Such was the description given in this report from EUBusiness linked here.
Further details of the backdoor deals made to gain the agreement are now emerging which illustrate the validity of the description. France and Germany true to form, apparently demanded, as the price of their agreement to the appointment, that these two countries be given control of the economic direction of the EU fopr the next five years, together down the drain will thus be the refrain! That news comes from the Daily Telegraph this morning linked here.
Just how bad this news is for the whole EU and Euroland in particular may be seen from this quote from a later Bloomberg report:-
French consumer confidence unexpectedly stalled in June and joblessness climbed for the first time in five months in Europe's third-largest economy.
Germany of course is in even worse straits. Not the best candidates to determine the economic direction of the EU - especially when the concession is made to secure such a clearly dubiously qualified candidate as EU President.
I will definitely try to find something cheerful and encouraging to post about the EU or the Constitution tomorrow. Promise! Meantime some cheer from outside the eurozone(again from Bloomberg):-
The U.K.'s economy is growing at more than double the annual pace of the dozen euro nations, driven by business investment and higher government spending on schools and hospitals. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has warned that faster economic growth and the lowest unemployment in 29 years may spur inflation. The bank has raised interest rates four times since November.
CNN is suggesting that Saddam Hussein may be paraded in cuffs or chains to the worlds media as he is handed over to the Iraqis. Such public displays are popular in America and are known as 'perp' (from perpetrator) walks. They seem to satisfy a craving to humiliate those who have yet to be placed on trial. I hope the Americans will resist the temptation to make a spectacle of this admittedly clearly evil man. Guantanamo is already a big enough stain on that nation's worldwide reputation
Physics World linked here reveals the flaws in the agreed procedure and proposes this alternative:-
They go on to suggest a solution they claim is “representative, transparent, effective and objective” being based on a purely statistical approach that wont handicap any particular country. They calculate that all citizens in the EU would have the same voting power if each member state were given a weight that was proportional to the square root of its population, and if new legislation required 62% of the votes at the council.
As seemed Chirac's intention before the meeting, needling Bush was France's main intention and according to this Reuter's report it was done with the silent assent of other European partners such as Germany. France apparently sees no benefit in its continuing with Nato - and to this lone observer Nato seems to gain nothing from France's continuing membership.
The obvious solution for Nato is hinted at in the linked Reuters report here:
An exasperated Washington suggested that in future if France blocks deployment of the NATO response force the alliance could authorize it via a committee on which Paris has no seat, because it is not part of NATO's integrated military structure.
This is precisely the mechanism France's 25 allies used last year to break a bitter deadlock in the 26-nation North Atlantic Council over reinforcing Turkey's defenses before the Iraq war.
Britain, however has to decide whether to make Nato its defence priority and similarly withdraw from joint European defence arrangements as France should from Nato. It would mark a welcome first sign of realism about Europe from Blair - so don't expect it!
Euractiv gives a good summary of European press reaction to the compromise Commission President linked here
It is probably preferable to start with low expectations in such a post - but so did Prodi and he certainly failed to meet even the lowest expectations! Happily the EU is considerably weakened as a result, only an early death can now save the people of Europe from years more unnecessary economic decline and decreasing democracy. The Constitution provides the opportunity. Perhaps Barroso will be the last in this post!
Prodi statement on his successor As this press statement concludes : The Irish Presidency is one we will long remember. If the constitution goes through, it will long be remembered by the peoples of Europe as putting the final nail in the coffin of their democracies and freedoms!
Quote
Brussels, 28 June 2004
Statement by President Prodi on the designation of José Manuel Durão Barroso
It gave me great pleasure to learn that the Portuguese Prime Minister is to be the next President of the European Commission -- first, because of José Durão Barroso's personal merits; second, because it recognises Portugal's constructive participation in the European integration process; and third, because it sends a signal of the European Union's restored unity. This decision underlines Portugal's symbolic value as an EU success story and it acknowledges the abilities of the country's leadership, people and institutions, its productive capacity and its social achievements.
Mr Durão Barroso's designation also gives me pleasure because it demonstrates once more the Union's ability to reach agreement on thorny issues, just a few days after the Constitution was approved. We have gone through some difficult times and other difficulties will surely lie ahead, but we are tackling them in the right way and José Manuel Durão Barroso is the right person to hold this office of great responsibility and sensitivity.
To Bertie Ahern too, who holds the helm of government of another country that represents an EU success story, I offer my compliments for the outstanding diplomatic skill he has shown in bringing the Union to agreement and unanimity on matters of great complexity. The Irish Presidency is one we will long remember.
Unquote
Jaques Chirac attacked President Bush at the Nato summit according to this report in the Daily Telegraphlinked here.
France's position within Nato must be growing increasingly uncomfortable, and could not have been made any easier by the early handover of sovereignty to Iraq which took place almost concurrently with yesterday's opening meeting.
One has to begin to wonder whether the main driving force for French foreign policy is now solely some degree of personal animosity that Chirac holds for both Bush and Blair.
Eighty eight Declarations of Rights CIG 86/04 that will rob you of your democracy and individual liberty - linked from here in pdf format.
There is only one right worth having and it was that granted under English Common Law - The Right to do as one wished as long as it wasn't expressly prohibited and by long convention which the English used to clearly understand before they became befuddled and deliberately bemused by the Continental concept of 'rights'- as long as it did not harm, inconvenience or discommode others!
Dip into this document and see the legislative lunacy Blair wishes to sign us up for:-
Right to marry and right to found a family!
Right to placement!
No...I cannot continue .... it is just too absurd!
The Blair and Campbell press manipulation is to be re-examined, but what good will that do? The Butler inquiry is straying beyond the bounds the government believed had been set according to The Independent in a reportlinked here this morning, as may be read from this quote:-
The former cabinet secretary has written to the editors of provincial newspapers asking whether Downing Street officials were responsible for briefing about Saddam's ability to use weapons of mass destruction against British targets, such as Cyprus, in 45 minutes.
Lord Butler's letter states: "One of the issues the review committee is exploring is the use of the intelligence in the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction published on 24 September 2002. One aspect of this is any action taken by the Government to guide the media towards reporting particular aspects of the dossier.
"In that context, it would be very helpful to the committee to know whether you or your reporters were briefed by representatives of the Government about the dossier in the period immediately prior to its publication and whether, post-publication, you were guided to report particular aspects, such as the statement that some chemical and biological weapons were deployable by Iraq within 45 minutes of an order to use them."
If Lord Butler confirms Blair and Campbell as the bare-faced liars they both seem, it will not be any surprise to the general public according to this YouGov poll published in the Telegraph this morning, linked here, which finds only 25 per cent of the country trust their government and even less 22 per cent would trust a conservative one.
As stated on my other blog Ukip Uncovered this morning :-
Examine these figures from the poll which could not possibly paint a clearer picture of the widespread disgust within the country for the professional politicians of all parties who have gorged themselves upon the body politic of our nation and in this parasitical process have drained it of democracy and themselves of any respect.
What the people of the country may now do to rid themselves of these disgraceful individuals who have hi-jacked our democracy - I really don't know! Even those representing themselves as in favour of restoring our democracy and sovereignty step back from the fray when the opportunity to make a real mark arises. Can there now be any doubt that the UKIP, refusing to run in the upcoming by-elections on 15th July, is anything other than an establishment tool to deflect and neuter the justifiable outrage among the public at what the main political parties have wrought upon our nation and its democracy?
This summary from New Zealand is as good a brief report as I have found for those wishing to be well informed on the real agenda of the meetings in Turkey on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The New Zealand Herald: 'Identity crisis splits Nato' by Catherine Field.
An interesting article from one of the more astute observers of the world economic scene Bill Jamieson, in Scotland on Sundaylinked here, who forecasts fallout from the faltering Chinese boom.
One more straw in the wind for the struggling and clearly fatally flawed EU concept whose 'euroland' economy was already struggling to maintain any positive growth at all, any China slowdown will clearly not help.
The Cato Institute, which provides the occasional realistic glances at the people impoverishing and democracy destroying European EU disaster, also has a timely report linked here titled USA and the End of the United Europe of which the following is just one of several controversial points:-
It is feasible that, as a result of troubles with the common currency and rising costs of belonging to the EU, some members may decide that staying in the "club" is not worth the candle. The potential break up of the EU could destabilize the world economy. But it could also provide an opportunity for breaching the transatlantic divide. It is unfortunate that at the start of the 21st century, Europe and North America form two separate trading blocs. The Bush administration could rectify that situation by declaring that, in principle, the North American Free Trade Agreement could be expanded to include interested Europeans thus transforming NAFTA into a North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement.
Senior Blair advisor confirms Charter could change UK Law
Blair's Constitutional startegy is rapidly unravelling. This report from Scotland on Sunday gives legal confirmation of what common-sense told us all along. The 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' will be a huge erosion of British law as well as running completely contrary to the total legal foundations of the nation. The full report may be read from this link.
EUobserver linked here has this even more ominous report on the proposed new EU President's credentials and capabilities:-
External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten, who was earlier candidate for the post, today described Mr Durão Barosso as "extremely capable" recalling when both men worked together as development ministers.
Anyone the incompetent Patten considers as capable - let alone "extremely capable" must be suspect indeed.
Le Figaroherereports Chirac is set on a new collision course with the US President by refusing to let Nato get involved in Iraq. Meantime The Mail on the other hand has this headline:-
"Bush: Iraq feud is over
The 'bitter differences' which divided Europe and America at the time of last year's Iraq war are over, US President George Bush said today. Mr Bush was speaking after an EU-US summit in Ireland at which the transatlantic allies struck a series of agreements to end two years of quarrelling"
Flawed leaders - Clinton and the 'No mark' who now might be confirmed as EU President!
Presumably as Barroso has never achieved anything and few have heard of him, none will object to this appointment. Indeed Bertie Ahern is reportedly seeking unanimity, surely the clearest sign that they have got the wrong candidate! The Independent report on the matter indicates that he is clearly a man of no strong principle, how else could none disapprove? He will presumably, therefore, happily take the EU in whatever direction he is told. But can he be sure of clear unanimous instructions? A quote:-
During his political career, Mr Barroso has made the transition from former Maoist to political conservative. Outside Portugal he has had a low profile, and even at home many observers believe him fortunate to have come to power.
Sounds the perfect candidate to lead such an imperfect organisation. A weak unprincipled Commission President should speed the institution towards its deserved destruction! The entire article is linked here
On imperfect leader's how about this classic quote from Bill Clinton's book launch interview on BBC World (as aired this weekend), on being quizzed on his false evidence on the Lewinskey matter he said that he decided:
"... I should not compound my error by letting these people win"
These people were the lawyers questioning Clinton under oath. Don't you just love it! I do! I haven't laughed so much for ages.
The press release from the summit in Ireland is linked from here.
It will be interesting to see how this fits with recent not very widely publicised reports that Germany is now capable of producing weapons grade nuclear material in apparent conravention of its treaty obligations.
Yet another country is now considering a referendum on the democracy destroying EU Constitution. This report in the Washington Times linked here names Slovakia as considering the possibility, interestingly one of the country's where the exclusion of any reference to Christianity is likely to be unpopular among the broad population.
Finland is amongst those wavering, and with each new announcement the pressure on France to give its people a say gets ever stronger!
Six nations refusing the deal will guarantee its death!
Disappointing statistics once again today from the struggling lead economy of Euroland. The Ifo index fell to a nine month low rather than recording a rise as anticipated. The OECD dropped its forecast for Eurozone growth this year to 1.6 percent from the 1.8 percent it estimated in November.
The pattern of last year seems on track where estimates were steadily cut back so that at year end the forecasts almost matched the approximatel zero growth fiigure actually achieved. The OECD also pared its 2005 growth forecast to 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent.
If this was a Nation State with elected politicians having no EU or ECB to take the blame, might not some corrective steps by now have been taken? Oh the wonders of the EU - and the non-accountable impoverishment its leaders can cause!
Expanding Despotism and Neo-Imperialism - EU vs US
A debate on CNN yesterday chaired by Richard Quest, ostensibly on the topic of the handover of sovereignty in Iraq at the end of this month, raised some interesting comparisons of present EU and US policies.
It was alleged that America was engaged in a form of Neo-Imperialism in Iraq, and the rebuttal was made that if it was to install a liberal democracy and thereafter withdraw that would be hard to criticise. This has of course been the US and its coalition allies claim since the start. It is of course not accepted by the opponents of the Iraq invasion - principally France and Germany who continue to carp from the sidelines to this day.
Yet the US is about to hand-back sovereignty to the Iraqis and plans to eventually provide some democratic foundations are clearly in hand.
Contrast the US action with the EU's expansionists plans described in my post 'The EU's Imperialist and Expansionist Strategy' of two days ago just down the page, with the system of government described by Daniel Hannan in this week's The Spectator, particularly the section quoted in my posting immediately beneath this.
THe US intervened in Iraq to remove a despot who had invaded two neighbouring countries, used chemical weapons against hundreds of thousands of his own people and ruled by brute force, terror and murder and even more importantly thumbed his nose at the combined demands of the UN for a decade and regularly shot up US and British planes, the only nations prepared to try and enforce the declared will of that international body. Now it is doing its utmost to install a liberal democracy as soon as it is able and go home as quickly as it may.
Throughout all this Germany and France have done nothing but criticise, sneer and seemingly almost gloat at every set-back. These two countries, not co-incidentally in my view, are of course the driving forces behind the expansionist EU. They seek to control their neighbours, install a non-democratic form of government and remain for all time. The next nations on their list for take-over apparently include the following (if their advisors publication of the aim of making the Mediterranean an EU sea is to be achieved): Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
Having tried to destroy our attachments to our own nation states, decimating our democratic rights and individual protections in the process and replacing them with a planned loyalty to a 'European' heritage represented by the blue flag with yellow stars and sickly 'Ode to Joy', what are they going to tell us and the next targeted Arab nations on their list is our new common heritage? Where will these despotically inclined and clearly power crazed behind-the-scenes conspirers look next - towards the Cape of Good Hope, the Arabian Peninsula or even the Indian sub-continent?
The EU has put in writing its ambitions to expand far beyond its natural known European bounds and there install its new Constitutionally defined form of totally non-democratic Government and thereafer never withdraw! Compare that with what America has attempted in Iraq and it is pretty obvious which is a despotic imperialistic power and who the benign friend to the oppressed.
Arab terrorists considering these facts seem certain to take due note in planning their future activities. Which, against this background, if you were in their shoes - would you consider as the greater mistake: 9/11 or the Madrid bombing, and from which part of the world would come the greater threat?
The nation states of the EU do have one great thing in common - we are led by complete incompetents who are entirely careless of freedom and democracy. Their mad aims openly published now seem certain to make us targets - and worse - possibly slightly justifiable targets for the outrages of militant Islam!
The cover article from this week's The Spectator is linked from here. I quote just this:-
And what about the European Commission? Is it not outrageous that an unelected politburo should have the right — let alone the sole right — to propose new laws? A genuinely democratic constitution would place the right of legislative initiative with accountable national governments. Any state which wanted to propose a common European policy would be free to do so, and invite like-minded governments to join it. The Commission would be left as a civil service carrying out the will of elected ministers.
Centuries of British tradition will be destroyed tomorrow when the Attorney General endorses the 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' and our Common Law heritage disappears. Read the report from Lawyer News linked here as quoted below:-
The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, will tomorrow (25 June) endorse the Charter of Fundamental Rights which forms part of the new EU constitution.
In his speech, Lord Goldsmith sets out to correct misapprehensions about the Charter, most significantly saying that it sets out principles for human rights rather than displacing existing national laws.
The Charter restates many existing principles, which are already familiar from case law formed in the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
Lord Goldsmith was a member of the working party that worked on the original draft of the European Convention four years ago. This draft was then amended to make it suitable for inclusion into the new constitution approved last week by European leaders.
