Personally speaking....Fintan O'Toole (seen by many as the bastion of Irish journalism)..is a grade A a-hole. But it's not his comments that the journalist in question makes issue with.
I think it's a very valid commentary. And when I as an Irish girl, comes on this site and ses European bashing all the time. (Hey, I'm Irish, but I'm also European). I like to show that we are not all non-washing sheeple followers. :-)
It's a good article. In my opinion anyway.
Ireland is far off from the continent. So is England to a large degree. Islands (insular) think independently. France, Spain and Belgique are the worst of the EU.
(As far as Israel is concerned)