13 December, 2008

EU: the Irish problem


The extraordinary story of the EU Constitution rolls on. It is rejected by France and Holland (and would have been by several others, who didn't get around to voting), it is given a different title 'The Lisbon Treaty' and that is rejected by Ireland. A stranger would have thought that was it, but it is an indication of how inured we are to the anti-democratic nature of the European political class that no one was really surprised when the Irish were told to vote again.


The problem now facing the eurocrats (and don't forget the livelihood of many of them may depend on this) is that if the Irish are given the same old rubbish they will vote no again, probably with an even bigger margin because of the insult to their intelligence. But if there are any actual changes to the Treaty then they have to be put to all 27 member states again (without, I suggest, a snowball's chance in hell of being approved).


So they have to make changes without doing so. This will be in the form of 'clarifications' of the text, and I fully expect some Belgian lawyer to say he has looked at it carefully and it is quite in order.


That is the nature of the regime under which we live.

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