Yeah normally I would hope I wouldn't have to spell it out, but I'm in a preemptive mood today :P

I guess the EU is a heated topic over there! Especially for the U.K. members.

@NJ5

Unfortunately it will be seen as nationalism, because the European Union itself has a number of unethical, anti competitive, pro monopoly trade practices under its own belt. So it will read as I am allowed to cheat, and you are not allowed to cheat. Further more it always reads like government profiteering. So is just really being served, or is it just more pocket lining.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but if you're talking about anti-competitive European companies, a lot of them have been fined by the EU no less.

Several airlines: http://www.eyefortransport.com/content/five-major-airlines-plead-guilty-price-fixing (scroll down for the European antitrust investigation)

Siemens: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2324897,00.html

BASF: http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSBRU00618720071212

Car glass makers: http://article.wn.com/view/2008/11/12/EU_levies_hefty_fine_on_car_glass_makers_f/

I could go on...

@NJ5

I was probably unclear. I am referring to unfair trade practices put in place by the European Union itself to discourage competition against European companies, and against European monopolies. You can see the hypocrisy when you see it from that vantage point. How is it fair for a government to unfairly block competition, but also levy fines against others. Well it isn't fair or even ethical for that matter. Anyway it reads poorly especially to those that are getting screwed over by the Europeans Unions own shiftless trade policies.

@Dodece: Could you be more precise and give some examples of those trade practices?

I find it a bit ironic that we're discussing this in a thread where an American company was attacked by another American company and then protected by the EU, but let's discuss it nonetheless.

Like how the American government applied quotas on New Zealands farm produce? Or Canadian timber imports or.. Farm subsidies... The U.S/E.U are as bad as each other.

@NJ5

I could be more precise most certainly, but this is a discussion I have had many times before on many forums. To be brutally honest its a massive time sink. One I honestly cannot afford today, and more to the point is it really worth it to educate one forum member on a painfully obvious point. Which is governments are prone to corruption, or more specifically to aiding and abetting unfair trade practices on behalf of their citizens.

I suppose if your sincerely interested into what I am alluding to. Beyond the obvious Google searches. I think you will find the most devious practices in the laws governing standards. Basically you can word the standards to prevent the products of one region as compared to another even though the products are virtually identical. You can mandate minimum sizes, shading, curvature, and so forth. None of which actually effect the quality of product. Though that five percent difference in curvature can ensure that American exporters in Brazil cannot bring their product to market, while Dutch exporters in Indonesia can.

That is where you will be able to follow the unabated corruption. Just find some convoluted standards laws, and figure out who benefits most from them. From there you can follow the wheel greasing. Be warned your going to be disgusted if you go this far. You really cannot be naive at this point. Then you will see why some people will have such views on the European Union.

Honestly I know all governments are corrupt, or at least corrupted. Though they are also pretty good at keeping shit convoluted so by all means go wandering through the catalogs of numbers and numbers of numbers.

GO europe! =D