Yeah, because the loss of the ability to 'send the Irish in', in the event of an armed conflict was a HUGE concession, wasn't it. Also I'm guessing you missed the part where I mentioned that only 3 countries bothered to ask their people whether they wanted to ratify Maastricht. That's the issue... if they can avoid asking the question, they do. If they can't they fiddle the terms such that, ... it has been a matter of scholarly dispute as to whether or not every one of these treaties has been sufficiently far-reaching as to actually necessitate a constitutional amendment. IOW they altered something that was largely irrelevant and put in a few clauses and terms that sounded like they meant something but, in reality, probably don't. The bottom line IS, 'JUST GET IS PASSED'. There's a reason for this situation... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_deficit_in_the_European_Union The concept of a democratic deficit within the European Union is the notion that the governance of the European Union (EU) lacks democratic legitimacy. The term was initially used to criticise the transfer of legislative powers from national governments to the Council of (national government) Ministers of the EU. This led to an elected European Parliamentbeing created in 1979 and given the power to approve or reject EU legislation. Since then, usage of the term has broadened to describe newer issues facing the European Union. However voter turnout has fallen consecutively at the seven elections since the first election in 1979 and voter turnout in the 2014 election stood at 42.54% of all European voters. This is the lowest of any national election in the 27 countries of the European Union where turnout at national elections averages 68% across the EU.[1]
Because that's the way representative democracy works. You vote for the people whose politics you like best and those people make political decisions on your behalf. If you vote for pro EU parties you get pro EU politics. It's not rocket science. So your opinion is people are never allowed to change their mind even if the deal on the table changes to adress their concerns otherwise it's undemocratic. I guess that's why you only vote once in your life and then are never allowed to change your mind ever again. Oh wait people are allowed to change their minds but only on subjects that you approve of, I forgot.
It's not a matter of being 'Pro EU' or 'Anti EU' because what the EU does can be changed. The Irish didn't vote for the 2nd amendment and not vote for the 1st because they'd become especially 'Pro EU'... they were that BEFORE as well. The reason we weren't asked about Maastricht is because it was feared we'd have voted against it and they didn't want to take that risk. I get that that's our fault but the point you're missing is that this is what's happening... that's why only a handful of people get the chance to have their say on most of this stuff.
I'm surprised to I'm surprised to see this is happening all across Europe. In the Netherlands the social-democrats failed to protect the interests of employees during their last government participation and their refusal to acknowledge the problems with migration and they were hammered in the last elections. The German situation is different?
@babaorum Es lebe die deutsch-französische Freundschaft! Vor 55 Jahren wurde der #Élysée-Vertrag unterzeichnet. Heute sagen Kanzlerin #Merkel und @EmmanuelMacron: Wir wollen den Vertrag erneuern – und Europa neuen Schub geben. pic.twitter.com/JjUeapsn4E— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecherStS) January 21, 2018
Anti-EU parties did well in Italy, but can they work together? https://www.economist.com/news/euro...ctions-may-be-needed-anti-eu-parties-make-big
Probably not. Though I am sure many of Europe's male leaders are looking forward to invites from PM Bunga Bunga.
They might be able to but, with Italy in the euro, their power to actually change anything will be strictly limited. How long this situation can continue remains to be seen. Populist gains in Italy show the scale of Europe’s anger epidemic It is testimony to how low expectations in Brussels have fallen that before the vote, Berlusconi was seen as the least worst available option. The hope was that he might sand the Eurosceptic edges from Italian nationalism. Italy is the third-largest economy in the eurozone and a founder nation of the EU. Rome cannot be excluded from debates about vital structural reforms, but that conversation is politically tricky with a country that can’t form a stable government. It is also morally compromised if that country ends up governed to the beat of a quasi-fascist drum. There was an interesting piece by a Harvard guy in the grauniad about all this... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/04/shock-system-liberal-democracy-populism
First time since 1993. The funny thing is Germany and France used to be aligned in debt to GDP and now France is closing in on 100% debt to GDP and Germany will reach 60% debt to GDP which is another rule/goal of Maastricht.
@babaorum French Twilight Zone: When you're a socialist finance minister and proud of not making new debt
@babaorum Germany debt to GDP 62.9% France debt to GDP 97.7% plz explain https://www.statista.com/statistics...es-in-relation-to-gross-domestic-product-gdp/
Italy debt to GDP 132% Agreed upon future deficits, 2.4% per year over 3 years. So Italy the new Greece? https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/09/28/italy-announces-a-budget-that-could-wreck-its-economy
So Italy wants to bust the EU budget deficit limit, then Macron from France in the face of protest says to Italy hold my beer. Les Echos says Macron's measures to buy off the gilets jaunes could bring France's deficit close to 3.5% of GDP. There's a danger that developments in France, Italy and Germany could now start to interact destructively. https://t.co/VjPt6cu4KF (Short thread).— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) December 11, 2018 And this is in large part because of Italy's showdown with the European Commission. Salvini is already exploiting Macron's difficulties. Wink at Paris, and you make Brussels's battle with Rome that much harder. These arguments are already surfacing in the German press. (5/6)— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) December 11, 2018
Well France and Italy are not the most responsible countries in terms of government overspending. It will definitely test the new bromance (sexist term I know) between Germany and France.
Germany officially avoids being in technical recession. https://tradingeconomics.com/germany/gdp-growth https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/14/germany-q3-gdp-2019.html
Gay rights in Poland "They try to convince us that #LGTB-s are human beings. But it is just an ideology" - said Polish president @AndrzejDuda during a rally in Brzeg. Two weeks before the presidential election Duda, who is down in the polls, uses homophobic rhetoric to mobilize his supporters pic.twitter.com/iHPjIKTFEJ— Bartosz T. Wieliński 🇵🇱🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@Bart_Wielinski) June 13, 2020
As an outsider I fear that Hungary is already gone and Poland is heading that direction. The only advantage for Poland over Hungary is that the main Polish parties are generally so anti-Russian they will not start allying with Putin, as Orban seems to be. As an American conservative, I am worried by the increasing number or Orban fanboys on the the right in this country.