Amendment to EU Treaties To Strip Debtor Countries of Voting Rights

[C. Flower]

Governments which breach European Union budgetary guidelines should have their EU voting rights "suspended" to prevent any resurgence of the debt and euro crisis, France and Germany said last night.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2010/gb20100615_086025.htm

The EU is becoming deeply divided between States who can pay their way and States that need bailouts. France and Germany, as the main States likely to be called on to fund bailouts, decided yesterday that they will insist that bankrupt states lose their EU voting rights.

This move follows last week's agreement that national budgets will go to the EU for approval before going to National Parliaments.

Sarkhozy would like to introduce this radical and punitive measure without a Treaty amendment.

It seems to me extraordinary that budget approval has been nodded through without demand for Treaty amendment. The proposal to punish states for economic choices/predicament would further increase the democratic deficit in the EU.

A country in temporary economic difficulty would be under enormous pressures to go for a deflationary rather than investment/stimulus solution.

[QUOTE]

[DCon]

Could tax harmonisation be included in the issues we cannot vote on?

[C. Flower]

Could tax harmonisation be included in the issues we cannot vote on?

If our budget is to be approved by the EU before it goes to the Dail, that one went out of the door last week.

We're surviving on ECB liquidity at the moment. Everything will have to be paid back in full, with interest and with chains attached.

[Spectabilis]

Firstly, John Lichfield's piece does not suggest a new treaty to manage issues within the Eurozone, rather some amendments. Secondly I find his use of 'euroland' very dismissive of an economic bloc of such significance to us all. Are we meant to think 'disneyland'?

Otherwise the piece is interesting on Franco-German discussions on economic matters within the EU.

[C. Flower]

Firstly, John Lichfield's piece does not suggest a new treaty to manage issues within the Eurozone, rather some amendments. Secondly I find his use of 'euroland' very dismissive of an economic bloc of such significance to us all. Are we meant to think 'disneyland'?

Otherwise the piece is interesting on Franco-German discussions on economic matters within the EU.

Thanks for the correction - I've changed the thread title. Yes, "euroland" is a little crass, but there are enormous changes in European governance developing with virtually no discussion at citizen level, even though as you rightly say, "of such significance to us all".

[ang]

Angela is determined and Sarkozy is on board.

Their way or no way. European citizens will not get a look in.

[Tony1975]

European citizens will not get a look in.

European Citizens got their last look in on October 2nd last year. The future is now out of our hands. It's exactly what we deserve.

[Cassandra Syndrome]

Relax folks, everything is under control....

http://www.fiannafail.ie/page/-/images/feature/blenihan_20sept09_600.jpg

[C. Flower]

European Citizens got their last look in on October 2nd last year. The future is now out of our hands. It's exactly what we deserve.

Do you reckon people understood at the time, and understand now, what the Lisbon vote meant ?

Or for that matter, what Maastricht meant ?

I find it strange that a country like Ireland, with such a long experience of being a colony, has such a rosy view of the EU say, or the IMF. Self interest and power is what its all about and the well-being of small peripheral states is not a high priority.

[MediaBite]

The EU will do to Ireland and other smaller/weaker economies what our own Irish political and business elites are doing to Irish citizens. A few of us were warning people that the EU was going to lurch massively to the right once that Treaty was in the bag. The crisis will be used as cover for implementing policy that EU lobby groups could only dream about in days gone by - just as is happening here. The time when we could at least look to the EU as some sort of civilising influence on our gombeen governments is over. If anything, the rotten apple that is Ireland is rotting the entire barrel. Evidence for that? As David McWilliams points out in his interview with Village magazine, the ECB has now been forced to do the very thing that it not so long ago was furious with Ireland for doing for itself: guaranteeing the banking systm throughout the EU.

[MediaBite]

Interesting blog post here by Constantin Gurdgiev on the associated issue of fining EU countries who don't play the game within the rules. You have to admire his panache in depicting hedge funds and CDSs eg as the innocent bystanders in the financial crisis :-)

http://trueeconomics.blogspot.com/2010/05/economics-20052010-germanys-new-plan.html

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Does that not mean that the smaller countries can sue France and Germany through the international courts as they failed to act to prevent hedgefunders short-selling the euro?

If you are going to take a leadership role then you should take responsibility. If France and Germany go for that role then they should become liable for losses sustained from their poor governance.

It would be interesting if the PIIGs countries turned around and said obviously France and Germany could have stopped the appropriation of state funds for private banks and I think they might have a case.

It would be an interesting scenario...

[MediaBite]

All the voting arrangements under Lisbon already favour France, Germany and the other big economies - they have worked it both ways for themselves. Where they want to get something passed, the voting works in their favour. Where they want to veto something, same thing applies.

[C. Flower]

All the voting arrangements under Lisbon already favour France, Germany and the other big economies - they have worked it both ways for themselves. Where they want to get something passed, the voting works in their favour. Where they want to veto something, same thing applies.

When our votes are removed, we won't have to worry about totting this up any more :)