Approval of New European Union Treaty Meeting Resistance
John F. McManus JBSMonday October 01, 2007
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:In 2005, French and Dutch voters rejected the European Union's proposed Constitution. EU leaders then decided to gain ratification for a "Reform Treaty" that would accomplish an identical goal. But demands for referenda about the treaty are now surfacing.
Follow this link to the original source: "EU referendum question opened in Denmark"
COMMENTARY:European leaders hammered out a Constitution for the European Union in 2004. When wary European citizens saw that its text included the boldly stated fact that it "shall have primacy over the law of Member States," they became strong opponents of ratification. Even though a ratification process had already secured approval from numerous parliaments, when the French and Dutch voters were given a chance to register their opinion, they voted solidly to reject the document.
EU leaders, still determined to grasp total power over country after country, decided to scrap the Constitution and, instead, seek ratification of a "Reform Treaty." Its authors were actually instructed to use less blunt language in the new document but to accomplish the same goal of further subverting the independence of the 27 EU member nations. The end goal, hardly disguised, sought placing virtual dictatorial power in the hands of EU leaders in Brussels.
This new treaty is now proceeding through its own ratification process. While several parliaments have already approved it, the spokesperson for Denmark's governing conservative party, Pia Christmas-Moller, just announced support for a referendum in her country. She stated that it would be "idiotic" not to give the people a chance to voice their attitude. Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is still studying the treaty and has not indicated whether he will back the growing sentiment for a referendum.
Over in Britain, many citizens continue to insist on a referendum regarding the treaty. A few years ago, heavy pressure to allow the people to vote on the now-discarded Constitution gave former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an EU supporter, some sleepless nights. He was "let off the hook" when the 2005 referenda in France and Holland killed the Constitution. New British Prime Minster Gordon Brown now faces similar demands regarding the UK's stance about the treaty. It is widely believed that British voters, if given the opportunity, would register their strong disapproval of the document and block any further immersion into the European Union.
Across Europe, many are awakening to the EU's steady, even formal, acquisition of power. In January of this year, former German President Roman Herzog suggested that his country's immersion into the EU had likely cost it the right to be labeled "a parliamentary democracy." He pointed out that in a recent five-year period, "84 percent of the legal acts in Germany stemmed from Brussels." He is one of many who now realize that the European Union, deceivingly sold to the people as a trading agreement, had transferred sovereignty to the EU bureaucrats in Brussels.
Many other Europeans, who now find themselves already gripped by this historic consolidation of political and economic power, are awakening to their plight. Whether they can extricate themselves and their nations from it remains to be seen. Many hope that the Danes will be allowed to hold a referendum regarding the new treaty. The feeling is that the Danish voters might torpedo the new attempt at formal entanglement, just as French and Dutch voters did with the proposed EU Constitution in 2005.
John F. McManus JBSMonday October 01, 2007
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:In 2005, French and Dutch voters rejected the European Union's proposed Constitution. EU leaders then decided to gain ratification for a "Reform Treaty" that would accomplish an identical goal. But demands for referenda about the treaty are now surfacing.
Follow this link to the original source: "EU referendum question opened in Denmark"
COMMENTARY:European leaders hammered out a Constitution for the European Union in 2004. When wary European citizens saw that its text included the boldly stated fact that it "shall have primacy over the law of Member States," they became strong opponents of ratification. Even though a ratification process had already secured approval from numerous parliaments, when the French and Dutch voters were given a chance to register their opinion, they voted solidly to reject the document.
EU leaders, still determined to grasp total power over country after country, decided to scrap the Constitution and, instead, seek ratification of a "Reform Treaty." Its authors were actually instructed to use less blunt language in the new document but to accomplish the same goal of further subverting the independence of the 27 EU member nations. The end goal, hardly disguised, sought placing virtual dictatorial power in the hands of EU leaders in Brussels.
This new treaty is now proceeding through its own ratification process. While several parliaments have already approved it, the spokesperson for Denmark's governing conservative party, Pia Christmas-Moller, just announced support for a referendum in her country. She stated that it would be "idiotic" not to give the people a chance to voice their attitude. Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is still studying the treaty and has not indicated whether he will back the growing sentiment for a referendum.
Over in Britain, many citizens continue to insist on a referendum regarding the treaty. A few years ago, heavy pressure to allow the people to vote on the now-discarded Constitution gave former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, an EU supporter, some sleepless nights. He was "let off the hook" when the 2005 referenda in France and Holland killed the Constitution. New British Prime Minster Gordon Brown now faces similar demands regarding the UK's stance about the treaty. It is widely believed that British voters, if given the opportunity, would register their strong disapproval of the document and block any further immersion into the European Union.
Across Europe, many are awakening to the EU's steady, even formal, acquisition of power. In January of this year, former German President Roman Herzog suggested that his country's immersion into the EU had likely cost it the right to be labeled "a parliamentary democracy." He pointed out that in a recent five-year period, "84 percent of the legal acts in Germany stemmed from Brussels." He is one of many who now realize that the European Union, deceivingly sold to the people as a trading agreement, had transferred sovereignty to the EU bureaucrats in Brussels.
Many other Europeans, who now find themselves already gripped by this historic consolidation of political and economic power, are awakening to their plight. Whether they can extricate themselves and their nations from it remains to be seen. Many hope that the Danes will be allowed to hold a referendum regarding the new treaty. The feeling is that the Danish voters might torpedo the new attempt at formal entanglement, just as French and Dutch voters did with the proposed EU Constitution in 2005.
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