The BBC's Charter and its Producers Guidelines state: "Due impartiality lies at the heart of the BBC. All programs and services should be open minded, fair and show a respect for truth… [BBC reports should] contain comprehensive, authoritative and impartial coverage of news and current affairs in the United Kingdom and throughout the world…"
Bias is not limited to to the matters covered in the above articles. It also exists in domestic political coverage and most aspects of the nation's social arrangements. The BBC presumes to believe itself the national arbiter on most aspects of British society; the blame for many of our society's problems and the lack of open debate on a broad range of the critical issues facing British society can therefore be partly laid at the BBC's door.
The BBC is indeed a national disgrace, letting them establish their own journalistic college can only perpetuate society's problems!
When the heads of government ruled out the two most likely contenders for the post of next Commission President, Belgian PM Verhofstadt and Commissioner Patten (probably two of the least capable senoir EU-involved figures one can imagine, with the possible exception of Neil Kinnock), there never having been any names of substance or weight even publicly proposed, the writing for the EU was clearly on the wall.
As the days pass and the names suggested become ever more obscure, and the rejections are apparently announced even before the invitations, it must be clear to all that the EU endgame is here. Among those reportedly declining so far are two Portuguese, one Luxembourg and one Irish present or past Prime Ministers. Perhaps it will indeed eventually come to Kinnock?
Maybe Chirac with some of his enarques elite (Michel Barnier is reportedly interested in the post) and Schroeder have yet to look down and see the abyss at their feet. (Blair too with his Iraq problems and intellectual shortcomings also seems blissfully unaware of the scale of the looming crisis). Clearly, however, the leaders of the smaller countries have spotted the impossibile contradictions that now lie ahead for the EU.
What other signs may be read to guage the extent of the problem and the timing of a crunch? Here is one I have been watching. Money is the key as ever, and it is the money that will soon run out. The present commission has been making spending commitments as if it owned a farmyard filled with golden geese!
I regularly visit the Europa Midday Express News Releases, as a handy means of keeping an eye on the deranged activities of the Eurocrats. What has in the past years been a steady stream of often futile spending commitments, has in the last few weeks become a veritable torrent of spending promises. It is as if the Prodi Commission, having struggled for the early part of its term to balance conflicting commitments, deferred decisions on all, and now - in its dying moments - rather than make any decisions or let down those whom they have been playing along for so long, has abandoned prudence, thrown their hands in the air and promised everybody all that they had ever asked or indeed could even want.
Take yesterday's report alone, (all figures in Euros) Lithuania 608 million, Estonia 188 million, Latvia 410 million, Malta 34 million, and wait for it -
Structural Funds Strategies for the new Member States: € 24 BILLION to ensure growth and cohesion between 2004-2006
All are aware and can see the obscene profligacy of the EU, all its institutions, its present officials, staff and army of pensioners, its structure and multiple dependent offshoots and leach-like associated organisations.
In return it stifles any prospects of wealth creation, so from where does the money come? Taxpayers, of course, is the answer and clearly our national leaders must surely be continuingly over-generous if not downright profligate in what they have promised for the EU in the immediate years ahead? How else could the Prodi Commission have made so many additional spending promises, especially considering their own excesses!
The opposite is of course the case. Prodi's commission has ALREADY been put on notice of cuts. Apparently such notice has been ignored. Germany battling to curb its budget deficits and still skirting along the edges of recession does not have the funds and in an attempt to reduce the shortfall, has even struggled this week to sell part of its Post Office to its own people at the originally planned price or to the extent it had hoped. Other net contributors are in no better state.
The ambitious half-century dream of a united Europe is now shown to be just that. When will be the crunch. If no new President steps forward maybe next week. If another woolly minded insubstantial yes-man is selected perhaps he will keep the balls in the air until the year end and the final version of the EU Constitution might then just see the light of day. If a strong-minded reformer with a proven track record for prudent economic management were to step forth (and Jose Marie Aznar is the only one who might remotely fit the bill that I can see; his fellow Spaniard Javier Solana unhappily seems to fall into the other category) then maybe there is a slight chance that the free trade area element of the EU could still be saved without years of intervening crisis.
More likely now it seems, some small, apparently disconnected event might be the trigger for the general public finally becoming aware of the monstrous confidence trick their leaders have played upon them - something possibly as mundane as a national football team, say Germany succomb (as just reported) to an early exit from the European Championships! Worse still for all round EU Core malaise, if France were also to shortly join both Italy and Germany in that unhappy state.
The report is from EUBusiness linked here. Unlike in Britain the Spanish PM seems keen to have a vote as soon as possible, as reported last night the Dutch are planning a vote in December or even November - surprising as the final text is not expected to be agreed much before the year's end.
The following is a direct quote from the paper 'Building a Political Europe' presented to President Prodi on 24th April, 2004. The concept was seemingly endorsed as an agreed game plan by Franco Frattini, Italian Foreign Minister on the BBC's Hard Talk programme yesterday as commented upon in an earlier post. This extract is from page 109 of the document linked here
Quote
..if the European Union, in half a century's time, is to be one of the poles in the organisation of the world, it will not escape the
fundamental law of large groupings and will have to extend far around its centre. Nobody can imagine that a schoolteacher who, in fifty years' time, will be showing children the major powers on the planet and will circle with a bold line the whole of North and Central America or China and a number of its neighbours but will then take a fine pencil to separate the two sides of the Strait of Gibraltar or the Bosphorus and so define the limits of the European Union. If the Union is to exist at that time, account must be taken of the area in which European exercises its historical responsibility — an area which extends over the entire territory which has been the cradle of our civilisation.
So the Union's vocation is to group together all territories which, from the northern ice to the southern sand, surround the Mediterranean shores — a Mediterranean which we should begin thinking of as our own sea.
Our course is charted by the logic of history, economic coherence, demographic security: what we have to prepare for is a process of extension around the Mediterranean rim. But we have a long way to go. While devoting our everything to the East, we have been neglecting the South. Yet this is the cradle of our culture. This is where the old Europe will get new blood for new generations. This is what makes the Union the only link between East and West. Alexander, Napoleon, our mad colonial ambitions sought to build this unity by the force of arms. That method, odious and cruel, failed, but the ambition was justified. And it still is.
Restoring this unity around the Mediterranean will, of course, be a very slow process, taking many decades. It will take a great deal of patience and many stages. It will require men and women who can look far into the future. It will require major changes on the part of the future applicants. But unless it is capable of organising what goes on around its perimeter and ensure peace and prosperity there, the Union is in mortal danger of being submerged by the distress of enormous masses, who can be carried away by the most warlike ideologies.
Unquote
This is dangerous nonsense. Does Britain's Government or Foreign Office subscribe to these territorial ambitions? The ambition of Alexander and Napoleon - justified for heaven's sakes? BUT WORSE.... but the ambition was justified. And it still is. STILL ALIVE IN THE HEADS OF THESE EVIL MEN NOW IN CHARGE OF EUROPE? Among the authors, let's not forget, Tony Blair's close associate - Lord SIMON of HIGHBURY (United Kingdom) former Chairman of British Petroleum, former minister for trade and competitiveness in Europe.
Can anyone credit this statement by EU Commissioner and fortunately failed EU Commission Presidential candidate Patten, reported in The Scotsmanlinked from here:
Chris Patten, the European Commissioner, has said Tony Blair’s decision to call a referendum on the EU constitution is a "serious threat" to democracy as referendums "produce tabloid politics"
To cap the article, which seems to reflect a certain element of pique from Patten, I offer this other quote:
Mr Patten, who has been based in Brussels for five years, said that whoever becomes president will have to take urgent action to address the way the commission is perceived by European citizens, warning that the body could become the focus of animosity and suspicion.
A one-time insider informed me that Patten's best known badge of office whilst in Brussels, was a gravy stained tie, hardly likely to enhance the reputation of the Commission for hard work amongst EU citizens.
I fear Oxford University, already suffering in the academic ratings is unlikely to see its reputation enhanced by this choice of Chancellor.
Bloomberg has the report linked here. The Dutch who are presently the main protesters at the repeated Franco/German nose-thumbing at their treaty obligations will have the chance to demonstrate their digust in a non-binding referendum on the EU Constitution likely to be held before the end of this year see this EUobserver report linked here.
Getting value for state asset sales is the latest excuse for likely German non-compliance- watch the sale of part of the German Post Office set for today - the price has already been substantially reduced in the fear that the take-up will be insufficient.
Margaret Thatcher's 'Reflections' at the end of her book The Downing Street Years (Harper Collins London 1993) page 814 gave her thoughts on Germany at the end of her premiership as follows:-
West Germany's absorption of its next-door relation has been economically disastrous, and that disaster has spread to the rest of the European Community via the Bundebank's high interest rates and the ERM. We have all paid the price in unemployment and recession. East German political immaturity has affected the whole country in the form of a revived (though containable) neo-Nazi and xenophobic extremism. Internationally it has created a German state so large and dominant that it cannot easily be fitted in to the new architecture of Europe.
Although the above was stated as an opinion formed fourteen years ago, and now published for some ten years it remains true today. Particularly with regard to the economics. Replace Bundesbank with ECB and ERM with Euro in the first sentence of the quote and it is the exact situation ruling today. Then read my posting immediately below this . Perhaps we should then ask ourselves what kind of leaders do we now have that allow and perpetuate this continuing economic disaster, decade after decade? Britain must cut loose!
Could EU Collapse be the real Constitution Killer?
ANATOLE KALETSKY writing an 'Economic View' in yesterday's The Times titled 'European growth is coming from dubious sources 'linked here reported as follows:-
Thus Mr Blair’s only serious hope of winning a referendum must be that the gloom about Europe will lift in two years’ time. This is unlikely.
If anything, economic perceptions of Europe are likely to get worse. At present, Europe still commands remarkable confidence in the markets. The strength of the euro and the strong performance of the German stock market are obvious indications of this irrepressible optimism. More striking is the almost unanimous view among forecasters that economic growth will recover in the year ahead.
The latest OECD forecasts show eurozone growth accelerating from 0.5 per cent in 2003 to 1.7 per cent in 2004 and 2.4 per cent in 2005. And recently some of this optimism has apparently been justified by hard facts. The eurozone economy grew by 2.3 per cent at an annual rate in the latest quarter, only slightly less than Britain’s 2.7 per cent. Doesn’t this mean the recovery is now finally under way and that Europe could even begin to catch up with Britain in the year or two ahead?
The answer is no. It may be true that euroland has grown in the past three quarters (at an annualised rate of 1.8 per cent), but delving into the statistics shows that most of the growth has come from two very dubious sources: government spending and inventories of unsold goods. Excluding these two components, GDP is still only growing at a pathetic annual rate of 0.5 per cent
The crisis in the Eurozone is of course a regular topic on this blog. It is crucial to the development of the withdrawal debate within the UK. Many British politicians blithely assume the UK discussion on our continuing within the EU will be against a background of the clear economic benefits being on the side of remaining within the bureaucratically strangulated socialist superstate. The opposite is likely to be true.
The growth engines in the world economy now lie in the East. Britain has clear advantages over our European COMPETITORS. Both in language (in the Indian sub-continent) and historical links (bringing in China as well).
The longer we devote our energies to negotiating constitutions, trade links and new regulations with the sclerotic Euroland countries, the more opportinities we will miss in the booming orient and the more our own economy will be dragged into the mire by the clearly doomed EU.
IMO this is the best possible news for those fighting the expansionist EU. The brother's other title, as may be witnessed by the number of links my blogs provide to their other daily paper The Scotsman is entirely devoted to bringing the facts, particularly regarding Europe, as immediately as possible to the public. It will be a huge boost for democracy if the new proprieters somehow contrive to do the same fro the Telegraph titles.
The paper's own report on their new proprieters is linked here.
Slovakia States Constitution is Transfer of Sovereignty
Constitutional lawyers in Slovakia have determined that the proposed EU Constitution means giving up some of their customary decision making powers so a simple Parliamentary majority to approve the Treaty will not be sufficient. The press release is linked from here and quoted in full (with my added emphasis) as follows:-
The approval of the European Union Constitutional Treaty in the Slovak Parliament requires the support of at least 90 of Slovakia's 150 lawmakers, according to Justice Minister Daniel Lipsic. Lipsic's view is based on consultations with the ministry's constitutional lawyers. They stated that the EU constitution represents an international agreement in which Slovakia transfers some of its powers to the European Union. Under the Slovak Constitution, such an agreement must be approved by a majority of 60 percent of all MPs in order to become effective. The EU constitution implies, under the so-called subsidiary principle, that the EU member countries give up some of their customary decision-making powers in areas where the EU mechanisms are prominent. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda had previously stated that a simple majority of deputies present would be enough to endorse the first European constitution.
How can Blair blindly refuse to accept the basic truths clear to the rest of Continental Europe - AND why does he refuse to use the word CONSTITUTION?
The answer of course, is that like his predecessors before him, he dare not tell the British people the truth!
I am grateful to the anonymous correspondent who sent the information for this report.
A question people must ask themselves; 'Am I susceptible to propaganda?' The only way you can honestly answer this question is to study both sides of the argument with an open and informed mind.
The EU's de Clercq Report 1993 devised initiatives to ensure that:
"...European identity must be 'ingrained in people's minds' as a 'good product' using marketing techniques and that certain social categories, particularly 'women and youth', should become 'priority target groups'. More controversially, it suggested that newscasters and reporters must themselves be targeted, they must themselves be persuaded about European Union...so that they subsequently become enthusiastic supporters of the cause."
A comment on this report and its implications is available from this link to the Bruges Group from here.
The above ties in with a parallel report by the Commission's Media and Culture Directorate, which showed that money has been made available for the media to promote "a more positive line towards Europe".
According to the BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2002/2003 which may be read from this link to a pdf file, there are two outstanding loans from the European Investment Bank to the BBC totalling £91 million.
======================
Page 117.
The European Investment Bank has made two loan facilities available to BBC Commercial Holdings. The first, for an amount of £66million, is available for drawing until March 2005 and must either be repaid in full as a single repayment by March 2013 or on an amortising basis by March 2015.The second, for £25million, is available for drawing until November 2003 and is repayable in one single instalment by November 2007.The interest rate applicable on both facilities is determined with reference to the European Investment Bank's own funding cost and carries no margin above this funding rate. At 31 March 2003 nothing was drawn down under either of these facilities.
======================
Watch this space, and in the meantime cast your mind back to the totally pro-EU bias of nearly every BBC anchor and correspondent over recent years - not noticed by yourself perhaps, well maybe now you have read this it will become more noticeable.
Still not convinced then ask yourself why any organisation would make funds available at their own cost of borrowing, it is an impossible feat that defies all known laws of economics - were it truly achievable. But it is not, rather this is a blatant propaganda subsidy and YOU are the target - more EU anybody?
Italian Foreign Minister Frattini Cannot Justify the EUConstitution
Interviewed this morning by Tim Sebastian on the BBC World TV show "Hard Talk" and faced with a question as to what point the EU Constitution might serve, given it represented a whole raft of new rules, when the old ones were being blatanlty ignored - such as by France and Germany over the Growth and Stability pact - the only justification he could offer was that it made Europe important in the world.
Even when pressed regarding the alternative of reverting to the successful areas of the earlier arrangements, namely a free trade area - 'EUROPEAN IMPORTANCE' was the only justification he could offer. Our democracy is thus being destroyed in the cause of our leader's personal and imperialistic ambitions. The old European expansionist nightmare and menace to the world is once again about to be unleashed from the European Continent. (Read again 'Building a Political Europe' which sets out the targets for the next step in its expansion).
The ordinary people of Europe MUST this time call a halt before it is too late. Reject the Constitution and commence the dismantling of the structures of this non-democratic and increasingly power-crazed institution!
Germany proposes institutionalising 'Inner Core' of EU
This morning's Daily Telegraphlinked here (the announcement of whose new owners we now await with baited breath), carries a report as follows:-
Quote
Germany joined France yesterday to insist that Britain and other "non-core" countries should be barred from proposing candidates for president of the European Commission.
