EU Constitution author says referendums can be ignored

EU Constitution author says referendums can be ignored

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EU Constitution author says referendums can be ignored
By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Last Updated: 7:24PM BST 26/06/2008
Future referendums will be ignored whether they are held in Ireland or elsewhere, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the architect of the European Union Constitution said.
The former President of France drafted the old Constitution that was rejected by French and Dutch voters three years ago before being resurrected as the Lisbon EU Treaty, itself shunned by the Irish two weeks ago.

Mr Giscard d'Estaing told the Irish Times that Ireland's referendum rejection would not kill the Treaty, despite a legal requirement of unanimity from all the EU's 27 member states.

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very interesting he also adds
Mr Giscard d'Estaing also admitted that, unlike his original Constitutional Treaty, the Lisbon EU Treaty had been carefully crafted to confuse the public.

"What was done in the [Lisbon] Treaty, and deliberately, was to mix everything up. If you look for the passages on institutions, they're in different places, on different pages," he said.

"Someone who wanted to understand how the thing worked could with the Constitutional Treaty, but not with this one."

France and Germany are putting pressure on Ireland to hold a second referendum which would allow the Lisbon Treaty to come into force before European elections on June 4 2009.


What is it with the French and German

maybe it has something to do with the backhanders they give each other

EU cracks down on French and German gas giants

www.euractiv.com...

The Commission's preliminary view is that this market-sharing agreement is in violation of EC Treaty rules banning restrictive business practices and cartels," the EU executive said. The investigation is open-ended.

The cartel allegations relate in particular to supplies of natural gas via the MEGAL pipeline, which is jointly owned by E.ON and GDF and transports Russian gas to France and Germany. The probe was opened in July last year following surprise office raids carried out in 2006



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A unanimous vote was unrealistic in the first place and now it seems that its backfiring on the architects. The leadership of France and Germany need to grow up and respect Ireland's democracy. Ignoring the no vote or Ireland or trying to call a mulligan every time they vote no is just wrong and underhanded.

While I do just so happen to believe in majority voting I believe that playing by the rules is more important. They should have specified majority voting when they put this treaty out there rather than trying to change it after a nation has made it's vote against. Freedom simply cannot survive under a government that bends its own rules. If Ireland's vote is ignored than it's an omen of very bad things to come in Europe.

What should be done is the treaty should either be revised, or a new one written altogether. Then specify majority voting for that treaty. But it's far too late to change the rules on the Lisbon Treaty.