Around Europe with the EUDemocrats
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Today we will take a look at the activities of EUD member organizations or politicians inside the European Union. We, at the EUDemocrats, always strive to promote our values for democracy and transparency further. This work is as important at the local level of Member States as it is in the European Institutions.
The EUD members everywhere are actively involved in political campaigns and actions that seek to protect and promote the interests of the citizens of each Member State. We take a quick look now at four developing stories and reports in four different countries of the Union.
Denmark
The Danish MEP and interim president of the EUDemocrats, Jens-Peter Bonde, has been a champion for the cause of a democratic EU for more than 20 years now. In the past few months Mr. Bonde has been actively trying to raise awareness on the true nature of the Lisbon Treaty. More than this, he is one of the leading voices in the European Parliament denouncing the undemocratic nature in which the Treaty is to be ratified in most of the Member Countries.
The way the new Treaty was promoted was heavily criticized by Mr. Bonde. Even before the approval of the Mendez-Vigo report on the Treaty in the European Parliament, he remarked Wednesday 20 February, the European Parliament will approve the Lisbon Treaty with a vast majority of members who never read it. He went on to point of irregularities and faulty translations in the late-arriving versions of the Treaty available to MEPs, or even outright changes of word senses in various translations (a change of the word suggestion from the English version to proposal in the Danish one). Over all, Mr. Bondes activity and speeches in the Parliament pointed out how little is known on the Lisbon Treaty by all the people with the power to ratify it. This while keeping the power to decide out from the hands of the vast majority.
Recently Mr. Bonde pointed out the fact that the European Parliament and MEPs were largely unable to truly implement any real amendments, being pushed out of the decision making process. With the possibility of European law superseding local regulations, as reinforced by the Treaty, Mr. Bonde recently suggested to the Irish politicians to implement special safeguarding protocols for certain sensitive and special issues that are regulated differently in Ireland. The bargaining power the June referendum will give the Irish government would have been, in Mr. Bondes, a great tool to use in the interest of Irish people.
Read more at: http://www.bonde.com
France
Debout la Rpublique, EUDs member organization in France sees the recent results in local elections as a signal for change. Noting that President Sarkozys party dropped in ratings as well as in results, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of the DLR calls for a rebalancing of the faulty politics of Sarkozys government. As France will soon become the country holding EUs Presidency, Mr. Dupon-Aignan said that this period will be a final test if president Sarkozy can indeed deliver what he promised in his electoral speeches.
Read more at: http://www.debout-la-republique.fr/
Romania
Romanias National Initiative Party, whose vice-president, Lavinia Sandru is a member of EUD, are also rather active at the moment. A focus point is Romanias Accession Treaty to the EU. The National Initiative Party seeks to support the renegotiation of this treaty, noting that Romanian leaders were too eager to accept many clauses for which many other countries fought more fiercely.
NIP notices how, for example, Romania agreed to pay 100% of its contribution to the EU budget from its first year, while other countries, like Denmark, negotiated gradual increases with their payments, starting at 20%. Or, how while Romanian farmers represent almost a third of the total of EU farmers but only receive 2.5% of agricultural subventions for the Union. Many other issues come into the list that the Romanian party has created, all rather sensitive and all forgotten at the time of the signing of the Accession Treaty. It now remains to be seen, however, weather the current Romanian government will be more willing to protect its countries interests than the former.
Read more at: http://www.asklavinia.ro
United Kingdom
An interesting comment comes from one of the EUD members, MP for Wells David Heathcoat Amory, in the Great Britain. Mr. Heathcoat-Amory visited on the 14th of March Ss Joseph and Teresas Catholic School, where he participated in debate sessions with six year old pupils of the School. After the session ended, the British MP commented that It was an excellent meeting I have attended meetings in the House of Commons that didnt come up to that standard. The EUD consider this is a sign that there is indeed, the chance for a bright future for Europe.
Read more at: http://www.davidheathcoatamory.co.uk