Looking Back - Number Four

Ironies had this post, one of several on US Independence Day 4th July 2004. Is this the same situation that will prevail after the Lisbon Treaty is ratified I now wonder? As the Treaties are now almost impossible for a layman to understand I am sending a copy of this post to EU Law Expert Ralf Grahn in Finland..... it appears it is an area he has yet to cover in his detailed exposes of the Treaty! EU Commission Right to Withdraw Legislation The more I think about this power the more terrible and anti-democratic its consequences seem to appear. The power to withdraw EU legislation - which in the first place can only be introduced by the EU Commission, even should all member states unanimously wish it to proceed after their or EU Parliamentary amendment - which again is held by the EU Commission alone, has as far as I can tell, nowhere received the attention it requires. It is the pressure that can be applied by the threat of withdrawing certain legislation where the true power lies. Even if it had never been actually used, the mere threat of it being brouht into play has I am sure caused the passage of much EU legislation that would otherwise have proved totally unacceptable. In the long run it provides the means of bringing into force any amount of legislation no matter how draconian. Normally a balance of half and half between proposals desired by the Council of Ministers or Parliament to balance the half giving more powers to the Commission probably works well enough to advance the Commission's powers into areas not attainable without the right to withdraw any legislation. At the other extreme, should there be for example a really authoritarian proposal to give the Commission powers that should never be ceded in a democratic environment, then no doubt it is included as the one per cent of a legislative proposal the other ninety-nine per cent of which is much desired by the other pillars and which they would be loath to lose. In either of these cases the actual power to withdraw the legislation would never have to have been used, pre-agreements must presumably ensure little controversy and zero publicity for this most powerful tool. An ever expanding EU Commission is the inevitable and clearly planned and cunningly crafted end result. Ulimately any powers - no matter how draconian must be obtainable given the Commission's spending authority - all at the cost and concomitant erosion of the powers of the once nation member states. Why has the Legislation Withdrawal powers not received greater publicity in the past. I only learnt of them by reading the 'Building a political Europe' proposal given to Prodi in April. If they have been as little publicised as I believe and they exist as stated in that report, do the EU's MEPs know of them, if so why have they not trumpeted the anti-democratic nature of these powers. Do the leaders of our political parties know of them, the Conservatives and Labour who have been in Government over the last thirty-two years surely must. They should be challenged on this matter. It seems to me yet more evidence of another anti-democratic and secretive conspiracy by the EU against all the people of Europe

posted by Martin at 7/04/2004 02:31:00 PM