Dan Hannan points out that the continued lack of Belgian government—which has caused no crisis or meltdown—means that there might not be anyone to sign the Lisbon Treaty on behalf of that country.
Here's hoping...
How deliciously apt it would be if the Belgian crisis prevented the proposed signature of the constitution, the inoperability of one supra-national federation heralding the decline of another.
Here's hoping...
Labels: EU, general hilarity, musings, politics
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28 Blogger Comments:
Perhaps Adolphina Merkel could offer to sign the treaty on behalf of all members. Alternatively, she could send in the tanks through the Ardennes and set up a puppet government. There won't be any countries coming to the aid of gallant Belgian this time as the EU governments don't believe in national sovereignty. In fact, expect to see Mandy in one of the lead tanks, which will, of course, be hybrids.
There are such tanks all over Europe as I write, gobbling it all up into a super-state.
They are stealth tanks, and better known as think tanks.
If they're managing to thwart the democratic wills of so many of the peoples of the member states, a minor point like a signature won't stop them.
They could use a signature stamp or what about G. Brown p.p. Belgium?
Didn't the Times of Ireland have a poll on Monday and it came back that only 25% would vote in the referendum for the treaty/constitution.
Nice to think that would be the case- curiously enough it may have to be signed by the King since he appoints the Belgian Government to act in his place and currently the parties he has approached to form a governemnt have not succeeded in doing so,
When was the last time a Ruropean King actuually signed a Constitution sorry Treaty?
As usual Dan Hannan is talking bollocks. Until a new Belgian government can be formed Guy Verhofstadt remains Prime Minister and can sign the treaty on behalf of the King.
The treaty would be signed by heads of state, not heads of government, in most cases this would be a monarch in the case of constitutional monarchies; the UK, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Holland and Luxembourg.
I think they all signed the Maastricht Treaty ?
This is what happens when people in a country dont speak the same language and one group gets better treatment than the other Etc! The EU will never be one Nation while it speaks different languages and has different cultures will it? As far as I can see the fucking Frogs are the major problem here with their constant moaning and whinging! Canada has the same troubles, what is it about the fucking frogs that they have to cause trouble all the time to get their own childish way all the time?
Why cant the fucking Frogs just accept that Britain kicked their 'surrender monkey' arses at Waterloo and move on? sulky fucks!
interesting - no national government in belgium and yet life continues on with localised government.
which begs the question - whats the point of big national government?
"Didn't the Times of Ireland have a poll on Monday and it came back that only 25% would vote in the referendum for the treaty/constitution."
that wouldnt surprise me. the Irish have only been interested in the EU if the money was coming in. they are due to become a net contributor to the EU - hence the sea change.
in fairness, i know of no irish person who has bought into the whole EU Federalist stuff (beyond such slimey toads as Peter Sutherland and "Sir" Tony O'Reilly who really are West Britons and have never bought into the Republic)
they're still a fairly nationalistic lot and the minute it goes against them, they'll be out of it.
DK -> this is completely OT , but have you checked out the Respect home page recently.
i find it a useful guide in what NOT to support, because if the far-left SWP nutjobs are supporting it then it must be a bad idea. the Soviet Union and the GDR/Stasiland are prime examples of that.
check out their right hand column
http://www.respectcoalition.org/index.php?sec=1
"climate change" appears. no surprises there, eh?
"climate change"... from the organisation that is making commisars and various hangers on fly from Brussels to Lisbon to sign this complete betrayal of ALL peoples of Europe.
and to think that my ancestors fought in the mountains of Kerry against this imperial shite. cold, wet, damp and hunted like animals.
all for the idea of "independence".
i have to had it to the Eurocrats - the EU empire is so far removed from "normal" people's everyday lives that it is undetectable. its an empire that is hidden from the average person in the street.
and that is precisely the point.
The problem with total decentralisation of government, Mr Scruff, is that it elevates in importance the leader in each local area. Each area would have a premier and an education minister and a health minister, etc., including a defense minister (Kent could go to war against Iraq while Essex stayed at home). So don't shout too loud, the pigs will realise there is a bigger, deeper trough up for grabs.
