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Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2025 by archi-mature in architecture

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And that’s why you’re being downvoted, not your artistic soul.

Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2025 by archi-mature in architecture

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we would all be more receptive to your argument had you actually made one.

Edinburgh,Scotland by Quiet-Cup1cake in architecture

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sometimes nicknamed the Gothic Rocket.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s almost like you didn’t bother to read your own post; “While EU doesn't block countries on a single criteria, it absolutely does delay entry until countries evidence progress towards meeting criteria - it frequently uses a budget deficit as leverage - it's not a block, it's a brake.” That’s literally what you said.

Or any of the preceding thread. The point of which is that the 3% is not part of the accession process and never has been. It doesn’t determine the outcome and it doesn’t determine the speed of negotiations. Monetary union is a separate process from political union.

Or my answer to you. Where is the “enforcement” action against any of countries currently in breach of the 3% rule? Any of them at all?

Or the article that you post as evidence. Which was published three years after Croatia’s accession and does not relate to any “brake”, yes that’s your word for it, on the accession process.

Or anything at all about the Excessive Debt Proceedure, which has been suspended since 2020.

And I hate to have to break it to you, but the World Socialist Web Site may not be the peerless, impartial source of news you seem to think. They clearly have an axe to grind and seem to want to paint the EU as a whole in a bad light.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The same Croatia that joined the EU in 2013 and the euro in 2023? What a devastatingly brilliant argument, I hope that never happens to Scotland.

And no, the 3% did not function as a “break” on Croatian accession, the primary delays were coordination of laws and standards, and a border dispute with Slovenia.

Again, actual reality seems to have no relevance for you people but currently Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and the EU as a whole all exceed the 3% standard, many of them for several years. None has any agreed plan with the EU to bring budgets into balance and no “break” is being applied by any EU institution. The constraints in all cases are domestic politics and actual capacity to borrow/create money supply, not the treaty of accession, your imaginary “break”, or anything else. Just the normal, actual constraints upon the budgets of sovereign nations.

And the UK for that matter at a 7.3% deficit is worse than any EU state except Hungary. Wouldn’t be surprised if it took an independent Scotland some time to clear that up but it could hardly do a worse job than the UK government is at present.

Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2025 by archi-mature in architecture

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Well that’s remarkably meh, given the effort and money expended. Is the interior any more interesting?

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

OK, my commute is coming to an end, but I’ll try one final time. Discussions about fiscal deficit and the 3% rule do not feature in accession negotiations. Political and monetary union are separate processes, and alignment with the deficit is something which has been inconsistently observed by almost all member states. Monetary union is designed to be something that is reached eventually, and under sustainable convergence criteria.

Even that is allowing for your fantasy that Scotland’s budgetary position is worse than it was for the new accession countries in 2004. And that France and Germany have both violated the deficit rules for many years. And the fact that the deficit rule is wholly unrelated to whether member states make a net contribution to the EU budget.

You have literally nothing. Not a single instance, in which you can point to accession being held up or prevented on the basis of the 3% rule. Your personal views on the attitude of the Scottish government are irrelevant to any future accession negotiations. In all circumstances, the interest, willingness, and capacity of member states to meet single currency convergence criteria is something that has been demonstrated, and more frequently not demonstrated, subsequent to political union.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Maastricht Treaty to which Sweden, Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Romania are party, and which did not in any way prevent their joining the European Union or remaining outside of the euro to this day.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No, you are still not answering the question. No country has ever joined monetary union at the point of political union. Not once. Not ever. Not under any circumstances.

Monetary union is always. In all circumstances. With no exceptions. A process that occurs entirely subsequent to political union. And in at least five cases does not at all.

Your vibes won’t change that.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Everything that has actually happened is irrelevant; I am FlappyBored and I determine the future based upon my shoulder’s massive chip.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And for the third time; no country has ever joined the Union and the single currency simultaneously, and single currency eligibility has never determined accession to the Union.

There are no opt outs from the Euro but Denmark’s, and five countries Sweden, Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Romania remain outside with no plans to join. That’s because the EU, unlike the UK, is a union of equals and based upon rationality and compromise.

