Dear Journalists…

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

· 13 Comments

Following the Yes vote on the Lisbon treaty in Ireland the media is full with articles and reports about the EU, the Lisbon treaty and the Irish vote. Unfortunately, journalistic accuracy for EU related topic is not that widespread. At least I get the impression after reading and watching a fair amount of material in [...]

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Ireland voted YES: But what's next?

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

· 6 Comments

Finally, a YES for the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland. At least the second attempt was successful.  So , what’s next? Now it is up to the Polish and Czech presidents to sign the treaty as well.  Lech Kaczinski, the Polish president, promised to sign the text after the Irish voted ”yes’. So this leaves an [...]

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The Irish referendum is on the horizon. So it is time to explain the Lisbon Treaty (again!). Here it is: The second edition (“Lisbon ’09 – The Rematch version”) of the most entertaining Lisbon treaty paper ever published and of course  it is bigger, better, faster and with Omega 3:  So, enjoy Jason O’Mahony’s  New [...]

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Quotes of the Week (VI)

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

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Richard Laming (Federal Union Blog) The powers that the EU ought to have are those that the member states cannot exercise effectively on their own: no more and no less. Nosemonkey: the EU’s “democratic deficit”[...] is actually preserving the sovereignty of the member states. Jean Quatremer: (Solana) L’homme qui “parle toutes les langues sans qu’on [...]

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After several months of rather difficult diplomatic negotiations (see for example here and here), the draft text for the Irish is now available -  Read the draft text here (pdf). The text will be discussed during the  June summit of the European Council this week in Brussels. Sorry, no time for further comments. Probably a [...]

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So, just in time for next years European Parliament elections Declan Ganley launched his Libertas party, or “pan-European movement” as he would label it. However, so far the ‘party’ neither has programme nor candidates which I think is major shortcoming when launching a party. You would at least expect some basic policy goals in order [...]

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Ireland: Post Referendum Research Findings

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

· 3 Comments

The long awaited report on the underlying causes of the No vote on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland has been published.  You can read the complete report here: “Post Lisbon Treaty Referendum Research Findings (.pdf)” Here some key findings: The main reason for abstaining in this referendum was lack of understanding/knowledge (46%), which is far [...]

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Kosmolinks #17

by Kosmopolit in Kosmolinks

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The referendum: populism vs democracy The idea of the referendum as an instrument of the people’s will rests on pre-democratic foundations, says George Schöpflin. I certainly agree! A better way with referendums Interesting idea: Is it possible to introduce a more deliberative approach when holding a referendum? Does “deliberative polling” make citizens more knowledgeable? Instead [...]

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Cameron vs. Brown

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

· No Comments

Interesting how Gordon Brown defends the EU and the Lisbon Treaty: Conviction or tactics? Interesting how Gordon Brown defends the EU and the Lisbon Treaty: Conviction or tactics? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uVFkzzLkL0]

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Wise words…

by Kosmopolit in EU politics

· 2 Comments

Jean-Claude Juncker, PM of Luxembourg made a few interesting comments at a conference that took place in Brussels just one day before the European Council: “Politicians give the impression that Europe is being built against their will. Governments always try to explain in their countries that they have won against Europe” And asked about a [...]

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