Economic Governance was always the EU objective!

There is a rather startling article in the Market Watch section of the Wall Street Journal this morning. It is written by David Marsh, linked here, titled "Germans to the front in Europe"and includes this assertion: The irrefutable message being relayed at home and abroad is that Germany is seeking gradually to take control of the European economy -- in a last-ditch response to what Berlin sees as other countries' widespread failure to put their house in order. Regular readers of this blog and its forerunner cannot help but be aware that non-democratic economic governance and its consequent tyranny of corporatist totalitarianism (once called national socialism now mutated to become an intra-national version of economic fascism) has been the objective for years as the progress towards this end has been clearly recorded and commented upon on an almost daily basis right here over many years. Given these blogs archives the following facts can thus not now be convincingly disputed: The common currency had to fail without fiscal union and social harmonisation. Greece never met the currency criteria and its present crisis was not only foreseeable but therefore became a desired objective. The emergency measures designed to save Greece were never going to succeed and were thus implemented to destroy the Treaties and therefore the rule of law within the EU. The silence of all governments, both within the Eurogroup and those outside the Eurogroup but within the EU since 10th May speaks for itself. If I, as a non-economist and merely interested commentator, have been able to chronicle and foretell these events down the years, how come the Wall Street Journal columnist and author of the linked article remains so blind?

"Greece must exit Euro and Default"

The following is an extract from this morning's Sunday Times, linked here.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a London economics consultancy that is advising the Athens government, said Greece would be unable to escape its debt trap unless it devalued its currency to boost exports.

The only way for this to happen is for Greece to leave the euro. Until now, Greek politicians have played down the prospect of abandoning the euro, which some observers fear could set in motion the break-up of the single currency.

Speaking from Athens yesterday, Doug McWilliams, chief executive of CEBR, said: “The only option for Greece is both to exit the euro and to default.”

This blog has been stating this obvious fact as it appears in this posting's headline for some considerable time, in fact ever since the so-called Greek crisis first hit the headlines! Other common sense on the present terrible situation is in other postings below this.

The lessons from Dunkirk for the Britain of today.

I am writing this posting as the memorial service for those who died on the beaches of Dunkirk, seventy years ago this weekend, is taking place in France. What lessons for today may be drawn from the events only one mere normal lifetime away yet startlingly distant from the apparent realities of modern Europe. We do not have to look far to discern that the real horrors of that era are slowly being re-stoked in the sordid mess that is the modern European Union. We must first consider a little historical fact. The Battle of France only began in earnest on 10 May 1940, thus it was in a short period of under three weeks that the pattern for five years of world war was established. On the same day seventy years later, the 10 May 2010, an agreement was reached in Brussels which, in the words of the French Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche....."De facto ... changed the treaty" .... thus the legal basis for Britain being within the EU has been annulled. Yet in the intervening days, the same period as Britain's Expeditionary force was beaten and then mercifully rescued from Dunkirk in 1940, the British Prime Ministe, Foreign Office and mainstream media have been largely silent while a similar defeat for the nation's interests took place. Are fuzzy or broken treaties a matter of great import? Can matters that appear to only affect eurozone members really be that crucial to Britain's sovereign interests? Look again at the root causes of British troops being deployed in France in 1940. They stem from the earlier dreadful tragedy of the Great War between 1914 and 1918, a period even more apparently remote for the young people of Europe today, yet nevertheless one that can help with the questions posed here. Many believe that the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France required British involvement in the great continental disaster that unfolded in 1914. In fact that agreement mainly resolved various colonial disputes particularly in North Africa. It was an understanding regarding deployment of naval resources as between the Channel and the Mediterranean, apparently detailed by a letter in The Times, that imposed the pressure on Britain to come to France's aid. (Barbara W. Tuchman's "The Guns of August" best details these events). Why then have the new British Coalition Government in the shape of the Prime Minister, David Cameron, (who waffled on this topic when questioned on Radio 4 this week), the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, whose own background and position is based upon his EU employment and activities and the Foreign Office (supposedly under the control of a new Foreign Secretary, William Hague, with his own reported doubts on the EU) all remained silent as the storm clouds gather? Everything in Europe has changed since shortly after the day of the General Election on 6th May. When the Treaties were being trampled underfoot in a forum of only "informal status" restricted to Eurogroup members alone, on the weekend of 9th/10th May the new Coalition partners were busily drawing up their own agreement on how to govern. Inaction at that time may thus be understood. In the intervening period, however, the EU is visibly falling apart at the seams. The President of the European Council has been appointed to establish the method of "EU economic governance" in contradiction of all EU Treaties since Rome. He himself has admitted that the citizens of Europe have been deliberately deceived, in my view "lied to" down the years on the question of the euro currency (much else could also be included among such lies). The French Europe Minister crows at the irrelevance of the Treaties, designed to protect national sovereignty and painstakingly negotiated over many years as now 'de facto' defunct. The Coalition Government appears asleep on the job. Britain needs a new withdrawal from this law defying and despot creating Europe of the EU. If Cameron and Clegg had been in charge seventy years ago today, 300,000 extra British servicemen would likely be lying dead on the beaches of Dunkirk!

EU Crisis Update.

The Australian has a good summary of the present situation in an article for tomorrow's edition, already online and linked here. A quote: European politicians calling now for more European solidarity are trying to engineer a European welfare state that is bound to fail. In fact, the inescapable, if not imminent, collapse of the eurozone is the harbinger of the collapse of the widely celebrated European social model. Meantime in London where it remains Friday the Evening Standard has an item on the growing unpopularity of Angela Merkel in Germany, read from here, another brief quote:

The number of Germans who believe the worst of the financial crisis is yet to come jumped from 56% last month to 75%.

Another 54% said they expected their standard of living to slip, while 74% said they did not believe politicians were able to stand up to the financial markets. Only 34% said Merkel's government has made the right decisions to counter the crisis.

Reuters in the US gives a morning summary of the EU gloom linked here.

Professor Kerber's opposition to Euro Transfer Zone

The Christian Science Monitor this morning has an article on the dangers of the coming Euro Transfer Region, linked here, which quotes Professor Kerber (the subject of detailed comment on this blog yesterday) as follows: "German guilt has been turned into too much money over too many years," says Markus Kerber, a professor of finance at Berlin Technical University. "But this is over. All of a sudden Germans are grasping the figures."

While many people here believe Germany had no choice but to help Greece to avoid a broader European collapse, others now think Berlin might withdraw from the eurozone. One option would be for it to link up with other, more prosperous, neighbors. "The Dutch and the Austrians are fundamentally in the same situation," says Kerber. "They don't want to see the monetary union turn into a transfer union."

A friend paid me a small sum owed in euros over the weekend, unhappily the 100 Euro note carries an X at the front of the serial number, indicating it was issued in Germany. I will hang on to the note to see what problems I have to go through to redeem the money in France should Germany now take the totally logical next step and depart from the euro alongside its non-deficit strapped neighbours! The euro is reported to be rallying this morning on news Kuwait and China are not about to dump the currency. Well they would say that wouldn't they? Only the financially moronic (or perhaps capitalism loathing closet-marxist), Gordon Brown would pre-announce large-scale sales of a commodity. If only the UK had Brown's cheaply sold gold today!