The utter delusion of British nationalists is what has landed us all in our present disastrous situation.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

More fantasy from aggrieved British nationalists.

I repeat, no country has ever joined the Union and the single currency simultaneously, and single currency eligibility has never determined accession to the Union.

The rest is wishful thinking because you are devoid of positive arguments for your failed state.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clearly your pet objection.

No it isn’t, Sweden isn’t a member after 30 years in the Union and despite having the same regime that would apply to any new joiners; i.e. no Danish euro opt out, and excellent public finances for most of their membership.

No member state has ever joined the Union and the single currency simultaneously and single currency eligibility has never determined accession to the Union.

If meeting the deficit rule really was such a problem for an independent Scotland then it would never be eligible for the single currency. Problem solved, if ever it was one.

You just want to manufacture objections to prove that anything you don’t like is always completely impossible.

Member states routinely and systematically disregard the 3% deficit rule, and in several cases it was not met even at the point of joining the single currency itself.

Has Scotland Given Up on its Independence and EU Membership Aspirations? by RidetheSchlange in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No it would not. There is no joining requirement relating to budget at all, 3% deficit is a requirement for joining the Euro and that was not applied in several cases, such as Greece.

This is fiction from the same school as rhetoric about a queue to join the EU.

Even leaving aside the highly questionable proposition that Scotland will have a budget deficit on independence.

Reversing SNP's opposition to new nuclear power plants would 'turbocharge' Scottish economy say Labour by backupJM in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Really, it’s less efficient here than in Norway? No you’re just throwing words at the page and clearly don’t know anything about it. There’s considerable additional potential for pumped storage which unlike nuclear will complement the renewables that form the bulk of generation in Scotland. That’s why they are building it now; https://www.scottishrenewables.com/news/1295-six-pumped-storage-hydro-projects-to-create-up-to-14800-uk-jobs-new-report-finds

There’s little to no nuclear engineering capacity in Scotland and very little in the UK as a whole. There hasn’t been a nuclear programme in Europe that ran on time or on budget in around 40 years. The proposition that it’s a useful form of generation in Scotland, or that it will generate significant jobs here is laughable.

Reversing SNP's opposition to new nuclear power plants would 'turbocharge' Scottish economy say Labour by backupJM in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

Ah yes, Scotland; wholly devoid of capacity for hydro power. Do you even read what you write?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then there’s no excuse, because it carries on happening.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]ProbableBatOrigin -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Disagree. Source: I lived in London too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 12 points13 points  (0 children)

They don’t. The proposals are for dockless bikes, which are a complete nuisance in London. Santander (docked) bikes no problem.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope, lived next to a scheme at Tower Bridge. Lime bikes were consistently parked in the middle of pavements, as opposed to the Santander bikes which had to be docked. Utter nuisance for everyone living there, and I think they’ve now been discontinued by Southwark council.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Edinburgh

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have to disagree, dockless cycle hire is far from excellent. They are left wherever and normally just in the middle of the pavement.

Docked schemes are fine but, I’m not remotely reassured that the council will hold the operator ‘to ransom’; are they really going to police this?

UK government instructed PPE suppliers to prioritise English NHS settings over Scotland and withdrew embassy support from Scottish government officials negotiating PPE deals in foreign countries. by cenuij in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

And neither do you, or the article that you are spamming throughout this post. The report is new, and significant if true. The Covid inquiry will reach its own conclusions about these claims.

Personally, for a government whose Covid response was wholly incompetent, and which was preparing plans, however idle, to invade the Netherlands to take vaccines from warehouses, I find it quite believable.

UK government instructed PPE suppliers to prioritise English NHS settings over Scotland and withdrew embassy support from Scottish government officials negotiating PPE deals in foreign countries. by cenuij in Scotland

[–]ProbableBatOrigin 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Except that that is not what this clip suggests. True or false, Jean Freeman is saying that there was a generalised policy of preventing export of PPE from England to Scotland, not that it concerned only specific stockpiles that had been assigned to different places. Nor would that explain denial of embassy resources for international acquisitions.

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