British Government's stance on an EU Referendum

AS reported in the post immediately below, Margaret Beckett the Foreign Secretary of State was asked about a possible referendum on any revived EU Constitution, the following is the exact transcription of the exchange as provided by the BBC, linked here: ANDREW MARR.......But let's move on to - because you've got a lot on your plate. Let's move on to the European Union where Angela Merkel for Germany is leading the charge for a new constitution or a new mini constitution which some people say might be agreed as early as this June's summit. MARGARET BECKETT: I think that's over interpretation of what the Germans have been saying. Because what I understand from my German colleagues is that yes they're, they're charged with the duty of trying to find out whether there is, what common ground there is. Whether there is room for a consensus. What kind of consensus. But they were, have been very clear both that they believe that that will mostly happen towards the end of their presidency in May, June. ANDREW MARR: Yes. MARGARET BECKETT: And secondly that they think it's, it's wholly unrealistic to expect that they will just be able to resolve all the problems in their presidency. Now I suppose it's not totally impossible .. ANDREW MARR: Impossible, but unlikely. MARGARET BECKETT: .. they'll find a simple package by June but I don't think they are saying that. That's .. ANDREW MARR: Right. MARGARET BECKETT: .. if I may say so media commentators. ANDREW MARR: Okay. But if it proved possible, as quite a lot of people on the continent seem to want to bundle up parts of the old constitution into a new mini constitution, can you promise people that this country would still be given a referendum on that? MARGARET BECKETT: I'm not going to say what we think the judgment will be on a package that hasn't even been considered or drawn up. One of the things that I think is a bit missing from the debate here is that a lot of the stuff that was in the constitutional treaty actually is in existing treaties. And so that's obviously something that people are looking at to see whether there are things that we already have the capacity to do that might improve the working of the European Union. And you, you wouldn't have a referendum on anything like that. I mean that would be ridiculous. We've already, it's already in the treaties. So we'll judge the situation when we see what kind of proposals are coming forward. And it would be great if we see them as early as June but I'd be a bit surprised to be honest. So what is clear is that Her Majesty's Government will again use every ruse in the book to avoid the people being consulted as they very well know, like several other EU member states, that the electorate want no more sacrifices of sovereignty. Consider especially the nonsense to which they stoop to deprive us of our hard won democratic rights which I have emphasised in the final reply on this topic. If there are powers already existing to improve the workings of the EU why do they need repeating? It is of course the far-reaching new powers which will demand approval through universal democratic consultation a factor in which consideration should, of course, be the means by which those earlier far-reaching powers, certainly in the case of the UK and perhaps elsewhere, have been obtained.

Dreadful deceit from Britain's Foreign Secretay

The Foreign Secretary was asked on the Sunday AM TV programme on BBC 1 this morning whether Britain would be given a referendum on a revived EU Constitution. I will post Margaret Beckett's exact reply when the BBC programme transcript appears on the web, but the main thrust was the following: Much of what the new constitution contains is already in existing Treaties therefore having a referendum would be absurd. Surely it should be perfectly clear that if that were true no new Treaty would be essential, it is the new powers designed to make an EU of 27 ex-nations governable on which the people should demand to be consulted! The completely ineffectual Andrew Marr, as usual, let this nonsense pass totally without comment or follow-up. The whole programme section on the Foreign Secretary was the purest BBC propaganda apparently designed to bolster the reputation of probably the most useless head of the Foreign Office in the nation's history.

After John Major and Tony Blair Britain sinks to the Bottom

Best countries in which to live, from the Daily Mail, linked here.

The list of 191 countries was compiled by the U.S. travel magazine International Living using nine criteria - cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety, and climate.

At least we have the consolation of knowing British taxes have been well spent in making our closest neighbour France, number one!

Losing liberties with lying legalese.

Gonzales: 'No Grant of Habeas Corpus In The Constitution' Thanks to Samizdata for alerting me to this disgrace.

No vote on EU Constitution for Britain

I missed this report in the Daily Mail, linked here, when it appeared last week. Main points are the following:

The British public could be denied a say over the European Constitution, Downing Street has suggested.

Officials said it was not necessary to hold a referendum over the issue.

No 10's apparent surrender could mean Britain giving up voting powers and the right to veto crucial areas of EU policy....

.....a spokesman admitted that a pared-down document could be nodded through by MPs to make an enlarged EU work more effectively. He added: "We think the best European Constitution is a simple constitution.

"The result of a simple constitution would be that we would not have to hold a referendum."