EU Council President Van Rompuy admits decades of lies on the Euro!

Reports of this long overdue confession, detailed in the headline to this posting, from an EU official may be read here and here but hardly anywhere else! Yesterday morning, my first posting of the day linked to Open Europe research on the various lies told by the EU down the years on the euro currency. This blogger, on various blogs, has posted daily on the various lies and the resultant corruption that now disfigures both the EU Institutions and National Institutions which by association with EU malpractice and corruption, have themselves become contaminated all across our Continent. Much of my own postings before I began blogging are unobtainable from the archives of both the EU itself and other forum such as those of the Financial Times which debated very fully the implications of the Euro and the encroachments of the EU upon our society. One posting I made on the FT Forum "Britain and the Euro Dilemma" seems worth quoting in view of Van Rompuy's startling admission. It was posted on 9th June 2003 as follows: +++++ Joining the Euro is a further giant step towards becoming entrapped in the EU as it exists tday, and worse far worse, as it is set to become as set out in the European Convention .(Now enacted as the Lisbon Treaty blog editors comment added 28/5/10). There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can either see, nor that any EU enthusiast has yet been able to detail for me, that is either good, worthwhile, decent, honourable let alone democratic about the European Union. It has achieved nothing, its supporters' claims that it brought peace to the Continent are now so thoroughly disproved that even Romano Prodi has ceased making them. Its sole achievement is the self-enrichment of its politicians and its bureaucrats. Its worst drawback the corruption of national poltical institutions by association. (Emphasis added by blog editor 28/5/2010) Britain has no place in this institution. Holding back from the Euro holds out some last remaining hope for our Nation, and the values for which it once stood. +++++ Does not President Van Rompuy's astounding admission (plus its apparent lack of any suggestion of an apology), the absence of any mainstream coverage in the UK media, not now fully prove this assertion at the centre of my posting made almost seven years ago: There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can either see, nor that any EU enthusiast has yet been able to detail for me, that is either good, worthwhile, decent, honourable let alone democratic about the European Union. Are not the Expenses Scandal and our new Coalition Government themselves not symbols of this long forecast associated corruption of our own Parliament?

Euro truths from Professor Markus Kerber

At last a voice of sense in Europe and that from Berlin where leadership is most needed. On 6th May there was a televised debate on the News Channel France 24 where Professor Markus Kerber gave some straight talking over the objections of his French co-debaters in Paris. The video, in two parts may be watched from this link. Professor Kerber is introduced at 01:42 in Part 1 and contributes from 13 minutes and 53 seconds into the recording. In Part 2 he may be heard from 05:09 to 08:33 and from 13:00 to the end. Please listen, he speaks rare sense from within the EU. Last evening Professor Kerber was once again on the same TV Channel, France 24, this time pointing out the difficulties and unworkability of the huge May 9/10 euro rescue package cobbled together at the rushed behest of President Sarkozy. (Part 2 of the linked video below at 07:24 to 08:51 and 10:50 to 11:35) I have now linked that debate titled "Europe: Austerity or Growth?" here: Part 1 and Part 2. (Professor Kerber's contributions are in Part 1 from 05:50 to 07:52 and 14:20 to 16:55 and in Part 2 from 05:20 to 08:51 and 10:50 to 11:35)

The EU Elite's LIES on the Euro!

Research from Open Europe is linked here.

EU in Crisis

Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph this morning offers a good summary of the ongoing disaster that is the EU. The column is linked here and concludes as follows: So we may indeed be about to see an economic debacle of unprecedented proportions in the recent history of the developed world. We shall just have to steel ourselves for it. It may, though, have the legacy of ending the neo-sovietisation of our continent, and allowing a resurgence of democracy in Europe and among European peoples; which would prove, at last, that every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.

Barroso is barmy!

The President of the EU Commission has made a suggestion that European spending adds value!!!! To what? I would dearly like to know, to confirm his growing insanity he then claims that "..... we do things better at the EU level" The quote comes from the daily briefing email from Open Europe, as quoted in full herewith: Asked whether the Commission might propose a reduction in the EU budget, given the austerity measures being implemented in member states, Barroso replied: "I can only say that we pay attention so that European spending creates added value. I would however be surprised if it would come to a reduction of the EU budget. A consequence of Globalisation is that we do certain things better at the EU level, so at the same time spending at the national level can decrease." With overpaid idiots like this on the EU payroll (one of at least 3 EUPresidents, let us not forget) is it any wonder that the euro crisis is causing huge falls and turmoil in markets across the globe? The complete disaster and waste of money that is the EU can now be seen to be the cause of an approaching worldwide economic collapse and yet we have the head of the EU Commission, the appointed body responsible for the institution of all EU legislation that over-regulates business and throttles the markets and any individual with enterprise coming out with this claptrap.

PM Cameron misses the chance to show Global Ambitions

Last evening in Paris, today Berlin ..... what a farce and complete waste of time! In this globalized world, a strong message would have been sent by a brief circuit taking in Ottawa, New Delhi and Canberra. Britain is clearly set for yet more years of uninspired leadership!

Treasures from the threads - number forty-three

Comment to an article on the Euro crisis by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph this morning, linked here:

