EU-DIGEST

Ireland - U.S. defense establishment, Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein against EU Lisbon Treaty

The Irish government, most business leaders and political parties of nearly every stripe have come out overwhelmingly in favor of the Lisbon Treaty, pointing out how Ireland's membership in the EU over the last 35 years has helped transform the Emerald Isle of 4.1 million people from an impoverished backwater dependent on Britain to one of Europe's most robust economies.But a newly vigorous opposition composed of farmers, a few wealthy businessmen with vague connections to the U.S. defense establishment and the leftist Irish republican party, Sinn Fein, have gained quickly in recent polls, and the outcome is suddenly no longer a sure thing.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen this week described the treaty, which replaces a constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, as a "major victory" for small members such as Ireland that would protect and promote their interests.
IKrish Republican Army. Irish voters go to the polls on June 12 to vote on the treaty in the only referendum planned by an EU state, meaning one of the bloc's smallest nations could sink a project designed to end years of wrangling over reform of its institutions.

Ireland, with a population of 4.2 million, votes will decide whether the European Union finally gets a full-time president and a single, more powerful, foreign policy chief. The Irish electorate will determine whether the European Union can reorganize its ramshackle internal structures and play a more influential role on the world stage or whether it will just carry on muddling through.Rarely have so few voters caused so many jitters across so many capitals.And with opinion polls showing much of the Irish electorate undecided, the possibility that the Lisbon Treaty may be rejected has sent unfamiliar tremors of fear through the ranks of Europe's top bureaucrats, who rarely have to trouble with voters.

A growing number of Irish voters say they will back the European Union's reform treaty in next month's referendum, although nearly half of those canvassed remain undecided, a poll showed on Saturday. A poll in the Irish Times newspaper found that 35 percent of Irish people said they would vote "yes" on June 12, up from 26 percent in a previous survey conducted in January.

Brian Cowen, who took over as Ireland's prime minister this month, has said approving the accord was a key priority for the government in the next few weeks. "If we vote yes we remain at the heart of a successful Europe, making our voice heard and continuing to benefit," Cowen said in a campaign speech to voters on Friday evening. "A no vote will put us on the outside and rejects the policies which have helped us to achieve so much."

Labels: EU, EU Treaty, Ireland, referendum

Ireland - Alliance for Europe unveils Yes posters

The Irish Alliance for Europe today unveiled its Yes to Lisbon billboard campaign. Speaking at the event, Irish Alliance for Europe chairman Ruairí Quinn said: “We remain confident of the outcome, [but] we are going to intensify our campaign to a level never before seen in this country, with a view to maximising the Yes vote on June 12th. He added that the alliance’s “battle-bus” would continue its nationwide tour, and that various leaflets would be distributed nationwide.

Among others at the poster announcement were alliance director Brendan Kiely; Olive Braiden, human rights commissioner; Mary Davis, managing director of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia; and Duncan Stewart, environmentalist and television personality.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty, Ireland

Yes Side Ahead in Ireland’s EU Treaty Race

More people in Ireland are in favor of ratifying a new common European treaty, according to a poll by Red C published in the Sunday Business Post. 38 per cent of respondents would vote to adopt the so-called Lisbon Treaty in next month’s referendum, while 28 per cent would vote against it. A third of respondents remain undecided. EU heads of state officially signed the European Constitution on Oct. 29, 2004. The project for a continental body of law was practically abandoned in 2005, after voters in France and the Netherlands rejected the proposed document in two plebiscites.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty, Ireland

Ireland : As polls narrow, Irish PM warns of 'disaster' if EU treaty defeated

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has issued a stark warning on the consequences of rejecting the EU treaty as the latest poll shows a narrowing gap between the yes and no side. A no vote would have "repercussions that would do immense damage to Ireland," and would be a "disaster for the country," he said on Sunday (27 April), according to the Irish Times. A poll published by the Sunday Business Post that showed that 35 percent were in favour of the treaty, 31 percent said they were against and 34 percent remain undecided.

