Engineers by their nature take problems and find solutions. Wouldn’t it be nice if those carving up Europe had the same philosophy. When researching the cover article for the latest issue Gary Livingstone, from British company (LG Motion), told me he believed the problem wasn’t Europe at all, but more the sharks already circling that are ready to profit from it. He said: “In my mind, too many lawyers and accountants have made money setting up Europe. And they'll make even more if we go back out again.That’s not progress.”
Cynical perhaps but it seems to sum up the problem with the European Union, there are too many people involved whose interests are about personal gain and power, rather than those of their nation or the union as a whole.
Hopefully our lead article takes a look at some of the practical realities around EU membership for the engineering industry, rather than bombarding you with claims and counterclaims of apocalypse depending on whether you vote for a posh bloke from Eton, or a posh bloke from Eton.
However, if Europe is not on your mind and the realities of national and regional engineering, then those in the North East have the return of the MENE exhibition to look forward to. Perhaps, the ideal opportunity to escape all that European bluster and concentrate on technical engineering design issues.
