Our strengthening family links with Ireland have stimulated greater interest in Irish current affairs. June 12th is building up to being a very big day. They don't come much bigger. In Ireland on that day, there will occur the only opportunity for anyone in the EU to vote on the Lisbon Treaty. Its the day when one million Irish voters will be, in effect voting on behalf of the almost 500 million people who live in the EU.
For me the Lisbon Treaty encapsulates everything that is wrong about the EU - and I'm not referring to the Treaty's content, which is another matter. I'm commenting on the process - the contemptuous way that the great bureaucratic leviathan that is the Commission, dismisses the whole notion of democratic accountability. When the Commission's plans for a new EU constitution were rejected by the people at referendums, the Commission simply re-drafted it a touch, renamed it, and declared that in its new form, it was not a 'constitutional' treaty at all - to avoid the necessity of putting the Treaty to a popular vote. Only die hard Europhiles claim to believe this. But Ireland's constitution was not so flexible and did necessitate a referendum - a week on Thursday.
To begin with, this didn't seem to matter. Ireland has been a massive beneficiary of EU financial help, and all the main political parties, and the media are behind the Yes campaign. A Yes result seemed certain. But it seems that the Irish voters are not so easily led. A campaign group called Libertas has inspired a strong No movement. It started off a very small thing, like a little snowball, but it has grown as it rolled down to the day of reckoning. And now the EU President is getting worried. Mr Barrosa has started to issue veiled threats to the Irish voters. "We will all pay a price for it (a No vote) INCLUDING IRELAND" he warns.
Personally, I hope the No campaign wins the day. Our democracy is diminishing, and the integrationists need to be confronted with the scale of people's disillusionment. Of course, a No vote probably wouldn't make that much difference anyway. The Commission will just dis aggregate all the proposals and introduce them one at a time, without any fuss or popular mandate at all. From this, you will note my level of disillusionment - or is it cynicism.
8 comments:
Free Europe Constitution is better than the Treaty.
1. You can read it
2. All can vote about it.
Vote YES or NO at www.FreeEurope.info
Free Europe?
Vote YES or NO at www.FreeEurope.info !
I have a reply for you HERE
Sanddef - Grief. I only spend about an hour or so at my computer every day. It would take me that long to do you a worthy response.
And who's writing this c*** in your comments about me moving closer to the anti's on devolution. If they can persuade the Assembly Government to fulfil its commitment to hold a referendum before the next Assembly election, I'll support the Yes campaign. But I don't believe they will, and what use is a blog that doesn't publish what the writer believes? Tell your anon to go talk to those wothin whose hands it is to deliver, not attribute unheld opinions to those who comment upon them.
Tell your anon
I don't own any anons ;)
Sorry Sanddef - and I did think your post on the EU was very good - and I hope to find time to respond to it. I also want to do a post about devolution, to stop the perception creeping into the blogosphere that I'm morphing into a right wing anti devolutionist. So much to do and...
to stop the perception creeping into the blogosphere that I'm morphing into a right wing anti devolutionist.
I guess some anons won't be happy until you have a go at your Welsh colleagues in Westminster.
I saw David Jones yesterday for the first time (on TV I mean). I doubt that there's much we would agree on politically, but I was impressed by his performance. Very Jeremy Irons.
sanddef - I don't do havibg a go at my own team, so that isn't going to happen. Habit I picked up from my rugby days.
Post a Comment