mr president yesterday the president of the european council herman van rompuy made an extraordinary speech in which he said that it was impossible to be outside the european union in a globalised world
of course hence the lengthy dole queues snaking across norway or the food riots in switzerland
but he went on to say something else he said that the dangerous thing about eurosceptism today is that modern patriotism is based on a denigration of other countries and here he could not be more wrong
a true patriot cheers the freedom of all peoples and values the patriotism of other countries
when mr van rompuy went on to make his second point which is that eurosceptism equals nationalism equals war he would perhaps have been well advised to look at the aims of the allied powers in the two wars whose end we commemorate today
they were fighting for the freedom of all nations for the restoration of sovereignty of all european countries
it was thanks to their patriotism that europe was not united in tyranny that sovereignty and independence were restored and indeed that the european union became possible
today of all days he ought to remember that