Ambrose: There was indeed an explosion in the credit markets as the Ted Spread today to 30.5; this reflects an evaporation of credit liquidity and trust in lending and shrinkage of available credit. The Christine Lagarde rebuke of the BaFin ban communicates the maverick nature of the German Ministry. The ban possibly may indicate some issue that BaFin does not feel comfortable disclosing to other State Ministries, Ministers, EUROFIN, or EUROSTAT. You relate: “The deep rift between Berlin and Paris has been exposed again, leaving it painfully clear the European Montary Union still lacks the fiscal and governing machinery of a viable currency union”. My reply is that the EU Finance Ministers May 2010 Summit took the eurozone out of a trade and currency union and into a region of global governance; a European Economic Government was announced by EU Finance Leaders and State Leaders; they effected a bloodless coup de etat; sovereign nation states are history. National sovereignty is a principle of a bygone era. Perhaps a Framework Agreement, but definitely future Summit Announcements, will announce governing machinery and mechanisms for coordinated economic, banking, financial, monetary and seigniorage policy. I refer to the EuroIntelligence article Euphoria Ends As Investors Suspect Another Shameless EU Confidence Trick, where France’s Finance Minister Christine Lagarde in Les Echos.fr May 11, 2010 article ”This Is Not Just An Emergency Plan — It Is A Historic Turning Point For Europe”, relates that this is a historical turning point for the euro zone. She said that there is a political determination now to build something new, to reinvent the European model. The original construction faults of the eurozone will be dealt with, but this will not happen overnight. The work starts soon (21 May) under EU president Van Rompuy. Lagarde listed among others a convergence of economic models, a reinforced stability and growth pact and improved functioning of the eurogroup. An excerpt with questions and answers is as follows: Is Germany ready for the euro area that changes its nature by being more integrated politically and economically? … “Germany has agreed to change its traditional position with focus on bilateral loans as we have seen in Greece, to defend us, with the creation of a stabilization fund for Europe, whose dimension is collective, is the key element.” Is this one ounce of federalism? … “It’s more than an ounce of European federalism, as the fund’s programs will purchase securities or offer loans.” Clearly historical facts show that at the May 2010 European Summit, the EU Finance Ministers announced a region of global governance, specifically a federal economic, political, and monetary government, with a EU Treasury which has the authority to buy ailing sovereign debt and to exercise seigniorage. Mr. Trichet is tasked as the EU’s Treasurer and Chief Banker. It is significant to note the optimism and sense of mission in the Les Echos interview, as Finance Minister Lagarde stated that “This is a historic turning point is extremely clear. This is not just a device concocted for emergency requirements. We wanted to build a system for the long term. Basically, there is a realization that we’re all in this together and we suffer the same blows. There is a determination to build a new building, to reinvent the European model. We must find the rules that we preserve such crises in the future. When you put 500 billion euros on the table, it still believes that will be satisfaction. This also means that there will be fiscal adjustment for everyone. “ She went on to highlight the pivotal role of incoming EU chairman: “The work cannot be done in one day. The work will begin soon after May 21, with the appointment of the new chairman of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy.” Clearly we have a new building and reinvention of the European model — the European Monetary Union that Mr. Evans-Pritchard referred to is history, it is part of a bygone era: the age of European Economic Governmenance has arisen, it will be presided over by its Sovereign, Herman Van Rompuy, and its Seignior, Jean-Claude Trichet.

theyenguy

on May 20, 2010

at 06:28 AM

UK Inflation - Can King be believed?

A 17 month high to 3.7% on the CPI and 5.3% on the RPI (the highest for 19 years) should not be a surprise, detail here. Again Mervyn King must write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer pleading the temporary nature of the rise......... but can he be believed? Actions speak louder than words, however, and I for one find it hard to believe the percentage increase in Bank of England pension fund investment in index linked 'Granny' Bonds, (read here) rising from 70.7% in 2008 to 88.2% in 2009, cannot have been accomplished without at least the tacit approval of the BoE Governor, after all it is his own pension at risk. When King writes "If the recovery continues as expected, that will gradually erode the slack in the economy, bringing inflation back to target" the big "If" seems to indicate that this will not be the case! Watch a video from the USA on hyperinflation called "Meltup" linked here.

Eu Dear, eu dear .... EU DEAR!!!

Eurogroup meeting begins, link here: Brussels - The head of the 16-nation committee of euro area finance ministers lashed out Monday at German chancellor Angela Merkel for remarks she made over the need for stronger economic governance in Europe.Merkel said Sunday that a 750-billion-euro (924-billion-dollar) rescue package agreed by euro nations the previous weekend to keep countries from default had "done nothing more than buy time" to tackle differences in competitiveness and fiscal discipline within the group.Asked about the comments, Luxembourg's premier and Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker did not mention Merkel's name directly, but said "certain people would do better to think before they speak."Speaking to reporters before the start of the euro area finance ministers' monthly meeting in Brussels, Juncker said the same people "would do better to keep their mouths shut."Merkel's words, seemingly questioning the eurozone's stability despite the huge amounts of money committed to shore it up, were said to have contributed to the euro's continued weakness on the exchange markets.On Monday the European single currency hit a four-year low, ending the day's trading at 1.2298 against the dollar.

George Osborne at ECOFIN tomorrow

As the Euro plunges this morning on Far East markets, read here, Britain's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, is scheduled to attend his first ECOFIN meeting, (background notes here) which is likely to be critical for the economic future of the UK. I suggest the following three crucial stances must be adopted if the country is not to be sucked further down towards economic disaster. Firstly on the One Trillion US Dollar euro currency rescue package supposedly agreed on 9th May: Bruno Waterfield and Open Europe have effectively argued that use of Article 122 as legal justification is an outrage. Britain's refusal to join the EU over many years will provide ample proof in the minutes of past ECOFIN meetings to back-up the assertion that the reason for such abstention from the euro was the certainty of the currency's collapse in the absence of concurrent fiscal and monetary union. History proves no currency union can last without economic union, that raison d'être was the driving force behind the euro project, the federalists disingenuousness in arguing it as a circumstance outside their control is bare-faced cheek! This crisis was foreseeable, always predicted by this blogger and successive UK Governments and therefore quite clearly totally within the control of all involved. Article 122 may well apply to the economic consequences of the Icelandic volcano but little else in today's circumstances. Secondly on the task force on enhanced economic policy coordination in the euro area Given the need for a new IGC next month and the likely requirement for re-ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the 27 national parliaments, not just the European Parliament would appear to be illegally constituted but all Lisbon mechanisms similarly so. Can it therefore be legally correct or indeed even proper for the EU Council President Van Rompuy to lead this task force from 21st May? Even were Lisbon properly in force should the EU Council President be involved in a project involving a mere 16 of the EU membership? As his appointment and that of Baroness Ashton depend upon a Treaty now requiring re-legalisation, they should both perhaps be sent home, without pay, while matters are resolved.... are there none in the EU able to see this should be a wonderful opportunity to scrap the Lisbon Treaty once and for all? Can any detect any benefits the Treaty has brought? Thirdly speaking as a member of the IMF: Britain should make clear to its EU colleagues that the new Government considers that its IMF membership legally requires it to approve and contribute to loans to countries in economic difficulties in accordance with the founding principles. The EU and its Common Currency is not a country and therefore does not qualify for such loans or assistance. In the event a country such as Greece reverted to its national currency, the drachma, then such loans would become available presumably following an IMF advised devaluation. George Osborne can today and tomorrow, most help the EU countries by extracting his colleague's heads from the sands and opening their eyes to the real world, which still exists and may soon thrive beyond the EU bubble! He should set the tone ahead of Cameron's first Council Meeting by voting on every topic with one sole guiding principle - the best interests of Britain. Given the direction of the EU, this will in most instances require voting NO to almost everything that is now being envisaged! What a change from their predecessors stance, ever since the time of Margaret Thatcher's Government, that would make. What benefits to the whole European Continent that would also eventually bring!

