The Ongoing Political Transformation of Europe

[Apjp]

Get me out of this police state..

[fluffybiscuits]

Well it could be the answer to some economic issues that we are having at the moment. If we were to spread the debt around the other nations (which they would never agree to individually) we could all share the burden of the debt and all live reasonably comfortably. I think any new EU does have to have a constitution respecting neutrality and perhaps based on French law, be codified so it explicity states it. Am a big believer of a United Europe...

[Ephilant]

Get me out of this police state..

More good news for. Barroso launches his Federation of European States, Van Rompuy launches

a common budget, limited debt mutualisation and a parliamentary assembly.

In the dictat he makes public as an his idea, he goes on to

propose a central budget for the euro area in order to deal with asymmetric shocks and help prevent contagion.
Limited common debt issuance should only occur as long as the risk sharing is accompanied with commensurate steps towards common decision-making on budgets that safeguard against moral hazard.

What will go down very well with the 10 non EZ members is his suggestion to have a European Parliamentary assembly exlusively for the EZ members.

2 tier Federal State of Europe?

[Ephilant]

The EU is undergoing a SERIOUS political transformation by the looks of things.

It has been reported by Greek media that Eleni Zaroulia, one of the, to our shame, elected members of Golden Dawn, has taken up her seat on Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. the brief of this committee is to

fight racism, bigotry and discrimination.

This must be the sickest joke of all times in the EU operations. I would ask, on behalf of the vast majority of right thinking Greek people, that everybody who has the slightest bit of interest in making the EU a workable, fair organizations gets on to their local MEP immediately and protests loud and clear that this is unacceptable and this individual must be removed from this position immedately.

[C. Flower]

The EU is undergoing a SERIOUS political transformation by the looks of things.

It has been reported by Greek media that Eleni Zaroulia, one of the, to our shame, elected members of Golden Dawn, has taken up her seat on Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. the brief of this committee is to


This must be the sickest joke of all times in the EU operations. I would ask, on behalf of the vast majority of right thinking Greek people, that everybody who has the slightest bit of interest in making the EU a workable, fair organizations gets on to their local MEP immediately and protests loud and clear that this is unacceptable and this individual must be removed from this position immediately.

It is almost beyond belief. Who nominated this person for the position ?
Has the Committee accepted them ?

[Ephilant]

This is not almost beyond belief, it is right up there as well beyond...
I am not too familiar with the procedures of nominations, but whoever did this either has absolutely nothing between the ears, or a very, very sick sense of humour.
I am not aware of the EU having any "vetting" procedures in place to accept or reject a nominee to any committee. The question has been asked, and is being investigated.
I do however think that this is something for the "twitter" machine, and lots of pressure to get the Greeks to undo this travesty rather than wait for some other authority to do this for them. Not that we have much credibility left, but this really sinks whatever is left.

From what I can gather, and info is very, very limited, the original member was to be that other beauty ND elected member Dora Bakoyannis, who just had her parliamentary immunity lifted to answer charges of corruption relating to a few million she found in her husband's bank account and used to buy ships.... She allegdly thought it inappropriate to sit on this committee with these allegations hanging over her. So the reserve was called up, obviously not in the slightest worried about how appropriate this position is ....

[C. Flower]

Here she is



http://whenthecrisishitthefan.com/20...n-golden-dawn/

The presence and participation of an MP of the neo-fascist construct of the Golden Dawn in the works of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has already raised queries and question marks in diplomatic circles in Strasbourg and is expected to trigger letters of protest against such a presence in an institution and a pan-European organization which at every opportunity, condemns violent racist behaviours and the promotion of xenophobic movements and ideas.

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/201...cil-of-europe/

Eleni, Zaroulia, Member of the Greek Parliament and wife of party chairman of Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) will sit on the Council of Europe’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. Zaroulia will be in Strasbourg as an alternate member of the Greek parliamentary delegation. “What does a member of a party involved in racist attacks and discrimination do in a non-discrimination committee, a committee known to fight racism and xenophobic behaviour?” ask many and not only Greeks

.

