Both we and Greece are certainly free to do so.

Violating obligations under a treaty (or failing to meet bond repayments) obviously would call into question a country's commitment to honour ALL its treaties (or bonds). That is why countries (typically) go out of their way to honour all their obligations, even when it is a major struggle and/or unpopular to do so.

We're not being "ordered" to honour our treaty commitments (or bonds). Nor are we being "held at gunpoint" to do so. And, equally, neither are Greece nor Ireland.

Even for you, that is a ridiculous statement - as benefits to be derived from leaving the EU are hardly predicated on needless regulations!!......but, as usual, it shows yet again how easily you 'lose the plot'. Your request was an example of a 'needless' EU regulation - and I provided you with one - and the fact that it has now been repealed illustrates its worth!!

It may have been useful at the time.

Anyway, where did you get "Any cucumbers that are curvier may not be bought or sold." from?

That wasn't a quote it was an explanation of how the regulation worked in practice.

It wasn't - and it caused much ridicule, which naturally promoted the subsequent repeal. If it was 'useful' in it's original form, it would not have been repealed would it??


I read it in an article on stupid EU regulations - but unfortunately I have not been able to ' re-find' the precise article.
However, as EC Commission Regulation No 2257/94, DID cause international ridicule by stating that all bananas must be "free of abnormal curvature" - and one can only assume that the limit of non- abnormal curvature' must have been defined.
However, perhaps if you wish to challenge the dimensions I quoted, you could perhaps find/cite such dimensions from a recommended source.
Personally, I am not that bothered , as the dimensions, whatever they are, do not lessen the absolute ridiculous of such a regulation - which was the point!!

Times change. It was requested by the industry I believe.


We were talking about cucumbers, not bananas.

Basically it sounds like you were had by a liar, That's why referenda are a bad idea.

It was presented by the poster as part of the standard.

What upsets the eu about "abnormal curvature"?

Because at some point it has to look more like a cucumber than a green donut.

At the end of day does it matter what it looks like just as long
as it can be eat, eu does come up with silly rules

The industry requested it, it makes it more difficult to pack.

It wasn't the EU that came up with this, it was requested by industry.

They didn't have a lot of choice, with all the main parties selling them out. The disappointment is that the Irish haven't looked to other politicians, like they have in Greece, Spain and Italy.

Ireland hadn't borrowed money, like Greece had. Ireland's banks borrowed money, and the EU told Ireland to honour the banks debts.

Yes, their options were severely limited.

But had they swung to the far left or the far right, the Greek experience suggests it would not have ended well : getting into a confrontational showdown with the IMF and the ECB would not necessarily be a good idea for a small state.

http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/...5398-238118661

That's capitalism. You can win big. You can lose everything.

Like the tens of thousands of Irish people who were small shareholders in the Irish banks and have now lost everything, the holders of these unguaranteed Anglo bonds should now be losing everything as well.*
But they're not. In fact they're getting everything back, thanks to the policy being forced on Ireland by the European Central Bank and accepted by the gutless Irish government.

It'll take you no time to find many confirmations of this with a simple Google search. The above concerns bond holders in Anglo Irish Bank.

It's the intransigence of the elite that's making people look for alternatives.

What a stupid thing to say!! YOU define 'abnormal curvature' then?? They fact that they were NOT able to be sold is the relevant point, and a silly 14cm length dimension IS quoted ...... and is just as daft!
No we were talking about needless EU regulations - and stupid 'abnormal curvature' regulation was introduced for both - and also repealed for both.

Referenda is the only 'true' way of practising real democracy - rather than Representative democracy - and you might change your outlook on referenda if it obtained your preferred result.

Perhaps the biggest lie was introducing a referendum while indicating that the result would be implemented - without making the result a legal liability on the government.

Whilst not advocating constant holding of referenda , like Swirzerland - I do believe that we should have far more than we do. That may force MPs to actually represent their constituents - rather than their personal views , and would be democracy in action, rather than just 'representing ' it.

Was that not because Ireland wanted to borrow money from them and others?

"Thanks to the misguided state guarantee given by the previous government to all the Irish banks when the crisis hit in 2008, it's the ordinary Irish person who will have to pay the bill. "

" the man from the ECB, Klaus Masuch, suggested that the reason Ireland had to repay the unguaranteed Anglo bondholders was to preserve the credibility of other Irish banks. He emphasized that the decision was taken by the Irish government, although he made clear that this was the preferred policy of the ECB."

So anyway, where did you get "Any cucumbers that are curvier may not be bought or sold." from?

I'd rather not go on Stormfront or The Daily Caller, thanks.

If you look at the link you quote it clearly says "Opinion". The fact that someone (or someones) has an opinion doesn't make it true. If I write an opinion piece that you are a murderer, it doesn't mean you are a murderer, does it?

Nor does it alter the fundamental fact that the ECB does not have the powers to issue "orders" in such matters.

As I pointed out if Ireland publically refused to follow such "orders", it would take years for the resulting court case to make its way through the courts. In the meantime, both Ireland and the wider EU would have had to live with the "fair accompli". And it would be a case where financial reality had clearly overtaken legal points when the courts got round to handing down their judgments.

I know you did, and I told you of that - but oh ye of the very 'selective' memory.....you forget that was AFTER , you had also stated - - 'Name one "unnecessary regulation" -unquote - and I did that - irrespective of the actual curvature limits ..........so all you can resort to is querying the cited dimensions.
IF it was necessary - it wouldn't have been repealed.

I didn't claim that. Re-read what I said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ped-by-EU.html
imperfectly-shaped fruit and vegetables may now be back on supermarket shelves by 2009.