Labels: EU Treaty, Ireland

Lords usher in EU treaty with 12-hour farce - by Christopher Booker

April Fool's Day brought the latest instalment of this cynical farce in Britain. Once the treaty had been rammed through the Commons, it was the turn of the Lords. The 12-hour debate, the longest of recent times, was wholly ignored by the press - and why should it have been otherwise? Since the noble lords could do nothing to alter the treaty's contents, it was in no sense a real debate. The two sides merely talked past each other, from lunchtime until midnight, without ever engaging on any point.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Poland's Senate adopts new EU treaty

The upper house of Poland's parliament (Senate) on Wednesday empowered the president to ratify the new European Union Treaty, which streamlines how the 27-memberbloc is run. Senators voted 74 to 17 with 6 abstentions, well clear of the two-thirds majority required (65 votes), Polish news agency PAP reported.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

EU-This treaty is a mess, but it will free Europe to do more important things - Timothy Garton Ash

To my left, there squats this monstrous 312-page spotted dick, plus copies of earlier treaties without which it cannot be understood; to my right, an elegant, pocket-sized, burgundy-colored volume of just 60 pages, which contains both the Declaration of Independence and the 220-year-old constitution of the United States of America, with all subsequent amendments. "We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." begins their effort.

In itself, it will do nothing to convince Europe's citizens, or the rest of the world, of what the European Union is good for. But it will help the EU to do things that may convince them. Now that the end of this long, disappointing constitutional debate is at last in sight, it should free us to concentrate on what this union does, rather than what it is, or says it is. In fact, the EU will define what it is by what it does. Will it help to create jobs, strengthen a free-trading world, encourage development, or combat climate change? What can it offer neighbours who will not become members, in the arc of crisis that surrounds us, from Murmansk to Casablanca? We cannot wait until January 2009 to address these questions. By then, a new American president will want to hear our answers.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Treaty of Lisbon signed today: Taking Europe into the 21st Century

The Treaty agreed on by the Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States in Lisbon on 18 October 2007 will provide the EU with modern institutions and optimized working methods to tackle both efficiently and effectively today's challenges in today's world. In a rapidly changing world, Europeans look to the EU to address issues such as globalization, climatic and demographic changes, security and energy. The Treaty of Lisbon will reinforce democracy in the EU and its capacity to promote the interests of its citizens on a day-to-day basis.

Labels: EU, EU CONSTITUTION, EU Treaty

EU leaders to sign up to new treaty

EU leaders will fly to Lisbon today to sign up to a new treaty for the European Union, a ceremony that has almost been overshadowed by travel details and the British prime minister's agenda clash. The new set of rules for the European Union, some six years in the making, will be signed off at a monastery in the Portuguese capital at 11.30 this morning, officially turning the document into the Treaty of Lisbon.Its most visible innovations include a permanent president of the EU, an EU foreign minister, greater powers to the European Parliament and a legally binding citizens rights charter. In addition, it reduces the size of the European commission, allows for easier decision-making by changing voting rules - both from 2014 - and curbs the power of single member states to veto legislation. The treaty is designed to make the EU more effective on the world stage both by giving it a more coherent foreign policy and by allowing it to take decisions quickly.

Sixteen of the EU's 27 members will issue a statement saying that these symbols will "continue to express the sense of community of the people in the EU and their allegiance to it". It also backs the EU's motto – "united in diversity"– and the annual Europe Day on 9 May to celebrate the Union.

