词汇提示

1.intolerance 不容忍的

2.bureaucracy 官僚主义

3.ironic 讽刺的

4.parliamentary 议会的

原文

Margaret Thatcher: 'Against European Unity' (3)

Some of the founding fathers of the Community thought that the United States of America might be its model.

But the whole history of America is quite different from Europe.

People went there to get away from the intolerance and constraints of life in Europe.

They sought liberty and opportunity; and their strong sense of purpose has, over two centuries, helped create a new unity and pride in being American - just as our pride lies in being British or Belgian or Dutch or German.

I am the first to say that on many great issues the countries of Europe should try to speak with a single voice.

I want to see us work more closely on the things we can do better together than alone.

Europe is stronger when we do so, whether it be in trade, in defence, or in our relations with the rest of the world.

But working more closely together does not require power to be centralized in Brussels or decisions to be taken by an appointed bureaucracy.

Indeed,it is ironic that just when those countries such as the Soviet Union, which have tried to run everything from the center, are learning that success depends on dispersing power and decisions away from the center, some in the Community seem to want to move in the opposite direction.

We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the State in Britain only to see them reimposed at a European level, with a European super-State exercising anew dominance from Brussels.

Certainly we want to see Europe more united and with a greater sense of common purpose.

But it must be in a way which preserves the different traditions, parliamentary powers and sense of national pride in one's own country; for these have been the source of Europe's vitality through the centuries.

翻译

玛格丽特·撒切尔:“反对欧洲统一”(3)


共同体的一些缔造者认为，美利坚合众国可能是它的典范。
但是，美国的整个历史与欧洲的历史大不相同。
人们去那里是为了摆脱欧洲生活的不宽容和限制。
他们寻求自由和机会;两个多世纪以来，他们强烈的使命感帮助创造了作为美国人的一种新的团结和自豪感——就像我们作为英国人、比利时人、荷兰人或德国人的自豪感一样。
我首先指出，在许多重大问题上，欧洲各国应该努力用一个声音说话。
我希望看到我们在合作比单独做得更好的事情上更紧密地合作。
当我们这样做的时候，欧洲会变得更强大，无论是在贸易、国防，还是在我们与世界其他国家的关系上。
但是，更紧密地合作并不需要权力集中在布鲁塞尔，也不需要由指定的官僚机构做出决定。
的确，具有讽刺意味的是，就在苏联等试图从中央管理一切的国家认识到成功取决于将权力和决策分散到远离中心的地方时，共同体中的一些国家似乎想要走向相反的方向。
我们没有成功地缩小英国的国家边界，只是看到它们在欧洲一级重新被强加，一个欧洲超级国家从布鲁塞尔行使新的统治。
当然，我们希望看到欧洲更加团结，有更强烈的共同目标感。
但必须保留不同的传统，议会权力和国家自豪感;因为它们是几个世纪以来欧洲活力的源泉。