[pp.int.general] Lissabon Treaty: very bad news

[Amelia Andersdotter]

2008/6/18 Carlos Ayala <aiarakoa at yahoo.es>:
> ----- Mensaje original ----
> De: Reinier Bakels <r.bakels at planet.nl>
> Enviado: miércoles, 18 de junio, 2008 22:16:52
>  when you find a
> Constitucion like Spanish one, with 60 % of eligible voters supporting it,
> then you have no doubt about the foundations and legitimacy of such text; on
> the other hand, when you have a text like Lisboa Treaty which has been
> rejected in the only country where people has been consulted -and some polls
> hint that the same would may happen in countries like France or Sweden-,
> then you have no doubt about the total lack of foundations and legitimacy of
> such text.
>
>> One must be an expert in European law to appreciate the content of the
>> Lisbon treaty, and its differences vs. the Nice
>> treaty that it was supposed to replace.
>
> It's not just about the contents, it's also -even mainly- about procedures;
> it's about France avoiding to make a referendum to secure the YES by not
> consulting people like in 2005; it's every Member State except Ireland also
> avoiding referendums; it's the mere idea -whatever they finally do it or
> not- of repeating the Irish consultation, or punishing Ireland because of
> Irish people's will;

In addition to the good points Carlos bring up, there's also the fact
that both previous attempts to establish a constitution have actually
had support from the people in the referendum countries. Both France
and Netherlands (in 2004) had polls showing 60-70% pro-constitution
9-10 months before the election. In Ireland 2008 it's been the same -
the more time remains until the election, the higher the percantage of
voters who say they'll vote Yes.

One of the major reasons the constitutions have actually gone down in
France, Netherlands and Ireland is because skilled lawyers have sat
down and volunteer worked to find out what the costitution does and
reached the conclusion they're pretty crappy. All three elections were
marked by massive pan-European campaigns aimed directly at voters by
social movements, unions, human rights organisations, etc. Read about
the Attac campaign in France 2003, f'rinstance.

Because the Nice treaty is bad, a new treaty must be good. The Lisbon
treaty ain't.

/amelia