Note EU-Digest: The fact that Gordon Brown will keep his distance from a majority of European Union countries today by refusing to sign a declaration of support for the EU's flag, anthem and single currency is another sign that Britain does not belong in the EU because it has no real heart for its wellbeing. To others Brown's decision not to join 16 nations in signing the statement will be seen as an attempt to reassure British voters and Eurosceptic newspapers that he opposes further EU integration. Mr Brown has upset pro-Europeans and some fellow EU leaders because he will miss the signing ceremony for the new EU treaty in Lisbon today. Instead, he will answer questions from senior MPs before flying to Lisbon, arriving after the "family photograph" of EU leaders and in the middle of their working lunch. The Prime Minister, who will be the only EU leader absent from the ceremony, will sign the treaty on his own in the same room as the other leaders and will be filmed doing so. EU sources are accusing him of gesture politics and pandering to British Eurosceptics, who in turn have accused him of trying to hide his support for the treaty. "He has upset everyone without achieving anything," said one European Commission insider. William Hague, the Conservative shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "Gordon Brown has even managed to turn something as simple as signing the EU treaty into a national embarrassment. What will other EU leaders think of a Prime Minister who dithers for a week about whether he dares to be photographed putting pen to paper?"

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Is Belgium going to fail the new European treaty ?

"An embarrassing question is going round behind the scenes in Europe ... : will Belgium be capable of signing the new European Treaty in the coming weeks?" explain Carine Doutrelepont and Pascal Lefevre, European law experts. "The heads of state or government leaders of the 27 EU Member States have indeed agreed to sign the new European Treaty in Lisbon on December 13th, 2007. Nothing, however, gives a clear indication of whether our resigned government is in a position to sign, seeing as it has to ... limit its action to 'current affairs'. ... Belgium, founding state of the EU and base of many institutions, would pointlessly loose credit if it blocked the signing of an extremely important act for Europe, simply because it is incapable of setting-up a federal government."

Labels: Belgium, EU Treaty

Tories 'unlikely to win EU vote'

The Conservatives are "unlikely" to defeat the government over a referendum on the EU reform treaty, shadow foreign secretary William Hague told the BBC. Mr Hague accused the government of breaking its "solemn" promise to hold a public vote - and pledged a "real Parliamentary battle" to win one. But he acknowledged it would be "difficult" to defeat Labour without the backing of Lib Dem MPs.

Labels: Britain, EU, EU Treaty

Europe Sets a New Course: EU Leaders Agree on Landmark Treaty

European Union leaders meeting in the Portugese capital Lisbon have agreed on a landmark treaty to reform the 27-nation bloc. Diplomats announced the agreement in the early hours of Friday morning. The deal was reached shortly after midnight after leaders overcame objections from Italy and Poland.

"With this new treaty, Europe has overcome an impasse that lasted for several years ... and gets ready to face the challenges of the future," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, the host of the two-day summit, said at a news conference.Under the new treaty, a new longer-term president of the European Council will be created, as will an EU foreign policy chief.

Labels: EU, EU CONSTITUTION, EU Treaty, Portugal

Brown welcomes deal on EU treaty

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has welcomed the agreeement of a new EU treaty, reached after last-minute changes at a summit in Portugal. "The red lines have been secured. The British national interest has been protected," Mr Brown said. He said Britain can still set its own policies on justice, home and foreign affairs, as well as security.

Labels: Britain, Brown, EU Treaty, Portugal

EU Leaders Endorse Reform Treaty - by Constant Brand

European Union leaders on Friday agreed on a reform treaty to replace their failed European constitution and give the 27-nation union a more influential say in world affairs, diplomats said. The agreement came after the EU leaders resolved 11th-hour reservations to the treaty draft text by notably Poland and Italy, they said. "With this new treaty, Europe has overcome an impasse that lasted for several years," said Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who hosted the EU summit.

"Europe has emerged stronger from this summit, stronger to face global issues, stronger to take its role in the world and also to increase confidence in our economy and in our citizens," he told reporters.

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, EU Treaty

Gordon Brown and David Miliband are taking part in a European Council meeting in Lisbon, where the Portuguese Presidency will lead a discussion on the EU Reform Treaty among heads of state, heads of Government and Foreign Ministers from all 27 EU member states. The Reform Treaty is good for Britain and good for Europe. The UK already benefits substantially from its membership of the EU, and will continue to do so under a reformed, re-invigorated EU, able to deliver for citizens across Europe. The EU strengthens the UK's ability to combat climate change and increases our influence in the world, be it in Burma, Iran or Russia. Let's not forget - 57% of total British trade is with the EU. And around three million British jobs are linked (directly and indirectly) to our trade in goods and services with other EU countries.

