Do you consider Britain to really be a part of Europe?

[titanium turtle]

I wouldn't really consider us a part of Europe
and when they make the united states of Europe I will probably go to Russia

 

[Bob_Marley42]

ah and turkey turkey 2 is missing from this map

Turkey is in Asia, not Europe. Much like most of Russia is in Asia, not Europe. Europe stops at the Atlantic, the Urals, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. The amount of Turkey on European soil is so pathetically small its laughable (But we'll have Constantinople back, ta very much. Oh and the illegal occupation of an EU member's sovergin terretory isn't doing much for thier case either). (though the European union includes territory on every continent on earth, as overseas possessions are recognised as part of thier mother country)

Anyway, depends on who's definition of Europe you're using. If you asked DuGaul, no. Europe runs from the Urals to the sea.

Me? Yeah, the UK is in Europe.

For all of you saying that we have a different currency to the "rest of europe" do bear in mind that the Swedes still have thier crowns, the Danish thier krone, Polish zloty, etc. Not every member of the EU uses the Euro, not by a long way.

ehrm no half of both countries is considered european and half of those countries is considered asian though both countries want to be involved in the EU (and are if you count the commercial competitions like Eurovision and European cups)

Thats a dangerous game fella, start down that route and next thing you know you should be admitting Israel & Morocco to the EU because they were in Eurovision.

As far as the whole EU thing goes, the only thing I really want it for is freedom of trade & movement of people as well as backing up our claims (as we back up those of the French, Dutch, etc) to keep our remaining little chunks of the world.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

I always get the impression that UK is geographically, and politically a part, but something just doesn't fit. It's like if the other Europeans countries were gathered in a crowd on the playground, doing whatever, the UK would stand out to the side a bit, uninterested. I personally think that the UK should acknowledge its place in Europe a bit more, instead of continuing denial. First step towards that would be adopting the euro.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I do, the same way N.Ireland is part of the U.K.

there is so much wrong with this statement

Explain.

well the U.K isn't something the European jumped onto and occupied and such

and there aren't terrorists from scotland/wales/england trying to free their neighbouring counterparts

and so on and so on

My point was that they are seperate islands but under the same rule, thats all. P.S not all of us want a united ireland.

Point taken but you can't neglect the fact that they just don't belong

BTW the IRA do not see themselves as from Northern ireland, there republican. Im from northern ireland, i consider my self british want to stay part of the U.K

 

[Pimppeter2]

Its hard to tell from this map.

 

[Pandawudell]

You can't debate geography, it's in Europe. Get over it.

haha well said =] plus for those people who dont know, UK IS part of mainland Europe as its on the same continental shelf, just a bit of water that seperates us.

Geographically yes, politicaly i don't think UK is part of Europe

 

[Jonatron]

well the U.K isn't something the European jumped onto and occupied and such

Other than the Vikings. And the Romans. And the French. (Correct as appropriate, if you will. History has never been one of my strengths)

It is just not in the best interest of the British to join the EU, ever really.
...doubt British pride...

Why did that post get deleted?

 

[Ghonzor]

Yeah, i think that the UK is part of Europe but like you said, if someone says "mainland Europe", i would know they are not talking about Britain.

I agree

 

[Bob_Marley42]

you can't deny turkey want's admission to the EU and that Russia is considering it or already is part of it (i'm not sure)

Also if you look back at history we see that Russia and the Ottoman empire (for that's what it was back then) have always been considered European

so history wise and politically wise they are European

Oh and about Isreal ... Israel could be considered part of the EU as well as it was created by England..... and never existed outside of that region

I don't deny that Turkey wants EU admission. My position is that it shouldnt get it (as the country is not in Europe and the people are not Europeans) and that it wont get it (there is a huge ammount of opposition to Turkey becoming part of the EU for numerous reasons - displacement of the UK & France as 2 of the Big 3 in Europe, historical differences, the illegal occupation of Cyprus, not wanting EU borders with countries in the middle east, human rights issues etc).