[Dr. FIVE]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/su...ions.html?_r=1

[DCon]

FTT will have lift-off.

What will the UK say?

Eleven euro zone countries agreed today to press ahead with a disputed tax on financial transactions aimed at making traders share the cost of fixing a crisis that has rocked the single currency area.

The initiative, pushed hard by Germany and France but strongly opposed by Britain, Sweden and other proponents of free markets, gained critical mass at a European Union finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, when more than the required nine states agreed to use a treaty provision to launch the tax.

Austrian finance minister Maria Fekter said the 11 countries would present a model for how the tax would work by the end of the year, and it was realistic to expect the tax to be implemented by 2014.

Semeta said countries aiming to launch the tax did not yet agree where the proceeds should go or how they should be spent.

"Some of them would like to spend it individually. Some prefer to use part of the proceeds to finance the EU budget. It is premature to say what will be the final outcome," he said.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...reaking44.html

[Dr. FIVE]

Flemish separatists make gains at polls

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19943890

[DCon]

Flemish separatists make gains at polls

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19943890

I wish them luck.

Flanders is lovely. The rest of Belgium; not so.

[Slim Buddha]

I wish them luck.

Flanders is lovely. The rest of Belgium; not so.

I have a fondness for the Ardennes. I particularly like Dinant, birthplace of the saxophone. But I agree with you on Flanders, it is really quite stunning.

[DCon]

I have a fondness for the Ardennes. I particularly like Dinant, birthplace of the saxophone. But I agree with you on Flanders, it is really quite stunning.

And it is a different place to the rest of Belgium (not just the language but the whole feel of the place). I can understand why they want to go it alone.

Keeping count; that's Flanders, Scotland, Venice, Catalonia so far.

Any others?

I assume all of the above would remain/rejoin the EU if they get independence. Anyone know otherwise?

[Ephilant]

The Lithuanians have voted their pro EU, pro austerity government out of existence.
The right wing government of ex PM Andrius Kubilius oversaw the total erosion of the Lithuanian economy, resulting in the emigration of roughly 30% of the population. Present day Lithuania is mainly inhabited by the elderly and the sick, while almost everybody else has left the country.
Labour promised to postpone the entry into to Euro by at least 1 year, to immediately raise the minimum wage again so that people regain at least some spending power, and, most importantly, it promised to rebuild ties with Russia, once their biggest trading partner.
No wonder Schauble declared in Singapore that he is totally opposed to any changes in the status of Greece within the EU. He knows, as the opinion polls here also suggest, that any mistake will take our government down, and a new election would, according to the polls, result in an overall majority for SYRIZA with nearly 50% of the vote.

[DCon]

German demands

There must be an EU “currency commissioner” with sweeping powers to strike down national budgets; a “large step towards fiscal union”; and yet another EU treaty.

Finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dropped his bombshell in talks with German journalists on a flight from Asia, and apparently had the blessing of Angela Merkel, the chancellor. “When I put forward such proposals, you can take it as a given that the chancellor agrees,” he said.

Officials in Brussels reacted with horror. “If that is the demand, they are not going to get it. Nobody in the Council wants a new treaty right now,” said one EU diplomat.

The new demands risk another stormy summit in Brussels on Thursday, pitting Germany against the Latin bloc. The last summit in June ended with an acrimonious deal in the small hours on a banking union that began to unravel within days.

The Schaeuble plan is highly provocative. The EU can set deficit targets but it cannot manage budgets, unless a country requests a bail-out and gives up fiscal sovereignty.

Nor is it clear how Germany’s constitutional court would react. It ruled last year that the Bundestag’s budgetary powers are the bedrock of democracy and cannot be alienated to any supra-national body.

Mr Schaeuble poured scorn on counter-proposals by EU president Herman Van Rompuy, including a first step towards debt pooling through joint “eurobills”. The term “Fiskalunion” in Berlin has a specific meaning: more power to police the affairs of debtor states. It does not mean debt mutualisation or a joint EU treasury. Germany has so far refused to cross this Rubicon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...rd-demand.html