ECOFIN 18th May - a follow-up farce

No doubt the 27 EU members will announce a trillion euro rescue package next Tuesday, backed by borrowing from Ireland and Greece!! A background paper is available from the EU Commission, linked here, from which comes the following extract for bemused EU taxpayers: Follow-up to the extraordinary Council meeting on 9 May The Council will hold an exchange of views on the follow-up to be given to its extraordinary meeting on 9 May. In accordance with the conclusions of that meeting, the Spanish and Portuguese delegations will present additional budgetary consolidation measures for 2010 and 2011. At the 9 May meeting, the Council and the member states decided on a comprehensive package of measures to preserve financial stability in Europe, including a European financial stabilisation mechanism, with a total volume of up to EUR 500 billion. In this context, the Council expressed a strong commitment to ensuring fiscal sustainability and enhanced economic growth in all member states, and agreed that plans for fiscal consolidation andstructural reforms would be accelerated, where warranted. Enhanced economic policy coordination Commissioner Olli Rehn will present a communication from the Commission on initiatives to be taken, under article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on enhanced economic policy coordination in the euro area. The Council may hold a brief exchange of views. The communication will be discussed by a task force established at the request of the European Council (25-26 March), whose first meeting is scheduled for 21 May. Composed of representatives of the member states, the Council presidency and the European Central Bank and chaired by the President of the European Council, the task force is due to report before the end of the year on the measures needed for an improved crisis resolution framework and better budgetary discipline in the EU.

Re-ratification of the Lisbon Treaty

There will be an EU Intergovernmental Conference next month which will be followed by the need for a re-ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the 27 National and now neutered Parliaments. This is necessary because of confusions regarding the numbers of the troughing MEPs. With the euro currency in crisis it seems unlikely that any national parliament would be willing to re-ratify the clearly useless Lisbon Treaty without a referendum, but this could provide particular difficulties for David Cameron, given the wording of his party's manifesto for the recent election and this contribution from one of his MPs, Douglas Carswell, on The Politics Show today: "I think this is an opportunity for us to table an amendment to try to trigger a referendum, I think we should have a referendum and I think given that we've given an undertaking as a party to hold a referendum if there was any further revision to the European treaties, we need to honour the promises that were made before the election and stick to that and hold that referendum."

Who was Schauble's 'Alternate' last Sunday?

The Banque de France explains the structures of Ecofin on a pdf file from which the following is a quote: ===== LEGAL BASIS In accordance with the provisions of Article 114(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on 1 January 1999 the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) replaced the Monetary Committee, whose primary tasks it took over. These consist in: o preparing the ECOFIN Council (Economic and Financial Affairs Council comprising the Economics and Finance Ministers of the European Union – EU); o drafting opinions for the ECOFIN Council and European Commission; o keeping under review the economic and financial situation of EU Member States. The Treaty’s provisions were expanded on by two Decisions adopted by the European Council in Vienna on 21 December 1998 concerning the EFC’s statute and composition. The Statutes were revised in June 2003 in the context of EU enlargement. COMPOSITION Each Member States appoints two representatives, one from the national administration (generally the Ministry of Finance) and the other from the national central bank (NCB). Two alternates are appointed on the same basis (one from the administration, the other from the NCB). In addition, the Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) each appoint two representatives and two alternates. ===== Reports as to what occurred last Sunday seem to vary as to when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was taken ill, either at the meeting of ECOFIN or en route during the flight. One report states that his deputy was not delegated to attend as he was not from the leading coalition party in Mrs Merkel's CDU and therefore Thomas de Maiziere, Germany's interior minister was to take his place, but was he the properly nominated alternate? We have been informed that the UK representative Alistair Darling, whose official status after having lost the British election could also be open to some question, did not support the EU emergency funding put in place by the eurogroup countries. Being the non-democratic EU, the workings and deliberations of the Committee are all shadowed in secrecy making it difficult to determine whether the correct proceedings were followed, or indeed whether a proper quorum existed after the illness of the German representative. Can the majority voting system have properly prevailed given the uncertain status of the German representative or his alternate and the No vote of the UK? Is Germany really to sign off on a bill some reports indicate may rise to 180 billion US Dollars? It should be an interesting week in the German Parliament!

Conflicting EU and IMF Press Briefings

Futurus

Suite 604 Linen Hall ^. 162 Regent Street ^. London W1B 5TG

Telephone/Fax: 020 7287 7277 Mobile: 07984 620187

email: anthony.scholefield@ntlworld.com

A TALE OF TWO PRESS BRIEFINGS

A] From the Council of the European Union, Economic & Financial Affairs, Press Release of 9/10 May:

‘In addition, euro area Member states stand ready to complement such reserves through a Special Purpose Vehicle that is guaranteed on a pro-rata basis by participating Member states in a co-ordinated manner and that will expire after three years, respecting their national constitutional requirements, up to a volume of E440 billion. The IMF will participate in financing arrangements and is expected to provide at least half as much as the EU contribution through its usual facilities in line with the recent programmes.’

B] Press Briefing by IMF First Deputy Managing Director, John Lipsky, 10/5/10 at the IMF, Washington:

QUESTION

‘But it doesn’t mean that you are setting aside 250 billion euros in case the Europeans would come to you?’

MR. LIPSKY

‘No.’

QUESTION

‘Can I just ask you, who came up with the 250? Was it the European [inaudible] or was it the IMF?’

MR. LIPSKY

‘Well, remember, we’ve never said 250, per se, like that. Right? This is …’

MR. LIPSKY (later)

‘We haven’t made any blanket commitment to provide X. It was simply – again – this is rather – I’m not trying to say it’s wrong. It’s a hypothetical or theoretical number that would say, if the mechanism was fully utilized and we can … and that we apportion funds or provide support in a proportion that we described, that it would imply a total. But this is not a matter of … we pledged x.’

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bottom Line. There is no IMF pledge of any amount (but, of course, it may come up with some financing as laid out by Mr. Lipsky).

Anthony Scholefield

13 May 2010

[Anthony Scholefield is the Director of Futurus, a think tank specializing in EU and immigration matters and is also a member of the Global Vision Academic Council. His latest booklet, published by the Social Affairs Unit in 2008, is 'Warning: Immigration Can Seriously Damage Your Wealth'.]

World Financial Meltdown

The Independent this morning opens a report on the euro crisis as follows:

Markets suffered another day of wild swings yesterday amid continued concerns over the Greek debt crisis and its effect on the euro.

The latest round of selling was sparked by reports that the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, had threatened to pull France out of the euro if Germany failed to get onside with a bailout of the heavily indebted Greek economy. The uncertainty was exacerbated when Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, suggested in an interview that Greece might not ever pay back its debts The newspaper goes on to warn that the UK could be shortly in line for a speculative attack given the debt and deficit problems. Fifty days for a revised budget seems a delay factor that the markets may not be prepared to provide! A San Francisco source , linked here, reports that "Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said in a London speech Thursday that he's concerned the euro area may break up. Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann said Greece may not be able to repay its debt in full, according to an interview with Germany's ZDF television. The euro on Friday weakened to less than $1.24 for the first time since November 2008."

