*New eurosceptic group to campaign against EU treaty in Irish referendum
July 15, 2009 by Infowars Ireland
Nigel Farage outlined the new party's anti-Lisbon Treaty stance
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group – the new eurosceptic party formerly known as the Independence-Democracy Group – announced its party name and political programme on Wednesday (1 July).
The new party of 30 MEPs also intends to campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in the second Irish referendum likely to be held this October, with the party’s co-president, Nigel Farage of UKIP, laying down a strong marker at the party’s first meeting in the European parliament.
“We will do our damndest in the second referendum to make sure that the people of Ireland understand that these so-called ‘guarantees’ that they were given at the recent European summit, frankly are not worth the paper that they were written on,” he said.
Irish prime minister Brian Cowen successfully secured legal guarantees in the areas of taxation, social issues and neutrality from EU leaders who met in Brussels last month, in the hope they will persuade Irish voters to back the EU’s reforming treaty a second time round.
However Mr Farage said Irish voters had already rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum last June, just as French and Dutch voters rejected the similar Constitutional Treaty in 2005, but politicians were not willing to listen to their responses.
“Mr Barroso and his cronies don’t understand what the word ‘no’ means,” he said.
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Instead of the usual bickerings,
it would be good to have a debate with more overall perspectives of the EU too
= a new democratic EU but with limited powers and greater local decisioon making, with a net budget pay system (no clawbacks) for example
See see
http://www.ceolas.net/#eu1x
onwards
Comparisons with the United States usually gives the response “Europe is not the United States!”,
“No more power to Brussels!”
Actually, national sovereignity guarantees can be maintained precisely because the European Union already is like the United States.
Democracy by Population = The House of Representatives = The European Parliament
Democracy by State = The Senate = The Council of Ministers
A European Government based on the European Parliament would not only be more democratic,
it would be structurally more effective than the Commission system:
Clearer departmental organization than the Commissioners/Directorates-General set up,
A European President, – unlike current presidency ideas – elected by popular vote, with whatever executive or symbolic power, might seem a good idea to make citizens throughout Europe feel more part of a European identity.
However, all nations would put forward their own candidates, and a candidate from a large nation could be expected to win, alienating citizens of smaller countries….
On the other hand, national politicians are not always popular, and in the USA surprisingly often smaller state candidates seem to win, though of course it is a more homogenous federal arrangement.
Turning to the Prime Minister scenario, a Conservative or Socialist bloc in the European Parliament might well have compromise leaders, or leaders on merit, also from smaller countries, who could become Head of Government.