Berlin's spokesman, Bela Anda, raised hackles in half of the EU's capitals by suggesting that the post in charge of Europe's policy-making engine be reserved for members of the "Old Europe" club.
"I do not want to formulate pre-conditions but it can hardly be imagined that the commission president will come from a country not taking part in the core areas of EU bodies and its institutions," he said.
If accepted, the demand would institutionalise the sort of two-tier Europe that Downing Street has always feared.
For a while it would allow Germany and France to keep control of the EU machinery despite being part of a minority group within the enlarged bloc of 25 states.
Unquote
We must hope the new owners of the Telegraph titles are dedicated to the uncovering and dissemination of facts regarding the demise of democracy across Europe, and not join the rest of the Continent's media in the conspiracy to conceal the truth!
(FT OBserver this morning, as we mentioned 'truth' reports that the main failed candidate is apparently another impugning our PM's linked here of which this brief excerpt "Some of them must have lied to me," the distraught Belgian told colleagues. But whom did he mean?
Belgian fingers were yesterday pointing at Blair, who met Verhofstadt in London in the run-up to the summit for a 90-minute heart-to-heart.)
The Financial Times this morning linked here reports the British Prime Minister as stating:-
"...it will be a battle between reality and myth."
Tony Blair and his administration have a seven year track record of deliberately confusing the two; it became known as spin (a euphemism for downright lies) ....Ironies looks forward to playing a part in removing the mirrors, dispersing the smoke and revealing the facts.
Countries and their media far beyond the debate have the possibility to see through the hype and cant and view matters realistically. The following is the start of an editorial this morning from asahi.comlinked herein Japan:-
EDITORIAL: The EU constitution
Multilateral democracy is edging closer to life.
The concept of sharing a constitution with other countries, an initiative unthinkable in Japan, is taking shape in Europe. A proposal for just such a charter was approved by a meeting of European Union leaders last week.
When it comes to the EU, the lion's share of attention tends to focus on the expansion of the region as an economic bloc. We cannot overlook, however, the momentous fact that the union is also striving to deepen its political integration. On that front, the agreement for a constitution is a historic milestone indeed.
The Japanese have here been fooled into believing the European Parliament is a democratic assembly but the rest of their comments correctly reflect the revolutionary nature of what is taking place, which Blair plans to deny by once more resorting to untruths.
The British Prime Minister disgraces the whole nation when he appears on the state controlled broadcasting media, financed through a compulsory levy on every household in the land, and so blatantly distorts the truth. According to that broadcaster's version of Blair's comments, linked here, from which comes this good example of the country's leaders inability to stick with facts consider this quote:-
A majority had believed the UK would no longer be able to have its own asylum policy; that the EU could control British tax rates; and that Britain would have to change its laws on trade unions and strikes.
Mr Blair said all of those beliefs were entirely false.
The poll also showed many wrongly believed the British passport would be replaced by a European one.
Now all the items mentioned are certainly arguable, and no doubt will be debated at length, (visit EUReferendum for much ammunition), but regarding the above, two minutes research shows Article III-167 begins "The Union shall develop a Common Policy on Asylum". Has our supposed leader even read the document he has committed us to?
On the passport matter trickery seems afoot; the original reference in Article III 9.2 does seem to have been removed but the preamble clearly states:-
It places the individual at the heart of its activities, by establishing the citizenship of the Union
Article I-8 covers all the entirely offensive aspects of citizenship, implying that these low-lifes somehow have the right to legislate on their fellow human beings' rights to life, freedom to move about etc.etc. Never forget if people now proven to obscenely rip off their tax-paying fellow citizens in the manner disclosed on my posting of yesterday on Teetering Tories are allowed to continue with the kind of conceits that the right to life is somehow within their gift; what will they not be capable of now they have already destroyed our democracies and thus established themselves as a self-perpetuating totalitarian oligarchy.
The passport provisions were a full part of the Nice Treaty which Blair negotiated and agreed but were the subject of some legal challenges. To now try and indicate these procedures never existed is completely disingenuous!
Blair or the EU legal advisers must have had them removed and our PM has used the opportunity to score this cheap debating point. He should now be asked if the plans for the EU Biometric passports are now to be withdrawn and the horrid little maroon star embossed object is going to be replaced by the proper British hard cover passport of old! Of course it isn't, this is but one more trick by a master of deceit. Does he really expect us to believe this removal of mention of passports is anything more than a devious trick? It truly shows the nature of the man and his government and all those who seek to impose this EU nightmare upon the nation.
The Scotsman report linked here on the interview has this statement :-
'The treaty would not even be drawn up in its proper form before the end of the year.'
We shall see if the EU passport is still not mentioned in the final version!
PS ADDED NEXT MORNING 22nd June 2004. "Interesting to see Mark Steyn take up my point on passports in this morning's Daily Telegraphlinked here! Do I have a new and renowned new reader or is it just that "great??" minds think alike?
Blair, branded a blatant liar by any close analysis of the Hutton Report as detailed in this blog on 31st January last linked from here and titled 'Blair's Hong Kong Flight Denial', now takes his particular form of persuasion to the public via the TV studios on the topic of the Democracy Destroying EU Constitutional Treaty.
ITV.com linked here and even Irish TV via RTE news from here. We will add something from the BBC when it is received as no doubt it soon will.
Believe not one word he says - read the posting on Teetering Tories this morning titled 'Conservative naivety and politician's plundering' to get a grasp of Blair's true motives...hundreds of millions of pounds going straight from EU taxpayers into the pockets of the political parties of Europe. Funds used to maintain them in power so that they may destroy our democracy and apparently ensure we slowly lose the powers we once had to see them removed! Even now all we can apparently do is swap one group of political plunderers for another - that is why the Constitution MUST be halted and Britain must destroy or withdraw from the present arrangements.
Great news indeed is this coming from Poland, as revealed last evening in this report from EUBusiness linked here. As I indicated last night the refusal by Europe's arrogant elite to give any grounds on the Christianity issue, could become a major factor in getting the half dozen states necessary to refuse ratification.
The Independent on Sunday reports 'Even the Pope added to criticism of the 300-page document, agreed in the early hours of yesterday morning, for its absence of any reference to religion.' in an article linked here. The Pope's statement - confirming our prediction of last evening when we stated possibly even the backing of the Vatican - will have particular weight in Poland of course!
Opposition in Britain appears pretty solid with two polls quoted in a report from Reuters linked here.
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed voters would reject the constitution by 49 percent to 23 percent. And an ICM poll for the cross-party Vote No campaign shows 57 percent opposed it.
Another poll cited by the Observer showed 69 percent of voters thought the deal gave too much power away over jobs, living standards and asylum policies.
The 'Independent' article linked above ends with this paragraph:-
But Joaquin Navarro-Valls, a Vatican spokesman, expressed regret "for the opposition of some governments to the explicit recognition of Europe's Christian roots".
Ireland Online linked from here announces the launch of Britain's Business backed 'NO' campaign to the EU Constitution:-
Michael Spencer, head of ICAP, the world’s largest money broker, said: “The constitution means transferring more control from Britain to the EU.
The Scotsman also has an article detailing some further mounting opposition linked here - not forgetting the Daily Telegraph editorial from this morning, titled ' Signing the constitution is Mr Blair's big blunder'linked here.
Also do not miss the editorial in The Sun which is quoted in full in one of many of our other posts of today further down this page, or by now perhaps on the latest archive files.
The democracy destroying EU Constition will be dead in the water if six of the existing Member States fail to ratify the 'Tyranny-Imposing Treaty'.
Britain should certainly be one, the campaign must now begin to convince the electorate of the other five. In case of setbacks it would be best to target a couple of extra for luck. Obvious candidates:-
Poland
Czech Republic
Malta
Denmark
Sweden
(One or two of the Baltic Republics perhaps?)
Perhaps even The Netherlands or potentially France! - if only as a registration of the electorate's disgust with the increasingly unpopular Chirac?
There is everything to play for because we have all our democratic rights and individual liberties to lose! The document provides all the ammunition that we could wish - possibly even the backing of the Vatican in certain strongly religious countries!
This linked EUBusiness report gives a summary which is titled 'EU wakes up to new constitution battle' linked from here.
Two questions I started with in my initial review of the revised Treaty,and the answers which I found. FIRST - Will it ever end? ......... NO SECOND - Can we get out?..... NOT WITH ANY ASSETS!
The sections that cover these vital matters are quoted herewith, but first a quick look at where we will stand as a NATION when we say NO:-
=============================
Quote
4. If, two years after the signature of this Treaty, four fifths of the Member States have ratified it and one or more Member States have encountered difficulties in proceeding with ratification, the matter shall be referred to the European Council.
Duration
Article IV-7a
This Treaty establishing the Constitution is concluded for an unlimited period.
(Deepening Clause)
Article IV-7a (b?-ed)
(new)
1. Where Part III provides for the Council to act by unanimity in a
given area or case, the European Council may adopt a European decision
authorising the Council to act by a qualified majority in that area or in that
case.
This paragraph shall not apply to decisions with military implications or those in the area of defence.
2. Where Part III provides for European laws and framework laws to
be adopted by the Council according to a special legislative procedure, the European Council may adopt a European decision allowing for the
adoption of such European laws or framework laws according to the
ordinary legislative procedure.
3. Any initiative taken by the European Council on the basis of
paragraphs 1 or 2 shall be notified to the national Parliaments of the
Member States. If a national Parliament makes known its opposition
within six months of the date of such notification, the European decision referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 shall not be adopted. In the absence of opposition, the European Council may adopt the decision.
Unquote
===============================
NOTE WELL - If no objection is lodged within six months, all future national parliaments will then become bound to the Qualified Voting for all time.
This clearly only leaves WITHDRAWAL for a national government wishing to restore democracy, this leaves them at the mercy of Article 59:-
================================
Quote
Withdrawal
Article I-59:
Voluntary withdrawal from the Union
1. Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the European Union in
accordance with its own constitutional requirements.
2. A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European
Council of its intention; In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article III-227(3); it shall be concluded by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.
3. This Constitution shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.
3a. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the member of the European
Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in Council or European Council discussions or European decisions concerning it.
A qualified majority shall be defined as a majority of two thirds of the members of the Council, representing the participating Member States, comprising at least three fifths of the population of the participating Member States.
4. If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks to re-join, that
request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article I-57.
Article III - 227 (3) states:-
3. The Commission, or the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs where
the agreement exclusively or principally relates to the common foreign and security policy, shall submit recommendations to the Council, which shall authorise the opening of negotiations and, depending on the subject of the agreement envisaged, nominating the Union negotiator or leader of the Union's negotiating team.
Unquote
=================================
QUESTION - IF THE BRITISH PEOPLE GET THEIR REFERENDUM ON THIS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC DOCUMENT AND THEY ARE CRAZY ENOUGH TO VOTE YES - (or the Government manipulates the democratic procedures in such a way that their desired result is achieved) COULD A SUBSEQUENT DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT ON WINNING A PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY THEN WITHDRAW FROM THIS TOTALITARIAN NIGHTMARE?????
ANSWER - YES BUT - IT WOULD BE TOTALLY AT THE MERCY OF THESE GRASPING, SELF-MOTIVATED EUROPEAN STATES WHO FOR FIFTY YEARS HAVE PROVED THEY ONLY CARRY THEIR OWN NARROW SELF-INTERESTS INTO EU MATTERS. THE WITHDRAWING NATION WOULD THEREFORE BE CERTAINLY BANKRUPTED AS A RESULT.
Our nation would be as bereft of economic viability and life as our seas now are after 30 years of EU pillaging!
We will return to the other detail but NEVER FORGET WHEN ARGUING THE DETAIL ON THIS GRAVE MATTER - the lack of democracy is the real danger!
John Humphries and Neil Kinnock demonstrated how easy it is to get side-tracked into ridiculous and irrelevant detail on the Radio 4 'Today' programme this morning. Jobs, inward investment etc. etc., are important matters - losing centuries of democratic rights strikes me as far more critical and important!
IF Tony Blair thinks he will be welcomed home from Brussels in triumph, he can forget it.
However much he may have put up a fight with the French, he has still agreed a deal which has made this country a partner to a European constitution.
And the overwhelming message from the elections and from Sun readers is that the public don’t want any part of it.
He will crow that he has protected his red lines on tax, defence and foreign policy.
But how can it be in Britain’s interests to embrace a treaty which is so dangerous that we have to be protected from parts of it?
Remember, you don’t get anything from Europe without giving away something in return.
We know Britain has lost its right to veto more than 40 issues.
What we may not know for some time is what else Blair has signed away.
The devil is usually in the small print. But with the contradictory and confusing European constitution, what it DOESN’T say is as important as what it does.
There are many, many areas in which there is either no policy or only a vague ideal.
Brussels will have the right to fill those vacuums and the European Court will be able to impose its will on our courts and our Parliament.
Blair has agreed that EU law has supremacy over British law.
And we are still saddled with the disastrous agricultural policy, which forces up food prices, the fisheries fiasco, the charter that brings back the right to strike and a thousand other things that will make Europe work against British interests.
There are positives to draw from this summit, however unhappy we are with the outcome.
There is a clear rift between New Europe and Old Europe.
The emerging former Communist countries, led by Poland, do not want to have their new-found flexible economies strangled by being forced into the straitjackets so loved by France and Germany.
That bodes well for the EU’s future.
Now Blair has to steer this treaty through Parliament and then persuade the public to vote for it in a referendum.
We cannot believe Britons will give away a thousand years of their sovereign independence.
Link to the finalised EU Constitution - reader friendly version from
Jens-Peter Bonde, who must have been up all night doing it. 317 pages including index, 16 KB:
The IGC amendments to the EU Constitutional Treaty
The agreed version of the IGC document may be read, downloaded and printed from the link below.
Ironies views on the detail of the proposed Constitutional Treaty will be posted when the complete text is available.
One fact only makes the Constitutional Treaty completely unacceptable:-
IT DESTROYS FOR ALL TIME OUR RIGHTS TO PERIODICALLY REPLACE THOSE WHO RULE US IN THE EU - WHILE GIVING THESE NON-REPLACEABLE APPOINTEES THE POWER TO CONTINUALLY AND UNREMITTINGLY INCREASE THEIR AREAS OF CONTROL - THE INEVITABLE RESULT IS NON-DEMOCRATIC TOTALITARIANISM!
I link an Irish report (here)of the agreement as it seemed the most appropriate.
We will await the portions of the agreement that the Council of Ministers has agreed should be made public to be issued then provide links and comment. We understand portions of the democracy-destroying deal will never be made public - this is indeed a dreadful day for civilisation which for centuries and piece by painful piece has strived to give power to the many over the corrupt and power-crazed few and provide protections for the weak against the strong, through the right of the ruled to periodically remove their rulers!
All that is now destroyed in Europe by a group of cunning and devious men in the space of one single half-century, which itself followed the bloodiest half-century struggle to overthrow oppression that the world had ever known.
My generation has betrayed all who went before and the dreadful consequences will now have to be paid by those yet to come. There is only one alternative, educate and inform the entire European population as to the complete loss of their most basic democratic right, the power to remove those who rule over them, and ensure this document is never ratified and the organisation that is attempting to perpetrate such a massive fraud against the people of Europe is utterly destroyed.
As I type, Bertie Ahern reports that this dreadful, anti-democratic document has been agreed. It should perhaps be best viewed, with Blair's agreement to a referendum, as the document that will eventually become the passport to Britains removal of the yolk of this increasingly totalitarian, corporatist, authoritarian, impoverishingly over-regulated and corrupt super-state.
