Alex Martelli wrote:
wrote:
...
The basic failure is an economic one. Mobility of labor is a vital part
of the EU. Indeed my claim is that you cannot have a free economy
without freedom of all the ingedients - Capital, Labor, Goods and

Tell that to the French -- their huge scare about "the threat of Polish
plumber" crippled the Services Directive, and still today a Polish
plumber cannot freely go practice his trade in France (or, I believe,
Italy or Germany) without serious hassles making this or that "illegal".

The only plus of the EU, here, is that having these immigration hassles
as a state-level decision enables sensible states (Ireland, the UK,
Sweden, ...) to have much saner immigration policies, while, in the US,
even states which might LOVE to let good workers in (I suspect
California, Texas or Florida might, for example) must still kowtow on
immigration issues to heartland rednecks (OTOH, the fragmentation hurts
the EU on currency issues, for example: having theoretically free
movement of capital is hampered by that capital needing to be all the
time converted -- at a price each time -- among euros, pounds, kroner,
... having just 1 single currency, the dollar, helps the US!).


Alex

You have highlighted one very impoertant point - the mutual recognition
of qualifications. There are "headline" tariff barriers. There are also
non tariff barriers. I fully support the work of the WTO although I
consider it work to be limited. When you get things as brazen as
agricultural policies (both EU and US), the support bive to BOTH Boeing
and Airbus, this fact is often forgotten. Airbus A local trade
orgainization NAFTA or the EU must also be looking at non tariff
barriers as well.

Could I say that my own country Great Nritain is admitttting Poles and
other Easterners on a non restrictive basis. The British economy is
benefiiting. The french evonomy isn't. Anyway the pot calling the
kettle black is not going to solver henispheric problems.

Since when did America take a lead from France?. France is no friend of
Britain's, or Mexico's.