Treasures from the threads - Number forty-two

At the head of the Comments section to an insightful column from Simon Heffer on the Constitution in the Daily Telegraph this morning comes the following: =====

Simon Heffer is quite right. There was nothing in the Conservative Manifesto about fixed term Parliaments. Leave our Monarchy alone for our loyal and true allegiance is to it, and to none other. The UK does not have fixed term Parliaments. Dissolution of Parliaments is a prerogative act and may occur at any time-remember that. We, here in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland live under a Monarchy and not in a State of European Union. A temporary Government may have ratified an EU Treaty that allows it to state that the EU has "competence" over national Constitutions and laws but the people did not agree to any such Treaty for they were not asked, and there are parts of our Constitution that cannot be touched by temporary Governments because they are Treaties between the peoples of this Country and the Monarchy. To agree to such a treaty that allows “competence” over national Constitutions is, as far as this Country is concerned and the solemn Oaths each Member of Parliament make-though elected by the people-before you may take up your seats in the House of Commons is, I would suggest, suspect to say the least. Our Common Law Constitution has lasted for hundreds of years, the last war 1939-1945 was fought very hard to make sure our way of life, our Monarchy and our Constitution and laws were saved, rather than have alien laws foisted upon us. We are no longer going to have our own Constitution messed about in order to ‘fit in’ with the European Union. The people have had enough of foreign laws in this Country. What is the point in having a Government that has to obey all the same EU orders that we have to do? We will work with others but we will no longer be governed by them or alter our Constitution and lose the British Crown or its authority to do so. Our Queen is not an EU Citizen as one Conservative Prime Minister stood up in Parliament and gleefully announced. Had he have dared to say such in the reign of Elizabeth 1st, he might have lost an important part of his body. Just be thankful we have such a graceful Queen, the Flag of the United Kingdom and the Anthem we robustly sing at football matches, “God save our Gracious Queen”. Long may she Reign.

Anne

on May 15, 2010

at 07:16 AM

=====

Cameron - Traitor to England

The Guardian this evening reports Cameron, in his strange dash of today to Scotland, has conceded to the Scottish Nationalists more English subsidies AND the right to raise income tax, linked here. In England, of course, no reform of the unbalanced Barnett Formula is yet proposed. I warned on my blog Teetering Tories, this morning of the dangers ahead and repeat that posting herewith:

Friday, May 14, 2010

Obituary for the Tories and the moment England faced annihilation! Jeff Randall in this morning's Daily Telegraph writes a brilliant summary of the thoroughly evil disaster that was the New Labour Project, linked here. Of greater interest to readers of this blog is the fate of the Tories. Am I the only Englishman this morning amazed at the new Prime Minister's sudden dash to the small subsidiary country to our north to visit Alex Salmond, the loud mouth Scot who less than one week ago was slavering on our television screens as to how much (he refused to offer any actual demand) he would be able to extract via Brown from the English taxpayers as the price for keeping that despot in power? This blog has much in its archives on the doubts as to where David Cameron's true loyalties lie, given his boastfulness about the strength of the Scottish blood flowing through his veins and ambivalent attitude to the unequal funding arrangements in force across the UK. I blogged elsewhere on the providential nature of the final voting figures and seat distribution in last week's election, but look closely at the numbers and one can quickly see how close England came to facing economic strangulation by the combined forces of the Brown henchmen and the Celtic fringe nationalists. If there is to be electoral reform the English must now ensure that an outcome that almost took place this week can never again remain a possibility under our constitutional arrangements. As Cameron in his new role as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has seen fit to prostrate himself before the First Minister of the junior and subsidiary so-called Scottish Parliament it appears that the English must rely on the polyglot Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to protect their interests, yet given his admiration for all that the misguided and corrupted EU represents, how can we possibly do so? One thing is certain at this dawn of the new Coalition Politics, not just New Labour but also the old Tory Party and its values have today been cast aside. The progress of the coalition, which presently has my full support in view of the numerical imperatives (for which Cameron is to blame), may be followed on my new blog, linked here and added to the side-bar links. My beliefs in what I can best describe as the old Conservative values nevertheless remain intact, albeit nowhere represented in Britain's Parliamentary party politics

Posted by Martin at 8:59 AM

Euro crisis

Three interesting articles this evening, two of interest and one complete garbage from The Economist. Spiegel Online, here, and the Sydney Morning Herald, from here; OK if you must The Economist here..... laugh along with this quote: The one thing that seems clear is that all this will lead to greater interference in countries’ politics (see article). But what sort exactly? The French have long fought for a communal gouvernement économique with wide powers over taxation and monetary policy—one which would trouble many of its partners (and The Economist).

EU Commission makes itself target for austerity protests

A good report from Canada linked here, provides the striking image at the top of this post. Do these EU idiots have any idea of the dangerous forces they are now unleashing? In the Telegraph this morning one article is headlined "EU imposes wage cuts on Spanish 'Protectorate,..." linked here, while Reuters openly muses on the obvious likely response of the Spanish Unions. Meantime and concurrently, as I report on my blog The Strasbourg Cesspit, MEPs plan to vote on yet another increase in their obscene expenses. While the trampled former electorates of those in the Eurozone will have the luxury of the EU on which to vent their spleen over their impoverishment in the cause of continuing supplies of bonuses to the banks and their employees and allowances to the MEP troughers, those in Britain will have only the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition to blame for the pain of redressing the incompetence of the Brown and Blair years! Simple measures available to UK Governments such as VAT rises and public pay cuts should be enacted as soon as possible to ensure thet the later inevitable blame is correctly targeted, an IMF audit of the national accounts should also be a sensible first step!

Spain cuts civil service wages 5% in 2010

The austerity package just announced is linked here and good background information is available on this link.

Are EU Commissioners national traitors?

In considering the question posed in this posting's headline "Are EU Commissioners national traitors?" the article, titled "Europe, Nationalism and Shared Fate" which is linked here, provides ample food for thought when considering the oath that each EU Commissioner swears on taking office which is reproduced below:

The College of Commissioners has today sworn a solemn declaration at
the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pledging to respect the
EU Treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their
duties during their mandate. For the first time, the Commissioners
also explicitly pledged to respect the new Charter of Fundamental
Rights.

Commission President, José Manuel Barroso said, "The oath of
independence and respect for the EU Treaties is more than a symbolic
act. The European Commission is a unique institution and the
Commissioners have today made clear that they will uphold all the
principles and values enshrined in the Treaties and the Charter of
Fundamental rights".

Background

According to Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (a provision included already in previous Treaties),
all members of the European Commission are required to give "a solemn
undertaking" when entering upon their duties to respect their
obligations under the EU Treaties. Traditionally, this solemn
undertaking is made before the European Court of Justice in Luxemburg
in the first months after the start of the mandate of a new European
Commission. As the current Commission, which took office on 10
February 2010, is the first Commission that works under the new Treaty
of Lisbon, the wording of the solemn undertaking was adapted to the
new legal situation and includes also a reference to the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights.

A copy of the solemn declaration can be found in annex.

ANNEX

SOLEMN DECLARATION

Before the

COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

pursuant to Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union and Article 245
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

___________________________________________________________________

 *

   Having been appointed as a Member of the European Commission by
the European Council, following the vote of consent by the European
Parliament

I solemnly undertake:

 *

   to respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union in the fulfilment of all my duties;
 *

   to be completely independent in carrying out my
responsibilities, in the general interest of the Union;
 *

   in the performance of my tasks, neither to seek nor to take
instructions from any Government or from any other institution, body,
office or entity;
 *

     to refrain from any action incompatible with my duties or the
performance of my tasks.
 
