Well, technically he did not really answer the question (“I am afraid to disappoint the honorable gentleman and his wife… We are better off inside the EU but making changes to it…”) but a referendum is definitely not on the agenda. Cameron will not risk it as he seems to be afraid of a negative [...]

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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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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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Kosmolinks #16

by Kosmopolit in Kosmolinks

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The Irish ‘no’ and the EU’s “nuclear”option Daniel Gros (CEPS) argues for “a radical solution – the other EU members should propose to leave the old EU and create a new one with the Lisbon Treaty as its founding document.” So much for bringing Europe closer to the people Everyone is right and wrong at [...]

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The problems with the Irish referendum: In any representative democracy a document with 271 pages (479 pages in the consolidated version!) of legal text should never be put to a referendum. The method of EU treaty ratification should be the same in every member state. A very weak YES campaign and a quite strong NO [...]

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