GeniB

No problem here in Portugal either . Only as has been said above, mystified as to why we would want to leave (as net contributors) and not stay and fight our corner With the contribution Britain makes it's always puzzled me as to why they have consistently refused to sit at the top table.. even become the President (asked three times)I can only assume this is 'order's' from a higher force.. i.e. the USA

.The vitriol from the British towards the EU has also startled them as like us when we lived in the Netherlands they can actually physically see what being in the EU has done for them.. as opposed to before when nothing changed for yrs and yrs. It has simmered for a long time in the UK. (Boris Johnson being a major source of discontent with his lies from Brussels when he wrote for the Telegraph Newspaper.. sacked for it in the end) They say' why join a club ,only to constantly trash it'? Again.. orders from elsewhere perhaps?.. We have not been 'independent ' since WW2.. People refuse to believe it though

The only palpable signs are coming from the French who arrived here in droves during the summer looking for 'Those cheap properties ,now the British will be forced to sell' Telling them this isn't true at all just makes them angry.. Difficult to deal with at the best of times.. Estate Agents are reporting that they are fed up with them over this.

amideislas

There's nothing more that the USA would like than to see Britain engaged, influencing, or even leading the EU.

GeniB

On paper this would seem to be the case Ami.. So why hasn't it happened?

Maybe I have been watching too much House of Cards' but there certainly seems to be a lot of double talk going on.. The USA. has a huge say in what Britain does. since before WW2 (Theresa May's recent trip there to 'discuss' with the banks how to proceed with Brexit' speaks volumes to me) Why in that case didn't Britain take any one of those three invitations to preside over the running of the EU.?

amideislas

Yes, you have been watching too much "house of cards" (me too, I love it, but I can distinguish the difference between fact and fiction).

The US does not control British policy. Britain does. It has influence, but not control.

Aside from Obama's famous plea for the UK to vote remain (which failed miserably), there are some very basic realities in the US desire to have influence in EU affairs, via Britain. The first, and most obvious is trade (The EU is of course, the world's largest economy, and one of, if not the US' largest trading partner, second only to China). Britain shares many of the same values as the Americans when it comes to trade, and Britain has traditionally influenced EU policy in ways that suit the Americans.

Second, of course, is security. NATO, intelligence and so on. There are some nasty things happening to the east, which nobody wants to see accelerated. The only thing stopping Putin and his cronies from growing their influence is NATO, led largely by the US and Britain.

As Britain becomes less of a player in Europe both economically and politically, it's only natural that it's significance to the US will proportionally diminish. I expect much more emphasis on relations with the EU, through France and Germany. There's just a lot more to be tangibly gained from that.

Red_Wine_Fairy

So basically, the US likes the UK best because it's an island and Putin can't just drive tanks there like he can the rest of Europe? That is pretty much the UK's only saving grace, that and the language. Or is it the malleability of the Brits to US direction?

But I agree, I see Germany as the US's next 'special relationship'. But with Hungary (death penalty) and Poland (death to women who could otherwise live if they were legally allowed abortion which since today they no longer are under any circumstance whatsoever), I'm not certain they couldn't find a more amenable ''Chrischun'' nation a bit closer to the coldwar borders - particularly if a certain group of politicians take hold in November.

Ellie95

We've been living in Spain for just over half a year now, the only hostility I experienced was on the bus, when a group of Brits were demanding the bus driver speak to them in English. Needless to say he refused to serve them and there was also a Spanish guy who retaliated and said to them "You are in Spain this is not England". This happened post Brexit but there is no evidence this was because of it, just a group of stuck ups who were rightly put in their place. However my Spanish friends and associates are very baffled about it and they don't appreciate the way EU citizens in general were portrayed as 2nd rate "migrants" in the UK when for we refer to ourselves as "expats".

scot47

The different labels (Migrant and expat) reflect the fact that many consider themselves to be different and BETTER !

Renia

I live in UK and to be honest I have started seeing the signs of hostility towards Europeans. Basically, not directly expressed, but there is some kind of covered discrimination towards europeans now.
However, I was sad that May actually pulled the trigger the other day. Is it really the Europeans that are the British problem or illegal immigrants? After all here are only 3m Europeans in UK. Not that much and are usually highly educated and hard working people.
I have British passport, however I am not sure whether in a few years UK will be the same place. I don't feel welcome anymore and not sure I going to stay. It is very sad and I m afraid that the economy will sink. And then Europeans will go because there is going to be even worse discrimination against them

cyrian

Are you not the same Greek/UK person who is thinking of moving to Germany or perhaps Austria?
There is a rise in right wing groups in Germany and several other EU countries. Speaking with my German friends there is an increased resentment towards immigrants (cultural reasons) and also Greece because of the recent bail-outs.
You could be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Renia

Yes, I agree there is a rise of far right wing parties everywhere, including Greece. They also hate the Germans because of the impossible measures imposed. Don't take me wrong, Greece has made many mistakes, however the recipe imposed by Germany is wrong and doesn't allow the country to come out of recession. I would advice you and your German friends not be very arrogant because things change and one day you/they may find themselves in the same position one day. Be humble
Also, I am not sure i want to stay in Europe anymore. It looks like Armageddon is coming across all countries, including Germany.
Finally, re discrimination in UK after brexit, have you heard Amber Rudd's comments yesterday? No matter what Merkel has never made these kind of inflamatory comments.

cyrian

I really don't think that anything I have said is arrogant.
"Meaning: haughty, conceited, hubristic, self-important, opinionated, egotistic, full of oneself, superior"
What I said was the well-reported fact in that there are perhaps greater problems for foreigners in Germany and Austria than in the UK.
I do not agree with Angela Rudd's comments.
Angela Merkel is considering restricting access to State Benefits for 5 years for other EU nationals.
Francois Hollande has made comments against the UK as have several other EU leaders.
There is a lot of anti-EU feeling in France and Germany.
There is simply a lot of political posturing going on just now much of which is for domestic media. (That includes the UK).
I hope that you find a suitable country soon.

Renia

https://www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/extreme-views-are-becoming-the-mainstream-in-britain-and-eur?utm_term=.ap5rVbdWp#.agPb9N3Aq

Interesting article

BEVS

I'm sure you didn't mean it to sound personal to Cyrian but it didn't come across as very nice.

britishbull

Before Brexit, have seen Brits in Spain acting like they own place and insisting on English so nothing new there. In UK have absurd position of young British men sleeping on street whilst Eastern Europeans work in nearby shops, and the poor get riled up when foreign families get priority for social housing. Brexit was not a quiet revolution but more a peasant's revolution, mired in ignorance and lies and could have been avoided if Cameron had applied a residence test to benefits, tax credits, access to social housing and personal tax allowance (something hard to tough out like seven years but not continuous so that Brits would largely be unaffected ) so that it would have taken out the demand at the lower wage end of the scale.

What will happen now is that the new deal will be ok for big business and a pile of crap for normal people.

Renia

Hi

No I didn't. However, I can't tolerate arrogance from anyone. Never look down on other people for what is happening to them. Today it's them, tomorrow it's going to be you. This applies to every nation in the world. German, Greeks, British, everyone!