The Ottomans were never considered European. They were considered the invading Turk, the decendents of the Muslims who pushed the European crusaders out of the Holy land and sacked Constantinople. While they occupied the Balkans for many years and even fought thier way to the gates of Vienna they were not European. There were and are far too many cultural differences for them to be considered so.

And if you go down that line of argument, the UK, France, Portugal and Belgium should all have seats on the African Union. After all, they were key powers in Africa for hundreds of years!

Russia again, would face huge amounts of opposition if it tried to enter the EU (it currently shows no interest in doing so, however), Many would see it as too powerful a state to allow entry (With a population of over 142,000,000 it would displace Germany as the largest member state and increase the European population by around 20%, giving it a huge amount of leverage), historical grevances with current member states (Many former Communist states in Europe still harbour deep anti-Russian feeling, not to mention those who spent the cold war preparing to fight them), perceived political instability within Russia and Russia's tendency to use both its military and economic might as a blunt instament with which to achieve its goals (Georgian War, stopping of Oil & Gas supplies to Ukraine), lack of economic development, suspicisions about human rights issues and democratic reform. It has a better claim than Turkey (as the vast majority of its population live west of the Urals, ie actually in Europe).

Israel was not created by England. While it is true that the modern state of Israel came into existance following the British mandate in Palestine, the partition plan (which never came into existance) was drawn up at the UN and Israel as we know it today was created in the crucible of the '48-'49 war when Mandatory Palestine was carved up between Israel, Jordan (West bank) & Egypt (Gaza strip). Its got bigger as the years have gone on (capture of the west bank, gaza strip, Sinai & Golan Heights at various other points) though some parts have been returned.

Now thats out of the way, back to the key point - Israel is not geograpically part of Europe. it is on the Asian continent.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

I know it is in Europe. I've no issue with that.

Though i know alot of people find it hard to believe, some because we're a seperate island the the rest of Europe.
Other people i know just hate to find themselves bound in any way to the French or Germans.

 

[Bob_Marley42]

euh Isreal is not asian either

It may not be an Asian culture as such, but it is situated on the continent of Asia, speficially in western asia, "the middle east".

 

[Klepa]

Depends what you consider "Europe", or "European". I see a lot of americans often asking questions like "What is X like in Europe?" or "How do Europeans feel about Y?". While there's nothing wrong with it, the questions make the assumption that all the countries across Europe have the same culture and background. A lot of the countries share nothing else but a border with eachother. Compare Sweden with Italy. Both very much "european", but really have nothing in common.

Europe consists of countries that have mostly kept doing their own stuff, next to eachother. Sure they've influenced eachother during the times, and may share similarities, but nowhere near to the extent of different states in the US.

So keeping that in mind, I would consider UK "european" or a part of "europe". One of the inherently european traits is that you can't really relate to any other europeans.

 

[Bob_Marley42]

euh'm that's like the middle east it's Eurasia there

that's why we call it the middle east

because it's neither yet both

(Asia) is bounded by the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. The western boundary, with Europe, runs roughly north-south along the eastern Ural Mountains; the Caspian, Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean seas; the Suez Canal; and the Red Sea.

link [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38479/Asia]

Israel is east of Suez. It's in Asia.

Eurasia refers to the landmass as a whole (ie Europe & Asia combined) and no specific area within it.

The Middle East actually refers to rather large area streching from Egypt to Iran (And in American terminology "the greater middle east" covers an area from Morocco to Pakistan and as far south as Somalia). Its called the Middle East to differentiate it from the Far East and Near East (as the Balkans used to be reffered to) because its in the middle of the two other "easts", this is useful particularly when one's empire is operating in more than one "east" (as it was the British who coined the term to differentiate it from thier holdings and actions in the Far East)

 

[Xaositect]

Geographically, there is no escaping it, its obvious.

Politically its a little more complex, although I think I would land on the side of "yes, for the most part". I dont think we should lose the pound, or anything like that. However, we are butt buddies with many European nations, if cold ones often. Yes, were still European.

Besides, I dont want shit like tis jeopardising our rights to compete in the UEFA champions league!