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

[Reinier Bakels]

> > Here the difference between theory and practice is particularly 
> > apparent. Afaik Council Meetings are "wine and dine"
> > events, and the actual decisions are prepared by officials e.g. in 
> > COREPER. There is no media coverage whatsoever of
> > Council Meetings, and the ministers are seldomly asked in parliament to 
> > explain what they did in the Council.
>
> Unfortunately, it is what happens. Did Nice's or does Lisboa's change 
> this?

No! But no legal text will ever change a mentality problem. So logically, 
all "Lisbon" alternatives will be rejected, as long as there is no mentality 
change. I am *not* referring to the mentality problem of national 
governments being reluctant to submit the "Lisbon" approval to a referendum. 
It is not constructive. It will lead to a "no", as you rightly point out. 
And then? That is the real problem!

There are many, very different explanations of the Irish "no" floating 
around. Well, the Irish were obviously *not* upset about not having a 
referendum, because they had one. The Irish are believed to regret a loss of 
national identity in a united Europe. The Irish may have been opposed 
against the "Lisbon" contents (for completeness, I don't believe this - even 
if they perhaps would have had good reasons). Local politics may have played 
a role. And some people argue that Ireland is a Microsoft stronghold, and 
nowadays the EU with its tough competition commissioner Neelie Kroes is not 
really Microsofts friend: in more general terms: a strong EU is not in US 
interests, and he US is (apparently?) influential in Ireland.

In my analysis, the actual text is immaterial as long as there is a 
mentality problem with the EU. For PP, I believe the most important thing is 
that the EU is a massive "policy laundering machine" for intellectual 
property. A close analysis of the process leading to many intellectual 
property directives learns, that *on paper* the political process was OK. 
The problem was they way it was handled by politicians: notably the 
ineffectiveness of the European Council, which is supposed to be central in 
the decision making process! This mentality problem is probably explained by 
the total lack of interest of mainstream media for Brussels and Strasburg 
politics. Only incidents are reported that have some curiosity value. 
Frankly I blieve it would be in the interest of both the proponents and the 
critics of the EU to improve visibility.

Would the PP be helpful to reveal the undemocratic nature of the *actual* 
political processes in Brussels to a general public? There is an abundance 
of examples!

As a lawyer, I often find that opponents of whatever law revert to legal 
arguments. Like: is having a referendum on "Lisbon" accoding to the rules, 
or isn't it? I don't think such a "more of the same" approach is very 
helpful. Don't try to be a better lawyer than a lawyer. Build on your own 
strength: being a *real* citizen with *real* experience and *real* concerns 
of the *actual* reality! (As opposed to the "legal reality" which is 
actually no reality at all!)

reinier



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