Regrouping of the European Union? Now It's Your Turn!
A little bit less than a week after the Irish decided against ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in a popular vote, the British House of Lords approved ratification of the treaty, thus paving the way to official ratification by the Queen. Jurist has more [link].
The fact that Great Britain approved the Treaty of Lisbon might have brought some relief to the European heads of state who met today to discuss, inter alia, how to save the treaty despite the Irish "no" vote last week. Program and further information on the meeting are available here [link to official website of Slovenian presidency]. Yet, a concrete solution by the European heads of state for dealing with the Irish non-ratification is not expected before fall.
I thought we could help the European heads of state and discuss possible ways out of what now seems to be a dead end. Since the Irish referendum, various propositions have been made to this regard: e.g. having Irish vote again (as it was done few years ago with the Treaty of Nice) or giving up the whole European idea ... just to name a few extremes. I am, however, sure that many of you - regardless whether you are a European citizen or not, whether you are pro or con the European Union - have your own proper ideas on the future of the EU. With my blog, I would like to provide a platform for everyone to voice and discuss his/her thoughts about the future of the European Union.
I am looking forward to your comments!
1 comment:
The negative outcome of the Irish referendum has turned the spotlight on some of the fundamental flaws of the European Union.
Not much is to be expected from the European leaders in a while, if ever.
Therefore, it is important that researchers, students, editorialists, columnists, bloggers and concerned EU citizens highlight the Achilles' heels of the European Union and try to explore suitable remedies.
Some of the questions which suggest themselves are:
1) National referendums as instruments to decide European level questions.
2) The relative merits of referendums vs. representative democracy.
3) The rule of unanimous ratification of EU treaties vs. working solutions for entry into force of 'constitutional' rules.
4) Other instances of 'liberum veto' and their effects of EU effectiveness and credibility on the world stage.
5) The lack of democratic foundations for the European Union.
6) US vs. European experiences.
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