Do i need a passport if i went to France on the ferry?

jammin_2

sturll wrote: »

The thing is most British people don'tconsider themselves Europeans but British.

{citation needed}.

sturll wrote: »

Europe will always be abroad whether you have an ID card or not, since it is another country and always will be

Europe is not a country. The EU is a union of Member States. Sovereign states, of which the UK is one. As is France, as is Ireland, as is Poland. Europe can not be abroad - we are in Europe.

sturll wrote: »

- Unless we invade them and they get out their much loved white flag

Oh please.

You know Sturll, I usually enjoy reading your posts. What's going on tonight?

omelette451

sturll wrote: »

The thing is most British people don'tconsider themselves Europeans but British.

How many of them have you asked then? For my part, I'd consider myself European before British any day.

Calling a passport bulky is quite frankly ridiculous. You have not put forward a single credible argument for the usage of EU wide travel ID cards.

I have, you just didn't like it. A passport is bulky, at least compared to a credit card, and I don't know about yours but mine certainly doesn't fit in my wallet. Or indeed most of my pockets. And there already is an EU-wide system of ID cards, it's just that we don't have it. Pretty much everyone else has had it for years. The French have to carry theirs round with them at all times.

And in reality, if the effort of getting out a passport is that much that legislation should be introduced and millions spent on implimenting a scheme to make it that bit more effortless...

It would require little legislation and even less cost, given that the system is already in place for ordinary passports; all that would be required is the machines to print the cards themselves. Remember that I'm not talking about the government's proposed ID cards but rather about normal passport-based ones. Thinking about it, they could probably even be produced on the DVLA's printers - it would be the same ones we'd need. Have a look at one next time you meet a friendly foreigner on the plane - you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

sturll wrote: »

Then we should surely change our currency?

That's a different debate, and as I don't see how it's relevant to this one I'm not going to answer it here.

mazza111

As many of you know, my partner is Belgian, he came to the uk on one of these ID cards. It cost around 5-7€ and lasts for 5 years. I think if the uk were talking prices like that for bringing the ID card in then more people would find it a good idea. It's a chipped card, where only certain government agencies can read the chip. However when you look at the prices that the uk government are talking of charging for these cards, it's no wonder that people are up in arms about it.

inspector_monkfish

omelette451 wrote: »

For my part, I'd consider myself European before British any day.

!!!!!!????
Where were you born then?


Just for the record, I consider myself ENGLISH first, then BRITISH second, and European a very distant third!! :cool:

neilbond007

inspector_monkfish wrote: »

!!!!!!????
Where were you born then?


Just for the record, I consider myself ENGLISH first, then BRITISH second, and European a very distant third!! :cool:

hear hear!!!

Europe is full of people who hate the English. In fact the UK is full of people who hate the English!
Perhaps it's not Scotland who need independence. We should get independence from the men who have relations with sheep and the others that think wearing a skirt is acceptable

For the record my wife is 1/2 French. I love going to France (mainly to stock the garage up with cheap red wine and Belgian beers).

Widelats

Great info - cheers everyone!

whatusername

neilbond007 wrote: »

hear hear!!!

Europe is full of people who hate the English. In fact the UK is full of people who hate the English!
Perhaps it's not Scotland who need independence. We should get independence from the men who have relations with sheep and the others that think wearing a skirt is acceptable

For the record my wife is 1/2 French. I love going to France (mainly to stock the garage up with cheap red wine and Belgian beers).

Hey you, im begining to dislike your talk there pal.

British by birth and Scottish by the grace of god

omelette451

inspector_monkfish wrote: »

!!!!!!????
Where were you born then?

Lancaster, which, unless I'm very much mistaken, is in Europe.

For the record, I don't hate the English. I don't hate anyone, which is precisely the point. I don't see how my being born in the UK makes me any different as a person from anyone born in France, Tajikistan or Argentina, and I'm therefore inherently suspicious of any talk of a 'British identity' or enforced patriotism: there's a fine line between 'aren't we great' and 'aren't they stupid', and it's a line that has sparked countless conflicts and wars throughout history. There's no definition of 'Britishness' you can name without there being someone who doesn't fit it yet who still thinks of himself as British, and this, to me, shows the pointlessness of it all. Like it or not, Britain is in Europe, and our history, economy, and culture are all intrinsically linked with those of Europe.

whatusername

So do you support Europe at the Euro championships then?

neilbond007

omelette451 wrote: »

Lancaster, which, unless I'm very much mistaken, is in Europe.

For the record, I don't hate the English. I don't hate anyone, which is precisely the point. I don't see how my being born in the UK makes me any different as a person from anyone born in France, Tajikistan or Argentina, and I'm therefore inherently suspicious of any talk of a 'British identity' or enforced patriotism: there's a fine line between 'aren't we great' and 'aren't they stupid', and it's a line that has sparked countless conflicts and wars throughout history. There's no definition of 'Britishness' you can name without there being someone who doesn't fit it yet who still thinks of himself as British, and this, to me, shows the pointlessness of it all. Like it or not, Britain is in Europe, and our history, economy, and culture are all intrinsically linked with those of Europe.

Isn't most of our history with Europe fighting with them?