Archive for August, 2009
Sinking Feeling?
Posted by Michael in The campaign on August 29th, 2009
For the Yes campaign admitting we have problems is half the battle!
Labour Councillor Joe Ryan feels the Yes campaign is faltering
I give my tuppence worth to Slugger O’Toole
The Irish Times hosts and email duel!!
As the Muppet show might say…why don’t we get things started!
Forget the British Sausage…what about the Irish Water!
Posted by Michael in The campaign on August 26th, 2009
Jim Hacker knew a thing or two about politics UK style, his infamous defence of the British Sausage saw him into Number 10 in a comedy series that we now know owed a lot more to real politics than was admitted at the time. Comedy or not many the domestic politician realises that bashing Brussels and the “eurocrats” is good for domestic appeal. Fine as far as it goes politicians have to get by. However the constant euro bashing down the years inevitably comes home too roost. It is hard to have the informed debate that everyone claims to want if prominent politicians insist on passing off all difficult issues and bad news on to the hapless officials in Brussels.
This also applies to over simplifying and reducing what Europe is all about. Like for example explaining the benefits of Europe as being loads and loads of cash and a big free lunch for us like structural funds etc. Down the years those favouring European integration in Ireland unfortunately did the cause little service with this sort of carry on, anybody remember Albert Reynolds promising 7bn for a yes vote in the Maastricht Treaty! While the EU did bring many undoubted benefits it is important to communicate what it does warts and all, the “flags and balloons” approach to the EU does nobody a service. Often the issues are more complicated. The differing institutions and their respective roles viz a viz the national governments can mean communications need to be subtle and nuanced.
So are there many Jim Hackers in the Irish political ferment? Too many unfortunately, all trading on the hope that mere mortals don’t know or won’t find out how things really work. So instead of the Great British Sausage let’s look at the great Irish water debacle. The water framework directive is a major piece of EU legislation to ensure the quality and availability of drinking and other water, a key benefit for European citizens. The directive went through a long and arduous legislative journey with little or no interest from the Irish or indeed many others. In early 2008 it transpired that schools in Ireland would now be liable for water charges.
The general response of the Government (and the Eurosceptics) was…blame the EU. The Questions and Answers programme led with a question “Are we to have a no flush no wash policy in our schools just because Brussels says so?” However unlike many decisions taken in Ireland, it is possible to see the documents when EU decisions were made, another part of the EU democratic system. They’re here http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/00/st12/12294en0.pdf
It’s worth quoting in full
STATEMENT 88/00 Statement by the Irish delegation
“The Irish delegation fully supports the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and its basic provisions. Ireland is satisfied, following legal consultations, that the final text accommodates the case advanced by Ireland in relation to the domestic sector, enabling that sector to continue to be exempt from water charges in accordance with established practice.”
So the Irish Government “fully supported” the adoption of the directive…pass the sausages please Sir Humphrey!
How to Amaze your Friends Down the Pub
Posted by Michael in Charter Fundamental Rights, EU Law, Security and Defence, The campaign on August 20th, 2009
Have You Read it? The most common question journalists ask politicians about the Lisbon Treaty. The answers became symptomatic of the problems in the Lisbon One campaign, here were a bunch of lazy politicians telling us all to vote for something but couldn’t be bothered to read it themselves. Fair enough, if you set yourself up to sell something in today’s PR conscious world you should have a grasp of it. Vincent Browne likes to jump on this bandwagon calling the Treaty impenetrable and impossible. However there is more going on here than meets the eye. The now departed (from the Lisbon campaign at any rate) Declan Ganley waved around what he called the Lisbon Treaty implying it was somehow secretive and hidden. Of course what he had in his hand was actually a propaganda tract from Jens Peter Bonde, a strange bedfellow as a former Danish Communist.
Anyway the news is you can very easily read the Treaty. I’ll say that again, you can very easily read the treaty. Now like everything this needs to be put in context. As most people know EU Treaties have been made by amending the original treaty of Rome. I’m happy to say this is ridiculous and leaves the EU open to accusations of secrecy and garbled euro legalese of which Vincent Browne is so fond. What really matters here is what is in the treaties now and what will be there after we vote. As it happens this is of course available online. Indeed you can have what the treaties will look like if Lisbon is accepted, the current treaties with changes, additions and subtractions in different colours and the actual Lisbon text . The first two are thanks to the Institute for International and European Affairs, I think all sides of this debate recognise the excellent work done in compiling these although I have to declare an interest having worked there some 12 years ago! Links are here http://www.iiea.com/publications?offset=10&max=10&sort=publicationDate&order=desc unfortunately they are no longer free but were in Lisbon 1, not sure why that is. Richard Corbett MEP has them here for free http://www.richardcorbett.org.uk/assets/docs/briefing/annotatedtreaties.pdf …not sure about intellectual property rights and all that but it’s a public site.
The treaties are set out in chapters with headings….I know, I know its sooooo complex! I intend to go through most of these headings looking at the changes and the issues involved in the coming weeks. For the moment I will stick to some introductory comments
The first thing people will notice is we are actually talking about two treaties or a set of amendments to two treaties. The Treaty on European Union and The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The latter is effectively the treaties to date with their amendments (single market, freedom of movement etc.) and the former more political and cross cutting principles.
Brother Kelly used to tell me not to use a small word when a large one will do. The EU has taken this up with gusto leading to all sorts of chaos when it comes to the numbering of articles and sections in the treaties. The method of amending treaty after treaty leads to a constant renumbering. Having the two treaties doesn’t help either. The Lisbon Treaty itself contains a note on numbering which is adhered to by the IIEA and I think should be used by everybody. So if you want to amaze your friends down the pub with “Oh yeah I read that” keep logging on!