 28000 romanians in jail over the last 5 years at a cost of over 75 m in total there are 375000 eu nationals claming benefit in the uk of one type or another , that is more than the total amount of brits that work in the eu so stop telling how fantastic it is for us to have all these wonderful romanians , ect camping out in park lane and how much they bring to the uk leg me tell you what these people bring , low wages for the people already hear , crime , shortage of housing high rents , as well as strain on schools ect this whole eu thing is a bloody con and you mate are involved i suspect if you do not alrwady have your nose in the trough you soon will i hope we get out of this before its to late you i know doubt wanted to go into the euro as did most of your little mob, your a fool open your eyes you got the euro wrong your stats wrong and will get the rest of this eoro disaster wrong as well , john London , vote for getting away from these nutters before irs too late the only people who want this eu rubbish is people with something to gain like eu buracrtes and the poor of europe who infest our country , john london Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-53265287426568037812014-08-15T18:32:36.247+01:002014-08-15T18:32:36.247+01:00Dear Mr Anonymous, thank you for your comment and ...Dear Mr Anonymous, thank you for your comment and question. <br /><br />Last year, more British people claimed unemployment benefit in Germany than Polish people were claiming unemployment benefit in the UK. Each year, the Spanish health service spends £249m on health care for the one million Britons who live there (after insurance and UK charges).<br /><br />More British people make use of the right of free movement across our continent than any other EU nationality. <br /><br />With regard to the citizens from other EU countries living in the UK, very few of them claim social housing and employment benefits such as working tax credits. <br /><br />EU citizens here from East and Central Europe are around 60% less likely than British natives to receive state benefits, or tax credits, or to live in social housing. Furthermore, those EU immigrants pay almost 40% more in direct or indirect taxes than they receive in public goods and services. Almost 94 per cent of the working-age EU immigrant population are not claiming working-age benefits. They contributed about a third more in taxes than they received in benefits.<br /><br />According to research by University College London, citizens residing in the UK from other parts of Europe in the last decade made a net fiscal contribution to the UK of about £22 billion. Most immigrants here from the rest of Europe are in gainful employment and make a substantial net contribution to our economy.<br /><br />Please see the sources for the information above in my article, 'The free movement of people - it works both ways'<br /><br />http://www.eu-rope.ideasoneurope.eu/2013/12/05/the-free-movement-of-people/<br /><br />With regard to war, no countries during their membership of the European Union have warred with one another. Through the European Union, we've found peace. That’s quite an achievement, I believe, when one considers that the planet’s only, and hopefully last, two world wars originated right here, in Europe.<br /><br />My vote is for Britain's continued membership of the EU.<br />Jon Danzighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13843735276520325007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-25218735293219285372014-08-15T16:52:28.023+01:002014-08-15T16:52:28.023+01:00I have one question for you mr danzig how many bri...I have one question for you mr danzig how many british who live in the eu outside of uk get provided social housing and employment benifits such as working tax credits and child benifit very very few but feel free to put me right ,the people of europe only buy what they need from us and no more and that i doubt will change this whole eu disaster will end in war accross europe because its very simple when you force lots of people to live together and share each others wallets who history has shown have never got on they will fall out , i hope you and your pro eu people are ready for the backlash when war comes i am sure you wont have to wait long , well done clap, clap, clap, the left will ruin the world for everyone then run away and hide in chipping norton , you make me puke , john LondonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-25154697370116191882014-05-26T11:05:13.031+01:002014-05-26T11:05:13.031+01:00Hi. I would like to add to this discussion another...Hi. I would like to add to this discussion another point - in a year 2004 and 2005 Germany has been losing 500 workplaces A DAY because their companies moved their factories to Eastern Europe and it was exactly the same in France or Nederlands. It is more than obvious that most companies will consider moving their factories somewhere else if UK will leave EU: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/08/nissan-automotive-industry. Many companies have stayed in the UK because they knew a very cheap and hardworking peoples are coming. <br />Jon you forgot to add that every single EU citizen is allowed to live and work in every EEA country as well as in Switzerland. If Britain will start to trade with EU like Switzerland you will not be able to stop immigration from EU. I would like to remind all of you that EU is not a free buffet.China, US, India or Brazil - they don't care about Britain, they only care about biggest economy in the world - EU.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411079690225439692.post-16557300494300477182014-05-26T10:46:36.446+01:002014-05-26T10:46:36.446+01:00Anonymous ---> I am spanish and i am telling yo...Anonymous ---> I am spanish and i am telling you, you are brainwashed. Houseprices because of brits went DRAMATICALLY up. A huge queues in hospitals and huge inflation. The other problem is fact that they usually buy foreign products so there is no support for domestic economy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com