Vox Polis

It’s one year since the French rejected the EU Constitution in a referendum. And what have our leaders learned?

Meeting last weekend EU foreign ministers decided that their biggest mistake was to call it a Constitution. Not a big surprise there really. But they failed to come up with any real ideas to solve the crisis, except to come back to it next year. As we reported here the Commission is keen to bring back the Constitution, but many leaders seem to want to kick it into the long grass for the time being.

Now i think more than a rebrand is needed to resell the Constitution. Sure calling it a Constitution was clearly a bad move. The 265 page document is not really a Constitution anyway. Usually a Constitution starts with “we the people”…this long document started “the king of Belgium, President of Germany” etc…it is and always will be a intergovernmental treaty.

But to believe that renaming it will fool the voters in France and the Netherlands, is truly unbelievable. No the EU has to start from scratch and rebuild it’s allegiances to recreate confidence in the EU project.

Well who do you think?? Tony, of course.

According to the German press Tony Blair is the best paid leader in Europe. And worth every penny. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, comes second.

As long as Bulgaria can get a hold of its crime problems it looks like both Bulgaria and Romania will be joining the EU club next year. I believe this is good news for the EU, but that’s because I don’t believe that there should be any limits to the EU. Why not include Turkey, Serbia, hell, even Russia if she wants to join.

It seems that once again the issue of migration is a big concern. When the EU expanded to include 10 new members in 2004, only Sweden, Ireland and the UK allowed the free movement of workers. This has greatly benefited our country and the economy. By being one of only a few countries we were able to attract some of the best workers.

But there is a fear that the UK won’t be as accommodating when Romania and Bulgaria join. MigrantWatch says 300,000 people will come flocking to the UK, IPPR says 56,000. Who’s right?

Well I think that IPPR’s analysis is correct although their figures probably a little low.
The IPPR have pointed out that the UK isn’t high on the list of new places to leave for Bulgarians and Romanians. Most want to live in the mediterranean. Also other member states are more likely to open their borders this time. However I do believe more that 56,000 will turn up. But those that do will be of great benefit to this country. Don’t give in to the short sightedness promoted by the Daily Mail and others. Let us all benefit fully from an expanded EU.

Well it seems that the dreaded EU Constitution beast is to raise its head and roar once again. If you’ve been following the debate recently then you may have noticed that Jose Barroso, in his “communication to the EU Summit,” aka the “Citizens’ Agenda” has basically outlined a time table for the return of the EU Constitution. The plan is to concentrate on action to begin with - convince everyone that the EU is working by achieving a few projects together..such as more co-operation on home and justice issues (also known as getting rid of member states’ vetoes) and issuing a benefit card to all citizens so they know what the benefit of the EU is (what the hell is the cost of that one going to be?).

Then, next year, during the German Presidency of the EU, after the French and the Dutch have a new government thats more popular and more able to get a referendum passed, and over half the states have ratified the EU constitution, it’ll be brought back with the usual fanfare (this time a symbollic declaration to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Messina declaration) with only minor changes for the remaining states to pass any way they can.
If you don’t believe me, then read the speech that Angelica Schwall-Düren, the Deputy head of the SPD in the Bundestag, gave at the IPPR yesterday. She outlined what changes the Germans are going to make during their Presidency to help bring it back.

Personally I think that the UK got a good deal with the EU Constitution, and the framework it outlines would work a hell of a lot better than what we’ve got now. But it seems i’m not on the side of the majority.
Speaking on the other side of the debate at the IPPR was Denis MacShane, the ex-Europe Minister, who decided to declare that what all the leaders of Europe are really thinking, and saying in private, is that the Constitution is dead, but they won’t admit it publically. I think that’s proabably quite true. What I really think is happening, is the buraeaucracy (i.e. EU Commission) are the one’s that are really pushing for it. The EU Leaders are just trying to show they’re not completely incompetent by suggesting some minor alterations (cherrypicking, ‘grand projets’ etc etc).

If you follow the above link to Denis’ speech you come out at David Rennie’s blog (who’s pretty good at following what’s going on in the EU, even if his paper - the Daily Telegraph- doesn’t always appreciate it). He argues that Denis’ speech is the best idea we’re going to get of what Blair and the government are thinking. Although there’s some truth to this (the government would definately like the issue to disappear, especially if they have to have a referendum) I think Blair will sign up to anything that the other EU states agree. But also don’t foget that Denis was at odds with Blair over the referendum (read his speech for the highlights) he could be expressing a different opinion now.

I’m glad to see that Sweden are going to discuss the issue of intellectual property rights during their election this year. In January the Pirate Party was formed to push the agenda. They’re policies at first included abolishing all patents and decriminalising internet file sharing. This is based on the argument that if you can’t enforce it, then don’t legislate - and as we all know it is very difficult to enforce copyright on the Internet.

However as the General Election has been approaching they’ve moved towards a softer line -with the policy to reduce the lifetime of patents from 25 to 5 years. Sounds sensible to me. Looks like the kind of grouping we could do with in the UK - especially as people like Sir Cliff Richard are pushing for longer royalty payments (as we reported last month).

This is what I like about the European democratic system - if you’re annoyed by something, or don’t just think your politicians are listening to you, you don’t just write a letter to your MP or moan about it in the pub. No, you form your own political party. And the chances are you’ll win a few seats (see Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands). Ok, so it doesn’t make for good government (look at the mess Prodi’s in) but you can make a point. Similar attempts in the UK (Referendum party, Veritas) always seem disappointing to me.

Berlusconi has at last conceded defeat, ending weeks of uncertainty. But what can we expect from Prodi’s government assuming the fragile coalition remains intact?

looking at the problems he’s facing at home and the wafer thin political majority he has, I think Prodi will follow in Merkel’s footsteps and concentrate on foreign affairs. First off as an opponent to the war in Iraq we can expect the remaining troops to be recalled within the year. As a former EU President we can expect the future of the European project to be high on his agenda, especially the return of the EU Constitution.

At home one of the first things Prodi will need to do is tackle the fragile economy - but i’m not convinced he’ll be able to achieve much. Not only will he need to negotiate with the Communists, but few will have the stomach for the reforms that would be needed to revigorate the economy.

Berlusconi simply won’t admit he’s lost. He’s the person who at a children’s party always has to win the games. In musical chairs, he’s the one who’s chair never gets taken. Well this time Berlusconi it has been taken and by the quickest kid - Prodi. Granted Prodi may not last long- the IHT reported today that fractions are already appearing, as Clemente Mastella opted out from joing Prodi in government- but he won fair and square!

Berlusconi has even declared that he’s going to turn up to work as normal on Friday. This is like turning up to someone elses birthday and telling everyone it’s actually your birthday and taking all the presents. For the sake of Italy accept the result, Berlusconi!!

The chaotic climbdown by Chirac’s government last week (which saw the youth law passed and repealed within a week), the youth riots and the elusive elections in Italy are all illustrations how real economic reform is needed in Europe. How can the “European Social Model” be working when unemployment is running as high as 10%?

In modern society the legitimacy of government is often dependent on the maintenance of economic growth and job creation (the cliché- “it’s the economy stupid” comes to mind). Of course government should and does encompass more than that, but that is its primary function whether we like it or not. In this circumstance how can we say that we should maintain a social model that results in 22% of young people unemployed in some parts of France?

…well he still could. It seems that Berlusconi wasn’t satisfied with the results that saw Prodi win the lower house by 0.1% of the vote (a margin of 25,000 votes) and only just gained the Senate. Silvio is know pushing for a recount.

The grouping that wins automatically gets 55% of the seats - a new reform that is supposed to create more stability in Italian politics….i find it quite amuzing that they got rid of the first past the post system for this election and reintroduced PR. PR’s not known for its creation of stability.
This fiasco is like Florida in 2000 all over again…but without the hanging chads.

It seems that the final televised fist fight between Prodi and Berlusconi was once again worth missing Eastenders for…it was full of excitement as genial Berlusconi decided to announce a new policy in his closing remarks (which i’m sure he will keep if elected) to get rid of council tax, meaning old cool and aloof Prodi couldn’t reply. What a great move.

Prodi also said that Berlusconi was “a drunkard clinging to a lamp-post, not for illumination, but to keep him standing up.”

Happy with his performance Berlusconi decided to bounce back and call all those Italian’s who plan to vote for Prodi “Dickheads” (the Italian word is “coglioni” which means testicles). Maybe the Italian’s like being insulted!