Post by Stallit 2 de Halfo on Jan 5, 2008 23:25:11 GMT
Lisbon treaty will bring major changes
Written by Kieran Allen
Thursday, 13 December 2007
The UCD sociologist Kieran Allen, has argued that the current EU Lisbon Treaty will bring major changes for the people of Ireland and Europe. “The political elite in Europe are implying that the Lisbon Treaty amounts to a series of house-keeping changes and does not bring any fundamental change. However, this is clearly wrong.
“The Treaty is substantially the same as the EU constitution which was rejected by the populations on France and Holland.
“After that rejection, a small elite group of ‘wise men’ in the Amato group – named after a former Italian politician – worked behind closed doors to insert the substance of the EU Constitution into two older treaties. Quite deliberately, they have shrouded the whole procedure in a forbidding complexity to discourage people examining its provisions.
“Amato has since conceded that ‘they decided to make the document “unreadable” to enable EU politicians to claim it did not require a referendum’.
“Bertie Ahern has equally conceded that ‘90 percent of the EU constitution is still there’.
“Among the major changes that the Lisbon Treaty will bring are:
a requirement on member states to increase military spending. Article 27 –3 states that ‘Member states shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities’
A legal requirement, forcing member states to make troops available for EU battle groups (Article 27- 3)
A solidarity clause that can be invoked if one member state is subject to a terrorist attack. While solidarity is indeed laudable, the experience of September 11th, however, demonstrates that cynical politician can use such clauses to involve others in wars against innocent civilians.
A fast-track system whereby the Commission can conduct negotiations with agencies such as the World Trade Organisation on the premises of promoting
a) ‘the achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalisation’
b) the ‘progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and on foreign direct investment’ (articles 188).
In practice this implies a greater push towards privatisation and globalisation that will become binding on member states.
The more formal creation of an EU state which has its own distinct ‘legal personality’
Greater use of Qualified Majority Voting to give the EU more ‘competencies’ over member states.
“Thanks to the legal actions of Raymond Crotty, the Irish people are the only people who can vote of these hugely important issues.
“We should exercise that vote on behalf of the whole people of Europe.”
www.swp.ie/news/press-release/lisbon-treaty-will-bring-major-changes.html
Written by Kieran Allen
Thursday, 13 December 2007
The UCD sociologist Kieran Allen, has argued that the current EU Lisbon Treaty will bring major changes for the people of Ireland and Europe. “The political elite in Europe are implying that the Lisbon Treaty amounts to a series of house-keeping changes and does not bring any fundamental change. However, this is clearly wrong.
“The Treaty is substantially the same as the EU constitution which was rejected by the populations on France and Holland.
“After that rejection, a small elite group of ‘wise men’ in the Amato group – named after a former Italian politician – worked behind closed doors to insert the substance of the EU Constitution into two older treaties. Quite deliberately, they have shrouded the whole procedure in a forbidding complexity to discourage people examining its provisions.
“Amato has since conceded that ‘they decided to make the document “unreadable” to enable EU politicians to claim it did not require a referendum’.
“Bertie Ahern has equally conceded that ‘90 percent of the EU constitution is still there’.
“Among the major changes that the Lisbon Treaty will bring are:
a requirement on member states to increase military spending. Article 27 –3 states that ‘Member states shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities’
A legal requirement, forcing member states to make troops available for EU battle groups (Article 27- 3)
A solidarity clause that can be invoked if one member state is subject to a terrorist attack. While solidarity is indeed laudable, the experience of September 11th, however, demonstrates that cynical politician can use such clauses to involve others in wars against innocent civilians.
A fast-track system whereby the Commission can conduct negotiations with agencies such as the World Trade Organisation on the premises of promoting
a) ‘the achievement of uniformity in measures of liberalisation’
b) the ‘progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and on foreign direct investment’ (articles 188).
In practice this implies a greater push towards privatisation and globalisation that will become binding on member states.
The more formal creation of an EU state which has its own distinct ‘legal personality’
Greater use of Qualified Majority Voting to give the EU more ‘competencies’ over member states.
“Thanks to the legal actions of Raymond Crotty, the Irish people are the only people who can vote of these hugely important issues.
“We should exercise that vote on behalf of the whole people of Europe.”
www.swp.ie/news/press-release/lisbon-treaty-will-bring-major-changes.html