Europe Minister Geoff Hoon is known to be sympathetic to French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's plan for a "mini constitution" that would still contain many of the elements rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

This would include a permanent EU president, permanent foreign minister and a massive extension of majority voting in areas such as justice and home affairs and give the EU the right to sign treaties for the first time in history.

A new anti-EU site

A new web site worth visiting if you wish to be informed on the EU threat is: http://www.britsattheirbest.com/freedom/f_threats_eu.htm Or click here.

Perverting the course of justice?

The cash for honours probe has now entered the darker areas of Britain's criminal justice system, read the Guardian view from here. A quote:

Angus MacNeil, the Scottish National party MP whose complaints helped spark the inquiry, described one of the alleged offences - perverting the course of justice - as "particularly interesting".

"Water is now lapping around Blair's neck," he said.

"This investigation is now right inside the door of Number 10.

"Over 90 people have now been interviewed, including Ruth Turner in September.

Article continues

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"The plot seems to be thickening the longer the investigation goes on.

"For one of the alleged offences to be 'suspicion of perverting the course of justice' is particularly interesting, perhaps suggesting some sort of behind-the-scenes cover-up.

Downing Street Arrest

Ruth Turner an aide to Tony Blair has been arrested and released by police in regard to their inquiries over honours. BBC TV reports suggest that such an arrest might have been a prerequisite for police to obtain access to computer or other files.

Merging Britain with France, Spain and Portugal

All the planning is going ahead as you may read from this link on the 'Arc Atlantique' BUT have you, or anyone in France, Spain or Portugal for that matter, been asked? An excerpt: In the Third Report on Cohesion, interregional cooperation is henceforth covered by its own Objective. This should replace the current Interreg programmes with a budget two times bigger than the amount allocated for the 2000-2006 period. Concerning the current Interreg IIIB, “the Member States and the regions would be invited to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of the existing 13 transnational cooperation zones… in the light of enlargement.” The Atlantic Arc Commission is therefore directly concerned by whether the Atlantic area is maintained or not, as well as the cooperation themes which its members are keen to continue working on together. A questionnaire will be circulated to Atlantic Arc Commission members in April, with a view to preparing a useful contribution to the General Assembly debates, which should lead to the development of a common position on transnational cooperation.

	Documents associés :
	questionnaire

Anti-EU Meeting in London

I have received the following e-mail flyer regarding a meeting to be held in London on 30th January, further information and background is available from here.

Action Now

London 30th January 2007

Third meeting

Mobilisation of people on the ground:

Coordinated campaigns to fight the EU every day.

As the entire EU project is illegal in this country, it is being implemented by subversion throughout Britain; in our democracy, in the leaderships of the big parties, in the NHS, in local and national government, councils and schools. To halt this decline we all need to take effective and coordinated ACTION NOW.

But there is much more operating behind the scenes, and it is only when you understand these hidden mechanisms that the EU can be fought with success. By meeting to understand the truth about the EU subversion within the UK, coupled with open discussion and plans of action, you will be equipped to turn the tide.

We believe we have identified the most powerful anti-EU campaigns that we, the grass roots, can mount ourselves as individuals, groups of people, or political party branches.

We are distributing this email widely, to give coordinated direction so these campaigns have maximum effect. Please pass it on to anyone who will fight the EU dictatorship.

On Tuesday 30th January at 6.30pm we are running an evening of talks and workshops on how to make these campaigns work. If you wish to attend, please tell us so we know the numbers in advance,

Agenda

Doors open 6pm

6.30.00 pm Welcome and Introduction.

6.05 pm The truth about the EU, and the subversive mechanisms destroying UK.

6.30 pm Questions and Answers.

7.15 pm Fighting back. Not the same old actions, they give the same old result. How can we successfully break out of the EU trap? The EU can be blocked in different ways. 7.30 pm How to implement the campaigns

1. Shocking people into action.

2. Targeting MP's - turkeys voting for Christmas - the right to close Westminster.

3. Abolition of councillors - not without a ballot of their own electorates.

4. Newspapers - do they want journalism without a free press?

5. Direct action against local subversion, Common Purpose and local corruption.

6. The armed forces and police

8.45pm Questions, Summing Up, Action Now Plan.

9.0pm Close. (Doors close 10pm.)

Cost: £5 per person collected by during the session.

Place: The Brockway Room, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square London WC1R 4RL.

(Nearest tube: Holborn.)

Time: Tuesday 30th January, 6.30pm to 9pm.

http://eutruth.org.uk

Sponsored by the Westminster News

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EU Banana Regulations

The EU likes to deny the existence of these rules every so often. Well do not believe them, for as in so much else - THEY LIE. Read the rules, in full, from their own website by clicking here.