Well, there's a whole spectrum of decentralization - in the scenario you describe, the Kentish would not be able to declare war unilaterally if they had no defense minister, or even the mandate to declare war.
Subjectively speaking, the ideal role of central government is to perform those tasks that:
A) Cannot realistically be done by individual subjects;
and possibly,
B) Cannot realistically be done by some smaller body, closer to the coal face;
with the proviso that,
C) No body be dupicated at both national and sub-national level, and that no sub-national body should be a satellite of a national body.
The apparent point of the central government we actually have is to double in size at every available opportunity - and indeed, create opportunities to double in size - employ everyone that could possibly have an impact on any subject's life, and to standardize just about everything. And to masturbate over my DNA, obviously.
I don't know if that's how the Belgian Federal Government works. It seems that the role I've just ascribed to our central government is performed by the government of each 'Community', but I'm sure someone can correct me here.
Climate change? Surely the main beef there with the EU is that they send the whole fucking Parliament once a cunting month (wonks, aides, stagiares, journalists, hingers on etc with them) from Brussels to Strasbourg. Can you imagine the amount of carbon per annum that amounts to? One can only take a guess? Maybe the EU could do a carbon audit and not get it signed off?
Even if you don't buy into this carbon lark - how much does it fucking cost?
RS
A conservative estimate is 20,000 tonnes of carbon. I'm not sure what the asking price for a tonne of carbon is.
As for real costs, I'm not sure, but around 800 MEPs travel by plane, car and train from Brussels to Strasbourg, along with their attendent officials, journalists, lobbyists and fifteen lorry-loads of official documents.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6589855.stm
Come to think of it...
Would anyone like to buy my carbon allowance? Just £500 and it's yours.
Would anyone like to sell their carbon allowance? £250 okay?
Well it's all very well being hopeful - but does anyone really think that the EUSSR steamroller will be stopped by a small detail like the lack of a Belgian 'government'? (Actually has the lack of/existence of a Belgian government ever made any difference to anything, anyway?). Now that we have finally and categorically been betrayed by that whey-faced c**t Brown and are not longer in any real sense an independent country, it is all rather academic, don't you think? Nothing short of violent insurrection and a state of emergency can get us out of the Euro-nightmare now - and can you see the lard-arsed, ignorant apathetic masses of this country - sorry, province - actually having the gumption to do anything like that? I am already planning my exit to more civilised and free-er climes.
Mr, Hughes
Where are you going lahgbr? Australia and New Zealand are provinces of the USA....
Canada well... Its still nominally the Queen's but that means its a satellite of Europe
Are you planning to go to a deserted tropical island?
PS the Laws in Australia and NZ are worse than here take it from me.
India is the most likely place, I think. Despite its problems it's a society that's managed to modernise without losing sense of its unique culture, and even more a sense of morality and common decency. I've taught in that part of the world before, and believe me, it's a revelation how polite people are, how appreciative and respectful students are, and how much people believe in the kind of values I grew up with which have now almost totally disappeared from this country - sorry, province. Nowhere is perfect of course, but at least I might be able to live somewhere like India for a few years without being driven into a state of raging fury every time I walk down the street!
And come to that, the USA has a lot to be said for it, too. At least they still believe in individual liberty and hate socialism over there!
Mr. Hughes.
are you prepared for the corruption in India though? believe me i've spent three months there and you have to use money as a lubricant for anything you want done urgently
Anonymous Coward,
The Stern Report put the cost of a tonne of carbon at $85 (although most people think that the Stern Report is an outlier and that the cost is about half that).
DK
The true cost of carbon, as a constituent of CO2, is diddly-squat as it is good for sweet fanny adams except as an airborne fertilizer, which it very kindly does for free. Now in the form worn by MrsBud, it is worth about 400000 squid per ounce.
But if there is no government, who will shower beneficence and largesse upon us?
I'm scared at the mere thought of having no government. Won't somebody hold me?
Henry North
- well, at least the corruption is open there, unlike here, where you have to jump through endless bureacratic hoops to get anything done and there is no shortcut - unless you're a NuLabour minister, of course!
yeah well its amazing what 10000 rupees will do for your telephone installation...
I have always wondered where you find the time.
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