Hmmm....
I'm afraid I've got a pretty UK centric view of the issues. Over here, the disquiet centres mostly about free-flowing of people.....or to put it bluntly the appearance of large numbers of Eastern Europeans willing to move to the UK to work hard The epicentres of the anti-European vote are also the places with the fewest immigrants. Work that one out.
The secondary issue is of 'unelected foreign politicians' making decisions that affect the UK. Curiously, however, nobody ever seems to give examples of these decisions and how they affect the UK in a negative way.
There is sometimes a furore whipped up about the UK having to conform to EU Human rights legislation.....as if this is a bad thing! Again, nobody ever seems to expand on why it is a bad thing, other than totally insignificant cases of difficulty in exporting foreign undesirables. Apparently, it's just the 'undemocratic' nature of parts of the EU that gets some British people frothing.
Curiously, they seem unaware or unconcerned that the UK has an unelected second chamber (some of whom are there as hereditary peers or religious appointments) nor that they have a Head of State (and military) that is unelected and hereditary.
So, as you correctly point out, it is a matter of perception.
I'm afraid I've got a pretty UK centric view of the issues. Over here, the disquiet centres mostly about free-flowing of people.....or to put it bluntly the appearance of large numbers of Eastern Europeans willing to move to the UK to work hard The epicentres of the anti-European vote are also the places with the fewest immigrants. Work that one out.
The secondary issue is of 'unelected foreign politicians' making decisions that affect the UK. Curiously, however, nobody ever seems to give examples of these decisions and how they affect the UK in a negative way.
There is sometimes a furore whipped up about the UK having to conform to EU Human rights legislation.....as if this is a bad thing! Again, nobody ever seems to expand on why it is a bad thing, other than totally insignificant cases of difficulty in exporting foreign undesirables. Apparently, it's just the 'undemocratic' nature of parts of the EU that gets some British people frothing.
Curiously, they seem unaware or unconcerned that the UK has an unelected second chamber (some of whom are there as hereditary peers or religious appointments) nor that they have a Head of State (and military) that is unelected and hereditary.
So, as you correctly point out, it is a matter of perception.