EU Fiscal Compact: Barroso's "27 Minus" Unravels As Quickly As His Attacks On Cameron
Source: eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue PlatformPublished Thursday, December 15, 2011 - 00:04
During the Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, the Labour leader Ed Miliband accused the Prime Minister David Cameron for “isolating” Britain and wrecking the chances of the eurozone solve the debt crisis. A day earlier, the European Commission President Jose Barroso made the same accusation in the European Parliament, a view backed up by many MEPs including British MEPs.
They went on about how all member states except for the United Kingdom everyone has signed up to this “treaty” proposed by Merkozy and backed by the unelected, unaccountable European Commission. But suddenly there are quite a few countries in the European Union who are now not so sure about this so called “fiscal compact”. These include both non-eurozone members such as Czech Republic, Hungary and even Poland while Ireland would most likely face a referendum which the Eurocrats would lose.
Michael Noonan, the Irish Finance Minister, on a visit to London said Ireland might have to hold a referendum on it. “Our legal people won't be able to call it until we see a text, because it's a fine legal position in Ireland,” he said. “You have to go to the people if it requires constitutional change”.
He also pointed out that if such a referendum took place then it is more than likely the Irish voters would reject the treaty and Mr. Noonan did not want to have two referendums like the Treaty of Nice and the Lisbon Treaty.
The four non-eurozone government heads – Swedish, Czech, Danish and Polish - who agreed to go ahead with the treaty on Friday morning and leaving Cameron as the only person in the room to stop these undemocratic, as well as impractical ideas that do not resolve the actual debt crisis but instead focus on navel gazing. They have since now changed their tune and warned that they might not be able to take their country with them and hence they might not sign the inter-governmental agreement.
"Right now, there is not much more than a blank sheet of paper and even the name of the future treaty might still change," the Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said. Even some eurozone countries are having second thoughts especially because of their domestic politics.
In countries where the government may be willing such as Italy and Greece – public sector unions and the public in general seem to be singing off script and making enough noises that could scupper the deal. But there is little surprise that countries are having second thoughts.
Member states are being asked to surrender sovereignty, impose huge austerity measures which would definitely choke growth but in return, there are getting little if anything at all. The only country that really benefits from this so called “compact” is Germany because it allows it would have a devalued currency on which it has built a very successful export economy.
But they do not want to share the burden of the euro. Dr. Merkel has rejected once again any Eurobonds as well as increasing the size of the bailout fund and quantitative easing by the European Central Bank is still opposed by the Bundesbank and the German government.
It is definitely not a “quid pro quo” situation and not many member state governments or indeed the European Parliament are keen on giving extraordinary powers to the European Commission at the expense of the national electorates. And so Barroso’s 27 minus” statement is quickly becoming one more sound bite from Europe which is delusional, grandiose and has little relation with reality.
But try telling that to Sarkozy who attacked the Prime Minister today for being a “stubborn kid” and the Labour party who still believes the British “veto” of a stupid idea was a bad thing. However, Cameron was having none of it and made it abundantly clear that he would not “apologise” for standing up for Britain’s national interests.
Somehow in Europe it is okay for the German Chancellor to stand up for her country’s interest but when the British Prime Minister does so and thus protects democracy and accountability in Europe then he is a villain. Yet more and more countries are now worried about signing up to such an economic suicide pact but not the French President though. No wonder it is getting more and more likely that the French public would soon throw him out of the Elysee Palace.







