Post by cenydd on Aug 12, 2013 15:21:26 GMT
It may be the silly season, but the latest Euromyth to ruffle right-wing feathers takes silliness to a whole new level. The Express, Mail, Sun and Telegraph unanimously announced at the weekend that Brussels wants to remove the royal crest from British birth certificates and replace it with the hated EU flag. The Mail declared Brits would be “stamped with the EU flag from the cradle to the grave” while the Sun led with the rather lame “B-EU-rths ‘n deaths”.
They gave generous space to Eric Pickles, who fumed:
"This imposed Euro-law is part of an aggressive propaganda campaign to bully councils and public institutions into flying the EU flag at every opportunity."
In fact, the Commission simply proposed (back in April) that EU countries recognise each other’s basic documents –such as birth, marriage or company certificates – without the need for translations and special stamps. It also proposed offering people the option of a standard format European certificate when registering a birth or marriage, so they don’t have to translate their documents elsewhere in the EU.
Anyone who’s been through the hassle of translating or legalising certificates for foreign administrations will welcome the move with open arms. Around 1.7 million Brits live in another EU country and around 1 in 8 marriages in the UK are among bi-national couples. The Commission’s proposals would save time, energy and an estimated £280 million a year in legal and administrative fees.
As with most Euromyths, the proposal is not yet law and has to be agreed by national governments and MEPs before becoming so. Even then, the EU format certificates will be purely optional, and no common format – with or without the EU flag – has yet been agreed.
They gave generous space to Eric Pickles, who fumed:
"This imposed Euro-law is part of an aggressive propaganda campaign to bully councils and public institutions into flying the EU flag at every opportunity."
In fact, the Commission simply proposed (back in April) that EU countries recognise each other’s basic documents –such as birth, marriage or company certificates – without the need for translations and special stamps. It also proposed offering people the option of a standard format European certificate when registering a birth or marriage, so they don’t have to translate their documents elsewhere in the EU.
Anyone who’s been through the hassle of translating or legalising certificates for foreign administrations will welcome the move with open arms. Around 1.7 million Brits live in another EU country and around 1 in 8 marriages in the UK are among bi-national couples. The Commission’s proposals would save time, energy and an estimated £280 million a year in legal and administrative fees.
As with most Euromyths, the proposal is not yet law and has to be agreed by national governments and MEPs before becoming so. Even then, the EU format certificates will be purely optional, and no common format – with or without the EU flag – has yet been agreed.
www.libdemvoice.org/eu-birth-cert-myth-swallowed-whole-by-the-antieuropean-press-35712.html
Tories making up nasty things about the EU, and ramping up the rhetoric to appeal the UKIP votes? Surely not!
Certain elements from the UK press jumping on the bandwagon and propelling it forward (on a collision course with Europe) for all it's worth? Surely not!
It's always 'silly season' when it comes to making up stories about those nasty foreigners and their evil plans. There are more than enough real problems with the structure and operations of the EU to be addressed, without making up nonsense to rant about!