A sad night for freedom, but perhaps the final absurd arrogant denial of Europe's citizen's rights and interests that will bring this half-century mightmare to an end. Incredibly it is put about in Brussels, that following the expression of the voters of this Continent's disgust for the EU and its existing governments last weekend, our leaders felt 'compelled' to show their solidarity by rushing to agree and sign this entirely unsatisfactory document- one that tightens the iron grip of state control over their people's few remaining liberties!
No new EU President has been agreed. As the present holder of that office now mouths his usual platitudes, one hopes no more than one more will ever be needed.
Blair's capitulations will be posted here in detail in due course.
Nothing in the dispute over the rights and wrongs of the invasion of Iraq can be brought to justify what has just happened in Saudi Arabia.
But what a relief that if things continue to deteriorate in that country, the civilised world at least now has a strong foothold in Iraq where we are trying to bring democracy to that country's population after suffering years of tyranny. Our lifestyles do depend upon oil, that is an unarguable fact, we therefore need to ensure the Middle East does not go up in flames nor fall entirely to radical fundamentalism!
What the leaders of those countries that are contributing to that effort in Iraq: Britain, Italy, Poland, Denmark etc. etc., should now be asking themselves, is perhaps this:-
Why are they sitting across a negotiating table and making concessions to the likes of Chirac and Schroeder, who give every impression of being smugly content to sit back and let these outrages continue, while possibly hoping that some NATIONAL political advantage might eventually be obtained in the ensuing chaos.
What sort of allies are these - more pertinently WHAT, if any, principles do they hold and under what belief system do they operate - we know it is not a Christian one from their stubborn refusal to have any reference to religion or spirituality put into their sick constitution....so what is it that they do believe, and what exactly is their objective?
I find what happened appalling, I believe such acts happen partly because of the policy stance of France and Germany. I believe these countries are doubtful allies and as such can hardly be considered worthwhile partners - let alone friends!
While the leaders of the 25 nation EU continue to discuss how best to take their clearly failed and disastrous EU experiment forward, closing their eyes to all the evidence of its failure and the disgust it has created amongst the voters of Europe just last weekend; this news from the supposed powerhouse economy of the eurozone was issued:-
A total 3,755 German companies went bust in March, 10.6 percent more than in the same month the previous year. And including the number of private individuals who were also unable to pay their debts, the total number of insolvencies in Germany jumped by 28.8 percent to 10,829 in March, Destatis said in a statement.
What exactly do these supposedly intelligent and competent people, all leaders of their own countries, possibly imagine they are playing at?
abc has this up to date report of the negotiations as available so far today, from this link. EUPolitix gives a good blow by blow of the Chirac/Blair spat from here.
Slovakia insists on re-opening Preamble to discuss Christianity
The Slovakian news agency has just issued the following (linked here):-
Fri 18 Jun 04, 16:15
At the EU summit in Brussels on the European Union's constitution, Slovakia again opened the preamble although this part of the document was declared closed by the Irish presidency. Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda suggested that the preamble should refer to the Judeo-Christian roots of Europe. He was supported by his counterparts from Poland, Austria, Lithuania, Malta and Italy.
This could be a simple ploy for domestic consumption in Slovakia, or it could drag matters out well into the evening. Reports presently indicate the meeting's atmosphere has improved and that an agreement looks near.
NO FURTHER CONSTITUTION DILUTION - is the warning. It is cleary aimed at British attempts to ensure the 'Charter of Fundamental Rights' (anathema to any free-born Englishman - previous Beano supplement to Blair) does not have precedence over English Law (particularly pertinent to the 'right to strike').
EUBusiness has now posted confirmation of this report linked here Watch this space!
After Chirac made his dissatisfaction with Britain's position public last evening, Tony Blair this morning authorised his spokesman to make public his own displeasure and annoyance. Blair let it be known that in his view the EU consists of 25 nations not just two, and certainly not only one - that being the one led by Jaques Chirac of France.
No agreement has been reached on the next President, but discussion has been deferred and will only be resumed if time allows this evening after agreement on all the outstanding constitutional details, some of which are summarised in our post below.
The document with the constitutional amendments now being negotiated in the summit in Brussels, may be read from this link.
A summary of the voting provisions by Euractiv is linked here.
The following seem some of the major points of interest:-
Quote
Article I-25: The European Commission
2. Union legislative acts may be adopted only on the basis of a Commission proposal, except where the Constitution provides otherwise. Other acts shall be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal where the Constitution so provides.
3. The Commission's term of office shall be five years.
4. The Members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment and their independence shall be beyond doubt.
5. The first Commission appointed under the provisions of the Constitution shall consist of one national of each Member State, including its President and the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs who shall be one of its Vice-Presidents.
6. As from the end of the term of office of the Commission referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall consist of a number of Members, including its President and the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, corresponding to two thirds of the number of Member States.
They shall be selected among the nationals of the Member States on the basis of a system of equal rotation between the Member States. This system shall be established by a European decision adopted unanimously by the European Council on the basis of the following principles:
--------------------------------
Article I-26: The President of the European Commission
2. The Council, by common accord with the President-elect, shall adopt the list of the other persons whom it intends to appoint as Members of the Commission. They shall be selected, on the basis of the suggestions made by Member States, in accordance with the criteria set out in Article I-25(4) and (6) second subparagraph.
The President, the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs and the other Members of the Commission shall be subject as a body to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. On the basis of this approval the Commission shall be appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority.
-------------------------------
ANNEX 2
DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED MAJORITY VOTING
Article I-24
1. A qualified majority shall be defined as 55% of the members of the Council, representing Member States comprising at least 65% of the population of the Union.
However, the qualified majority shall also be attained if the negative votes are cast by fewer than four members of the Council.
2. By derogation from paragraph 1, when the Council is not acting on a proposal from the Commission or from the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, the qualified majority shall be defined as 72% of the members of the Council, representing Member States comprising at least 65% of the population of the Union.
[3. Abstentions shall not be taken into account when counting the total number of Council members and of population.]
-------------------------------
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Whereas:
1. It is considered appropriate to adopt provisions allowing for a smooth transition from the system for decision-making in the Council by Qualified Majority as defined in the Treaty of Nice and set out in Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Protocol on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union annexed to the Constitution, which will continue to apply until 31 October 2009 and the voting system foreseen under Article I-24 of the Constitution, which will apply with effect from 1 November 2009.
2. It is recalled that it is the practice of the Council to devote every effort to strengthening the democratic legitimacy of decisions taken by qualified majority.
3. It is judged appropriate to maintain the present Decision as long as is necessary to ensure smooth transition to the new voting system foreseen in the Constitution,
DECIDES:
Article 1
If members of the Council, representing:
(a) at least 30% of the population of the Union, or
(b) at least 40% of the Member States,
indicate their opposition to the Council adopting an act by a qualified majority, the Council shall discuss the issue.
Article 2
The Council shall, in the course of these discussions, do all in its power to reach, within a reasonable time and without prejudicing obligatory time limits laid down by Union law, a satisfactory solution to address concerns raised by the members of the Council referred to in Article 1.
Article 3
To this end, the President of the Council, with the assistance of the Commission and respecting the Rules of Procedure of the Council, shall undertake any initiative necessary to facilitate a wider basis of agreement in the Council. The members of the Council shall lend him their assistance.
----------------------------------
MEASURES RELATING TO EXCESSIVE DEFICITS
Article III-76 (6)
6. The Council shall, on a proposal from the Commission, having considered any observations which the Member State concerned may wish to make and after an overall assessment, decide whether an excessive deficit exists. In that case it shall adopt, on a recommendation from the Commission, recommendations addressed to the Member State concerned with a view to bringing that situation to an end within a given period. Subject to paragraph 8, those recommendations shall not be made public.
Within the scope of this paragraph, the Council shall act without taking into account the vote of the member of the Council representing the Member State concerned.
A qualified majority shall be defined as the majority of the other members of the Council, representing Member States comprising at least three fifths of the population of the participating Member States. --------------------------------
EXPLANATIONS RELATING TO THE CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
5th paragraph of the Preamble
Article II-52: Scope and interpretation of rights and principles
(New (7))
7. The explanations drawn up as a way of providing guidance in the interpretation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights shall be given due regard by the courts of the Union and of the Member States.
Declaration for incorporation in the Final Act
concerning the explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Conference takes note of the explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights prepared under the authority of the Praesidium of the Convention which drafted the Charter and updated under the responsibility of the Praesidium of the European Convention, as set out below.
----------------------------------------------
Howard blew the election for Nothing? Call for Aznar
As just posted on Teetering Tories and immediately below, it appears the decision on the new Commission President might prove impossible at the present summit.
The first consequence of such an outcome is to throw yet further questions on the decisions and policies of the leader of the British conservative party, Michael Howard. It seems he has figured that as it appears the EPP group has the turn to choose the next Commission President, ie from the centre right as opposed to the socialist left from whence Prodi sprang, Howard must have figured he would stay within and use that group long enough to get his old cabinet colleague, the incompetent Chris Patten, into the Presidency in spite of his mutliple inadequacies for such a postion (see our posting of last evening further below or on the most recent archive file).
What now? The best candidate from the Centre Right in Europe is clearly Jose Marie Aznar as this blog has been stating for an age. Is he interested - if not how come? Chirac and Schroeder having rejected Patten on the grounds that he is from a country not within the Eurozone - can now hardly argue that Aznar is unacceptable on the grounds that he took the wrong position over the Iraq invasion - well they can of course, but not with any logic or justification.
As for Howard - he has caused a virtual revolution amongst the grass roots of his own party, boosted UKIP to 12 MEPs, and now faces a complete split among his remaining MEPs if not a breakaway by MPs too.
All in the cause of promoting Patten apparently - Pathetic!
The Chinese news agency (linked here) reports a 'positive' atmosphere at the EU Council meeting, according to Bertie Ahern who it states :-
... said he was not "over optimistic" over finalizing the EU Constitution Friday but vowed to "try to move from stage to stage."
On Wednesday evening, Ahern circulated two documents containingnew and revised IGC proposals to all EU delegations ahead of Thursday's summit.
The first paper includes proposals on the scope of qualified majority voting and on the more technical and non-institutional issues.
The second paper contains Ahern's own proposals on voting in the EU Council, European Commission and the European Parliament.
'The Scotsman'here develops its report of the rift between Blair and Chirac, first reported and linked from the blog last evening. Making this statement its key quote:-
"The ambitions foreseen [for the constitution] are reduced - especially on tax and social security - by the clear position of one country, essentially, the United Kingdom," - Jaques Chirac, French President
The EUBusiness report linked here, from which I took the quote for this posting's title, details the problem areas and cause of dispute and bitterness as :-
- the next President (all presently available candidates clearly lack the qualifications or the ability - making agreement seem unlikely and furthermore totally undesirable)
- the voting
- the Franco/German attempt to re-write the deficit penalty procedures (thus avoiding the consequences of their repeated and deliberate breaches of the Growth and Stability Pact - if they succeed the original concept of the EU will be a dead letter, and it will clearly be pointless continuing. This will present countries within the Eurozone the headache of deciding whether to accept Franco-German hegemony in a tighter totalitarian, non-democratic core Europe OR go thorugh the temporary chaos of re-introducing an independent currency....nasty choice...thank goodness Britain kept the pound...even Blair must be twigging onto that by now!).
The BBC reports that Jaques Chirac has accused the British of conducting negotiations in a spirit 'outside that of the EU'. THe eurosceptic poll victory of last week has finally given a British Prime Minister the nerve to suggest we might have an interest beyond that of France and Germany perhaps? We shall see.
The latest report from The Scotsman is linked from here, the following is a quote:-
He said the whole enterprise was in danger of being blocked by one country – contrary to the spirit of the kind of EU the constitution is supposed to bring about.
Just to rub it in, he dismissed the notion that a Briton – Chris Patten – would be acceptable as the next president of the European Commission.
“It would not be a good decision to have a candidate from a country that is not participating in all EU policies,” he said.
France was not alone tonight – German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt joined the anti-British assault over tax and the Finns pitched in to object to Mr Blair’s insistence that the constitution’s Charter of Fundamental Rights should not tie the Government’s hands over workers’ rights and social policy.
Many US media sources are reporting the following:-
Quote
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic said yesterday he had presented a list of 1,400 witnesses he wanted to call in his defence against war crimes charges, and demanded that former US president Bill Clinton, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and British Prime Minister Tony Blair be subpoenaed to testify.
UN war crimes judges at The Hague declined to immediately rule on the request, and said Milosevic would "have to provide reasons" for the request in writing.
"Clinton has to appear here. Schroeder, Blair, others, too," Milosevic said at a procedural hearing before he opens his defence case on July 5.
He argued that the former US president, the German chancellor and the British prime minister must be called because they headed their governments during the period of his indictment in the 1990s.
"Please issue an order that they have to appear as witnesses here," he said.
Milosevic said he had 1,631 witnesses in mind and has presented the names of nearly 1,400 of them to the court.
"The most terrible accusations have been uttered here," Milosevic said at a procedural hearing. "The most flagrant lies have been spoken here as well, and the only means to fight that is to present the truth."
Appearing energetic and characteristically defiant despite his frail health, Milosevic told the judges: "I should like here, before the public, to prove that these are all false indictments, false accusations against Serbia, against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and against myself."
Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson cut Milosevic short, warning him against making speeches.
He instructed the former Serb leader to provide more details about witnesses he wants to call, such as their ages and subject of their testimony.
Unquote
Interesting precedent perhaps for the Saddam Hussein trial.....Now did the UN authorise the bombing of Serbia??? - no that was NATO was it not?
Such is the report in the London Evening Standard linked here:-
The former Conservative cabinet minister and Hong Kong governor had been seen as a rank outsider until this afternoon - opposed by Jacques Chirac because he does not speak French. Mr Blair was expected to give Britain's backing if enough countries joined in.
But there were concerns that Germany would oppose his name in retaliation for Britain rejecting their choice.
"We will actively stand up for Mr Verhofstadt," said a furious German official.
The clash came hours after Mr Blair appeared to be winning concessions on the EU constitution over tax and legal changes that could strengthen militant unions.
EPP PUSH CHRIS PATTEN FOR PRESIDENT AS DEADLOCK LOOMS
The first item on the agenda has already caused deadlock at the European Council meeting it appears, read the (EUBusiness report). The Franco/German candidate has not been rubber-stamped and failed British politician, the self-publicising one-time Governor of Hong Kong (who couldn't properly perform the one important task of his tenure by handing over the colony with a stiff upper lip), is supposedly back in contention.
The same Chris Patten who many consider sold out the brave men and women of the RUC for his cushy and inadequately performed post of EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner where it appears he oversaw massive Palestinian terrorist financing by his department. Personal friend of the Maastricht Trety signing John Major, he is now (probably unsurprisingly when recalling all the foregoing) the choice of the EPP Group which is currently having a 'jolly' in Belgium and hosting its dupe Michael Howard, British Conservative Party leader (for the moment), as thanks presumably for donating many more millions of euros to the EU federalist cause over the next five years.
Seems as if Patten has all the necessary character defects to lead such a totally flawed and useless organisation as the EU Commission, bye bye any prospects of reform for another five years if Patten gets in! Bet he doesn't, though!
'BBC World TV' headlines UKIP Campaign Van on its EU Constitution bulletin.
If Blair signs on to this he will get a very bloody nose, says Nigel Farage to the BBC World audience, from Brussels on the main news bulletin put out internationally by the British state broadcaster at 1500 GMT.
News from the actual constitutional meetings - as usual - comes there none!
The report closes with a good shot of the party poster proclaiming 'Say No to Europe' and a large picture of the British PM.
All eyes turn to Brussels - Dutroux has as expected been found guilty and such announcement was duly made at midday. Many disturbing questions remain.
