Commission head urges fast action to repair european treaty

[Silverback]

STRASBOURG, France: The head of the European Commission on Wednesday urged EU countries to act quickly to resolve a political crisis caused by Ireland's rejection of the bloc's reform treaty.

Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament that governments need time to regroup "but equally we should not take too long." He urged the eight countries that have not yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty to do so.

Speaking a day before leaders of the EU's 27 countries were to meet at a summit in Brussels to discuss the Irish "no" vote, Barroso said the EU must work closely with the Irish government to find a way out of the impasse.

The treaty, replacing a proposed EU constitution that Dutch and French voters rejected in 2005, seeks to reform EU powers and institutions in line with a rapid expansion of the bloc eastward in recent years, but the Irish rejection dealt it a major blow.

All 27 EU nations must ratify the text for it to take effect. It has been endorsed in legislative votes in 18 EU nations. The parliaments of eight nations — Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Sweden and Britain — have not yet voted on the treaty.

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[rgrokelley]

"Europe has very little to lose if it loses Ireland, but Ireland has everything to lose if it loses Europe," he said.

The last time I visited Ireland, in 1994, the country was sucking wind. They had no industry to speak of, the country was on massive welfare, unemployment was incredibly high. In one town there was 75% of the population on the "dole" (welfare).

This changed in the 21st century and it is now known as the Irish miracle. They got rid of a good chunk of welfare, lowered taxes, lowered corporate taxes, and became the silicon valley of Europe.

I don't think the Irish really care for the EU right now, since it seems to be doing pretty bad.

On a sidenote, the eurodollar is always compared as doing better than the US dollar. However Europe doesn't have to worry about any invasions or threats, mainly because the US Army is parked in their yard. So they don't have to spend much for defense. If they did, that eurodollar would be a shadow to the US dollar.

Lucky for them they have the best Army in the world to back them up.

[RangerX]

Fuck the European Union.

[Horned Toad]

This changed in the 21st century and it is now known as the Irish miracle. They got rid of a good chunk of welfare, lowered taxes, lowered corporate taxes, and became the silicon valley of Europe.

I don't think the Irish really care for the EU right now, since it seems to be doing pretty bad.

What little I have read on this says that the Irish started the turn around at the school level with better education. I like how the Irish put all ratification of EU treaties to a vote. I think we should do something similar here.

Also fuck the EUx2

[rgrokelley]

This changed in the 21st century and it is now known as the Irish miracle. They got rid of a good chunk of welfare, lowered taxes, lowered corporate taxes, and became the silicon valley of Europe.

I don't think the Irish really care for the EU right now, since it seems to be doing pretty bad.

What little I have read on this says that the Irish started the turn around at the school level with better education. I like how the Irish put all ratification of EU treaties to a vote. I think we should do something similar here.

Also fuck the EUx2

We do. Though the President can negotiate a treaty, the Senate is the approving authority for treaties. All treaties must pass by vote.

Now, throw in the supremacy clause of the Constitution and it becomes a dangerous thing. Any treaty approved now becomes the supreme law of the land, and it can over-ride our Constitution. This is why all that fine print must be read to make sure we aren't stripping away any of our rights. This is also why we tend to blow off a lot of treaties from the UN.