One last trip for Winton Train

>>Most people in Europe would much rather live in a continent of independent countries than in the undemocratic European superstate which has been forced upon them", where is his evidence? What data is he relying on? Given that all the new entrant states in 2004 applied to join, said application being endorsed by national parliaments and in some cases by referendum, how was this forced?

Ireland was the only country which allowed its people a free vote, and (despite massive propaganda) they voted "no". The other countries know that any referendum would result in the treaty being rejected.

The fact that national governments agreed to the plan is neither here nor there. Just as in the US, these people sold out many years ago to the highest bidder.

"Most people in Europe would much rather live in a continent of independent countries than in the undemocratic European superstate which has been forced upon them."

I think this is a first ever that I agree with Peter.And hell froze over.
To agree does not means that I am an "extreme nationalist."

Free trade does not need any army or cloying bureocracy sitting in Brussels assigning "half of its budget"(sic) for agricultural subsidies and deciding what produce can be grown in different countries-over the heads of local governments.

EU is superstate as it makes superstate like decissions.

What "undemocratic European superstate" is Mr Andrews fantasizing about? The EU, which a budget of about one(1) percent of the combined GDP's of the twenty seven member states, nearly half of which is consumed by the Common Agricultural Policy? The EU, which has no real foreign policy, and no way of enforcing same, save with the unanimous consent of all 27 states? The EU, which has NO armed forces, except those which member states MAY lend to EU missions, for strictly limited periods and under strict and differing national conditions? This is a superstate only in the imagination of the septic, Little Englander famtasies.
I do not claim that the EU is perfect. There are a lot of areas where change and reform is needed. My problem with the "Europhobes" is that they know what they do NOT like, but never seem to offer a valid alternative to what we have now. Sensible people deal with reality, and when the nay-sayers come up with something which will give the people of Europe the same range of defensible rights that we enjoy now, I will listen. Constant caricaturisation of the EU as some kind of Fourth Reich, or socialist dystopia might sound clever or make them feel good, but does not deal with facts on the ground. Even Margaret Thatcher accepted that for the Single Market to function properly, a supernational institution with real power was needed.
Lastly, with regard to Mr Andrews' statement that "Most people in Europe would much rather live in a continent of independent countries than in the undemocratic European superstate which has been forced upon them", where is his evidence? What data is he relying on? Given that all the new entrant states in 2004 applied to join, said application being endorsed by national parliaments and in some cases by referendum, how was this forced?
MacTurk

>>At 3am approx the Border control guards would check passports; and from experience; your passport would often denote how much 'attention' you recieved.

Have you never been across the US border? Or the border in any other country? Quite what a normal passport check has got to do with "extreme nationalism" isn't entirely clear.

Most people in Europe would much rather live in a continent of independent countries than in the undemocratic European superstate which has been forced upon them.

Catching the night train to Munchen/Frankfurt/Stuttgart in winter around 1999/2000 with sleeping bunk in a shared cabin gave the mind time to think. The train pulls all carriages; splits them at Nurnberg. At 3am approx the Border control guards would check passports; and from experience; your passport would often denote how much 'attention' you recieved. I allowed my imagination to drift back in time. The journey time to the Czech/German border was slow; lots carriages, and train lines in need of upgrade. As a European, whos father fought in WWII ,and grandfather in WWI, we have come a long way, and can't ever go back. Thats why individual extreme nationalism needs to be opposed in all E.U. countries;' E.U. history warns of 'charismatic' leaders with 'ethnic hatred' as thier driving policy.

'I simpy saw a need and filled it' ; I was unaware of the 'delays' in dealing with bureaucracy. This makes his efforts even more remarkable.
A great man who did the right thing at the right time.