At 2:00pm the EU Heads of Government began their attempt to agree the VGDE Constitution. The top link on the left may be used to go directly to the European Council web-site where documents will eventually be made available. At present the Irish President's comments are all that is of even slight interest that is available linked here. A letter full of waffle and platitudes from Prodi and an annotated agenda, are also available. The latter merely states the order of business which is as follows:-
The Presidency intends to limit the agenda to the following items:
I. Appointments
II. Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
III. Terrorism
IV. Enlargement
V. Financial Perspectives
VI. Economic Issues and Employment
VII. External Affairs/CFSP/ESDP
Ironies will attempt to bring what news emerges as soon as we can.
Maastricht High-deficit 'Penalties' to be scrapped!
AS repeatedly pointed out on this blog for many months much of the indecent haste to push through this EU Constitution can only be logically be explained by a pressing need on the part of France and Germany to have the Maastricht Treaty provisions on fines for deficit breaching countries to be made null and void by the negation of that earlier Treaty - France and Germany being the principal beneficiaries naturally.
This blatant piece of self-centred political brinkmanship finally came into the open last night with publication of the actual proposals, as revealed by the Irish Presidency and reported here by EUBusiness linked here.
While the Chinese News Agency Xinhuan, reports: "Speculation reached fever-pitch Wednesday ahead of Thursday's European Union (EU) summit which will decide the issue." on the topic of who will be the next EU Commission President, the European press gives the matter practically no attention whatsoever. No wonder when the background and recorded pronouncements of the supposedly presently preferred candidate Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt are taken into account.
Any of the presently named front-runners seem guaranteed to move the status of the Commission several steps down the 'gravitas' ladder's rungs, while the Belgian in particular must surely be favoured by EU haters who might wish to see a rapid and chaotic end to the nasty conglomerstate.
Anders Rasmussen from Denmark seems a decent honest candidate, but why would he be considered by the Franco/German ruling axis. After all he has such stains on his record as the fact that his native country has yet to join the Euro. Worse his country's government under his premiership actually supported the suppression of tyranny and gift of democracy to the people of Iraq?
Nein, non!! I can picture Gerhard and Jaques agreeing over their rosy sunset dinner in Aachen (capital of the Emperor Chalremagne recall) "lets have the (clearly intellectually challenged ,but oh so) subservient Belgian!
If Blair had any sense he'd plump for that post right now - nothing but grief lies on his path ahead! Either way he is headed for detestation by the vast majority of his countrymen. And as his predecessor Neil Kinnock can no doubt vouch, that is infinitely more bearable from the distance of Brussels with the huge consolation of the multifarious EU perks.Attending G8 meetings, sound over substance, non-accountability, etc.etc.....I still think Blair might go for it - personally I believe Aznar would be the best candidate. Any of those presently being considered will speed the EU's end - so it cannot all be bad!
Foreign Office issues same tired claptrap on eve of talks
In the name of Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, the same tired old rubbish about Britain gaining in prosperity, being at the heart of things -blah, blah, blah is trotted out by the Foreign Office on the eve of talks to sell out yet more of Britain's sovereignty and the democratic traditions of her people. It may be read in full from this link or just get a quick sense of nausea from this extract:-
BY ENGAGING IN EUROPE WE CAN LEAD REFORM' - JACK STRAW
The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, has stressed that Britain must engage in Europe in order to influence reform of the EU's institutions and procedures, in a debate in the House of Commons on 16 June ahead of the European Council. 'If we want Europe to pursue the right policies, which make us more prosperous and more competitive in the world, we need to be at the centre of decisions, making our case and winning the arguments', he said. Mr Straw explained the importance of reaching agreement on the European constitutional treaty, saying the treaty 'will make clearer than ever before that the EU is a Union of nations which freely choose to share certain powers in order to achieve objectives which they have in common; and which only acts where its members have given it the authority to do so, and where it can add value'. He said the UK would negotiate at the European Council 'for a treaty which sets out the framework of a modern and effective Europe of nations, in which Britain is leading reform'.
For a brief few moments Britain's entire future was openly debated across the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, in a near shouting match between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
That is it! Blair will now proceed to Brussels, where as is usual, all will take place behind closed doors, while the press and nations of Europe wait for their political masters to provide a sanitised version of whatever it has been decided to reveal of what they have, or sometimes have not, agreed. This travesty of democracy should in itself convince us all of the worthlessness of the project in which the now 25 leaders of Europe are embarked. There is not one provision of the proposed constitution that I have found that seeks to rectify the glaring democratic failings of the EU - not one! E-mail me to prove me wrong if you are able - please quote Ironies democracy question.
The Daily Telegraph reports on the pointless Westminster exchanges which is linked from here.
We seem to stand at the eve of a domestic political crisis as deep as that which precipitated the English Civil War. Its opening will be overseen by the Prime Minister of one of the two soveriegn - four nation - countries of the British archipelago. For Bertie Ahern and his countrymen, however, it should not become a grave defining moment.
The same cannot be said for Tony Blair and the people of Britain. A thirty-two year conspiracy is about to be exposed, and nothing can be done to now prevent the truth emerging. There will be understandable panic amongst those who have perpetrated and fostered this multi-decade deceit.
There is no crisis on continental Europe. Their once nation states plan to meet this Thursday and Friday to consolidate the terms of several disparate treaties into one, more workable document and hopefully then leave Brussels by Friday evening to enjoy their weekend as they may. The peoples of the Continent are aware that land borders are never set forever, national borders ebb and flow, but sooner or later there is always a neighbour, not entirely as you, but as history has taught - one who must nevertheless be accepted and accomodated! They and their leaders thus accept the bounds that this imposes upon their national sovereighty.
England and its peoples do not have this concept set within their pysche. Even those whose families first came to Britain in the past century, tend to share this concept of separateness from Europe as their own roots lie much farther afield. Britain's nations have the sea which mainly sets our borders and such bounds can never change. The problems of land borders we have tried to overcome by combining our states in a manner we have chosen to believe makes their actual positioning almost irrelevant. (The limit to that approach, however, haunts us all in Ireland).
Tony Blair, in his role as Prime Minister of these islands other and larger sovereign state, therefore goes to Brussels with an entirely different set of problems than those of his continental counterparts. Unlike Blair and his recent predecessors they have not repeatedly lied to their own peoples regarding the direction in which they are being led.
Our leader, having granted a referendum on the terms of the final constitutional treaty must have now belatedly realised that its terms will be fully opened to general public scrutiny and debate. The political, legal and constitutional establishment of the British nation will thus be forced to explain why all the elements most abhorrent to the British concepts of democracy, freedom and common law rights - are not being ceded in this new constitution - but have rather steadily been given away over the past thirty plus years, secretly and apparently irretrievably. All that is most unacceptable to the British concept of nationhood in this new eternal Treaty is already lost, given away while the significance of the loss was both belittled and denied. This blatant deceit, some would suggest bordering on treachery, was undertaken by the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, actively encouraged and supported by the Liberals (now LibDems), over many , many years.
The entire British body politic will stand indicted and clearly guilty in these acts, which can no longer be hidden or denied. No wonder as the anti-EU votes poured in on Sunday night members of the main political parties whose names are most connected with the promotion of this conspiracy, sounded not just angry but fearful too. What they have achieved is a truly awesome in its scope and impact, breathtaking in its audacity but now inevitably - crippling for our nation in its consequense.
I cannot see any way out for Britain's political establishment, the facts are in the open and as good as fully admitted - more than half our legislation comes from bureaucrats in Brussels and our so called democratic representatives, all 650 of them, have been really just going through an expensive Westminster charade. Our system of Law no longer really exists as it has been portrayed, the Queen's Coronation oath has been apparently rendered pointless by the European Communities Act. Has she then really been our Head of State for the past thiry years or just another actor in a costly play? Our fourth estate, the broadcasting media and important sections of the press have connived in the deceit. Are we now likely to be properly informed by them on the huge issues now at stake and given proper background to all the detailed connected questions and their consequences?
The farce of the elections of representatives to the pointless and expensive mockery that is called the European Parliament, has finally provided the people a chance with their votes for the UKIP, BNP, Greens, Independents, English Democrats etc. to put the mainstream politicians on notice.
Blair going to Brussels tomorrow, as the latest in a long line of co-conspirators stretching back through Major, Thatcher, Callaghan, Wilson and Heath is now trapped and entwined in their jointly spun web of deceit. Does he now wreck the constitutional treaty, logically much desired by our European friends, allies and trading partners and then try to maintain the lies to his electorate and hope the con trick on the British people can thus be perpetrated for a few more years - or does he now come clean accept whatever terms he can get and allow the full consequences of the disastrous dissembling by himself and his predecessors to descend upon himself and the establishment at large, as the referendum debate is joined?
Matters are moving faster than those involved have yet seemed to appreciate - the EU crunch point for Britain seems to finally be here!
This is a repeat of a post I mistakenly put on Teetering Tories, then decided to leave there, why shouldn't Conservatives be reminded their party once had an interest in 'foreign' affairs.
Crowds of cheering local residents welcomed the two leaders as they made their way on foot through the main street of the ancient capital of the Emperor Charlemagne under the rosy glow of mid-summer evening skies to their private talks.
No details were divulged, but analysts said the two men were certain to have discussed their differing views on a larger Nato role in Iraq.
Amazing they weren't scattering rose petals at their feet! The duplicitous duo, no doubt might also have discussed how they plan to finally neuter the Growth and Stability Pact and otherwise rip off their 23 partners later in the week as usual I would speculate, or even the bra size of the waitress for all any of us will ever know.
And crowds cheered! Can one believe this bilge! Yes, if you happen to be a senior British politician called Blair or Howard (apparently under the rosy glow of some middle aged dementia, perhaps.) - No doubt they tell themselves, "Aren't our French and German partners wonderful, meeting in secret each time before every important meeting to see what more they can do for Britain and all their other grateful dependent states!" Is it a co-incidence they both roll out new lies on health, education, transport and the other few areas our cross channel friends have so far left us to have some control.
As this is a blog on the Tories here is a link to Howard's latest pledges on those so important Domestic matters.
The other D word "Democracy" has of course conveniently disappeared from his....and his party's concerns and vocabulary.
Unquote
On Ironies we use the word DEMOCRACY in the old-fashioned sense of the many having the regular, inalienable right to change their rulers! After thirty years we need either a different EU, or the right to have no EU at all!
Blair dubs EU withdrawal 'foolish' as reported in the Evening Standard linked here while EUpolitix reports further planned erosions for the end week meetings from here while EUBuisness proves the real aims in its reports that even the earlier puny reference to democracy (which was nowhere evidenced in the documents terms) has now apparently been excised, that is linked here and I quote:-
The words "we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few", appeared in an early draft of the EU text but were removed before Ireland -- the current holder of the EU presidency -- published the latest version.
In a way the Irish are being more honest having no referenc at all in a document that locks in the present totally anti-democratic totalitarianism.
Jack Straw should be aware that while the European media and HM's opposition may be controllable and contrive to participate in the destruction of our democratic rights, islands of free speech nevertheless continue to exist and so far remain instantly accessible even from the democratically challenged European Union.
In only two days the real negotiations and tough decisions will begin. The best summary I have so far seen comes, unsurprisingly, from New Zealand where their excellent newspaper the New Zealand Herald gives this detailed overview and signals the latest British selling-out of principles:-
Mr Straw said that he may be satisfied with safeguards accompanying a plan to allow majority voting in one limited area of social security law. However the Foreign Secretary said that he would need reassurance the so-called "emergency break" - under which national governments could stop a measure in extremis - would be effective.
Britain is also edging towards accepting a compromise which appears to ensure that decisions on the British budget rebate remain subject to the national veto. Mr Straw said Sunday's vote strengthened the case for an EU constitution, arguing: "One clear message is that voters across Europe, including in the United Kingdom, want a European Union that works better in their interests. That's the purpose of the draft constitutional treaty."
If it only "appears" to ensure that the rebate cannot be removed, then it clearly is not rock solid and is merely another fudge and form of words designed to delude the people of this country.
More evidence that the politicians of the two main parties have not absorbed the electorates message regarding the EU - the voters are sick of these devices and will see through these tricks. THE REBATE MUST NOT BE REMOVED OR REMOVABLE AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON, NOW OR EVER!
Apparently not to lick their wounds but to plot the next moves to railroad the EU Constitution upon the clearly reluctant peoples of Europe. The good news is that a disagreement over industrial policy could deflect them from their normal concerns of how to jointly shaft the rest of the union, while avoiding their own treaty obligations. The report is in EUBusiness linked from here.
In the UK the headlines concentrate on the impact of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party and the pldge at a press conference by their celebrity leading light and new MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk to 'wreck' the EU Parliament. Good job too, the sooner the better!
Shock swing towards euroscepticism in European Parliament elections
Such is the headline in the EUobserver coverage of the polls. Their article is linked here.
Results later proved that report somewhat optimistic as far as the UKIP Independence Party who have so far gained a dozen seats as opposed to three in the last parliament, with Scotland still to declare.
The Leading Article in the Daily Telegraph opens as follows:-
Be careful what you wish for. British Euro-enthusiasts have long lamented our insularity when it comes to European elections: our tendency to see the poll simply as a referendum on national issues. But on Thursday, for the first time, a significant number of our countrymen voted on the basis of what they thought about the EU.
The result could hardly have been worse for Europhiles. The Conservatives, UKIP and the Greens were all, in varying degrees, demanding the repatriation of power from Brussels. Labour and the Lib-Dems, by contrast, supported closer integration generally and the proposed constitution specifically. This is the first British election, national or European, in which the combined Eurosceptic vote has outweighed that of the pro-Brussels parties.
The three traditional parties need to think hard about what has just happened. Politicians never find reflection easy: it is human nature to try to make new developments fit our existing prejudices. But it will not do to dismiss yesterday's result as a one-off venting of saloon bar patriotism. The UK Independence Party may be a single-issue protest movement; but such idiosyncratic movements can redefine the political landscape.
Of course, on the EU politicians do not listen to their electorates nor consider the interests of their countries, so it will be full steam ahead to Dublin and the new constitution. The entire leader is linked here,
Commencing no later than 2000 GMT most postings on the above will be placed on the blog we devote exclusively to the European Parliament: The Strasbourg Cesspit.
We will try to keep that blog fully updated as the evening progresses and the results arrive. I will be monitoring the national braodcasters of France and Italy as well as the international broadcasters CNN and BBC World Television for the latest news and inside comment. From the UK we will monitor the 'Five Live' radio broadcast and comment!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL CANDIDATES PLEDGED TO THE RESTORATION OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND DEMOCRACY!
To meet Dutch concerns over the openly flouted Growth and Stability Pact, an appendix is suggested to re-state its principles. Absurdity and hypocrisy - are we Europeans deemed completely stupid??? For British worries - only the lawyers can be expected to judge. Ludicrous and shameful!!!
If France and Germany totally disregard solemn and binding commitments undertaken in the Maastricht Treaty is this likely to bind them more tightly....especially as the Constitution terms will most probably relieve them of those Maastricht obligations...Why else the indecent haste??
On the budget rules, Dublin proposed appending a declaration to the constitution reaffirming the EU's commitment to its Stability and Growth Pact and stressing the need for sound budgetary policy throughout the economic cycle.
This article also treats us to this astounding quote :-
"I'm very worried that a low turnout everywhere could produce very strange results and even result in anti-European organisations being elected," EU enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen said on the eve of voting.
...EVEN RESULT IN ANTI_EUROPEAN ORGANISATIONS.... that would never do. The report is linked from here. (Note the advert at the top for those wishing to start over! ...whoops it changes - it was for a US Green Card on my first vist!)
In the title of his article in today's Sunday Telegraph ' Now I can get back to the business of ignoring you' linked here, my EU constituency MEP and list leader in the South East for the Tories, seems to boast at his disregard of my various recent communications over the past months regarding the disgraceful hypocrisy of the Conservative's pact renewal with the ultra federalist European Peoples Party.
Later he shows that he has fallen victim to the 'demos' brainwashing, on which I commented only this week, in a post titled 'The Evil Newspeak to Neuter Democracy'linked here (or find in the archives for 8th June 2004). I quote his extraordinary words:
European democracy fails because there is no demos - no community with which we identify when we use the word "We" - only the kratos of a system that must compel obedience through force of law, not loyalty.
