Number 10 has announced that the “amendment” treaty will not go to a public referendum. This downgraded treaty however will have many of the rejected constitution’s points. This is mostly a greater transfer of power away from Westminster; a European Foreign Minster (the position will be this in effect but be named something less controversial) and a permanent European President.
My own personal opinion of Europe is that we need it to be a forum for discussing united policies towards such issues as international crime, the environment and pollution and the movement of people. Europe has also had a positive impact on Human Rights. More importantly we need an EU to maintain free trade.
What I do not like the idea of however is a British elected government having to bow to the will of Brussels if we as a people or our government does not agree with policy. This treaty is taking us towards that by allowing for majority voting. The constitution would have made the EU a treaty signing power; this would have removed a fundamental right of government to decide what it agrees too. Now this was obviously rejected but the aim is still the same, it is just Merkel has realised to achieve it you need an in-between step.
There has not been a referendum on Europe in this country for many years now, it is time that any major changes in European structure need to be ratified by a vote of confidence from the people.
Europe needs to change its structure because of enlargement, but it should do this not as a dictatorship but by persuading the European people’s of why it should exist, what it wants to achieve and why it needs to change and to what.
The problem with the EU at the moment is that it does not link with the people, is not accountable and it lacks a focus. Europe must remember that it is a servant of the people and it is about time it gave us a voice.
16/06/2007 at 23:34 |
To be honest, we don’t know what’s going to be in the amending treaty. We know what the Germans want to be there, but that doesn’t nessecarilly mean that that’s what’s going to be signed…
24/06/2007 at 00:09 |
In reality the EU does not really like free trade. If it did, then it would not impose any tariff barriers and supply so many subsidies (eg. CAP etc) within the Union, which effectively destroy the lives and possible futures of many people globally. The free trade bit is there to entice new nations in, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania – and it’s too late once they are in.
You can co-operate on issues such as crime, and ‘global warming’ without giving more and more of your powers to a centralised, bureaucratic super-union. The same can be said for a free trading organisation.
Britain has been freer and more democratic for longer than any other nation. We are going to lose those freedoms if we are not too careful.