← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · na Gaeil is gile
Thread ID: 16873 | Posts: 7 | Started: 2005-02-21
2005-02-21 16:22 | User Profile
Bugger.
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4280841.stm[/url]
A clear majority of Spaniards have voted in favour of the European Union constitution in a referendum. The blueprint for the EU's future was backed by 77% of voters, with 17% against, official figures showed.
Spain's prime minister hailed the result, but his opponents pointed to the low turnout of 42%.
It was the first of a series of European polls on the constitutional treaty, which must be ratified by all 25 EU member states to go into effect.
The deadline for ratification is November 2006.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters: "Today has been a great day for all Europeans".
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who called Mr Zapatero to congratulate him, welcomed "the very clear 'yes' which Spain has given to a Europe which moves forward and which makes a difference, a Europe united in diversity".
The EU constitution is designed to streamline the EU's decision-making process after the bloc brought in 10 new members - mostly from central and eastern Europe - last May.
The BBC's Katya Adler, in Madrid, says the turnout was embarrassingly low for the Spanish prime minister, who had promised to set a shining example for the rest of Europe.
Critics said the government's information campaign had been glitzy - with football and film stars calling for a Yes - but did not do enough to inform voters about the content of the charter.
In a recent poll, nine out of 10 Spaniards admitted they had little idea what the EU constitution is about.
The referendum was non-binding, with parliament set to have the final say.
...
2005-02-21 19:06 | User Profile
na Gaeil is gile,
[QUOTE]Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters: "Today has been a great day for all Europeans".[/QUOTE]
And a bad day for culture, history and sovereignty.
[QUOTE]In a recent poll, nine out of 10 Spaniards admitted they had little idea what the EU constitution is about. [/QUOTE]
Didn't Ireland vote against this monstrosity?
2005-03-08 11:14 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]And a bad day for culture, history and sovereignty.[/QUOTE] The obtuseness of EU politics is itââ¬â¢s greatest strength for only the ignorant could truly support it. In fact general approval of the EU correlates closely with ignorance of its actual institutions and policies according to its own Eurobarometer surveys!
These days comparisons with the 1952 Stalin-era commie constitution is a popular sport among euroskeptics, and itââ¬â¢s not a case of hyperbole - I have read and heard many europhilic politicos openly praise the constitution of the Soviet Union.
[url]http://www.stoptheftaa.org/artman/publish/article_133.shtml[/url] [QUOTE]Even many of the most avid ââ¬ÅEurolandistsââ¬Â admit that the proposed EU Constitution is a monstrosity, in sheer size and in terms of its attempts at usurping national powers and employing confusing verbiage. Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, notes: ââ¬ÅCompared to many existing constitutions, e.g. the US constitution at about 4,600 words, it [the EU Constitution] is very long at 265 pages and over 60,000 words.ââ¬Â But this, apparently is old information, because Presidium member Gisela Stuart says the document is actually 335 pages. Neither of which matters, ultimately, says Christopher Story, because the Eurocrats ââ¬Åchange the texts at will, and are constantly revising things even after the supposedly official texts have been publicly released.ââ¬Â
That is part of the grave danger of the EU process; it is constantly evolving and mutating, making it impossible to fashion any checks and balances that will protect the EU nations and peoples from the ravenous globalists in Brussels. What is already known to be in the constitution is bad enough; one indication is that it conforms, generally, with the demands outlined in a manifesto issued by the Spinelli Group, a hard-core Marxist coalition named for Italian Communist Party strategist and EU pioneer Altiero Spinelli.
The draft constitution is an all-out assault on national sovereignty, turning over foreign policy, defense powers and other sovereign powers of the nation states to the central EU government. It also formally incorporates the principles of the Communist Manifesto into the European legal code.
Article II-17, entitled ââ¬ÅRight to propertyââ¬Â says: Everyone has the right to own, use dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interests and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law....
The last clause noted above is almost verbatim from the old Soviet Constitution, which enumerated many ââ¬Årightsââ¬Â which were subject to ââ¬Åcertain restrictions as provided by law.ââ¬Â Like the Soviet Constitution, this phraseology is replete throughout the new EU Constitution. Private property, which has already been under assault in the present EU system, would be a prime target under the new constitutional regime.
Also similar to the Soviet Constitution is the inclusion in the EU Constitution of a plethora of social ââ¬Årightsââ¬Â to: free education, a job, job placement and training, health care, social security, ad nauseam. Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio was not exaggerating when she told the Irish Times on June 14, 2003: ââ¬ÅThis is a legal revolution without precedent.ââ¬Â Palacio, it should be noted, was saying this as a statement of approval, not criticism.
ââ¬Â¦ [/QUOTE] The section above understates the case as many of the rights listed in the constitution are already protected by centuries of legal precedent, whereas the constitution actually withdraws those rights by stating they shall be infringed.
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Didn't Ireland vote against this monstrosity?[/QUOTE] No, as far as Iââ¬â¢m aware Spain is the first to hold a plebiscite on this issue. I imagine the Eurocrats will take care to stagger the voting dates in order to minimise the impact of any ââ¬Ënegativeââ¬â¢ result.
2005-03-20 03:37 | User Profile
It wouldn't be at all surprising to find that the degree of enthusiasm for the EU Constitution will correlate quite closely with the depth to which the national snout is inserted in EU trough.
Spain has always had, and continues to have, a hearty appetitie for largesse from Brussels, as this chart from the Economist illustrates.
[img]http://www.economist.com/images/20050305/CEU503.gif[/img]
2005-03-20 12:35 | User Profile
na Gaeil is gile,
I see my mistake. I'm confusing this vote with the Masstrich treaty creating the European Union. I remember the Danes voted against it. Whether they ratified joining since that vote I do not know. Damn if this thing doesn't resemble the old Soviet "Constitution" and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. There quite a bit of the "provided by law" nonsense there as well. I have as much use for the people behind the EU as I do those who wish to establish the North American equivalent via NAFTA. Over here they use the issue of economic competitiveness with Europe and Asia as a means to sell this poison.
Dan,
Good to see you again. Question, what exactly is the "British rebate" referred to in the chart? I get the overall drift about lagresses going from the haves to the have nots.
2005-03-21 23:23 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]...Question, what exactly is the "British rebate" referred to in the chart? I get the overall drift about lagresses going from the haves to the have nots.[/QUOTE]
This was a concession that [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/21/newsid_2546000/2546127.stm] Margaret Thatcher [/url]wangled after some serious handbag-swinging at a European summit. Interestingly enough 21 years ago today.
2005-03-22 00:24 | User Profile
Dan,
Thanks for the explanation. [QUOTE]Greek leader Andreas Papandreou said, "It would be a great relief if Britain left the EEC".[/QUOTE] Yes and I know that there are a lot of Brits who would be delighted if sovereignty won out against mindless internationalism.