Read my earlier posting and then these words to see how the EU process of thought control has turned the mind of this supposedly most eurosceptic of Tory MEPs. To top that, then register the fatalism with which he claims, nothing can possibly be done, being apparently now indefinitely condemned to his comfortably coddled fate, he concludes:-
However you voted on Thursday, however our fellow Europeans vote today, the EU will continue along the path to political integration. Mere elections will not be allowed to check the reigning ideology. For some of the accession countries, it must all seem horribly familiar.
Eurosceptics will not have succeeded while MEPs such as Hannan have a seat to which they may return in Strasbourg. His cynicism is breathtaking! We must work to make this the last occasion on which we elect any British representatives for Brussels and Strasbourg! How sweet it would be to remove the likes of this supposed conservative eurosceptic in mid-term! Pity those of you who cast a vote for the Tory list.
The following are the concluding paragraphs to an article by Matthew Parris in yesterday's The Times. It may be read in full, for a very limited period we understand, only by surfers within the UK, from this link.
Quote
Europe poses one of the biggest questions ahead of us. We do not have to be part of the EU; it is not divinely ordained; we could undoubtedly leave. The EU does not know where it is going and we do not know whether or how far we are going with it. My own belief is that we should string along for the time being, but there is nothing mad about thinking we should not. I fail to see how a party which places one solution to these uncertainties at the centre of its manifesto can be dismissed as either pointless or mischievous.
To hear some of my friends in politics and political journalism talk, you would think that democracy is a kind of jolly charabanc on to which all reasonable citizens have clambered, even if we may argue about the route.
No, my friends, democracy is more than the bus. Democracy is also the ditch, the pothole, the rock in the road. Democracy punctures the tyres, barks at the wheels, may throw itself under the wheels. Democracy is the highwayman, the hitch-hiker, the burst radiator. Democracy is not just the journey: it is also, unless you are careful, the crash.
Unquote
Most of the EU goes to the polls today. Can there be any doubt where the votes should be cast? How can any contemplate a continuation of the present shameful status quo? An item from EUBusiness linked here, indicates that Euroscepticism will be on the march across Europe confirming the trend set in the UK where latest polls and press coverage indicate that the UK Independence Party, advocating outright UK withdrawal from the EU, could well beat all other and well established parties!
This is the message all electorates should send to their democracy thieving politicians. This excerpt from the linked report shows that they well might. KICK ALL THE SELF-SATED SITTING MEPs OUT!
"We are surely going to see a big increase in the number of eurosceptic MEPs," said Marco Incerti of the Centre for European Policy Studies, predicting that UKIP alone could boost its Strasbourg deputies from three to 15 or more.
Studies confirm that eurosceptic warnings about the rise of a European federal "superstate" have played a key part in a number of EU countries. And that includes the newcomers from the 10 mostly ex-communist states which boosted the EU from 15 to 25 members last month.
The threat of a "federal European superstate" has been a prominent campaign theme for the elections in Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Britain and Slovenia, said a recent European Policy Institute Network (EPIN) report.
Starting this time tomorrow evening, HERE!! or on a sister blog (linked from here) WILL BE FOUND THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND FREQUENTLY UPDATED EUROREALIST COVERAGE OF THE EU ELECTION RESULTS - TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE!
Follow the demise of a putative 'evil empire' as it unfolds!
I have only just got round to reading today's Daily Telegraph. I link its editorial below, not for its content, but rather for later use as a reference regarding how badly mistaken leader writers can be in their perception of political swings!
'Thursday's vote shows the Tories are back in the game' Ha hahahaha
I have only just got round to reading today's Daily Telegraph. I link its editorial below, not for its content, but rather for later use as a reference regarding how badly mistaken leader writers can be in their perception of political swings!
'Thursday's vote shows the Tories are back in the game' Ha hahahaha
EP Elections - Czech aniti-Government - anti-EU vote?
An exit poll from the Czech Republic is quoted as follows on EUobserver:-
CZECH REPUBLIC - Updated at 16:07 CET, Saturday 12 June
Early indications suggest a defeat for the governing social democrats. According to exit polls conducted by Czech TV, the social democrats have secured only three of the 24 seats available. The winners appear at this stage to be the eurosceptic opposition as well as independent candidates.
Results according to exit poll of 8,000 people by the SC&C agency for Czech Television. Turnout, according to this poll, was 27 percent.
An earlier report from Ireland is linked from here.
Perhaps the message to remove the anti-democratic, system-abusers is taking hold across the Continent! The best possible means of sending a message to remind politicians in Dublin next week of their TRUE national responsibilities! KICK OUT OF OFFICE ALL SITTING MEPS (a message perhaps too quickly removed from our heading this morning)
Still time to visit The Strasbourg Cesspit for those not yet able or decided how to vote!
Both the Financial Times (linked here) and The Guardian (in several reports linked from Ukip Uncovered) raise the possibility of UKIP coming out as top party when the European Parliamentary election results start to be counted at 11:00 PM tomorrow.
An exit poll run by AOL shows just such an outcome, further borne out by the much stronger than expected showing by the party in various regions and its gaining two seats on the Greater London Authority. If some of these projections prove even remotely true then surely a huge schism has opened in both British and EU politics.
The truth glaringly revealed, when adding together the results of the non-mainstream parties will be that the electorate is 'disgusted' (and I use the word advisedly) with the mainstream parties, particularly with their disgraceful dissembling over the truth regarding the aims of the European Union, but also their conduct of national affairs.
The lesson for UKIP must be that the electorate are looking for a return to decency and principles from their political leaders.
As Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroeder sat in the USA National Cathedral this morning, and listened to the most beautiful offering of Ave Maria, while waiting for the funeral cortege of Ronald Reagan - to be now known down history as the man most singly responsible for the destruction of one evil empire......could these two national European political leaders not for a moment have cause for thought (and hopefully some feelings of guilt) for that new evil empire they now plan to complete and cement in less than one week from now in Dublin?
These are being regularly updated on our sister blog UKIP Uncovered. The following post on MEP impotence, posted there as a time filler, might also be of interest to readers of this blog:-
Quote
EU Parliamentary IMPOTENCE
While going through the long and agonising wait for the EU election results - PONDER ON THE FOLLOWING:-
Most well informed people will surely be aware that the European Parliament is an expensive sham because only the EU Commission has the power to propose any legislation!
The EU Commission power is implemented through the monopoly of legislative initiative in Community areas: all European legislation must initially be set out in a proposal from the Commission. An extraordinary and startling fact in itself! BUT not so many are aware of the following, even more incredible fact :-
It is reinforced by a second perogative, the right of withdrawal: a proposal can be withdrawn at any time by the Commission, particularly if it does not agree with the amendments made by the Parliament or the Council - even if voted unanimously by Member States
Is there such a situation pertaining in any other democratic legislative procedure in the world? Can any other Treaty arrangement envision the founding and signing members being so neutered by any Commission of their own creation?
Prospective MEP candidates waiting to learn if they are to be sent to Brussels and Strasbourg would do well to contemplate the essential pointlessness of their next five years.
The proof of the above statements may be found from this link to 'Building a political Europe' page 62 footnote 65! The document is linked from here.
Unquote
Local elections in UK knock Blair's Governing Party to forecast 26 per cent.
After the votes counted overnight BBC estimates put the opposition Conservatives at 38 per cent and the Liberal Democrats at 30 per cent, Tony Blair's New Labour party was set back to just over a quarter of the poll at an estimated 26 per cent. More counting continues throughout today with the result of the London Assembly and Mayoral polls and many other councils expected by this evening.
The ever encroaching EU, now clearly interfering in our national democratic system, has ruled, presumably without consulting our Westminster Parliament (I cannot recall any Bill or debate), that the EU election results may not be given until Sunday evening. The Dutch, however, still retaining some element of freedom of thought and national independence among their politicians, announced that two from the anti-EU corruption 'Transparency Party' had gained seats as MEPs.
Ireland and the Czech Republic vote today; they too must wait until Sunday before being allowed to count their ballots. Welcome to pan-European totalitarianism!
Attempts to brand UKIP surge 'racist' already commence!
The Toronto Star publishes this report from its European Bureau correspondent Sandro Contenta, clearly designed to deflect the principal anti-EU message of the UK Independence Party in today's polls to imply a main anti-immigrant theme. The article is linked here.
The Independent has this article by a German reporter on the British attitude towards today's election. This journalist seems to have missed the point of the EU as comprehensively as those of whom she so scathingly writes. It may be read from here. A quote:-
We shook our heads at a country that seems intent on denying it is already governed by Brussels in lots of areas. The deep-seated sentiment against being "not independent" has crystallised into Euro-hatred, and even though the Prime Minister prides himself on being pro-Europe, under his leadership, things have got worse.
Dutch Foreign Minister voices EU doubts on Radio 4's Today
Bernard Bot (listen to the broadcast from here) criticised the pace of EU integration and the lack of democracy on the Radio 4 'Today' programme some forty minutes before Michael Howard committed virtual political suicide on the same programme (listen from this link) claiming he could change our relationship with the increasingly evil and non-democratic superstate without threatening Britain's withdrawal.
We have commented before on this blog on the huge significance of the shift in Dutch opinion from Euro-enthusiam to increasing scepticism, particularly following the release of Eurobarmoeter 60 opinion poll on 23rd February - linked here.
Schroeder & Chirac Face Setbacks in European Elections
A report from Bloomberglinked here, paints an encouraging picture of the electoral prospects for Gerhard Schroeder who has done so much to drive the EU to its current dangerous state. Co-conspirator Jaques Chirac of France is likewise forecast to receive yet another drubbing at the polls according to this report in the Finacial Timeslinked here.
The posting below emphasises the necessity of delivering a huge shock to the two politicians most responsible for driving the EU towards the totalitarianism reflected in the constitution, supposedly to be agreed a mere eight days from now.
A Tory, Labour or LibDem vote has become treasonous?
Janet Daley in her column in today's Telegraph seems to reach just such a conclusion. Noting that Tories are likely to vote in their droves for UKIP tomorrow, she describes some of the circumstances. In a stunning and shattering few short sentences Howard's conservatives, Blair's Labour Party, Kennedy's Lib Dems and the entire political leadership of the other 24 nations presently constituting the EU are put on notice of the dangerous forces they have unleashed, all of which have repeatedly been paraded on this blog for many months.
Quote
Large numbers of European voters now feel that power over government is effectively out of their hands, and they are notoriously volatile. In this country, people react to their disfranchisement by putting up two fingers to the politicians who have landed them in this infuriating mess. In many other countries, they have an alarming tendency to take to the streets and throw things.
Watching the D-Day commemoration over the weekend, it was impossible not to understand the mistake on which all this was based. The Second World War (and the one before that, too) seemed to be caused directly by nationalism. It seemed reasonable enough to conclude that the hideous crimes committed in the name of nation states must never be permitted again. Ergo, the idea of nationality itself, with all its romantic myth-ology and historical baggage, must be extirpated.
France and Germany, and then all the lesser players that lined up on one side or the other, must be bound into an economic dependence and a political union that would make it impossible for them ever to fight a war against one another again. Like generals who are fighting the last war, the architects of the European Union were determined to preserve the conditions of the last peace.
Transcending national loyalty and identity was to be exalted for ever as the goal of enlightened peoples.
But it was not national identity itself that caused the monstrous crimes committed in its name, or the two world wars. It was totalitarianism and economic insecurity. It is not necessary to supersede every country's unique institutions, and drive a stake through the heart of its historical character, in order to preserve the peace. What is necessary are reliably responsive democratic governments, and free market economics that permit every citizen to feel that he owns a stake in the future.
Prosperous, stable democracies do not go to war with one another. What the EU is doing, perversely, is creating forms of government that move away from this direct, transparent democracy, in favour of impenetrable bureaucratic agencies that make people feel powerless and politically dispossessed. And so the extremists are on the march again, showing just the ugly face that this whole project was supposed to render obsolete.
The Europhiles dismiss this concern. They cannot or will not see that a combination of unaccountable government, and economic policies that depress wealth creation and create unemployment, makes a dangerous cocktail. It is precisely those things that lead to desperation, genuine extremism and, ultimately, violence.
Of course, the great panEuropean, post-nationalist entity may well implode before we reach that terrifying stage, and collapse under the weight of its own contradictions, as communism did. Whether it will unravel as peacefully remains to be seen.
Those who seek to deprive the people of Europe of their democratic right to periodically remove those who rule them, which many choose to consider the most basic of all democratic freedoms, have embarked upon a devious and despotic scheme.
I have noticed a recent tendency, it appears in the VGDE convention documents and again crops up in the EU Constitutional papers and drafts. It is the tendency to talk of the European "demos" when referring to democracy.
Most take the term "demos" to mean people and the appearance of the word tends to excite little interest. In fact the dictionary definition is as follows:-
Demos 1. the people of a nation regarded as a political unit 2. Rare the common people; masses (from Greek the populace DEME)
The implication given by the Euro-demcracy-deniers is that they use the word 'demos' in the second or RARE sense. In fact it is becoming clear that at least among themselves they mean it in the common form to mean NATION. When the word demos is added to a discussion of the 'democratic deficit', it is a 'newspeak' marker that the elite are referring to their failure to yet impose 'a European identity' upon us and nothing whatever to do with the fact that we have lost our ability to periodically remove those who govern us - thus condemning us ALREADY to a tyrannical form of government as defined by Karl Popper.
Thus when the euro-elite gather to plot the next stages of the subjugation and oppression of the peoples of Europe and talk of the "democratic deficit", what they have in mind is their inability to have so far moulded the continent into a 'nation of Euope' due to their present failure to break we Europeans' attachment to our existing nation states.
Recognising this code makes comprehension of the 112 page document presented to Prodi late last April, 'Building a political Europe', far easier. All the talk of a European Model and identity slips neatly into place, as of course does its conclusion that to solve the "democratic deficit" the first priority is to create a pan-European public audiovisual media.
The entire 50 point proposal for our descent into non-democratic servitude is available from this link in pdf format:-
As the European election campaign reaches a climax, opportunities will arise to question the leaders of the three main parties about their intention to keep us bound within Europe. Any having a chance to question them on this hugely important matter should please do so.
France's Barnier sees non EU Constitutional Core possibility
In connection with our posting immediately beneath this, France's Foreign Minister will today suggest that the EU Constitution could be progressed outside the EU as happened with the Schengen Agreement. The item is linked to EU Business from here.
As Europe and the EU countries tend to dominate concerns on this blog, a Canadian look ahead at this week's important meeting seemed appropriate. The report from that country's National Post is linked from from here
Watching the 'International Celebrations' of D-Day, re-run on the TV news screens this evening, the full enormity of the Franco/German attempt to re-write history sinks home.
The Flag arrangements on the clever video displays made clear it was a crusade apparently led by Greece. The presentation of medals of the Legion d'honnneur by the crook Chirac (who should now be in jail, did he not enjoy Presidential immunity as a result of the weird French Presidential election process instituted by Charles de Gaulle, the least likely of all D-Day heroes), reinforced the multinational symbolism.
CNN played the French Military Band rendition of the German National Anthem so immediately after a picture of the German Chancellor laying a wreath in a British War Cemetry, that I almost retched at the thought of such appalling disrespect, before realising it was mere news editing and the German anthem.....on D-Day....was 'only' being played in Caen. The gut wrenching speeches that then followed from Chirac and Schroeder make the message clear: European Imperialism, the scourge of civilisation and decent values is once again on the rise.
Britain must withdraw from the EU as soon as feasible and look towards strengthening our defences by reforging older and more meaningful and principle-based alliances.
Dutch FM mock French arrogance, patronising Eurocrats and warns of popular revolt
The title above contain a few of the complaints levelled by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot in a speech in Berlin last week reported here by "The Age" from Australia linked here.