I formally note the undertaking of each Member State to respect this
principle and not to seek to influence Members of the Commission in
the performance of their tasks.

I further undertake to respect, both during and after my term of
office, the obligation arising therefrom, and in particular the duty
to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance,
after I have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or
benefits.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/487

The emphasis and enlarging of two portions of this oath have been added by this blog's editor to highlight the areas which appear to be incompatible with individual responsibilty normally expected to be followed by nationals of most nations! A quote from the linked Stratfor report highlights the impossible position swearing such an oath places upon any national of a European nation state: "The nation is the place of tradition, language and culture — all of the things that, for better or worse, define who you are. The nation is the place where an economic crisis is inescapably part of your life". This afternoon in Germany the Bundestag will vote on assigning up to 188 billion dollars to neighbouring nations in a manner prohibited by the existing European Treaties supposedly governing the affairs of the EU. No wonder the German Finance Minister took ill before attending the meeting where this was agreed last Sunday! Can Germany trust its EU Commissioner, can any of us trust our own supposed nationals? In the House of Lords sit peers giving away our democratic rights while in receipt of obscen EU pensions funded by taxpayers, that is how the EU reached this point of crisis.

Weak euro may give the UK an extra day.

The Euro whose weakening currency in overnight Far East financial markets might give Nick Clegg a little extra time to perform his weird mating performance of Labour in the face of the electorate's absolute numeric imperatives which require a Concordat with Cameron's faux conservatives. Reality arrives slowly in these present times. The euphoric greeting of Sunday's one trillion euro prop-up package by the markets yesterday morning show that ignorance and fickleness is nowadays not confined to the world's political leaders. There seems little point on blogging on political matters and the larger items that move the world's markets and thereby affect the lifestyles and prosperity of us all if logic is never allowed to prevail. I have lately been unsurprised at the stupidity of the players who move the events on which this blog attempts to critique. The amazing moves by Brown and Clegg last evening were an exception, the volte face by Jean-Claude Trichet at the ECB on now accepting worthless paper as collateral is another. If the Conservative/LiberalDemocrat Concordat now fails to materialize then I will abandon my interest in these matters and instead study the lifestyles of all the various creatures which this spring happily inhabit my garden pond, at least they follow the diktats of nature!

German Finance Minister Schauble did not attend yesterday's ECOFIN meeting!

The fact that Germany was not properly represented at last nights crucial meeting seems to be ignored in the English press, although there are many reports in Italian. One link stating the following is here: epa02150528 Illustration picture shows the entrance to the Emergency Room, at the 'Clinique Parc Leopold - Ziekenhuis Leopold Park', where German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble is supposedly hospitalised, 09 May 2010. Schauble was to attend the Extraordinary Ecofin Council meeting in Brussels today, but he was taken to hospital, and is replaced by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere at the Ecofin meeting. EPA/NICOLAS Is this fact extraordinarily significant? In view of the outcome of the meeting, I believe that it is!!!!

Bankrupting Europe

The almost "One Trillion US Dollar" support package (using funds which do not exist) for the euro currency is best described by the New York Times is linked here. Unhappily we now can no longer rely on reports put out by our own media. Similarly, expressing the package in either euro or sterling currency terms would be equally pointless and meaningless! In spite of the failure to block the smaller aid package to Greece in the German Constitutional Court, read here, the result of this weekend's election in Germany proves that eventually the people of the EU will have to be heard. We do not want centralized non-democratic multinational government nor will we allow our remaining assets to be squandered in such a cause

"EU Political Earthquake" - France 24 TV English Service

Angela Merkel is set to lose control by her coalition of Germany's Upper Parliament! With the German Finance Minister hospitalized in Brussels, instead of attending the ECOFIN meeting, events continue to surprise!!!!!!!

Italian TV News reports Darling will not sign off on Euro rescue package

The link in Italian is here. The report also states that no unanimity is required on this decision leaving the City of London at risk of destruction by an outgoing administration. Would the EU really undertake such a move against the interests of its largest financial centre if an incoming administration were being represented in Brussels this afternoon and this evening?

Former Marxist Darling given last chance to fully wreck Britain's economy!

The following is contained in an Agreement reached by the EU eurozone Heads of State in an INFORMAL meeting of the Eurogroup (ie Euro currency zone members only) - Third, taking into account the exceptional circumstances, the Commission will propose a European stabilization mechanism to preserve financial stability in Europe. It will be submitted for decision to an extraordinary ECOFIN meeting that the Spanish presidency will convene this Sunday May 9th. (Read a comment here.) Alistair Darling belongs to a defeated party and should have no authority to attend an ECOFIN meeting charged with reaching a pan-EU agreement as commanded by members of the euro currency group. David Cameron and Nick Clegg should clarify Darling's status immediately and if possible prevent his departure from the country!

65 is pension time for post-war consensus!

I have started a new blog to follow the changing face of British politics following last Thursday's rejection by the British people of its political class. A link has been added to the sidebar of this blog. Read the first posting from here. Look at the first image in the article in the Mail link from here. On the right stands Gordon Brown, a figure today epitomising all that has gone wrong in Britain's politics. To his left stand two men upon whom the hopes for our nation must now rest - David Cameron and Nick Clegg, theirs is a heavy burden with grave consequences for us all. Whatever this blogger has posted in the past, his support and hopes go out to them both. Frightening events today unfolding in Europe on this 65th anniversary weekend of a far distant hopeful moment for Europe will continue to be monitored and commented upon from this blog.

A providential force behind Britain's voters?

Millions of Britons voted on Thursday (other than those disgracefully prevented from so-doing by a final act of negligence and incompetence by the Brown Government) and by what appears as something close to providence (given the wide variety of choices available and the disparate make-up and size of the 650 constituencies) delivered a result that locks the elected parties into a strait-jacket where only one outcome is possible AND even more miraculously the strange magic of the final numbers requires that the nation's salvation can only be delivered by a combination of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats coming together. The figures were Conservatives 305 - Labour 258 - Liberal Democrats 57 - Others - 29. Given that the total required to govern from Parliament is 326 half the total it is clear only the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats can come together given the make-up of interests in the wide variety of special interests forming the block of Others. No such commonsense or slightest nod to the national interest could prevent the thoroughly obnoxious serial liar, Gordon Brown, whose contact with reality seems ever more infrequent and brief, from reportedly contacting the defeated Ulsterman who remained first minister of the Northern Ireland assembly and offering a large bribe in the form of further continuing funding for the Province at present rates for the coming years. This offer reported on TV by DUP Leader Mr Robinson was made for the vote of the 8 elected Westminster MPs. Welsh Nationalists were reported by the BBC as requiring an additional 300 million pounds a year of funding for their support while the canny SNP leader refused to divulge his demands that would all have to be paid by the English electorate, which by an overwhelming margin had voted by a massive majority to rid themselves of the filth that is the New Labour Government. Further evidence of the total loss of reality that exists within the group that formed Brown's Cabinet came this morning on Radio 4, when Ben Bradshaw re-elected MP for Exeter made the case for Brown's continuing in power. Not content with such nonsense he then went on to claim that his re-election for Exeter represented a triumph for New Labour ideals as now presented by Brown, claiming that under John Major his constituency had been Tory. Being a Devonian I follow politics in that County more closely than elsewhere and am therefore fully aware that the facts indicate otherwise. To win the seat, the gerrymandering New Labour villains ripped the very conservative voters of Topsham ourt of the Exeter Constituency and placed them in the already ultra safe area of East Devon. Why can BBC interviewers not keep themselves appraised of such disgusting antics? No wonder the electorate feel disenfranchised! Thank heavens that they seemed to obtain aid from almost providential forces to contrive this brilliant result.

