When I see
articles in my newspaper that President Chirac is taking about plan B it raises
concerns particularly when I have read elsewhere, on more than one occasion
recently, that proposed EU constitution is dead. But then I remember that the
current President of the EU is a rather devious character that I would refer to
as a liar, but I won’t.
My fear on that
score is the recent spectacle of an 82year old comrade being ejected from the
New Labour annual gathering that once went under title of National Conference
for heckling Tony Blair and apparently being charged under anti-terrorist
legislation – could this same legislation extend to my being deported from my
home in Spain as I am still a British subject?
But I digress back
to Monsieur Chirac and his plan B, we all know that we cannot that we cannot
predict just what Tony Blair as leader of anything will do next. I believe that
if he could up anchor the UK, minus Northern Ireland of course, he would,
supported by a large majority of New Labour and the whole of the Tories except
Ken Clarke, float it off across the Atlantic and park it just off the coast of
the US. Obviously away from New Orleans or Florida, no flies on our Tony. Then
he would apply for statehood along side other off shore habitats such as Hawaii
and Puerto Rico.
This would imply
that Tony was quite prepared to accept the US Constitution and all it stands for
including that nasty word F e d e r a l i s m with it’s division of powers
between President, Parliament and the judiciary, funny how being closer to
George gives things a different perspective. I mention this because I am a
strong supporter of a united Europe, not the loose undemocratic alliance of the
un-elected council of ministers and the unaccountable central bank that will
destroy the last vestiges of public services and serve only to make a few a heck
of a lot richer, but a united Europe based on the socialist ideals of equality,
social justice, full employment and the sustainable use of both human and
natural resources, probably governed as a federation.
Now call me
altruistic, idealistic, or just plain stupid but when I read extensively about
the referenda in France and the Netherlands and the overwhelming majority that
voted against the ratification of the proposed EU Constitution guess what, they
too where Idealistic and altruistic, but they were not stupid. They knew that
the type of Europe they wanted and it much closer to my ideas than the one they
were being asked to vote for – so they said NO resoundingly. So what is
happening with our Tony as President of the EU? Well his advisers, are believe
it or not, are slightly more astute than Monsieur Chirac they are telling Tony
that with a bit of careful stealth, sorry planning, they can get most of the
important points in through the back door and if he can’t why did he appoint Mr
Mandelson to the commission?
So the limbo over
the Constitution is to continue, apparently to be addressed again next January –
post the Blair Presidency. But what about the promises, the so called period of
reflection in which we, the citizens of Europe I think that means, are supposed
to take part in a broad debate ‘involving citizens, civil society, social
partners, national parliaments and political parties’ promised by the council of
ministers and the commission on 16/17 June, see
www.rojoyverde.blogspot under the heading “The EU pause for thought?” dated
27 June for more details.
In the meantime we
are being sold Turkey, Turkey as the next members of the EU that is. Now there
may be some valid reasons for seeing Turkey as a part of the EU but are they
better candidates than perhaps Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Rumania, Bulgaria
…must I go on? And do we really need another expansion quite so soon?
So why Turkey you
ask, well we all remember that Turkey is a member of NATO (although they are
nowhere near the North Atlantic) and is not true that they have borders with
both Iraq and Iran? Trying not to sound too much like a conspiracy theorist
didn’t the US want to use as a base when Iraq was invaded, is Tony really trying
to use his period as EU President to soften us all up for his pal George? We
should not hold our breath on this one.
And of course what
is one of the most contentious parts of the proposed EU constitution? Why, the
section that commits EU member states to take part in preventative wars if one
of their number is threatened by an outside party, get Turkey in a threat to EU
security from Iran and Bingo that bit of the proposed constitution is up and
running without any need for referenda or consultation.