The corruption of the present EU and disregard by its leaders for even the pretence of following any democratic norms - see our post below, can only revive ancient animosities if allowed to continue as at present.
Chirac's speech on the beach at Arremanche this afternoon might as well have referred to a civilisation on another planet entirely than the real non-democratic, elitist, economy crippling and corrupt European Union being constructed by himself and Schroeder with the enthusiastic complicity of Tony Blair. It made a truly shameful spectacle - the hypocrisy of Europes leaders, having sold out their fellow citizens democracy and heritage, sitting alongside the worthier representatives of still true nation states and representatives of their peoples.
All gathered to honour those who died for their children's and grandchildren's liberty, now being sold out for how many future generations of Europeans yet to be born? Requiring what further sacrifices from future generations for democracy to be restored?
Co-incidentally Ronald Reagan died today, the US President who finally ended the division of Europe helped by Margaret Thatcher, not the EU as Jack Straw recently again lyingly claimed. Chancellor Kohl courageously helped by insisting, against strong domestic resistance, on basing cruise missiles within Germany. Throughout the EU merely squabbled over wine lakes and butter mountains purely concerned with who could gain the most while giving the least, the hall-mark of this European Union and those whom it employs. It has achieved nothing and should be replaced.
The meetings in Dublin later this month, could be the last chance to turn back. The proposed EU Constitution is a blueprint for a non-elected tyranny, certainly one as defined by Karl Popper and perhaps even in its more literal sense.
Is this a case of 'if you can't beat 'em - promote 'em? At least it proves in whose gift the posting is presumed to lie! (Schroeder and Chirac reportedly jointly made the approach)
Ironic on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Was it for this the sacrifces were made?
The Sunday Telegraph column of Christopher Booker today refers to the document 'Building a political Europe' by Dominique Strauss-Kahn and writes the following (linked from here):-
Unsurprisingly, with the Euro-elections in full swing, the Commission has gone out of its way to bury this document, which is almost impossible to find on the EU's main website, except in French. Just one copy seems to have escaped the thought police, tracked down by Dr Richard North, editor of a new "weblog" (www.eureferendum.blogspot.com), on the website of the EU delegation to Australia and New Zealand. But hurry - tomorrow it may be gone!
Ironies received this report some time ago and has recently been quoting from its quite astonishing contents. In fairness to our own source, the redoubtable researcher and scourge of all things EU, Anne Palmer, we feel her tale of how she obtained the document should also now be told.
On learning of Dr North's problems in obtaining the document I queried Anne who had sent it to me as to her source and she replied as follows:
I only caught site of that title (Building a political Europe) when I was reading something else. I tried every way I knew to get access to the document (and I know my way around these web sites) in the end, I sent an e-mail direct to Brussels (I know, I've got the cheek of the devil!)and back came the full instructions on a web page I had not seen before. I shall keep my eye on that one too.
Here for you, is that web page,it might be of use to you,
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/policy_advisers/experts_groups/index_en.htm
Later I obtained the actual communications between Anne and the EU and reproduce it below for interest and the valuable links.
Quote
Dear Ms. Palmer,
We acknowledge receipt of your message and in response to your inquiry we would like to inform you that you can download the report entitled
"Constructing a Political Europe" on the web site of the Group of Policy
Advisers at the following URL:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/policy_advisers/experts_groups/index_en.htm
Select the language code "en" under the title "Rapport sur l'Europe de
demain Construire l'Europe politique". We would like to remind you that, if the document is a pdf-file, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software so as to be able to read it. "Acrobat Reader" is available for downloading at the following web site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Should you have any further queries you can contact the Group of Policy
Advisers at the following address:
group-advisers@cec.eu.int
We hope the above references will be of help to you.
Kind regards,
EUROPE DIRECT
Visit the site on The Future of Europe:
http://europa.eu.int/futurum
"Europe's thematic Information Society web portal has just been launched on Europa http://europa.eu.int/information_society/
This provides a simple and intuitive presentation of the subject for the
wider public, covering all related policies and activities being pursued by the European Commission."
Please note that as of 01/06/2003, EUROPE DIRECT is accessible via the free phone number 00800 67891011 from Monday to Friday, 09.00 to 18.30 (Central European Time)
Please note: whilst we endeavour to ensure that you receive the information requested or are directed to an appropriate source, we are unable to comment on specific issues pertaining to EU policy, and any information provided by EUROPE DIRECT may not be considered as legally binding.
Firstname: Anne - Family Name: Palmer
Subject: A Study/Report "Constructing a Political Europe"
Question: Where/How can I find/locate the above please? It was written by Lord Simon of Highbury and others Chaired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Unquote
Time to vote down the status quo and fight back at the tyrants of democracy
GERALD WARNER has written this highly recommended column for 'The Scotsman' this morning. It is recommended to be read in full from this link, the following quotes are noteworthy and provide the flavour:-
"That is why next week’s European (and, in England and Wales, local authority) elections are assuming such significance. Most pundits predict a small turnout and a disproportionate vote for the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). That remains to be seen; but what is not in question and is of huge significance is the new mood that prevails in the country. There is a slow stirring of revolt that goes far beyond fuel protests and maverick votes for television presenters. It is slowly dawning on the people of Britain that if they do not reclaim their country from politicians, their most basic liberties will be extinguished.....
"So the Tories, supposedly the defenders of British patriotic interests, have only themselves to blame if their natural supporters are defecting to the UKIP. In politics, consensus is ultimately the path to oblivion. The Conservative Party will have to come off the fence and lead Britain out of Europe. If it declines this responsibility, it will be swept aside by someone else with the resolve to do so. That will not be Robert Kilroy-Silk or Joan Collins, but their burgeoning popularity is a sign of Britain’s determination to break with Europe. The proposed constitution is an imposition too far. British patience is slow to crack - it has taken 30 years in this instance - but the tide is now flowing irreversibly against the Evil Empire in Brussels.....
"Here and across Europe it is the same: noisome, slimy things have crawled out of the sewers to oppress liberty and the human spirit. A cull is long overdue. It will not happen next Thursday; but voters, here and abroad, may take the opportunity to serve notice on the petty tyrants. Through a policy of constructive irresponsibility, by voting for those candidates most calculated to undermine the status quo, destabilise the liberal consensus and overthrow political correctness, the first small steps may be taken towards a genuinely new order."
Macshane Predicts General Election in May 2005 - Referendum 2006
Britain's Minister for the EU will tomorrow publish that any referendum is unlikely next year due to a possible spring General Election followed by Britain's then taking the six month rotating presidency of the EU for the second half of the year. Who would put money on that President now being Michael Howard?
In a landmark posting on Dr Richard North's Blog EU Referendum, fascinating details of the value national parties reap from their otherwise effectively useless MEPs. The full article should be read from his blog and may be reached by clicking on the title: 'Money down the drain'. The early part of the post refers to an opinion article by Charles Moore, in today's Telegraph, linked here, I will therefore only quote the subsequent portion here:-
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Herein, though, lies a story which has yet to be told, which demonstrates how devastatingly crass the whole EPP saga has been. It is a story about money, power and influence – but mainly about money.
Poorly understood by outsiders, European Parliament political groups are the driving force in the parliament, dictating the agendas, organising the voting and generally running the business of the parliament through the "conference of presidents", made up from the leaders (presidents) of all the different groups. The groups are also the prototype European political parties, much encouraged by the EU as a means of sidelining national parties and furthering political integration.
To promote their development – and this is the crucial point – the parliament is extremely generous in funding the groups, providing an income stream entirely separate from, and additional to the MEPs' own personal expenses and allowances. Unsurprisingly, the groups are extremely reluctant to give details of the extent of this largesse, and do not produce public accounts. But we do know that the budget of the smallest group in the EP (the Group of European Democracies Diversities – EDD) has an annual budget of about one million euros annually, say about £650,000.
This has allowed the eighteen MEPs of the EDD to secure additional staff, roughly in a ratio of 1:3, just over 40 staff. Thus, each MEP benefits from an additional three workers, over and above those they fund from their own secretarial allowances. Furthermore, these workers, based in Brussels and provided with full office facilities, come with their overheads paid, so the group funding is actually worth more than the bottom line figure.
By contrast, when I last enquired, the Tory group in the EPP, with twice the number of MEPs as the whole of the EDD, had a group staff roll of just seven people – when on the same ratio as the EDD, they could be entitled to up to over 100, depending on precisely how they spent their money.
Actually this is possibly an over-estimate as group funds are not disbursed in direct proportion to the size of the group, but on a sliding scale, the smaller groups getting a larger per capita allowance. However, there can be no dispute that the Tory component within the EPP qualify for very close to – if not over - £1 million a year of group funding, of which very little actually goes anywhere near the Tories, being absorbed in the EPP global fund.
On the face of it, therefore, the Tory MEP group is giving away something close to £1 million a year to a Europhile, federalist group, which uses the money to pursue an overtly federalist agenda. This is not what most Tory voters expect – and it gets worse.
One thing UKIP has arranged extremely well is the pooling of its MEPs’ secretarial allowances – roughly £105,000 each, annually. With minimal amounts taken for their own personal staff, they use the rest to finance party staff working to the common agenda. Each of the Tory MEPs gets the £105,000 but they pay only a small subvention to Tory Central Office for central services, and pocket the rest, to spend as they wish.
With 36 MEPs, that sum collectively amounts £3.8 million a year - or £19 million for the full five-year parliamentary term. Allowing the MEPs even to keep a fairly generous fifty percent of their allowances, and pooling the rest, that leaves £1.9 million - £2 million in round figures - a year. Add the group funding of approximately £1 million and the Tory group could marshal something like £3 million a year. The obvious outlet for that money is to spend it on policy research and development – the crying need in the Conservative Party – and a perfectly legitimate way of spending the money.
To put this in perspective, the Conservative Party is paid £4 million a year from public funds for the function of policy research and development – the so-called "short money". Clearly, this is not enough, and another £3 million a year would make a powerful addition to the fund. Furthermore, with the Party currently admitting to a £2.5 million overdraft, the EP money would make a sizeable dent in the deficit.
In short, therefore, the Tory group – in continuing to cosy up to the EPP – is throwing shed-loads of money down the drain, money which is vitally necessary for the Party to expand its woefully inadequate research function. In fact, it is worse than that. It is giving money to the "enemy". Thus, Mr Moore may want to vote Tory but, as he admits, Mr Howard's Party is not making it very easy for him. Actually, he understates the case. A vote for Tory MEPs at the moment is the equivalent of writing a very large cheque for federalism.
The Round Table report dated 25th April, 2004 titled, Building a political Europe, linked from here, agonises over the EU's non-competitiveness and capital flight (see Summary page 16 section 2.3) - The globalisation of economic flows is an acute problem for the European model of development: when regulation -- one of its features, with such things as minimum wages, social protection and environmental standards -- becomes too heavy, economic flows flee Europe.
Yet on page 18 and 19 of the summary it demands yet ever more resources and in section 3.1 (vi) Budgetary federalism it states.....These additional resources will come in the first instance from transfers from the Member States. BUT THEY WILL ALSO REQUIRE THE INTRODUCTION OF A FIRST EUROPEAN TAX: A SUPPLEMENTARY COMPANY TAX COULD BE A GOOD SOLUTION AS IT WOULD FIT NEATLY WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE INTERNAL MARKET. (My emphasis and capitalisation.)
In the opinion of this writer, given that continuation of a high tax regime is set in stone and indeed deliberately targeted as an objective for the EU, throughout the 112 page report, this proposal would effectively finally kill off the remaining productive and wealth creating sectors of Europe's constituent economies (namely the small businesses) .
Other snippets from this horrendous view of the future - such as compulsory overseas study periods for children, implied compulsory infant creche facilities to impose equality and a full review of their discussions on the democratic deficit, the number one remedy for which it appears would be to create a pan-European public audiovisual media (mass brainwashing by any other name) will be provided on this blog shortly.
The link for the full document has apparently been made difficult to obtain in English from the europa website. It is repeated below, and those wishing to do so may copy it for use elsewhere by right clicking on the title and 'copy link location' and then pasting it as wished elsewhere:-
The following has been taken from Pam Bardon's 'Save Our Sovereignty' newsletter circulating on the internet. I cannot vouch for the facts stated but feel sure, knowing the source have little doubt. The item bears out and re-inforces the point made in our earlier post title The Clever Conspiracy that Condemns us All to Corrupt EU Control! of 21st March (linked from here) on the tax free pensions that help to keep us enslaved within the EU conglomerstate.
Quote
HOUSE OF LORDS
The Lords, like the Commons, declare a financial interest before speaking on issues where this is relevant. Lord Pearson of Rannoch has been asking, for months, why this rule did not apply to those peers who receive generous pensions as former employees of the European Commission. Recently a committee of 5, set up to look into this, split 2—2 and the chairman, who wrote the report, came down in favour of the peers. He may have been influenced by Lord Richards, a former EU commissioner, who said “the idea that there is some residual allegiance in me to the Commission” was ‘absolute nonsense”.
The Commission staff rules which apply to himself and a dozen other peers, including Lord Williamson, a former head of the Commission’s civil service — make clear that any former official must “conduct himself solely with the interests of the Communities in mind”; and that this particularly applies to “any expression of opinions”; and that any former’ official who breaches this obligation may face “reduction or withdrawal of entitlement to retirement pension”. In the case of commissioners, Article 213 of the Treaty of Rome states “both during and after their term of office” they must put “the general interest of the Communities above anything else, or that for any breach an ex—commissioner can be deprived of his right to a pension. (Daniel Hannan, Tory MEP).
As these pensions are worth £60,000 p.a. for commissioners (after just two terms), you will understand why anyone involved with the EU will always be willing to champion its cause.
A YEAR ago we first commented on this blog on the Public Relations fiasco and humanitarian disaster of so-called European Union actions in the Congo. Our first comment titled Backdoor Euroisation is linked from here and a follow-up a few days later The EU Fails Again? is linked from here
Both earlier posts make even more depressing the reading of the following report just now issued (linked here) by Christian Aid:-
Swift action needed to avert catastrophe in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo /04.06.04
The international community must respond quickly to the deteriorating situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after rebel forces captured the capital of South Kivu, Bukavu, on 2 June 2004.
The immediate priority is the strengthening of the United Nations force, MONUC, in eastern DRC, says Paul Watson, regional manager for Central Africa at Christian Aid. 'If we are to avert new conflict in the DRC, the international community must act now and provide the United Nations peacekeeping force, MONUC, with the resources it requires. '
Christian Aid says the MONUC force must be resourced properly so that it can protect civilians and disarm the rebels. Although shooting has died down in Bukavu, Christian Aid staff say there is widespread looting and rape.
Last year a EU military force was sent to Ituri province in northern Kivu after bitter fighting between ethnic factions. 'The EU force was deployed to stabilise the situation and disarmed the warring factions,' says Paul Watson. ' Such a force should also be sent to Bukavu before the fragile peace process is completely derailed.'
Once again the EU proves that it cares little for others and that its frequently stated concern for the third world and its problems are once more proved to be mere empty statements.
How shameful it is to carry a passport bearing the EU ring of stars.
The Independent claims overall agreement is close amongst the twenty-five EU leaders on the Constitution for the middle of this month. The article from the federalist newspaper may be read from here with another link and comment on the same topic in the post beneath this.
Meantime we publish an item from Ireland which clearly indicates the intention to steamroller this quite appalling constitutional treaty through to ratification as rapidly as possible thereafter:-
The following report about former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene was carried on page 11 of yesterday's Irish Times, Wednesday June 2, by reporter Tim King in Brussels, under the heading "Belgian PM to put EU treaty to referendum"
'In a radio debate with Mr Verhofstadt yesterday, Mr Dehaene strongly
criticised the idea of a referendum.
"We know that nine out of 10 people will not have read the Constitution
and will vote on the basis of what politicians and journalists say," Mr
Dehaene said.