EU in Crisis

The British media is in full navel gazing mode this morning with polls open for a disenfranchised electorate forced to choose between three no-hoper main party candidates none of whom have had the courage to lay the details of the dreadful national problems before the electorate. We must, therefore, cross the Irish Sea for a report on the larger crisis now fermenting over the English Channel, read RTE from here. Angela Merkel pleaded in the German Parliament yesterday for rapid agreement to the Greek subsidy and stressed Germany's new role as the prerequisite for any future action anywhere and everywhere within the EU. Only the German Constitutional Court now looks likely to halt a mad economic slide similar to the situation in the early 1930s destined to end in an outcome akin to that in the late 1930s. That Britain will have a leadership following today's election, totally unequipped to either understand or cope with the coming problems is the one racing certainty from today's polling.

Two press items shining light on the Euro Crisis

From Forbes Blog, here. From Irish Independent, here.

Stability requires that the Law be followed!

Spirit of Stead, comments to reports of yesterday's meltdown in the markets in The Independent, linked here, as follows: The clear provisions of the Maastricht Treaty are being breached in the proposed Eurogroup rescue of Greece. No layman can possibly tell if these provisions were directly transposed into the Lisbon Treaty as that was deliberately written in gobbledegook to allow it to be enacted over the clear opposition of the people of Europe. The EU elite are are blind to their own daily journey beyond the realms of legality. How now can they expect markets to react, other than with fear for their own survival. In stepping outside the terms of the Treaties the EU Institutions make their own words and actions ever more unbelievable. The IMF must be left to handle Greece on its own within the exact legal limits of its own authority. This will require, I imagine, a return to the Drachma and an immediate large devaluation against the dollar. Who knows where its value may lie against the other newly re-appearing old European currencies as they too emerge from the long nightmare that has been the common Euro currency, formed merely as a tool on the march towards a Popperian pan-European tyranny.

French Parliament trashes taxpayer funds!

A poll in Le Figaro illustrates how far from public opinion the French Parliament has today travelled, with 76 per cent believing the money will never be repaid, link here.

Pensez-vous que la Grèce va rembourser les prêts accordés par l’Europe ?

03/05/2010 | Mise à jour : 17:25 Réactions (180) | Votants 24810

oui

.

23.12%

.

non

.

76.88%

.

German paper suggests MPs guarantee Greece with their expenses!

Taken from a Reuters report, linked here.

BILD (Centre-right, mass-circulation)

In a letter for its readers to cut out, sign and send to their member of parliament, Bild writes:

"Dear member of parliament,

"This week you are voting in the Bundestag on the German contribution to the billions-loan for Greece. The country lived beyond its means for years. The Greek government deceived the responsible EU institutions with lots of trickery.

"The government says no taxpayers' money will flow to Greece and Germany is just guaranteeing loans, which will be paid back promptly. For the German taxpayer, there is therefore no appreciable risk of losing out.

"If that is the case: Are you ready to personally guarantee this guarantee to the Greeks? To the tune of your annual expense allowance?

Yours sincerely ..."

Meantime the French Parliament, increasingly out of tune with its voters, has reportedly approved the sacrifice of their taxpayers' hard earned funds to be also poured down the Grecian drain!

Franco-German tensions over the Euro Currency

Last evening on the English language channel France 24, in their evening debate, an open dispute between a guest speaking from Germany and French guests in Paris reached such a level as to which country was most isolated in the present eurozone crisis, that the broadcast had to be terminated when the German expert claimed the support of Austria, Finland and the Netherlands in preparing to refuse further aid to failing countries amid interruptions on French concerns over the impact on markets of their debate. I have tried to find a link to the debate but unsurprisingly have not yet succeeded. A report from Ireland, indicates that cash-strapped nation is preparing to borrow to meet their 1.3 billion euros for their share of the money to be poured down the Grecian drain, read here. Prior to the French broadcast being terminated the German contributor had spelt out that such subsidies were unconstitutional according to a court ruling at the time of the Maastricht Treaty and a challenge in the courts was nevitable in Germany considering that country's 22 billion euro share actually exceeding the usual EU contributions for Germany! While the UK election is getting truly exciting in its closing stages, the events in the EU could become even more crucial and critical. The Times at least has a delayed report on the nonsense of the ECB now accepting Greek Junk bonds, about which I advised reader's of this blog some time ago, read their report from here.

Today's Eurogroup Finance Ministers Meeting

The crisis in the eurocurrency is a symptom of the collapse of the EU itself and should therefore be properly decided as a political matter by the Council of Europe, are any of the candidates in the UK election really adequate for this task? Eventually, as this blog has always argued Britain may only escape the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty by demonstrating that it was treasonably and therefore illegally ratified - a tough case to prove given Parliament's assent and the Queen's signature. (Although perhaps Magna Carta and the 1688/89 Bill of Rights offer such a chance) A meeting in Brussels this afternoon will discuss the euro currency crisis and I was at first concerned that with the UK in its election run-up it might be ill-served as matters develop, it already having been reported that the ECB has decided to accept Greek Bonds (now officially rated as of junk status) as collateral, such a decision could eventually have implications for the UK as majority voting is possible within the ESCB! The Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty, linked here, makes clear this is an informal body, albeit under the Presidency of a dedicated federalist President from Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, read here. Following yesterday's demonstrations in Athens and Lisbon, the dangers Europe now faces, all resulting from the blindness to realities and pigheadedness of those involved in the EU project make this a dangerous time for the UK to be effectively leaderless. We must trust that our professional civil servants and the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, are fully aware and fully briefed on the dangers lurking within the structures of the new EU Institution the ECB and the ESCB. If not some Sunday researches seem advisable!

Bond scalping begins. Is the EU nightmare soon to end?