Ex German President mourns Democracy

The report may be read here from EU Observer. The following are some selected quotes: In an article for newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Roman Herzog pointed out that between 1999 and 2004, 84 percent of the legal acts in Germany stemmed from Brussels...... "By far the biggest part of the current laws in Germany are agreed by the council of ministers [member states representation in Brussels] and not the German parliament," Mr Herzog wrote in a paper with Lüder Gerken, director of the Freiburg-based Centre for European Policy. "And each regulation that the German government adopts in the council of ministers, has to be transplanted by the Bundestag [parliament] into German law." Where are similar complaints to be heard from the political leadership of the country that supposedly boasts the 'Mother of Parliaments'? Another quote from the article: "EU policies suffer to an alarming degree from a lack of democracy and a de facto suspension of the separation of powers." What does the British Leader of the Opposition have to say about this obvious and dangerous situation: "Stop banging on about Europe" And our own Prime Minister, only yesterday - "Combine all government held databases" And the British 'so-called' free press and media - NOTHING!

Waste and incompetence

In every area of British government we see nothing but waste and mismanagement. The gravest consequences can be seen in the area of defence as Christopher Booker illustrates in his column today, part of which is quoted below:

Estonia's soldiers get better care than ours

Sean Langan's chilling filmed reports from Afghanistan for Channel Four's Dispatches last week showed British troops hopelessly overstretched and ill-equipped to fight a guerrilla war with the fanatical Taliban. In particular they highlighted the inadequacy of the unarmoured Land Rovers in which our soldiers have to patrol, and in which not a few have died.

One telling detail was the sight of a wounded British soldier having to be rescued by Estonian troops in a properly protected Mamba personnel carrier. This was one of the nine bought by Estonia last summer, when the Ministry of Defence sold off the 14 Mambas – bought for £4.5 million for use in Bosnia — for a mere £44,000. Four others, sold to a security firm, Blackwater, are now being successfully used to give US officers and officials safe passage on the dangerous road between Baghdad airport and the city.

Last July, as was reported here, our defence procurement minister, Lord Drayson, was caught out more than once misleading the House of Lords over these Mambas, claiming "we judged the size and mobility of the vehicle not to be appropriate to the needs of our Armed Forces today". Yet months later, when one of our men is injured, he has to be moved to safety by one of these same Mambas flogged off by the MoD for peanuts, because the Land Rovers the MoD prefers are wholly inadequate to the task.

Isn't it time all the ministers responsible for this horrible scandal resigned, led by the Prime Minister?

Blair's Plymouth speech on Defence Again!

The initial Reuters report is linked here. The speech made only the slightest passing reference to Europe let alone the EU and was all the better for that. The full text was first available from the International Herald Tribune website and is linked from here. The main points that hit me as I listened were the following: "There are two types of nations similar to ours today. Those who do war fighting and peacekeeping and those who have, effectively, except in the most exceptional circumstances, retreated to the peacekeeping alone.

Britain does both. We should stay that way. But how do we gain the consent to do it?"

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"Public opinion will be divided, feel that the cost is too great, the campaign too long, and be unnerved by the absence of "victory" in the normal way they would reckon it. They will be constantly bombarded by the propaganda of the enemy, often quite sympathetically treated by their own media, to the effect that it's really all "our", that is the West's fault." ========================== "The risk here - and in the US where the future danger is one of isolationism not adventurism - is that the politicians decide it's all too difficult and default to an unstated, passive disengagement, that doing the right thing slips almost unconsciously into doing the easy thing. Many countries are already in this position. But the consequences for Britain are hugely significant. Before we know it and without anyone ever really deciding it, in a strategic way, the "hard" part of British foreign policy could be put to one side; the Armed Forces relegated to an essentially peacekeeping role and Britain's reach, effect and influence qualitatively reduced." =========================== "The covenant between Armed Forces, Government and people has to be renewed. For our part, in Government, it will mean increased expenditure on equipment, personnel and the conditions of our Armed Forces; not in the short run but for the long term." =========================== The last quote is of course the most crucial, especially as the next PM is still most likely to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he who has woefully under-financed our armed forces for the kind of grandiose plans put in place by he who made this speech!