"More than that, if the answer is No, the vote will probably have to be
done again, because it absolutely has to be Yes."'
Jean-Luc Dehaene was one of V.Giscard d'Estaing's two Vice-Chairmen of the Convention on the Future of Europe which produced the draft EU Constitution.
A leading Irish eurosceptic who has circulated this report has commented as follows:-
"These revealing remarks by Mr Dehaene typify the arrogance, sense of superiority and sheer contempt for democracy that characterise the members of the EU political elite who are currently seeking to impose an embryonic State Constitution on the EU's 25 Member States.
The Constitution, which Irish sources expect will be agreed on 17 June,
will for the first time give the EU the legal personality and corporate
existence separate from, and superior to, its Members, that is essential if the EU is to be turned into a full-fledged State. It proposes to increase the EU's powers, to centralise it more, and to change the voting system on the Council of Ministers to make it easier for its Big States to continue dominating EU decision-making."
A report in the Daily Telegraphlinked here indicates Blair has gained some concessions on his 'red lines', no doubt facilitated by his finally realising the negotiating power the promised referendum provides.
Seeing the obvious benefits of a hard line attitude to the EU, it now only remains for the British people to take this to its obvious conclusion by delivering a hearty NO to the dreadful constitution in the referendum and thereafter wholeheartedly endorsing the European withdrawalist cause - only being advocated by the UK Independence Party - and thus being able to negotiate a separate treaty with the EU 'a la Suisse'.
Then they can elect fully accountable British representatives to start clearing up the appalling mess the two major parties and the EU have jointly and severally created in our country.
The following is the opening to a study addressed to Romano Prodi by Dominique Strauss Kahn:-
Dear Romano,
The European Union has reached a turning point in its history. It is facing a threefold crisis. Its institutions are functioning badly: they are threatened with paralysis and challenged on the grounds of their democratic deficit. Its project has run out of steam: today, no satisfactory answers are being offered to the questions of why we need Europe and where it is going. Its geographical scope is uncertain: for the first time, the Union is really having to ask itself where its ultimate boundaries lie.....
Were it not prepared by a group of dedicated EU federalists, the answer would be to seek ways of undoing the mess such people have created, instead there follows one hundred odd pages devoted to assessing how the obvious probelms can be compounded. It may be read in its entirety from this link to a pdf document LINKED FROM HERE.
The British representative was Lord SIMON of HIGHBURY former Chairman of British Petroleum, former minister for trade and competitiveness in
Europe.
A Sample of the contents:-
From page 13:
The question of a further move towards a political Europe arises again today. First of all, because the Union has gradually extended its areas of competence (agriculture, VAT harmonisation, internal market, euro, etc.) and has thus assumed growing political weight. Then, because the expectations of the Union are now clearly political: economic prosperity, through completion of the internal market via the euro; progress in social matters (with the "social agenda") and on the environment (with the "strategy of sustainable development"); police and justice (within the justice and home affairs pillar); diplomacy and defence (with the European security and defence policy). The question of
the ultimate purpose of the European venture is therefore facing us again: should the Union return to the long-term political vision of the founding fathers, who regarded the "concrete achievements" as a "first step in the federation of Europe"5 ?
From Page 20
3.2. Building a political Europe also means giving the Union a political arm. If it is to manage a general political project, the Union must be given full political legitimacy.
Three dimensions are involved:
(i) Creating fully political institutions. This is the purpose of the draft constitutional treaty currently being negotiated in the Intergovernmental Conference. But the political institutions are in no more than embryonic form: this draft is not the completion but the starting-point of political Europe. The arrangements that are made for the revision of the constitutional treaty are therefore of special importance. (ii) Developing European public life. Political institutions will not by
themselves give life to a democracy: they must be part of the political arena in which political choices can be made. The report sets out proposals for developing European media, strengthening representative democracy and promoting participatory democracy.
(iii) Bringing out the feeling of belonging to the Union. There can be no democracy without demos, without a European people. This people exists, it shares a model of society. But it is not always aware of it. The report proposes three lines to promote the creation of European awareness: they concern mobility of people, education and culture.
SUMMARY: 50 PROPOSALS FOR BUILDING A POLITICAL EUROPE From Page 21
Strand VII: Implement a European social policy aimed at ensuring genuine equality of opportunity so as to promote equality of destiny
Strand VIII: Create welfare protection for European citizens
Proposal 20: Introduce the principle of a European minimum income, the level of which would be calculated in each Member State on the basis of the average income in that State.
Proposal 21(a): Create a European support fund for workers who lose their jobs as a result of restructuring.
Proposal 21(b): Make career security the first European social right.
Strand X: Develop Europe as a power at the service of multilateralism
Proposal 25: Begin a gradual closer alignment of European diplomatic representations byfirst unifying the external representation of the euro zone in the international financial institutions.
Proposal 26: Accelerate the construction of European defence to guarantee the effectiveness of Europe as a “soft power”.
Strand XVI: helping to give life to a European democratic area
Proposal 34: create pan-European public audiovisual media.
I will return to this document and the democratic implications when time permits.
The excerpts above (plus the link to the entire document for those who choose to use it) should be sufficient warning for those presently believing the present constitution being touted around by Bertie Ahern is the end of federalism. IT IS IN TRUTH ONLY THE TIP OF AN ICEBERG OF NIGHTMARISH WEALTH DESTROYING PROPORTIONS!
Euroland growth is not at risk from higher oil prices apparently and inflation is no problem even though it was last reported rising and at 2.5 per cent half a point above target. The full detail of the contradictory nonsense from the head of Euroland's Central Bank may be read from this link to Channelnewsasia
The following is a brief but fascinating insight into a leaked report on Britain's Muslim population, that may be read in fuller detail from the World Scocialist website linked from here
Quote
Targeting Muslims for repression
A paper jointly written by Home Office and Foreign Office civil servants, entitled “Young Muslims and Extremism,” reveals that surveillance of the Muslim “community” by MI5 found that there are “extremist” groups operating within universities to recruit middle-class students.
The paper states that “there is evidence of the presence of extremist organisations on campuses and colleges,” and that even when a radical campus organisation is banned, its members often set up under a different guise. It goes on to name university-based groups including the 1924 Society and Muslim Cultural Society as having “extremist tendencies.” There is no suggestion that they are linked to terrorism.
Home Office analysts suggested there may be between 10,000 and 15,000 British Muslims who “actively support” Al-Qaeda or related terrorist groups. These numbers appear to draw on intelligence, opinion polls and a report that around 10,000 Muslims attended a conference held last year by Hizb ut-Tahir, described by the Home Office as a “structured extremist organisation.”
Although this estimate represents less than 1 percent of the Muslim population, the paper insisted that the sheer size of the actual “pool” of potential Al-Qaeda recruits—those who go to meetings to express their support—represents a stark warning about the “extent of the threat.”
This represents a clear attempt to tar all those opposed to Britain’s imperialist warmongering with the stain of terrorism and legitimise spying and other repressive measures. At the meeting to discuss “Contest,” Turnbull told colleagues that because of the terrorist threat, Eliza Manningham-Buller, MI5’s director general, had been asked to contribute to the debate.
According to the leaked documents, intelligence officers are already drawing up profiles of the typical Muslim recruited by al-Qaeda, aiming to identify the “specific actions taken by individuals on the path from law-abiding citizen to terrorist.”
John Gieve, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, summarised this MI5 evidence in his note to Turnbull, writing:
“Muslims who are most at risk of being drawn into extremism and terrorism fall into two groups:
“a) well-educated with degrees or technical/professional qualifications, typically targeted by extremist recruiters and organisations circulating on campuses; b) underachievers with few or no qualifications, and often a non-terrorist criminal background—sometimes drawn to mosques where they may be targeted by extremist preachers and in other cases radicalised or converted whilst in prison.”
The leaked papers show that MI5 is now drawing up a detailed description of the so-called “terrorist career path.” On the basis of this, the blueprint says that ministers need a plan to “intervene at key trigger points to prevent young Muslims from becoming drawn into extremist and terrorist activity and action. We need to understand the evolution of the terrorist career path...to enable us to turn people from the path....We need to focus specifically on influencing opinion around young Muslims.”
As the leaked Turnbull letter reveals, “Contest” is just one plank in the government’s counterterrorism strategy—prevention—that must be allied to suppression. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the priority then was to introduce new laws to allow police to detain foreign terrorists in Britain without trial, etc. “The idea now is to take a more co-ordinated approach to the problem,” said one insider. “We did the same in Northern Ireland in the 1980s when as well as deploying police and troops on the streets we had a massive programme of investment in the local community, raising living standards. We also set about bridge-building with the Catholic community.”
Unquote
Pakistan's Daily Times (for reasons that I am not able to understand) has a very interesting article "Righting the EU constitution —Georges De Ménil" on the EU Constitution. The opening summary is quoted:-
The fact that certain ‘social rights’ have made their way into some national constitutions on the Continent is no reason to impose them, as the present draft does, on the entire Union
Coming from a French Academic in a Pakistani newspaper, the conclusion seems similarly beyond the everyday -
‘Social rights’ should not become mandates for judges; they should remain a guide to legislators. If a political compromise is needed, ‘competition’ should be removed as a fundamental Union objective. Free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital certainly suffices.
If this preferred solution proves unacceptable, an alternative would be to strengthen Article II-52, to state clearly that the twelve “social rights” of Part II apply to the Union, but not to the member states, even when these are implementing Union directives. If the Union decides, as it could, that all member states must provide public health care for all unemployed persons, it would be up to national parliaments, not 25 judges in Luxembourg, to determine how to address that objective. This would take some of the teeth out of the Union’s social directives, and would give real substance to the principle of subsidiarity.
By excising from the draft Constitution the prospect of a welfare state run by judges, its framers will increase the chances that Britain and other doubters will, in the end, ratify the final product. —DT-PS
Georges de Ménil is Professor of Economics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. I recommend a read of the entire item to any closely following the developments on the constitution where further concessions will no doubt be made today in Downing Street where Bertie Ahern is scheduled to call. The article is linked from here.
A brief summary of the progress in different European ex-countries of the elections for the so-called European Parliament, which lacks any power to propose legislation and therefore exists only as a democratic con-trick and source of taxpayers funds for the politicians pillaging the continent, is linked from here.
Determined to pursue their own selfish agendas to the end, France and Russia resume hostilities in the UN while US, British and many other nations servicemen, women and civilians continue to risk and spend their lives in a now undeniably humanitarian and pro-democratic cause in Iraq.
It seems incredible to me, that these same hypocrites, now plan to meet and shake hands on the scene of so much earlier bloodshed in the cause of their freedom, ironically on French soil, later this week.
Brent fell by over two dollars a barrel as did US light in an important political development this evening. High oil prices still threaten world recession and would be a major victory for extreme Muslim fundamentalists, if they forced the US as well as the EU, back into recession.
It would be comforting to see the European nations liberated from the Nazis about sixty years ago, now join this similar battle! The co-liberating Russians of those years, would also be most welcome in at least verbally supporting the cause.
Today's EU Midday Express, linked here, has these supposedly unconnected items:-
1.) A Frenchman is appointed Director General of Personnel and Administartion.
2.) The European Council approved new employment guidelines - "the employment package responds directly to the Spring Council's conclusions, when Member States emphasised the need for action in the four specific areas highlighted in Wim Kok's 'Employment Task Force' report : attracting more people to the labour market, improving the governance of employment, investing in human capital and improving adaptability."
3.) Unemployment in the Eurozone for April 2004 was at 9.0 per cent compared with 8.9 per cent for the same month last year - inflation (as represented by the producer price index) was also reported to be on the rise in the eurozone - a rare economic occurrence known as stagflation - long predicted by this blog.
The Court of Auditors has been unable to approve the EU Commission accounts for years - yet nothing is ever done to rectify matters. Following enlargement the Court will now have nine new members who are about to swear a solemn undertaking - presumably to turn a blind eye to all abuses!
The new boarders of the gravy train are sufficiently shameless to put their photgraphs on the internet - the blindfolds will be added after the oath one assume? Read the cvs from this link.
Expatica reports on the latest breaking of the Stability pact, this time it's the Netherlands on a warning again! Alongside France, Germany and more recently Italy this emphasises the fact that 'rules' count for nothing within the EU (unless, of course, you happen to be a power-crazed British bureaucrat, in which case every last detail has to be enforced to the nth degree and extra staff are therefore constantly required!) The report is linked from here.
EU Business reports that the London tubes are to go on strike on polling day for the EU elections. This followed an earlier news item putting the eurosceptic UK Independence Party (fighting to save Britain's democracy) ahead of the governing (union supported) Labour party by 23 to 21 points in an opinion poll. The reports are linked here and here.
Polls Predict Drubbing for Most EU Ruling Parties.
Poland's ruling parties will sink to as little as 6 per cent according to present predictions, in France Chirac's party will manage more but only twenty per cent of the vote, while in Germany Schroeder's SDP now looks likely to only gather one vote in four. Britain's Labour Party, with the Iraq war questions also looming large in voters minds are only likely to achieve similar figures at around the mid-twenty per cent level.
Judging from the speech by Britain's Leader of the Opposition yesterday, Howard's vision of the way ahead is confused by the stars of the EU in his eyes. If not, then they nevertheless certainly seem clearly at the forefront of his ambitions - a factor no doubt due to the fat financial return which each MEP seat at Strasbourg represents to the treacherous political parties scrambling to sell out their own people's democratic rights and liberties for the now fewer privileged places!
Interestingly, someone with a friend of long memory, has pointed out that it was indeed the same Michael Howard, as a minister in the John Major administration (that brought us Maastricht among other horrors), who was responsible for the adding of the EU ring of stars to our Driving Licences. Another factor making his supposed longtime euroscepticism of doubtful sincerity.
Yesterday's speech by this distrusted Conservative Party leader - which concentrated on the policy of EU withdrawal of UKIP, rather than the flaws of the party itself, seemed another 'Major' error in my view. I have reported on it extensively on two of my other blogs UKIP Uncovered and Teetering Tories - just click upon either of the titles to reach the comment and extensive links.
Much coverage is now being given to the general Europe-wide advance of Euroscepticism. The blame for this is being levelled at the 'Far Right' by the likes of the BBC 'Right fights for parliament bloc' and The Guardian where one would believe that the EU organisation itself was practically without flaws, rather than the corrupt and failing group of institutions the electorate of Europe can now quite clearly see.
No doubt there is an extremely nasty and vicious element on the right of the political spectrum right across the Continent. To confuse such elements with ordinary citizens' concern at the corruption, waste and totally non-democratic negligence and inefficiency, daily evidenced from all the EU institutions, is a complete travesty of the facts. Unhappily, it is just the kind of propaganda in support of those pillaging our ancient freedoms that we have come to expect from the UK's state broadcaster and the main media supporter for the Blair administration .
Hardline Eurosceptics are poised for a decisive break-through across swathes of northern and central Europe in elections next week, shattering the staid consensus of Brussels.
Such was the opening paragraph in a report from this morning's Daily Telegraph by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels, titled "Eurosceptics in line for major breakthrough on polling day". Among the cheerful facts were the following:-
Opinion polls in Poland give 17 per cent to the Samoobrona, or Self-Defence movement, of Andrzej Lepper, a firebrand populist best known for comparing the EU's eastern expansion with the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939.
.......The ultra-conservative League of Polish Families, fresh from burning the newly hoisted EU flag in a ritual protest against "bureaucratic tyranny", is at 10 per cent and could win a further eight seats.
...........In the Czech republic, the Civic Democratic Party, led by the "Thatcherite" president, Vaclav Klaus, is now running at 33 per cent and likely to emerge with a fistful of the country's 24 seats.
......The Danish People's Union, which advocates outright secession from the EU, is at seven per cent and is almost guaranteed a seat.
The entire, hugely encouraging article may be read by clicking here.
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