When you didn't like the agreed rules, you tore them up by seeking derogations, "I want my money back" agreements such as the British budget rebate, and eventually the right to opt out of policies altogether when they did not suit you.
Others have suggested that we seek a derogation.
Britain could seek a derogation from the European convention on grounds of national security, though this would be a profoundly unpopular option.
Will the government seek a derogation from article 12? Miller says she will announce the detail in relation to the plans tomorrow.
"If it is to speed up the pace of change, then the process of passing a law for positive discrimination would itself be lengthy, requiring us to seek a derogation from the EU with no guarantee of success".
New Irish legislation for collective agreements regulating the minimum wage in some sectors like cleaning, catering or construction sets out a detailed process by which individual firms can seek temporary derogation on grounds of inability to pay.
The Maltese government had sought a derogation for continuing the "tradition" of spring hunting, which the directive normally forbids, and the Court had ruled that Malta's proposal failed three of four tests provided by the directive: strict enforcement, small numbers, and parity with other E.U. member states.
But Mr Clarke hopes they will pass: if necessary, he says, he will seek a new derogation from the clause in the European Convention on Human Rights that guarantees a right to liberty.
However, Neil Durkin, of Amnesty International, condemned the US attempt to seek justification for opting out of international law, saying that the "UN convention against torture, to which the US is a signatory, is very clear that there is no right of derogation".