Another Blair speech on defence

The press are preparing for a major speech by the Prime Minister in Plymouth today on the future of Britain's forces and calling for a national debate on defence. We will comment on that later, while noting briefly here that with the decision apparently already made on the continuation of the British nuclear deterrent and the main opposition party self-silenced on anything connected with the EU, such debate seems likely to be a pretty futile exercise. The Cardiff speech by Tony Blair on Europe on 28th November 2002, was significant and although presently impossible to trace as predicted in my post on Ironies on 1st May, 2003, linked here contained this passage by Blair: The basic ideology should be described in this way. Europe is the voluntary coming together of sovereign nations. Their will is to combine together in the institutions of Europe in order to further their common interests. In so far as it is necessary to achieve these interests, they therefore pool their sovereignty in Europe. There is no arbitrary or fixed limit as to what they do collectively; but whether they do it depends on their decision as a group of nations. So whilst the origin of European power is the will of sovereign nations, European power nonetheless exists and has its own authority and capability to act. The St Malo declaration on joint Anglo/Franco defence co-operation should also be remembered as we listen to the Plymouth speech. Much has occurred since these events, not least in Iraq and events presently underway in Washington make Blair's timing unfortunate. NATO itself seems at risk in Afghanistan and the lack of agreed multinational rules of engagement in that theatre might prove the death knell, if not of NATO itself then almost certainly for any further dreams of a common EU foreign and defence policy. My post below indicates where joint EU military action is most likely to lead, namely the suppression of internal EU protest as democratic rights continue to falter across the continent.

Pictures of the EU's emerging military police force

The logo of the six nation European Gendarmerie Force the centrepiece of which is described as a grey flaming grenade symbolizing the common military roots of the police forces, read here. To follow the growth of this force and recognise how alien it is to British concepts of policing and law enforcement view the galleries of pictures from the EGF's own web site linked here. The motto - 'Lex paciferat' seems to have been mis-interpreted in the first link, as to me the law bringing peace does not imply the necessity for violence in its enforcement, but note particularly the strange use of the word 'restoring'

Number 10 Petition to quit the EU

Please sign the petition which runs through to 14th December of this year. To date only a pathetic 178 signatures have been registered. The process is surprisingly simple for a Government ET site, but do not delay as who knows when it might fall foul to technical difficulties providing yet more ammunition to the EU Federalists. The link is : http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/europewithdrawal/

Oradour-sur-Glanes

Today I visited the 'Massacre Village' of Oradour-sur-Glanes, more information from here, where I found the Memorial Centre closed. On 10th June 1944 642 men, women and children were brutally murdered by the German 'Das Reich' regiment on D Day. This is not history for I was born in that year. One description of the atrocity, linked here, has this quote:

In March 1945 Charles de Gaulle said

“Oradour-sur-Glane is the symbol of the calamities of the country. The memory must be kept alive, for a similar calamity must never occur again.”

The earlier linked site has a detailed description of the dreadful events of those summer days 'In a Ruined State' and the author Michael Williams, makes the following point in his conclusions: Any political system that is non-democratic places an enormous burden of responsibility onto the leader(s). If they say that they know best and that the rest should simply follow their lead, then theirs is the power and the glory, as is also the potential blame and odium. Man is an obedient animal; history shows us that. A leader can command his followers to do his will and normally they will do so. Under a democracy if the people do not like the way things turn out, they can change the leaders on a routine basis, under a dictatorship things can only get worse. A question, rather than a conclusion that I shall leave for you the reader to answer yourself is: Who is ultimately responsible, the people who elect a dictator to power, the dictator, or his minions who in believing the message to be right carry out his wishes? Yesterday two more countries joined the European Union making the total number of former nation states in that pointless, power-crazed conglomerstate a frightening total of twenty seven. Also yesterday, Germany, the most populace and powerful former nation now within the EU took over the six month rotating Presidency of that non-democratic organisation. Forgive the past by all means, but do not forget the facts nor ignore the lessons. France today is heading for its Presidential elections in the spring. Both likely main contenders Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy seem to be prepared to ignore their compatriots' rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty as an irrelevance and pitch their future policies towards convenience of EU administration rather than a readiness to defend the democracy that alone can protect us from tyranny. Twenty-six other ex-democracies will be looking to the French to prevent such a disaster. Perhaps both Madame Royal and Monsieur Sarkozy should visit Oradour ........ hopefully they will by then find the Memorial Centre re-opened! If not a quiet walk through the ruins should concentrate their minds.

2007 is here

Predictions are the order for the first day of January. Mine is that Tony Blair will find a crisis of such presumed gravity that he will be supposedly compelled to continue his occupancy of 10 Downing Street. Trying to find something cheerful to report we can gain some comfort on this New Year's Day from one main event of the past year, namely that the French led UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon continues to prevent missile attacks into Israel - a much overlooked if not totally ignored triumph for the diplomacy of George W Bush and Tony Blair. Happy New Year to my small but loyal readership.