Each EU country has its own perspective on how things should be done, but every government in the EU agrees on one thing - that we do need the Reform Treaty.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Debunking the Eurosceptic myths about the EU Reform Treaty

Is Britain is surrendering vital powers over fundamental issues of sovereignty to Brussels? Not really. Britain has maintained control over our key national policy areas including justice and home affairs, social security, tax, foreign policy and defense. The treaty will not transfer power on issues of fundamental importance.

Will a "EU foreign minister" control Britain's foreign policy? Wrong. At present the EU has both a high representative for the common foreign and security policy and a commissioner for external relations. The proposed high representative for foreign affairs and security policy will combine the two existing roles. The high representative will be appointed by and report to EU member states. Britain will keep its veto.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Olli Rehn EU Commissioner for Enlargement A strong Europe for a free world ELDR CongressBerlin, 18 October 2007

In the coming decades we can expect dramatic shifts in the world's economic and political power structures. China will be the world's second biggest economy by 2025 and India the fourth. By 2050 the world's population will be around nine billion, and Europe is expected to be home to a mere 7 % of the world population, down from 25% a century earlier.I know there is much talk about competition in the EU today. I am a pragmatic guy. I don't care whether competition is regarded as a means to an end or as an end in itself. But on the question "what has competition ever done for Europe" I have a clear answer: much good! Competition has given us more freedom, more prosperity, new ideas and new innovations. Not to mention wider choice and is increased knowledge. We know what made us rich in the past. Let's not forget this lesson in the future.

Firstly, Europe must continue to focus on growth and jobs by improving its competitiveness and labor markets. Secondly, the power shift makes it ever more urgent for us to speak with one voice, if we want to have a real say in global policy-making. The sum is larger than the parts, but only if the EU will be able to present a united front. This requires both a strong political will to act together and such an institutional set-up that provides the right tools for it. That's why we need the new Reform Treaty that I hope will be agreed on in Lisbon this weekend.

Note EU-Digest: Mr.Olli Rehn is right on the mark: Europe needs to present a united front to survive. On an individual basis most of the present EU members would become an easy prey for the present dominant economic "predators", who are ever increasing their stranglehold on the individual freedom of choice by infiltrating into the basic sole of our European culture through sophisticated marketing processes. Their purpose: economic and political dominance. The power of one European voice has already been proven in many fields; no war has been waged on the territory of the European Union for over 62 years; a Union has been forged with 27 nations and a population of close to half a billion citizens; it has one currency - the euro - presently the strongest currency on earth; EU generates an estimated nominal GDP of €11.6 ($15.7) trillion in 2007; Fiscal and labor market policies, while continuing to be decided mostly at the national level, are subject to closer EU surveillance. In this regard, the Stability and Growth Pact, agreed in June 1997, sets out the surveillance procedures of national fiscal policies, strengthening the framework in the treaty aimed at avoiding "excessive" deficits; it is the world's most advanced alternative energy producer, with the most stringent environmental laws to guarantee a healthy and safe future for our children; it has successfully stopped Microsoft and other multi-national corporations in taking an unfair and dominant position in the European market and spoken out for Fair Trade on a global scale; it has tightened cross-border terrorism and organized crime; and it has given strong support to world-wide humanitarian efforts and development aid programs. Let us be honest about it: we need this treaty to move on.

Labels: EU, EU Economy, EU Treaty

EU leaders descended on Lisbon Thursday seeking to approve a new treaty of reforms and end more than two years of political crisis, but with Poland talking tough over its lingering demands. The event marked personal landmarks for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, attending his first EU summit since succeeding Tony Blair, and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who was set to hog the media spotlight after the official announcement of his separation from his wife Cecilia.

On the political front hopes were running high that the two-day summit, starting late Thursday, would put an end to the political stalemate that has gripped the European Union since French and Dutch voters rejected a proposed EU constitution in mid-2005.

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Labels: EU, EU Treaty

Labels: EU Treaty