The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
And it's not just the UK. After the Lisbon fiasco, after Poland, and after these elections here, there's still no realisation that there might, perhaps, be a problem with the EU's communication strategy.
FT.com | Brussels Blog | Brits, not Irish, loom as threat to the EU's Lisbon treaty
According to a RTE/Sunday Independent opinion poll in Ireland, supporters of the European Union's Lisbon treaty will defeat opponents by a margin of 54 per cent to 28 per cent (with 18 per cent undecided) when the treaty is submitted to a second referendum, probably in October. Such a thumping victory would not only reverse but for all practical purposes bury the memory of Irish voters' rejection of the treaty in June 2008. ... Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government ratified the treaty last year. But the opposition Conservatives have steadfastly opposed it and warned that, should they win power in the UK's next election, due within a year, they will not meekly let things stand as they are. Recently, this position has threatened to harden into a determination to hold a referendum even if all 27 EU member-states have approved the treaty by the time the Tories enter government. This may strike other EU governments as a wholly unreasonable and even legally dubious stance. But consider the following possibility. In the Czech Republic, parliament has passed Lisbon after a long political struggle but President Vaclav Klaus, who intensely dislikes the treaty, has refused to add his signature, as Czech law requires. So, too has President Lech Kaczynski of Poland. As long as they hold out, Lisbon cannot come into force. Other things being equal, both men would probably find it impossible to resist the pressure to sign Lisbon, if Irish voters were to say Yes to the treaty in October. But other things are not equal. Klaus and Kaczynski are looking at events in London and asking themselves how long it will be before Brown's government is out of office and replaced by a Conservative government that sees eye to eye with them on Lisbon.
...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government ratified the treaty last year. But the opposition Conservatives have steadfastly opposed it and warned that, should they win power in the UK's next election, due within a year, they will not meekly let things stand as they are. Recently, this position has threatened to harden into a determination to hold a referendum even if all 27 EU member-states have approved the treaty by the time the Tories enter government.
This may strike other EU governments as a wholly unreasonable and even legally dubious stance. But consider the following possibility. In the Czech Republic, parliament has passed Lisbon after a long political struggle but President Vaclav Klaus, who intensely dislikes the treaty, has refused to add his signature, as Czech law requires. So, too has President Lech Kaczynski of Poland. As long as they hold out, Lisbon cannot come into force.
Other things being equal, both men would probably find it impossible to resist the pressure to sign Lisbon, if Irish voters were to say Yes to the treaty in October. But other things are not equal. Klaus and Kaczynski are looking at events in London and asking themselves how long it will be before Brown's government is out of office and replaced by a Conservative government that sees eye to eye with them on Lisbon.
by Cat - Mar 31 2 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Mar 22 3 comments
by Oui - Mar 27 23 comments
by gmoke - Mar 17
by Oui - Mar 16 22 comments
by Oui - Mar 15 5 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Mar 9 3 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Mar 14 14 comments
by Oui - Mar 3110 comments
by Cat - Mar 312 comments
by Oui - Mar 31
by Oui - Mar 294 comments
by Oui - Mar 274 comments
by Oui - Mar 2723 comments
by Oui - Mar 22
by Oui - Mar 2211 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Mar 223 comments
by Oui - Mar 1988 comments
by Oui - Mar 1745 comments
by Oui - Mar 1622 comments
by Oui - Mar 1541 comments
by Oui - Mar 155 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Mar 1414 comments
by Oui - Mar 134 comments
by Oui - Mar 128 comments
by Oui - Mar 1112 comments