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britishandeuropean

Listed below are comments made by britishandeuropean between Saturday, 1st August 2009 and Wednesday, 28th October 2009.

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Blair and the non-presidential campaign 8:30pm on 28 Oct 2009 Let's get one thing straight: for all the media hype and political hyperbole, this job is NOT "President of the EU" - it is the chairmanship of one of the several EU institutions, each one of which has its own President. This one chairs the European Council - the four times a year meeting of Prime Ministers of EU Member States.

There is already such a post - it currently changes every six months by buggin's turn. Let the heads of the (democratically chosen) governments of the EU Member States choose who they want to chair their meetings.

The more significant President is that of the Commission, who is elected by the European Parliament on a proposal of the heads of government of the Member States. He actually has an administration to run, not just a hand-shaking role.
The BNP and the white working class 10:49am on 22 Oct 2009 The BNP vote did not actually rise very much in the European election. It was the collapse in the vote for the mainstream parties in the wake of the Westminster expenses scandal(especially Labour as it took the rap as the governing party) that allowed the BNP, in the proportional representation election) to get two seats. This same factor enabled UKIP to hold its seats - the polls before the scandal showed that they would have lost most of their seats, just as their allies in the "Independence & Democracy" Group in the European Parliament lost every single one of their seats in Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the Czech Republic. That scandal has been a life-line to the extreme right and the Commons must get it properly and visibly sorted well before the general election.
Biases, U-turns, and the BBC's climate coverage 06:54am on 15 Oct 2009 Anyone else noticed the curious overlap between climate change deniers and eurosceptics, often the very same people?
Europe and the UK election 10:47am on 12 Oct 2009 Britain has never ever ratified an international treaty by means of a referendum. Nor do we have referenda on major national issues such as the NHS. Why start with a treaty that does things like change the term of office of the President of the European Council of Prime Ministers from 6 months to 30 months? Especially as we have already ratified it by our normal means of detailed parliamentary scrutiny and approval by both Commons and Lords.

The only government promise of a referendum was NOT on Lisbon, but on the now abandoned idea of repealing all the EU treaties and replacing them with a new Constitution, thereby setting up a new legal entity. That, arguably, warrnted a referendum. A normal international treaty, especially one far less significant than previous European treaties, does not.
Europe and the UK election 10:36am on 12 Oct 2009 It IS crazy: leaving Europe's mainstream centre-right parties (not all of whom are federalist, by the way) to join with some pretty small fry (whether or not they are extreme, which some of them seem to be, and some others which anyway support the Lisbon treaty) is just throwing influence away.

Britain used to be very powerful in the European Parliament, with major components in both of the two big political groupings: Labour in the Socialist group and the Conservatives in the centre-right EPP. Throwing that away to sit on he fringes is plain silly.

The only reason is to placate extreme eurosceptics in the Tory party. It certainly doesn't stand on its own merits, as the alleged disagreement with their fellow conservative parties in Europe, namely about further EU integration, is not settled in the European Parliament anyway, but is a matter for national governments, by unanimity. And by the way, in the EPP were several parties which agree with the Tories on that.

As to Lisbon, it is time to stop obsessing about a treaty which is not so much an integrative one, as one which brings in checks and balances, so national parliaments can have a greater say, EU powers are more carefully limited, and the Council of Ministers forced to meet in public.
Pressure for a UK vote 10:34am on 06 Oct 2009 What an exaggerated debate! Sovereignty, Oath of Allegiance, Magna Carta, identity, independence apparently all at stake.... from a treaty that 27 sovereign nation states, who want to keep their identities, have signed. A treaty which ... (wow!)changes the term of office of the President of the meetings of 27 Prime Ministers from 6 months to 30 months, gives extra powers to elected parliamentarians (both MPs and MEPs) to vet and block EU decisions, requires the EU to repect fundamental rights, merges the two (confusing and overlapping) existing external representation posts into one, and guarantees that the Union will never be a centralised super-state, because it lays down in law:

(1) the obligation on the Union to "respect the equality of member states before the treaties as well as their national identities inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional";

(2) the principle of conferred powers (whereby the Union has only those competencies bestowed on it by the member states);

(3)the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality, limiting EU action to the minimum necessary to achieve the objectives agreed by member states;

(4) the participation of member states themselves in the decision taking system of the Union, as all legislation requires the approval of national ministers in the Council;

(5) that there can be no increase or change to the competences and powers of the Union without the agreement of every member state;

Some threat!!
Lisbon hits Dublin streets 3:30pm on 24 Sep 2009 Eurosceptics from all over Europe, though mostly from Britain, are targetting Ireland, hoping for a NO vote. Britain's UKIP has sent a glossy booklet (which doesn't say it's from UKIP!) to every household.

The myths they tell have been described as the most misleading campaign in Irish political history (that Lisbon will cut the minimum wage to €1.48 euro, that Ireland's voting strength will be cut, that abortion, eurhanasia and the detention of alcaholics will be imposed on Ireland, that the vote is about Turkish accession, that it means the EU will impose tax rates, and so on).

Yet, it looks as though the Irish people will have the sense to vote Yes, despite this massive onslaught.
The capital of Europe? 3:51pm on 22 Sep 2009 Gavin,
Arriving in brussels well-armed with British euroesceptic prejudices!

Take your paragraph: "A bureaucracy spread among 60 buildings - 30,000 bureaucrats, 10,000 lobbyists and several thousand interpreters. There are more ambassadors here, apparently, than there are in Washington DC. All feeding off the deluge of directives and regulations."

First, you shock and awe with a big number, without comparing like with like, nor explaining that one third to do with the multipilicity of languages, let alone point out that the Commission has fewer employees than, say, Leeds City Council (and I think about the same number as the BBC). Then, mention all the ambassadors without explaining that this is because most countries choose to have separate ambassadors to Belgium, to NATO and to the EU. Then, the old chestnut about a "deluge" of regulations, when EU legislation comprises only about 10 percent of our laws, often cutting red tape by replcing 27 technical standards with one.

Still, most of those arriving in Brussels without a pre-determined political agenda gradually get to learn the difference between mythology and reality. Let's hope you will too!
A final essay on Europe 12:29pm on 01 Aug 2009 Forgot to say earlier that indeed Mark's hard work has been wide-ranging and perceptive, if sometimes leaning unduly towards the euroscepic view. Thank you Mark.

Trust you will approach the USA in the same way: why should there be a USA - can't the individual states manage perefectly well on their own? Isn't it all a conspiracy to gang up on New York, which should leave the Union and team up with UK? Why a common currency, the dollar: wouldn't they be better off with separate currencies, like the Rhode Island Pound, the Massachussets Mark, the Carolina Crown, Pensylvania Pestea and the Florida Franc?
A final essay on Europe 10:38am on 01 Aug 2009 Besides the idealistic inspiration for the EU (peace), there are pragmatic reasons for it: we are a group of highly interdependent neighbouring countries sharing the same corner of the world and facing similar problems. The EU is the framework we have developped to co-operate together. In doing so, we have created the world's largest free market, moderated by common rules on consumer protection, employee rights, environmental standards and fair competition. We sometimes get things wrong (what governmental structure doesn't?), but if it didn't exist we would need to invent it!

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