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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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]
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 [...]