Germany’s top banker Josef Ackermann has been asked to orchestrate a private sector contribution to the Greek bailout. So opens an article in this morning's The Times newspaper, read more here, appropriately enough perhaps on this May Day morning, reporting the beginning of the end of the corporatist/statist experiment that brought us the the disastrous "global civil society" experiment that is today's corrupt and non-democratic European Union. (My posting of 28th November 2003 on Ironies, covering the collapse of the Stability Pact, titled The EU's Problems from Greece to the Golden Gate, here, makes interesting reading, especially the link to khatimarini. "You have destroyed the country" effectively accused Jeremy Paxman to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on BBC One prime time TV last evening, although it will no doubt be many years before that fact sinks into to the clearly deadened brain of this despicable man and his slimy co-conspirator, Tony Blair. (Read Blair's Presidential Ambitions from Ironies Archives 15th December 2003. (UK readers may view the TV broadcast from this link). Even the Guardian newspaper has now abandoned the Labour Party, recommending its readers to vote LibDem in its editorial this morning. The Telegraph Group with the Murdoch stable will of course back Cameron's Corporatist Conservatives (New Labour by another name) yet the leading financial journalist of the Barclay Brothers organs and the Daily Telegraph's Business Editor, this morning suggest, backed by columnist Simon Heffer, presumably bearing in mind the obvious ineptitude, experience and charisma short Shadow Chancellor Osborne, that should their paper's certain editorial advice be followed and succeed the first act of Vapid Cameron as PM should be to call in the IMF. My posting of 5th February 2004is republished in full below as it is missing from the blog archives of Ironies Enemies of Democracy in the EU and Beyond It is now a year since I wrote ‘The Risk of Pan-European Totalitarianism’ for posting on the ‘Europa Discussion Forum’ run by the European Union. Publication was refused, but I subsequently managed to get the item posted on the blog of Samizdata.net, which is linked here, and on the Discussion Forums run by the ‘Financial Times.’ I consequently started my own blogspot, Ironies, where this warning on the dangers of the EU Constitution which ignored the democratic ideals of Karl Popper, was one of the earliest posts. It now seems time to revisit the topic, as substantial evidence has accumulated within the past twelve months, that far from being a co-incidental or inadvertent event, the destruction of European democracy now underway could be the real objective of those driving the EU project forward. Why and for what motivations can such a scheme have been undertaken? Democracy can be variously defined and interpreted, a fact of which its enemies make much use. I refer throughout this piece to “Democracy” in a Popperian sense as described here:- Popper asserts “ …a theory of democratic control can be developed that is free from the paradox of sovereignty. The theory I have in mind is one which does not proceed, as it were, from a doctrine of the intrinsic good or righteousness of a majority rule, but rather from the baseness of tyranny: or more precisely it rests upon the decision, or adoption of the proposal, to avoid and resist tyranny”. Continuing with this theme, Popper argues that there are two forms of government: those that can be got rid of without bloodshed (such as in general elections) and those that require a successful revolution to replace, or not at all. He labels the first sort ‘democracies’ and the second ‘tyrannies’. Clearly, the concluding document of the Convention, chaired by the disgraced ex-French President Vallery Giscard d’Estaing, would have imposed (and still very well may) a Popperian tyranny on the twenty-five once democratic, once nation states, who will soon make-up the enlarged European Union. The EU project has been largely driven forward by deception and lies, most notably in Britain have the true objectives been concealed, but in no country has the true scale of the project been openly disclosed to the citizens. Fifty years on, with the constitution framed and the convention which prepared it openly having refused to give either consideration or even discussion to the question of democratic structures, the truth is revealed. Some open attempts are being made to justify the nature of the project. The proponents of Trans-national Progressivism at least struggle to openly elaborate their aims, as we have discussed previously as can be re-read from this link to our post of 7th November 'Multilateralism, Transnational Progressivism, the Aqui Communitaire and Howard's Tories': here. On Christmas Eve we posted regarding the secretive nature of some of the organisations that seem strongly in favour of the kind of outcomes now envisioned, which can also be read from this link "The Eradication of the Nation State in the Cause of Peace" I have just finished reading one of the most open attempts at justifying what is now taking place, being a book titled, ‘Global Civil Society’ written by John Keane, Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster, and founder of the Centre for the Study of Democracy! Published by the Cambridge University Press, Cambrideg in 2003 ISBN 0-521-89462- X. Extraordinary reading it makes too! Much concerned with the effects of globalisation, Professor Keane advances some ideas on what he calls ’Cosmocracy’ in which he envisages the citizens of the world being ruled by something he defines as ’meso-governments’, which would ‘include territorially defined states and actual or proto-regional institutions, like the European Union, CARICOM and the ASEAN pact.’ (page 101). There seems no place for Popperian concepts of ‘democracy’ in the ‘Platonic’ future foreseen by Professor Keane. On page 126 he addresses this future with this startling certainty: ‘Whatever comes to pass, it is safe to say that the global polity of the future will defy the simplifications and confusions of prevailing theories of globalisation that think in old fashioned terms of (potentially) ‘sovereign’ territorial states, or of 'muti-level governance’ or ‘cosmopolitan democracy’. We will instead be left to the non-accountable elites emerging from the centres of indoctrination that even Professor Keane recognises institutes of higher education are now being allowed to become. These in turn staffing the mushrooming non-governmental or meso-governmental organisations that the Professor owns are mostly notable for their inefficiencies. The examples of a Global Civil Society at work that he cites would by most impartial observers be hardly considered as striking successes. On page 121 the enemy of Professors Keane’s utopian dream is clearly identified as multilateralists’ well-known bogeyman, the USA: ‘If…the American empire consistently behaves as if it is morally entitled to run the whole world, and to act on its behalf, then almost certainly that roguery would have the effect of stirring up geopolitical troubles. That roguery would in turn work against global civil society, perhaps even wrecking the chances of its survival’. If the enemy is unsurprisingly so defined as America, mainly by virtue of its undeniable power, while no evidence of what the author describes as roguery is, of course provided, a broad description of who the members of this ‘Global Civil Society’ is detailed. They are we are told ordinary people like you and me, going about their daily business such as dropping off the kids at school! But on page 205 the reality is revealed Global Civil Society is a militant ethic. It is unrelenting in its quest to secure freedom and equality and solidarity through non-governmental links that spread to all four corners of the planet. Peacefully? Earlier in that same paragraph we are informed 'Global Civil Society has no 'natural' tendency towards harmony....In the face of a challenge, it is not squeamish' On page 144 however, the enemies of all that is good in this supposed utopian dream world are stereotyped as free/market ideologues, racists and nationalists peddling a Kafkaesque idea ‘that it is safer to be in chains’ . The underlying anti-freemarket if not Marxist philosophy of the book’s author is clearly revealed in this passage quoted from page (139): ‘Global Civil Society enables individuals, groups and organisastions to organise and deploy their powers across borders, despite remaining barriers of time and distance. This society provides non-governmental structures and rules which enable individuals and groups to move and to decide things, to follow their inclinations, to bring governmental power holders to heel, to engage in many kinds of mutually beneficial exchanges, even to work for the socialisation of market economies so that production for social need, rather than for profit prevails’ . (my emphasis). Note here the lack of any consideration of democratic consultation and the complete absence of the concept of accountability. The totalitarian Marxist ideal WILL, it seems prevail!