I thought the EU was all about co-operation?

Or deliberate policy to try to curb excess alcohol consumption? If I lived somewhere with 6 hour days in mid winter i think I might lack joie de vivre and turn to drink.

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Indeed. An increase. I’m referring to C.S. reduction due to the elimination of a ministry or dept. That is what they don’t have, Grandma. Not if they can help it or are Spanish. :wink:

The graph is of wage bill not proportion of c.s. against population. Spain has loads of c.s. on very modest/inadequate wages, which is why there’s so much double jobbing/black economy there.

Spot on. That’s why my DK pal is up for coming in with me on a place ‘south of the Loire’ for hs winter times and why he’s going to a counsellor regarding acohol consumption.

DK is far from the worst for winter gloom. It is, however, a very expensive place to buy slurp.

I think that’s right. My theory about the levels of Spanish C.S. and other similar countries - countries which had military dictatorship in recent times, like Portugal, Greece, Italy - is that once the Generalissimo had won he dished out employment to all who were on the winning side, despite the fact that the country was destitute.

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I regularly see the top up amounts being paid in by my former (private sector) employer to enable its scheme to meet its obligations - and they are truly eye watering. It’s not difficult to see why they, and others closed their schemes to further accruals and replaced them going forwards with defined contributions schemes.

According to the Pensions Regulator, 1.2m people in the UK private sector are actively contributing to their companies final salary schemes, and 9.6m have a final salary pension they will be able to claim in future.

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FFS, it’s called sovereignty.

For what it cost (£4-97), I ordered one anyway.

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

it’s taken 3 days of discussions to get this excellent result

My point wasn’t about the cost, but about how there are loads of different ones.

Almost like we’re going back to the Middle Ages and well before, when there was a tariff paysble on the road to enter many cities, cross certain bridges, etc.

As now these could be integrated into giant multinational collection systems for all sorts of tolls and charges popping up on routes to anywhere.

With the result travel and transport, particularly transport in one’s own vehicle, could become very expensive. And even visits to some areas, such as the centre of some cities, effectively would bar anyone of limited means by pricing them out.

Isn’t that what’s happening anyway?

Plus ça change….

In October 1714, the tsar of Russia signed a decree on the mandatory delivery of building stone to St. Petersburg by all river vessels and owners of horse-drawn vehicles entering the city. From 3 to 30 stones weighing at least 2kg.

So crit’air is pretty cheap by comparison.

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I have a French disabled parking card. As I will be makeing one of my rare visits to the UK next week I wrote to the London authority to make sure that I could use It. Ok to use it in London but check on the the rules where you are as apparently there are different rules for every borough.
Seems like this kind muddled thinking is not limited to different states.

I think foreign “blue badges” are accepted by Local Authorities for on street parking and LA controlled car parks. Private car parks are always subject to the whims of the operator. However, assuming it’s a foreign registered car, there is little chance of any enforcement as the keepers details cannot be obtained from DVLA.

Is the number on it indicative of the emission level, like with the Crit’Air sticker?

I ask because my car is a Euro 5, and qualifies for a number 1 Crit’Air sticker, but my Feinstaubplakette has a 4 on it.

The German site is rather interesting and seems to explain things.

Group 4: Motor vehicles with low particle and pollutant emissions (vehicles with the latest diesel technology and almost all with petrol engines that have a regulated catalytic converter) receive the green sticker

Put simply in France the lower the number the cleaner is while in Germany it’s the opposite, higher numbers are cleaner. Sovereign nations have their own systems.

and each Sovereign Nation’s “cleanair website” clearly and carefully explains things for that particular Sovereign Nation :wink: :wink:

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