Upcoming Events

National | EU

no events match your query!

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link The Faux-Radicalism of Kneecap Wed Apr 30, 2025 19:00 | Andrew Doyle
Kneecap's vocal support for Hamas and call for fans to murder Tory MPs is obviously reprehensible. But it's just for show, says Andrew Doyle. The police shouldn't waste their time investigating rappers.
The post The Faux-Radicalism of Kneecap appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Green Party Continues to Persecute Me for My Belief That Men Can?t Become Women Wed Apr 30, 2025 17:00 | Shahrar Ali
Dr Shahrar Ali was the Green Party justice spokesman when he was removed over his gender critical views. He won an unlawful discrimination claim in 2024. But the party then ejected him! He's now taking it to court again.
The post The Green Party Continues to Persecute Me for My Belief That Men Can’t Become Women appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Royal Marine Says Standards are ?Being Lowered? for Female Trainees and He Was Treated Like a Terror... Wed Apr 30, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
A Royal Marine has gone public with his concerns that standards are being lowered for female trainees, claiming lives could be at risk and that he was treated like a terrorist for raising his worries.
The post Royal Marine Says Standards are “Being Lowered” for Female Trainees and He Was Treated Like a Terrorist for Raising Concerns appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Met Officer Cleared of Murdering Gangster Chris Kaba Faces Sack for ?Gross Misconduct? Wed Apr 30, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Sgt Martyn Blake, the armed Metropolitan police officer who was cleared of murdering violent gangster Chris Kaba, now faces a gross misconduct disciplinary over the shooting and could be sacked.
The post Met Officer Cleared of Murdering Gangster Chris Kaba Faces Sack for “Gross Misconduct” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Pope Francis?s Liberalism is Not Why Young People Are Returning to Church Wed Apr 30, 2025 11:00 | Dr Roger Watson
As a Catholic, Prof Roger Watson is sure Francis was appointed Pope for a reason. It's just that he's damned if he can figure out what it was. Certainly, it's not his liberalism that's drawn young people back to church.
The post Pope Francis’s Liberalism is Not Why Young People Are Returning to Church appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Questions for the far-wrong side of Lisbon

category national | eu | opinion/analysis author Thursday June 19, 2008 22:25author by Howard Holby Report this post to the editors

As we all know by now, the imperial classes of Europe are busy looking for new creative ways to continue to impose the Lisbon Treaty on the member states, regardless of its rejection by Ireland. The very same philosophy that drives them doing so can be captured in the following highlights.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said that it did not matter if people had not read the treaty (he had not read it either, he admitted) and did not understand it because they should trust their elected leaders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “Naturally [the Lisbon Treaty] is still far from the clarity of our constitution on how powers are really delineated.”

Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing said: “The difference between the original Constitution and the present Lisbon Treaty is one of approach, rather than content ... the proposals in the original constitutional treaty are practically unchanged. They have simply been dispersed through old treaties in the form of amendments. Why this subtle change? Above all, to head off any threat of referenda by avoiding any form of constitutional vocabulary ... But lift the lid and look in the toolbox: all the same innovative and effective tools are there, just as they were carefully crafted by the European Convention.”

D’Estaing said: “Public opinion will be led to adopt, without knowing it, the proposals that we dare not present to them directly ... All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way.”

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said: “Those who are anti-EU are terrorists. It is psychological terrorism to suggest the specter of a European superstate.”

D’Estaing said: The approach “is to keep a part of the innovations of the constitutional treaty and to split them into several texts in order to make them less visible. The most innovative dispositions would pass as simple amendments of the Maastricht and Nice treaties. The technical improvements would be gathered in an innocuous treaty. The whole would be addressed to Parliaments, which would decide with separate votes. The public opinion would therefore unknowingly adopt the dispositions that it would not accept if presented directly.”

Juncker said: Fears connected with the treaty “most often stem from the fact that we use a language incomprehensible for ordinary people.”
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht said: “The aim of the Constitutional Treaty was to be more readable; the aim of this [Lisbon] treaty is to be unreadable… The Constitution aimed to be clear, whereas this treaty had to be unclear. It is a success.”
Barroso said: “If a referendum had to be held on the creation of the European Community or the introduction of the euro, do you think these would have passed?”
Barroso said: “Referendums make the process of approval of European treaties much more complicated and less predictable…every member state [considering a referendum should] think twice”

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said: “The substance of what was agreed in 2004 has been retained. Really, what is gone is the term ‘constitution’.”
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Of course there will be transfers of sovereignty. But would I be intelligent to draw the attention of public opinion to this fact?”


Source of the quotes:
"Why Irish Voters Rejected the Lisbon Treaty"
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3340

In view of the above and the post-referendum statements of the pro-Lisbon leaders of Europe, here are some questions for them:

1) Who and why is to be blamed for the incomprehensibility of the Lisbon Treaty? The Irish voters or those from the EU who deliberately designed the treaty to be unreadable? [1] If the incomprehensibility of the treaty is to be 'blamed' for the outcome of the referendum, why did the EU designed the treaty that way and why did the Irish government fail to offer a readable version before the referendum? [2]

2) Why should Mr. Cowen be 'embarrassed' by the Irish referendum outcome? Why would he assume it is the people who should represent their leader? In a democracy it is the leader who should represent his people. [3]

3) Will there be a second referendum in Ireland on the same treaty? How many times should a EU-treaty be rejected by one member state - and by Europe - before it is considered rejected?

4) Would the Lisbon process transfer Ireland's sovereignty to Brussels or not? Is it considered (see Napolitano's statement above) "psychological terrorism" to suggest the spectre of a European ‘superstate’ when sovereignty is transferred to Brussels [4]?

5) Cowen said: "Irish voters have endeared themselves to "misguided" far-right groups"
How would Mr. Cowen substantiate this severe accusation and crude generalisation against the people of Ireland? What exactly does it mean "far-right" in a pro-Lisbon politician's dictionary? Which statement of Libertas, National Platform or Sinn Féin can be categorised as "far-right" and/or "misguided"? Do prime ministers in democracies have the right to falsely accuse their people without even attempting to substantiate their statements?

6) Will there ever be an end to the unprecedented arrogance and the repetitive blatant cyinical lies sustained by the pro-Lisbon lobbies?

References:

[1] Bonde’s Briefing 19.12.07: Born in sun and sin
"The EU’s Prime Ministers met Thursday 13 December 2007 11.30 in Lisbon to solemnly sign the Lisbon Treaty which none of them has had time to read.
The text has on purpose been made totally unreadable, and the numbering system has been changed time and time again, Bonde, who was present at the signing ceremony, writes."

http://www.bonde.com/index.php/bonde_UK/article/bondes_...91207

[2] What does the government hide by hiding the Lisbon Treaty?
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87595

[3] Is there a democratic life after a dead Lisbon Treaty?
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/88033

[4] Lisbon Treaty: national level competences to be transferred to the EU
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87923

[5] Cowen: Ireland's future with Europe
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwi0ZSgJWB4QxII...afubA

Related Link: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3340
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy