Pétition sur Internet contre Tony Blair

Tony Blair président de l'UE? Le débat a à peine commencé qu'une pétition pour tuer dans l'oeuf cette possibilité est déjà sur Internet, sur le site www.stopblair.eu.

Alors que le futur président de l'UE ne doit être choisi que fin 2008, les spéculations sur son nom ont déjà commencé, alimentées par les déclarations du président français Nicolas Sarkozy, favorable à Tony Blair. Mais pour le site «Stop Blair!», c' est hors de question.

Stop Blair campaign gathers pace in Europe

Europhiles have launched a "Stop Blair" campaign to block any hopes the former Prime Minister has of becoming European Union President later this year.

Telegraph campaign for an EU referendum
Internet campaigners, based in France, went live with the www.stopblair.eu website in a bid to collect one million signatures opposing Tony Blair's candidature for Europe's top job.

France's Nicolas Sarkozy has been Tony Blair's only prominent supporter for EU president

Jérôme Guillet, a Paris based investment banker, explained that the idea for the campaign emerged "spontaneously and unanimously" from the pro-EU online bloggers community European Tribune.

The petition to stop President Blair

IT IS, perhaps, a backhanded compliment that the prospect of Tony Blair standing for European Union president has already prompted its very own protest movement. A group of leftish bloggers, known collectively as European Tribune, have rustled up a website, in eleven languages, expressing "total opposition" to any idea of the former British prime minister becoming the first full-time president of the EU council, because this would be in "total contradiction with the values professed by the European project".

British readers of the satirical magazine Private Eye may be reminded of the fictional leftist character, Dave Spart, who was forever to be heard explaining how he "totally and utterly" opposed some reactionary development or other.

The website, www.stopblair.eu, is especially worked up about Mr Blair's role in the Iraq war of 2003, and his alliance with the administration of President George Bush, to the point of declaring: (...)

Petitie tegen Blair als president van Europa

Europa is wellicht het meest kansrijke continent op aarde als het gaat om een eerlijke verdeling van welvaart, duurzaam gebruik van grondstoffen en het kanaliseren van nationalistische driften via onschadelijke ietwat nichterige zangwedstrijden. Maar aan transparantie en democratische inspraak in het bestuur schort het tot op heden nogal. Europese burgers eisen echter in toenemende mate democratisering en transparantie op, denk bijvoorbeeld aan het initiatief Newropeans. Deze week manifesteert zich een petitie in de Europese blogosfeer die betrekking heeft op de aanstande benoeming van de `President van Europa'.

Het Europese kwaliteitsblog European Tribune is een petitie (nl versie) gestart tegen de nominatie van Tony Blair als voorzitter van de Europese Raad.

Observer: The Blair project gains momentum

Rumours grow ever stronger that Tony Blair might want to run Europe now that the ex-prime minister has stopped running the UK. The British press reports that Blair met former top aides at Davos last month to plot a pitch for the new job as a permanent president of the European Union. Up till now countries have taken turns in the chair but after the Lisbon treaty is ratified there will be one person at the top for a fixed term.

Yet opposition to a man many see as a warmonger and US stooge is already growing. European Tribune, a website run by the liberals behind the Daily Kos in the US, is starting a petition against his yet-to-be declared candidacy.

It was conceived at the weekend, and by Monday night the petition had been translated into nine languages and two website domains - including stopblair.eu - had been reserved.

"This was a spontaneous idea that caught on among readers," said Jerome Guillet, a Paris-based investment banker who prefers not to reveal his employer. (No, it is not Société Générale.)

"This is not just about the UK: it is about him," he assures residents of Europe's "semi-detached" member. Indeed he will be fishing for customers there.

Eurotrib.com , which has more than 2,000 users daily, hopes to get 1m signatures. That is the magic figure that, under the very same Lisbon treaty, obliges Brussels to take up the idea and consider acting on it.

Note: this was the very first article to take note of the petition; it was printed in the European edition of the FT

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

Blair overweegt kandidatuur EU-president

Voor het eerst heeft Tony Blair zich uitgelaten over het permanente voorzitterschap van de Europese Unie. Hij zou bereid zijn om campagne te voeren voor de nieuwe post als er voor zijn kandidatuur een breed draagvlak bestaat.

(...)

De kandidatuur van Blair ligt bij sommige landen lastig, omdat hij medeverantwoordelijk is voor de inval in Irak. Bovendien ligt Groot-Brittannië nogal eens dwars bij de Europese eenwording. Het land doet bijvoorbeeld niet mee met de euro en het Schengenverdrag.

Het mogelijke voorzitterschap van Blair leidt in elk geval op internet tot hevige discussies. Op stopblair.eu en eurotrib.com kunnen tegenstrevers een petitie tekenen. Als meer dan een miljoen opponenten hun handtekening hebben gezet, moet Brussel de eventuele kandidatuur heroverwegen.

Une cyberpétition veut barrer la route de Blair à la tête de l'Europe

Implicitement soutenue par le président français pour accéder au futur poste de président de l'Union européenne, la candidature de Tony Blair rencontre une opposition grandissante, y compris sur internet où une pétition citoyenne contre la désignation de l'ancien Premier ministre britannique vient d'être lancée.

Accessible pour le moment dans neuf langues, la pétition (www.stopblair.eu) estime que sa nomination à cette fonction serait "en totale contradiction avec les valeurs portées par le projet européen". Les initiateurs font valoir que M. Blair a engagé, "en violation du droit international", son pays dans la guerre en Irak en utilisant "de manière systématique la manipulation de l'information et fait usage de preuves fabriquées".

Internetpetitie tegen kandidatuur Blair als EU-president

De kandidatuur van Tony Blair voor de functie van EU-president krijgt af te rekenen met een groeiende tegenstand, ook op het internet. Op de website www.stopblair.eu werd recentelijk een petitie gelanceerd tegen de nominatie van Tony Blair voor het voorzitterschap van de Europese Raad.

(belga) - De website, die toegankelijk is in negen Europese talen - waaronder het Nederlands - stelt dat Blairs benoeming voor deze functie 'in complete tegenspraak zou zijn met de waarden die door het Europese project gedragen worden'.

Internetpetitie tegen kandidatuur Blair als EU-president

De kandidatuur van Tony Blair voor de functie van EU-president krijgt af te rekenen met een groeiende tegenstand, ook op het internet. Op de website www.stopblair.eu werd recentelijk een petitie gelanceerd tegen de nominatie van Tony Blair voor het voorzitterschap van de Europese Raad.

Negen talen
De website, die toegankelijk is in negen Europese talen - waaronder het Nederlands - stelt dat Blairs benoeming voor deze functie "in complete tegenspraak zou zijn met de waarden die door het Europese project gedragen worden".

Tony Blair and the race for the presidency

I'm told Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have discussed the possibility of Mr Blair become President

(...)

'Stop Blair' campaign

And there are formidable problems. Some will oppose him because of his enthusiasm for the Iraq war. Indeed there is already a website aimed at stopping him on these grounds.

Recogen firmas en Internet contra la candidatura de Blair a la presidencia UE

La página Stopblair.eu presenta un manifiesto en once idiomas, incluido en español, con los argumentos por los que el ex primer ministro británico no debería ocupar el cargo de presidente permanente del Consejo Europeo previsto en el nuevo Tratado de la UE.

BRUSELAS, febrero 06.- Los participantes en un foro de Internet sobre política europea, alarmados ante la posibilidad de que el ex primer ministro británico Tony Blair ocupe la presidencia de la Unión Europea, han abierto una página web en la que recogen firmas contra su posible candidatura.

La página Stopblair.eu presenta un manifiesto en once idiomas, incluido en español, con los argumentos por los que Blair no debería ocupar el cargo de presidente permanente del Consejo Europeo previsto en el nuevo Tratado de la UE.

Blair EU bid 'an act of vanity'  

An attempt by Tony Blair to become President of the European Council would be an "act of political vanity", Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has said.

(...)

An online petition against Mr Blair becoming president, organised by the European Tribune group, has attracted more than 2,900 petitions.

The page has a link to European Tribune on its sidebar.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

"Stopblair.eu": une pétition contre Tony Blair comme président de l'UE

Tony Blair président de l'UE? Le débat a à peine commencé qu'une pétition pour tuer dans l'oeuf cette possibilité est déjà sur internet, sur le site "www.stopblair.eu".

Le nouveau traité de Lisbonne instaure un président du Conseil européen (qui rassemble les dirigeants européens) désigné pour deux ans et demi et qui devra représenter l'UE sur la scène mondiale.

Ce futur président devrait être choisi fin 2008 par les chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement des 27. Les spéculations sur le nom du futur président ont déjà commencé, alimentées par les déclarations du président français Nicolas Sarkozy favorables à Tony Blair.

"Depuis quelques semaines, on voit émerger des soutiens à une candidature de Tony Blair (...) Ca semble devenir sérieux alors nous avons décidé de nous exprimer contre", a expliqué à l'AFP Jérôme Guillet, un des initiateurs de la pétition qui se disent politiquement "plutôt de gauche" et animent un blog citoyen sur les questions européennes, European Tribune.

Le texte de la pétition, disponible en 11 langues, estime que "cette nomination, si elle devait advenir, serait en totale contradiction avec les valeurs portées par le projet européen".

On-line campaigners seek to "Stop Blair" becoming EU president

BRUSSELS (AFP) - An on-line campaign to stop former prime minister Tony Blair from becoming European Union president is gathering pace long before the job is even created.

Once the EU's Lisbon treaty is fully ratified next year, the prestigious post is to replace the EU's current presidency system which involves member states taking six-months turns at the job.

"We have been seeing support for a Blair candidacy... It seems to be getting serious so we have decided to express our opposition," said Jerome Guillet, one of the stopblair.eu organisers who have set up an on-line petition.

The campaign appears to be gathering speed, with over 3,000 "signatures" by Thursday morning, almost the double the number on Tuesday evening.

"Stop Blair for president":la petizione corre sul web

Tony Blair presidente dell'Unione Europea? No grazie. E' il messaggio di una petizione lanciata su Internet contro la candidatura dell'ex premier britannico alla presidenza stabile dell'Unione europea, una carica introdotta dal nuovo Trattato di Lisbona, che dovrebbe entrare in vigore a partire dal 1 gennaio 2009.

Nel testo disponibile sul web in nove lingue europee, i partecipanti ritengono Blair il candidato meno opportuno alla guida dei Ventisette, perchè in «totale contrasto con i valori professati nel progetto europeo».

Non mancano le accuse. Il dispiegamento di militari inglesi nella guerra in Iraq, un conflitto «osteggiato dalla stragrande maggioranza dei cittadini europei» e la complicità con l'amministrazione Bush al programma dei voli segreti della Cia in Europa e delle «Extraordinary renditions», sono solo alcune delle incriminazioni rivolte all'ex premier britannico. Senza contare, fanno notare i partecipanti, che sarebbe «insensato» nominare a capo dell'Ue un presidente che ha posto ferma opposizione alla Carta dei diritti fondamentali contenuta nel nuovo Trattato di Lisbona, ed è stato leader di un Paese che non è entrato nella zona Shengen e non ha adottato l'euro.

Le mosse di Blair, lamentano i 2.800 cittadini europei che ad ora hanno firmato la petizione, non solo hanno portato ad un declino senza precenti delle libertà e dei diritti civili, ma sono anche «palesemente in contrasto con le norme della Convenzione europea dei diritti dell'uomo». Tra i tanti nomi vociferati a Bruxelles, quello dell'ex premier britannico è uno dei più citati tra i possibili candidati al nuovo incarico, al quale lui stesso ha recentemente ammesso di essere interessato.

Začala internetová kampaň Zastavte Blaira

Skupina politických odpůrců bývalého britského ministerského předsedy Tonyho Blaira především z francouzské levice zahájila internetovou kampaň proti jeho možné kandidatuře na předsedu Evropské rady neboli vrcholných schůzek Evropské unie. Blair sám o této kandidatuře vážně uvažuje a podle britského tisku měl minulý víkend na toto téma strategickou poradu se svými spolupracovníky.

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Proti Blairově kandidatuře se ovšem zdvíhá znatelný odpor. Pařížský bankéř Jerome Guillet, který stojí za peticí Zastavte Blaira na stránkách http://www.stopblair.eu, řekl, že šlo o spontánní reakci lidí, kteří si Blaira nepřejí právě pro jeho blízkost s Bushem a jeho roli ve válce v Iráku. Cílem petice, která existuje v devíti jazykových verzích, je získat co nejdříve milion podpisů.

Stranica www.stopblair.eu protiv Blaira na čelu EU

Tek što je počela rasprava o tome može li Tony Blair postati predsjednik EU, na internetskoj stranici www.stopblair.eu pojavila se peticija kojoj je cilj u samom začetku spriječiti tu mogućnost.

Novim Lisabonskim ugovorom uvodi se dužnost predsjednika Europskog vijeća uz dvoipolgodišnji mandat, koji će EU predstavljati na međunarodnoj pozornici.

Budućeg predsjednika krajem 2008. trebaju izabrati predsjednici država i vlada 27 zemalja. Špekulacije o imenu budućeg predsjednika već su počele, a potaknule su ih izjave francuskog predsjednika Nicolasa Sarkozyja kojima je pokazao sklonost Blairu.

U peticiji se upozorava da je Tony Blair "kršeći međunarodno pravo" uvukao svoju zemlju u irački rat "kojemu se usprotivila golema većina europskih građana".

Organizatori peticije, koju je do četvrtka ujutro potpisalo tri tisuće ljudi, žele prikupiti "simboličan broj od milijun potpisa", rekao je Jerome Guillet, jedan od pokretača akcije.

Mezua: 'STOP Blair' ekimena

Erresuma Batuko lehen ministro ohi Tony Blairrek Europako Kontseiluko presidentetza iraunkorra hartzeko posibilitateaz kezkatuta, Stop Blair ekimena ( www.stopblair.eu ) jarri dute martxan.

Kargu horrek oraindik ez du existitzen, baina EBko estatu kideek europarroi onartarazi edota ezarri nahi diguten Europako Konstituzioak figura hori aurreikusten du.

Europako politika ardatz duen Interneteko foro bateko kideek ( www.eurotrib.com ) abiatu dute iaz arte buruzagi laborista izandako eta gaur egun Ekialde Hurbilerako Laukoteraren ordezkari berezia den politikari eskoziarraren --aita eskoziarra eta ama irlandarra ditu-- kontrako sinadura bilketa.

Aste honetan jarri dute martxan sinadura bilketa, eta 2.200 izen baino gehiago bildu dituzte.

Enkele Europese bloggers van het discussieforum European Tribune hebben een petitie gelanceerd tegen de intentie om Tony Blair te benoemen als de eerste 'president' van de Europese Unie.

Merkwaardig hoe op een paar dagen tijd de petitie werd opgesteld, vertaald (nu al in 10 talen), en op een website werd geplaatst.

Nog tijdens het ineenboksen van de site  http://stopblair.eu/ werd, gezien alles online in een open discussiegroep gebeurde, het initiatief al opgemerkt in de internationale pers.
Op die manier kreeg het initiatief een enorme vaart en zijn er al honderden ondertekenaars.

Hoe alles in zijn werk ging is tot in de kleinste details te lezen op de site van European Tribune:  http://www.eurotrib.com/story/2008/2/3/172834/9930

Uiteraard heeft Europa geen nood aan een oorlogsmisdadiger zoals Tony Blair.

De petitie zelf(in meerdere talen) vind je hier:  http://stopblair.eu/
In het Nedelands:  http://stopblair.eu/indexnl.html

Internet-Petition gegen Blair als EU-Präsidenten

Unter www.stopblair.eu veröffentlichte eine Initiative eine Petition gegen Blair, da dessen Nominierung den ,,Werten des europäischen Projekts" widerspreche, sagte Jérome Guillet, einer der Gründer der Plattform, am Donnerstag der Nachrichtenagentur AFP. Die bisher 3000 Unterzeichner kritisieren vor allem, dass Großbritannien weder der Eurozone noch dem Schengen-Raum angehört und Blair als Regierungschef britische Truppen in den Irak-Krieg geschickt hat.

Online campaigners aim to 'stop' Blair becoming EU president

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An online campaign to petition against Tony Blair becoming President of the European Union is fast gathering signatures, even though the post has not even been officially created yet.

Due to come into effect with the new EU treaty, probably at the beginning of next year, the post of the EU president is expected to be a high profile job that can be held for a total of five years.

(...)

The web-based petition, Stopblair.eu, seeks to tap into some of this anti-Blair feeling. Available in 11 languages, the petition already had over 4,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon (7 February), two days after it launch day, and aims to get 1 million signatures.

Jerome Guillet, a Paris-based banker and one of the founders to the petition, told EUobserver that the discussion about Mr Blair "seemed more intense lately. As this is an idea that we think is terrible, some of us decided to do something about it."

The petition - which has signatures mostly from the UK but also from France, Belgium, Portugal and Germany - says that if Mr Blair took on the post, it "would be in total contradiction with the values professed by the European project."

It also refers to the fact that a "large majority of European citizens opposed" the Iraq war.

The online campaign emerged from a community of pro-European bloggers based in France known as the European Tribune. According to Mr Guillet, they would rather see German former foreign minister Joschka Fischer get the job.

Campaign vows to 'stop Blair'

Brussels - An online campaign to stop former British Prime Minister Tony Blair from becoming European Union president is gathering pace long before the job is even created.

(...)

"We have been seeing support for a Blair candidacy... It seems to be getting serious so we have decided to express our opposition," said Jerome Guillet, one of the stopblair.eu organisers who have set up an on-line petition.

(...)

Guillet, who said the petition was set up on the "left-leaning" European website which describes itself as "founded by active contributors to the US progressive blogosphere".

مخالفین ریاست بلر بر اتحادیه اروپا تلاش خود را آغاز کردند

به گزارش مهر، در طرح لیسبون که سال پیش به توافق کشورهای عضو اتحادیه اروپا رسید قرار شد به جای ریاست دوره ای یک رئیس برای مدت دو سال و نیم برای این اتحادیه انتخاب شود و درست ازهمان زمان نام "تونی بلر" به عنوان یکی از نامزدهای  تصدی این پست مطرح شد و"نیکلا سارکوزی"رئیس جمهور فرانسه و"گوردون براون" نخست وزیر انگلیس موافقت کامل خود را با این انتخاب اعلام کردند.

"ژروم گویه" یکی از سازمان دهندگان تارنمای اینترنتی "بلر را متوقف کنید" (stopblair) که این دادخواست اینترنتی را به راه انداخته می گوید:" ما شاهد حمایت هایی از ریاست بلر بوده ایم و ظاهراً این روند رفته رفته جدی تر می شود و تصمیم گرفتیم تا به این وسیله مخالفت خود را با ریاست وی بر اتحادیه اروپا اعلام کنیم".

Blocking Blair

Tony Blair is being tipped as a candidate for the new post of EU Council President, and suddenly it's 2003 all over again.

(...)

Leading the people's revolt against Mr. Blair is the European Tribune. The Web site this week launched a petition in 13 of the EU's 23 official languages, with the aim of collecting one million anti-Blair signatures. (By yesterday afternoon they were rocketing toward 5,000, with much support from "Anonymous.")

Prominent among the petition's list of grievances is that the Iraq war "has claimed hundreds of thousands of victims." This assertion was made most famously in the British medical journal The Lancet in a 2006 article that has since been debunked as a statistically flawed exaggeration. Maybe it's too much to expect blogging buddies of the Daily Kos to stick to the facts.

See also Stop Blair! - the lamest of rebuttals from the WSJE by Cyrille

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

,,Opriţi-l pe Blair!"

O petiţie on-line a început să adune semnături din partea persoanelor care se opun unui preşedinte al Consiliului European în persoana fostului premier britanic Tony Blair.

Campania, derulată pe internet, la adresa www.stopblair.eu, vine pe fondul posibilei candidaturi a lui Blair la funcţia creată de Tratatul de la Lisabona. Susţinut de preşedintele Nicolas Sarkozy, fostul premier britanic este totuşi considerat nepotrivit de majoritatea analiştilor europeni şi de mai mulţi politicieni francezi, printre care ministrul pentru Europa din actualul guvern, Jean-Pierre Jouyet.

 
Blair'e karşı online imza kampanyası

''Bu savaşın yüz binlerce masum insanı kurban aldığı ve milyonlarcasını yerlerinden ederek sığınmacı durumuna düşürdüğü dile getirilmektedir. Bu aynı zamanda küresel güvenliği zayıflatmış ve Orta Doğu'nun istikrarsızlaştırılmasında büyük rol oynamıştır. Blair, ülkesini savaşa sürüklemek için sistematik şekilde sahte kanıtlar kullanmış ve gerçekleri çarptırmıştır. AB Konseyi Başkanı olarak atanması durumunda, Blair'in Irak savaşındaki rolü AB'nin dünyadaki imajına ağır bir darbe vuracaktır.''

Recogen firmas en internet contra candidatura Blair a presidencia UE

Bruselas, (EFE).- Los participantes en un foro de internet sobre política europea, alarmados ante la posibilidad de que el ex primer ministro británico Tony Blair ocupe la presidencia de la Unión Europea, han abierto una página web en la que recogen firmas contra su posible candidatura.
La página, www.stopblair.eu, presenta un manifiesto en once idiomas, incluido en español, con los argumentos por los que Blair no debería estrenar el cargo de presidente permanente del Consejo Europeo previsto en el nuevo Tratado de la UE.
Además de su implicación en la guerra de Irak y su "complicidad" con las detenciones extrajudiciales de sospechosos de terrorismo llevadas a cabo por EEUU, los autores le reprochan que haya excluido a Reino Unido de la Carta Europea de Derechos Fundamentales y haya frenado los avances de la integración europea en materia social, fiscal, de Política Exterior o de Defensa.

Stopblair.eu tries to halt Tony's march on Brussels

Will e-petition be 'President' Blair's Waterloo?

A bunch of Europhiles are hoping to scupper Tony Blair's bid to become president of Europe using the very same sort of e-petition-powered pop democracy he toyed with himself in his time at Number 10.

Blair, who is at a slight loose end since leaving Downing Street last year, has apparently been in discussions with potential supporters including France's President Sarkozy about taking up the role - if he can be assured it comes with some real power.

But the prospect of our Tone being top dog in Brussels has prompted Europhiles to launch a Stop Blair campaign. This includes a petition, which can be found here which expresses "our total opposition to the nomination of Tony Blair to the Presidency of the European Council".

(...)

As far as the petitioners are concerned, it is "unthinkable that the first President of the European Council should be the former head of a government that kept its country out of two key elements of the construction of Europe: the Schengen area of free movement of people and the Euro zone".

Of course, this is where they've shot themselves in the foot. There are plenty of people in the UK who would hate to see Blair rolling up his shirt sleeves in Brussels and tossing his blazer over his shoulders in Strasbourg. Unfortunately for the petitioners, many of those anti-Blairites also wear blue ties and would hate to see Britain in both Schengen and the Euro.

Still, that little problem won't be the death of the petition. Rather it will be the fact that Brussels is more than likely to pay the same heed to online petitions as Blair did - ie, sod all.

The Associated Press: Could Blair Lead New EU?

He sent troops to Iraq against stiff opposition in Paris and Berlin, rejected the Euro as fellow leaders embraced economic harmony and angered neighbors by playing hardball over the European Union budget.

So why is Tony Blair emerging as a candidate to become Europe's first president?

The former British prime minister, who led his nation for 10 years and won three successive elections, has been touted as a strong contender for the post of EU president -- a job being created under a new EU treaty that aims to streamline the bloc's often complex decision-making.But elsewhere on the continent a campaign dedicated to halting Blair's bid before it officially starts is gathering widespread support.

A "Stop Blair" Internet petition launched by a group of European bloggers has attracted around 4,000 signatures since it was posted Tuesday, while a statement opposing his candidacy has been translated into nine languages.

"His role in the Iraq war would weigh heavily on the image of the (European) Union in the world," a statement by the European Tribune group said. "We declare our total opposition to this nomination."

No thanks Tony, we don't want you as president of Europe

When the idea of Tony Blair as president of the Council of Europe emerged, so did an online petition against the idea. The European Tribune blog launched the `Stop Blair' petition on Tuesday. Already signed by 3600 people, the whole blogosphere is talking about it. Here we publish commentary from Jérôme Guillet, one of the campaign's organisers, and the reaction of a British blogger specialised in European issues, for who Blair `would have been a good spokesman for the EU ten years ago'.

Ils ne veulent pas de Tony Blair comme président de l'Europe

Alors que Tony Blair est pressenti pour prendre la présidence du Conseil de l'Europe, une pétition en ligne (http://stopblair.eu/) contre cette nomination a été lancée aujourd'hui par le blog European Tribune. Elle a déjà été signée par 3 600 personnes, et toute la blogosphère en parle. Nous publions le commentaire de Jérôme Guillet, l'un des organisateurs de cette campagne, ainsi que la réaction d'un blogueur britannique, pour qui « Tony Blair aurait été le candidat parfait... il y a dix ans ».

Nós, cidadãos europeus de todas as origens e inclinações políticas, desejamos expressar a nossa oposição à nomeação de Tony Blair para a Presidência do Conselho da União Europeia.

Widerstand aus dem Netz: Unter der Adresse www.stopblair.eu ist eine Petition gestartet, auf der in 23 Sprachen gegen eine mögliche Kandidatur des britischen Ex-Premiers Tony Blair für den neuen Posten des EU-Präsidenten unterzeichnet werden kann. Tausende haben das bereits getan.

BRÜSSEL - Blairs Nominierung widerspricht den "Werten des europäischen Projekts", sagt Jérome Guillet, einer der Gründer der Plattform. Die bisher 3000 Unterzeichner kritisieren vor allem, dass Großbritannien weder der Eurozone noch dem Schengen-Raum angehört und Blair als Regierungschef britische Truppen in den Irak-Krieg geschickt hat. Da in den vergangenen Wochen mehrere Unterstützer Blair den Rücken für eine Kandidatur gestärkt haben, sei es "ernst" gewesen, "so dass wir uns entschieden haben, uns gegen Blair auszusprechen", erklärt Guillet.

Die Petition ist in 23 Sprachen verfügbar. Als symbolisches Ziel will die Initiative eine Million Unterschriften sammeln. Durch den "Vertrag von Lissabon", der im Dezember von den europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs unterzeichnet wurde, ist der Posten eines EU-Präsidenten neu entstanden. Er soll Ende 2008 für die Dauer von zweieinhalb Jahren bestimmt werden und die EU in aller Welt repräsentieren. (cp/dpa)

Az interneten indítottak kampányt Tony Blair volt brit miniszterelnök EU-elnökségre történő jelölése ellen azok, akik ellenzik ennek még a gondolatát is. A www.stopblair.eu oldalon szereplő listát csütörtökig háromezren írták alá, azaz kedd óta megkétszereződött a számuk, noha a lisszaboni szerződésben előírt elnöki poszt betöltéséről csak az év végén döntenek a tagállamok - feltéve, hogy addig valamennyi tagállam elfogadja a korábban megbukott EU-alkotmány helyébe lépő szabályozást. A kezdeményezés célja "csírájában megakadályozni", hogy Blair kampánya kibontakozhasson.

A lot of national wire services copied AFP's, but news media carrying those added nothing.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

Kritik an Rolle im Irak-Krieg

Mit dem geplanten Inkrafttreten des Vertrages von Lissabon 2009 soll die Europäische Union einen permanenten Ratspräsidenten bekommen.
Für diese neue Funktion, die das derzeitige Rotationsprinzip beim Ratsvorsitz im Halbjahrestakt ersetzen soll, interessiert sich dem Vernehmen nach besonders Großbritanniens Ex-Premierminister Tony Blair. Doch noch bevor der neue EU-Vertrag in allen Mitgliedsstaaten ratifiziert ist, regt sich bereits Widerstand gegen Blair - in Form einer Online-Petition.

"Stop Blair"
Die Aktion unter Stopblair.eu hat in den ersten beiden Tagen ihres Bestehens mehrere tausend Unterstützer gefunden, viele davon in Großbritannien, aber auch in Belgien, Frankreich und Deutschland.

Als symbolisches Ziel werden eine Million Unterschriften genannt. "Wir, EU-Bürger unterschiedlicher Herkunft und unterschiedlicher politischer Überzeugung, möchten unseren Widerstand gegen eine Nominierung Tony Blairs als EU-Präsident ausdrücken", heißt es auf der Website.

"Widerspruch zu europäischen Werten"
Als Grund für die Petition führt einer ihrer Initiatoren, der Pariser Banker Jerome Guillet, an, eine Nominierung Blairs widerspräche "völlig den Werten des europäischen Projekts" - immerhin gehört Großbritannien weder europäischen Kernprojekten wie dem Schengen-Raum noch der Euro-Zone an.

(...)

Guillet hat die "Stop Blair"-Aktion gemeinsam mit einem Kreis französischer Pro-EU-Blogger namens European Tribune ins Leben gerufen. Die Petition ist in 23 Sprachen verfügbar.

This seems to come via the EUObserver article; pity we seem to be described as French bloggers.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

Online Mobilmachung gegen Blairs Plaene

Mit dem geplanten Inkrafttreten des Vertrages von Lissabon 2009 soll die Europäische Union einen permanenten Ratspräsidenten bekommen.

Für diese neue Funktion, die das derzeitige Rotationsprinzip beim Ratsvorsitz im Halbjahrestakt ersetzen soll, interessiert sich dem Vernehmen nach besonders Großbritanniens Ex-Premierminister Tony Blair. Doch noch bevor der neue EU-Vertrag in allen Mitgliedsstaaten ratifiziert ist, regt sich bereits Widerstand gegen Blair - in Form einer Online-Petition.

"Stop Blair"
Die Aktion unter Stopblair.eu hat in den ersten beiden Tagen ihres Bestehens mehrere tausend Unterstützer gefunden, viele davon in Großbritannien, aber auch in Belgien, Frankreich und Deutschland.

Als symbolisches Ziel werden eine Million Unterschriften genannt. "Wir, EU-Bürger unterschiedlicher Herkunft und unterschiedlicher politischer Überzeugung, möchten unseren Widerstand gegen eine Nominierung Tony Blairs als EU-Präsident ausdrücken", heißt es auf der Website.

"Widerspruch zu europäischen Werten"
Als Grund für die Petition führt einer ihrer Initiatoren, der Pariser Banker Jerome Guillet, an, eine Nominierung Blairs widerspräche "völlig den Werten des europäischen Projekts" - immerhin gehört Großbritannien weder europäischen Kernprojekten wie dem Schengen-Raum noch der Euro-Zone an.

Besonders kreiden die Anti-Blair-Aktivisten dem britischen Ex-Regierungschef allerdings dessen Rolle im US-geführten Krieg gegen den Irak an.

"Land in den Krieg geführt"
Blair habe "gegen internationales Recht sein Land in einen Krieg gegen den Irak geführt, der von der Mehrheit der Europäer abgelehnt wurde", lautet ein Kritikpunkt. Der Krieg habe Hunderttausende Tote gefordert und den Nahen Osten nur noch weiter destabilisiert.

"Informationen manipuliert"
Blair habe, um sein Land in den Krieg zu führen, systematisch Scheinargumente gebraucht und Informationen manipuliert. Sollte Blair tatsächlich für das mächtigste Amt in der Union nominiert werden, würde das dieser massiv schaden, heißt es.

Schließlich habe Blair auch nicht produktiv zum Projekt der europäischen Integration beigetragen, lautet ein weiterer Vorwurf. Im Gegenteil: Er habe den Verfassungsprozess durch seine "roten Linien" gebremst.

"Es ist ernst geworden"
Blair hatte selbst sein Interesse für eine Kandidatur als erster fixer Ratspräsident bekundet, das Einverständnis der EU-Regierungschefs vorausgesetzt.

Zuletzt hätten sich immer mehr Unterstützer für Blair gefunden, und es sei daher "ernst" und Zeit geworden, "uns gegen Blair auszusprechen", so Guillet gegenüber Euobserver.com. Unter anderen hatte sich Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy den derzeitigen Nahost-Sondergesandten Blair als künftigen Ratspräsidenten vorstellen können.

Guillet hat die "Stop Blair"-Aktion gemeinsam mit einem Kreis französischer Pro-EU-Blogger namens European Tribune ins Leben gerufen. Die Petition ist in 23 Sprachen verfügbar.

Funktion für maximal fünf Jahre
Laut Vertrag von Lissabon, in dem sich wesentliche Aspekte der gescheiterten EU-Verfassung wiederfinden, soll der neue permanente EU-Ratspräsident jeweils für zweieinhalb Jahre gewählt werden.

Als Kandidaten kommen ehemalige Staats- und Regierungschefs in Frage. Sie sollen das Amt nicht öfter als zweimal bekleiden dürfen. Sinn der Funktion ist mehr Kontinuität in der Außenpolitik der Union.

Links:

    * Stop Blair
    * Euobserver.com
    * The Office Of Tony Blair
    * EU

Meanwhile Jerome Guillet, one of the founders of the campaign to prevent Blair from becoming President, known as the StopBlair campaign, has indicated that he is backing former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer for the job.

Controversatul Blair 

Stop Blair!, este mesajul unei comunitati web, European Tribune, care a initiat o petitie impotriva nominalizarii fostului premier britanic ca presedinte al UE.

Petitia (initiata in 7 februarie) http://stopblair.eu/indexro.html este in 19 limbi, inclusiv in limba romana. Initiatorii acesteia arata importanta functiei de de presedinte al Consiliului European si argumenteaza de ce Blair nu este potrivit pentru ea. 

"Din cauza implicarii si sustinerii ocupatiei Irakului, a torturilor si extradarilor extraordinare, din cauza faptului ca a capitulat in fata lui George Bush si a impiedicat astfel ca UE sa aiba o pozitie unitara si a divizat continentul.

Din cauza diferentei intre discursul sau proeuropean si lipsa de actiune in acest sens cat a fost la putere; nu a incercat sa aduca Marea Britanie in zona euro si Schengen", a declarat pentru HotNews.ro unul dintre initatorii petitiei, Jerome Guillet. 

Intensificarea discutiilor privind candidatura lui Blair la presedintia Consiliului European din ultimele saptamani i-a determinat pe membrii European Tribune sa initieze petitia, a mai spus Guillet, care a vorbit si despre propunerea lor: fostul ministrul german de externe, Joschka Fischer.

European Tribune isi propune sa stranga un milion de semnaturi, iar in primele doua zile a strans peste 6000 de semnaturi. Ce vor face dupa? Important este sa ajunga acolo, a spus Guillet.  In mediul european a fost vehiculat, pe langa numele lui Blair, si numele premierului luxemburghez Jean-Claude Junker, dar si al fostului cancelar austriac Wolfgang Schussel. European Tribune vine cu varianta Fischer.

Some European activists have found their ideal candidate for the first-ever de facto EU president: anybody but Tony Blair.

Although it targets the former British prime minister, the Web effort begun this month reflects more fundamental divisions across the 27-nation bloc over the future of the European Union, the power of Brussels and Britain's hot-and-cold relations with its continental partners.

The divisions are so deep that Mr. Blair's opponents come from both ends of the political spectrum, with both supporters of a stronger union and Euro-skeptics denouncing his proposed candidacy.

The online movement went live Tuesday at www.stopblair.eu. It cites Mr. Blair's allegiance to President Bush, support of the Iraq invasion, attacks on civil liberties and failure to adopt the euro and other EU policies in Britain.

"In order to lead his country into war, Mr. Blair made systematic use of fabricated evidence and the manipulation of information," according to a petition on the Web site, published in nine languages.

Note: the governing Socialists and their PM view Bliar as a star. The above can be considered a VERY favorable coverage!

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

La campaña on line contra la candidatura de Tony Blair a la presidencia de la Unión Europea stopblair.eu ha recogido más de 13.000 firmas en menos de una semana, entre ellas las de un centenar de funcionarios de Bruselas. El resultado ha sorprendido a los propios organizadores, un grupo de eurófilos que esperan evitar que el ex premier británico alcance el puesto máximo del Consejo de la Unión recurriendo al mismo tipo de democracia por consulta electrónica con el que Blair jugó mientras ocupó Downing Street.

Many will agree that Europe does not deserve Blair

Sir, Denis McShane believes that "Europe needs the leadership and ability of Blair" (February 11), but seems to be preparing the ground for a failure of Tony Blair's candidature for the presidency of the European Council by suggesting that Europe does not really deserve such a great man.

The depiction of Mr Blair "groaning" and "visibly wilting" in expectation of hours of "numbing talks" in Brussels suggests he is manifestly unfit for facilitating discussions and brokering agreements among the Council members, the very essence of the job.

Many readily agree that Europe does not deserve Mr Blair, albeit for other reasons. His support for the catastrophic invasion and occupation of Iraq against the will of the majority of the population of both his own country and the rest of Europe, his refusal even to try to bring the UK into the eurozone, or his efforts to keep the European charter of fundamental rights from applying in the UK, ensure that he would not be representative of the European Union population. In fact, your FT/Harris poll of last June shows that this assessment is shared by a large number of Europeans, as does the success of the online petition against a Blair candidature - http://stopblair.eu - that has just been launched (and was mentioned in print for the first time by your very own Observer on February 5).

Jérôme Guillet,
Editor, European Tribune

Europe: Divorce the US Military
by Neil Clark

Whether they do or not depends on us, the people of Europe. Already a pan-European petition has been launched to stop Blair from being EU President, it can be signed at the Stop Blair website. Of course, signing petitions on its own won't be enough. The people of Europe need to wake up to what's going on and withdraw their support from any leaders or political parties who favor closer military ties with Washington.

Diary

 The people must speak and we will hear them, said Downing Street as it cleared space on its website for e-petitions. But will their voices ring out loud and clear? That all depends on what they want to say. The writer Richard Heller suggested: "We the undersigned petition the prime minister to do everything in his power to prevent Tony Blair becoming president of the European Union. If Tony Blair is the right person to run the European Union, why did the prime minister eject him from power in this country?" Alas, Downing Street rejected the petition as inappropriate. The people should have a care about the petitions they submit. Things could turn nasty.

Of course, some people have already bypassed Downing Street's cyber soapbox and have created their own - stopblair.eu. It suggests that Blair's role in the war in Iraq, and Britain's failure to fully embrace the European ideal, make him the most unsuitable candidate. "This appointment, were it to take place, would be in total contradiction with the values professed by the European project," they say, and almost 14,000 have signed up. Great to be wanted.

David Abiker

Tony Blair président du conseil l'Union Européenne ? Une pétition contre cette idée circule sur Internet depuis quelques jours. On l'a trouve sur www.stopblair.eu Selon ses signataires trois obstacles majeurs empêchent Tony Blair de président l'Union : il a engagé son pays dans la guerre en Irak et la Grande Bretagne a refusé les deux réformes majeures de l'Union Européenne, à savoir les accords de Shengen et l'Euro. Les auteurs de la pétition se fixent un objectif de un million de signatures dans toute l'Europe. Il en avaient 3000 hier matin.

John Rentoul: If Blair runs for the EU presidency, Brown will be the fall guy - whatever the result

Ten days ago a French-based website called www.stopblair.eu went live, aiming to collect a million digital signatures against him. These are the people whose only foreign policy over the past six years has been not to intervene in Iraq and to refuse to accept the possibility that this might have had adverse consequences. They exist all over the world, but they cause most problems to Gordon Brown - the target of Hague's cruel mockery.

Because Brown is no stopper. He supported the invasion of Iraq, although, in public, only when he had to. One of his great themes is the need for flexibility to meet the challenge of globalisation. But he is not exactly a goer either. He wants to persuade the stoppers that things will be different - "the change" - under him. Unfortunately, the stoppers are not taken in. They know he is a politician and therefore, by definition, a compromiser and a sellout to the interests of global-capitalism-US-imperialism. (One of the best reasons for wanting Barack Obama to become US President is to watch the scurrying of the stoppers as they rush to denounce him even before he is inaugurated.)

Tony Blair's hopes of becoming Europe's first president are running into mounting opposition across the EU, with Germany determined to stymie the former prime minister.

A "Stop Blair" website run by pro-Europeans has launched a petition against him; a transnational, cross-party caucus in the European parliament is forming to campaign against a Blair presidency; senior officials in Brussels are privately dismissive about the new post going to a Briton; and senior diplomats in European capitals also doubt that Blair is the right person for the post being created under Europe's new reform treaty.

"There was surprise in Berlin when Blair's name came up so soon," said a European ambassador. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany admires Blair and has "great personal sympathy for Tony", he added.

Trouw, hetNieuws| europa - Nieuwe topman EU / Veel burgers niet blij met 'EU-president' Tony Blair

In Groot-Brittannië, maar ook in Brussel en Berlijn, spreken steeds meer burgers en politici zich uit tegen een eventueel Europees presidentschap van ex-premier Tony Blair.

Misschien, schrijft The Economist, moet Tony Blair het maar als een (dubbelzinnig) compliment beschouwen dat er een heuse protestbeweging tegen hem is ontketend.

Sinds bekend werd dat hij overweegt te solliciteren naar het presidentschap van de Europese Unie is er een site opgericht in elf talen en een petitie opgesteld (www.stopblair.eu). In Brussel, maar ook in Londen en Berlijn, groeit de weerstand tegen 'president Blair'.

The article then goes on about Juncker being the leading candidate and the potential of "New Europe" (sinks head) to oppose "Old Europe" on this by lining up behind Blair, but I shall quote that in my own thread.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

The biggest tent of the lot: to stop Blair becoming EU President | The Spectator

The principal reason that continental Europe does not want Blair is, of course, the invasion of Iraq. And they don't know the half of it. They know that a sovereign country was invaded illegally, against the wishes of the United Nations, at the behest of the US and its little manqué superpower Great Britain. They have seen the devastation and civil war which resulted as a consequence, of course. But they are not, by and large, aware of the chicanery and manipulation which was involved over here in order to swing a reluctant public and House of Commons behind what was Britain's most disastrous foreign adventure since Suez. Perhaps somebody ought to tell them.

Still, there is at least one bright spot resulting from Mr Blair's candidacy. The modest and agreeable Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg will not be able to believe the groundswell of support he receives from all corners of the continent. M. Juncker -- a name which has the right sort of ring about it for an EU presidency -- is considered to be the front-runner among alternative candidates. The name of Bertie Ahern has also been mentioned. Frankly, Blair aside, I couldn't care less, so long as the job has not the remotest vestige of power over my country.

Meanwhile, there's already a website devoted to making sure Blair does not get the job. It's called www.stopblair.eu and I think it's being run by a bunch of pro-federalist monkeys. Never mind that -- we're all together on this one, it's a big tent.

Cover article! This is at the bottom, though (page 5 on the website).

EU president? Make it anyone but Blair, say the Germans | the Daily Mail

At the same time, an online "Stop Blair" petition has already managed to collect 20,000 names in protest against Mr Blair's nomination.

The petition, at www.stopblair.eu, was set up by Jerome Guillet, a Parisbased investment banker who hopes to collect one million signatures and hole Mr Blair's candidacy beneath the water line.

Pro-European Mr Guillet said: "Tony Blair embodies many things we do not like.

"He is universally reviled.

"This is not the rest of Europe against Britain.

"It is against him and what he stands for, especially that he is too close to GeorgeWBush."

La hostilidad hacia Tony Blair para ocupar la presidencia de la UE gana terreno en la Red. A las manifestaciones de rechazo de los socialistas franceses, del ex presidente de Francia Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, ahora se suman los internautas. Casi 24.000 firmas han recogido ya los integrantes de la plataforma European Tribune (www.stopblair.eu).

But the Spanish signatures are streaming in as I write this.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo

``I don't think he would be the right character,'' says Enrique Baron Crespo of Spain, a former EU Parliament president. A Stop Blair! campaign organized by a Paris investment banker has gathered 24,000 signatures.

The debate goes beyond personalities. It's about whether Britain is serious about leading in the 27-nation EU or abdicates that role to pro-EU continental nations. It's also about whether the EU can overcome its divisions and become an international force to be reckoned with.

President Blair ``would be a bad idea,'' says Jerome Guillet, the Stop Blair! founder. ``He promised that he would bring Britain into Europe and he didn't even try. And the invasion and occupation of Iraq is a pretty bad symbol for Europe, which is built on peace.''