Why Europe’s National Politicians Sign Away National Sovereignty
Those who live in Glass Houses
Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said if the Prime Minister reneged on his party’s pledge to hold a referendum
“no one will trust him on anything else”.
I said if David Cameron reneged on his 2006 election pledge to remove Conservative MEP`s from the pro-constitutional EPP–ED group.
“no one will trust him on anything else”.
Leading in the EU
Whilst Gordon Brown defends his signing of the EU Constitution / Treaty, claiming that there will be no more “institutional” changes for the next ten years, (as if that matters) The EU takes up the suggestion proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to set up a “reflection group” which is to look at the next round of development of the EU. This group of nine wise! men will be led by Former Spanish PM Felipe Gonzalez and will be mandated to study almost all subjects, including the EU’s economic and social model, sustainable development, migration, global stability, climate change, and the fight against international crime and terrorism.
So we can all rest assured that once the EU gets its Constitution ratified there will be no further changes required for ten whole years, and the pigs are now lining up on the runway!
Spraying Graffiti
This Directive could well mark the beginning of the end of the NHS.
Labour backbenchers attack Health Directive:
“This Directive could well mark the beginning of the end of the NHS.”
Thirty two Labour backbenchers have today put down an early day motion attacking the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Health Services. The motion argues that “this directive would undermine the fundamental principles of the NHS, impose unnecessary burdens of cost and bureaucracy, over-rule clinical priorities and act to worsen health inequalities.” MPs signing the motion include former Health ministers Frank Dobson and Gisela Stuart, Jon Trickett and Jon Cruddas, and Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party Health Committee John Grogan.
The motion calls for the Government to oppose the directive, which is to be decided by qulaified majority voting under internal market rules. In a press release Jon Trickett, who put down the motion, said: “This Directive could well mark the beginning of the end of the NHS.
EARLY DAY MOTION 526 - Trickett, Jon
EU CROSS-BORDER HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTIVE
10.12.2007
That this House notes the European Commission proposals for a directive on cross-border health services, which in their current form would force the National Health Service to pay private health providers abroad for non-emergency treatment of United Kingdom citizens who are wealthy enough to pay the fees up front, to further develop an internal market by setting a tariff for all treatments and create a bureaucracy to advertise and facilitate the right of patients to seek private treatment abroad;
– further notes that the proposed directive’s legal basis is under the internal market, and that it is explicitly based on encouraging competition between health providers and over-rides the consideration of cost versus medical need;
–further notes the support of Conservative and Liberal Democrat Members of the European Parliament for such a directive; believes that this directive would undermine the fundamental principles of the NHS, impose unnecessary burdens of cost and bureaucracy, over-rule clinical priorities and act to worsen health inequalities; supports the Unison campaign against the proposals; and urges the Government to veto any such directiveSee Gisela Stuart below
The Oxy
Telegraph Letters reply to The Minister for the EU
Sir - I read with interest Mr Murphy’s assertion that 14 of the 50 extensions to majority voting contained in the so-called reform treaty are procedural “to improve EU efficiency”.
That has left me struggling to decide whether to use the word oxymoron to describe the statement, or just half of it to refer to Mr Murphy.
Ian Walker,
