eurealist.co.uk

E-mail from Denis Cooper

There’s an important article on European Security and Defence Policy on:

http://www.eureferendum.blogspot.com/#109343712460179584

referring to the attached report, which was approved less than a month ago.

This really needs to be given the widest possible circulation.

Nobody should think that a couple of ‘no’ votes will stop the EU pushing ahead,
in this case by relying on (and stretching) provisions of the Maastricht Treaty.

Electoral Reform - have your say
From Europhobia

This is your final chance to submit your evidence to the POWER Inquiry

What is the POWER Inquiry?

The POWER Inquiry has been set up by the Joseph Rowntree Trusts to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. It aims to understand why the decline in popular participation and involvement in formal politics has occurred and to provide concrete and innovative proposals to reverse the trend. For more information visit www.powerinquiry.org.

The POWER Inquiry - the independent inquiry into democracy and participation in Britain - is nearing the end of its evidence-gathering phase. A variety of groups and organisations have already presented their thoughts on increasing political participation in Britain, but we are still interested to hear evidence from new contributors. Do you support proportional representation like the Liberal Democrats? Would you like to see compulsory voting introduced, as Geoff Hoon has recently recommended? Or would you like to see more direct forms of democratic control? The deadline for the submission of evidence on all POWER’s key questions is Friday 15th July.

How do I submit evidence?
Complete the form online Alternatively you can submit evidence via email to or post to POWER, 2 Downstream, 1 London Bridge, London, SE1 9BG. If you wish to submit evidence via post or email, you can download a copy of the Inquiry’s key questions or a form to complete from the website, or reply to this email (info AT powerinquiry.org) and request these documents.

How does my evidence fit into the Inquiry?

All the evidence submitted will be available to the Inquiry Commission in its original form. The Inquiry research team will also identify key themes arising from all evidence and present these to the Commission. A draft version of the final report will be made available to everyone who takes part in the Inquiry will be able to make further comments for consideration by the Commission before final publication in February 2006.

A yes of course is what the Europhiles are hopping for, they can then claim that the treaty is still alive, the only problem is France and Holland have still to clarify what their intention is until they do everything else is just fluff.

Luxembourg yes could revive EU constitution

Luxembourg`s prime minister, Jean Claude Junker is hopeful that a yes vote in Luxembourg could revive the EU constitutional treaty.

“If this country will say no then according to my colleagues in the European Commission this would clearly mean the treaty would be dead. But if Luxembourg says yes then it could be the signal that the process is still alive”, said Juncker.

The referendum in Luxembourg will be the first since EU leaders announced a period of reflection for the future of EU direction after last month`s controversial summit.

Luxembourg decided to go ahead with a referendum despite the fact that EU member states earlier this month put ratification on hold in response to the French and Dutch rejections of the constitution.

Juncker has previously said he would resign if the document was rejected by his co-citizens. Luxembourg will hold its referendum next Sunday.
Opinion polls are still suggesting that a yes vote is still more popular.

From Tim Worstall: Glorious Europa!:

“So far, no Eurostat official has been punished for the diversion of £3m of taxpayer funds into illegal accounts over three years ago in a scam described as a ‘vast enterprise of looting’ by investigators.

All the accused - mostly French officials - are still working for the EU or have retired with full pensions.

But the EU accountant who helped uncover the Eurostat abuses, Dorte Schmidt-Brown, fled home to Denmark after being subjected to a campaign of threats and harassment.
…
Yesterday the European Court of First Instance refused her claim for redress and ordered her to pay her own costs.
…

Jens-Peter Bonde, a Danish MEP, said the only two people have ever been ‘punished’ for the affair: the whistleblower herself and the German journalist who broke the story, Hans-Martin Tillack, who was arrested by Belgian police on the basis of charges now proved to have been trumped up by the Commission itself.

The police seized Mr Tillack’s computers, telephones, address books and five years of investigative files, exposing his inside sources. In his recent case, the European Court also ruled in favour of Brussels, even though seizure of a reporter’s notes are a breach of European human rights law.”

Continues