EU 'failing its people'
BBC | 30.11.2001 17:05
Belgium says the European Union is out of touch with its citizens and has failed to placate its critics in a draft document prepared for the Laeken summit in two weeks' time.
[The European citizen] no longer recognises himself in the European institutions, which he criticises as heavy, rigid and above all
lacking in transparency
Belgian document
Drawn up by Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, the leaked draft says the union is facing an identity crisis and a gulf is opening between the people and Brussels.
It also contains Belgium's proposals for a radical reform of EU institutions to stem a rising tide of Euroscepticism and prepare for the admission of 10 new members in 2004.
Correspondents say the document may yet undergo several changes before being presented at the Laeken conference.
Secretive
Mr Verhofstadt is touring EU capitals with the draft document, entitled The Future of the European Union.
Belgian draft proposals
Directly elected European president
European Constitution
Enshrining Charter of Fundamental Rights in EU law
Extension of qualified majority voting
Cross-European political parties
Council of Ministers to become second parliament
"A gulf has opened up between the citizen and the European
institutions... He [the citizen] no longer recognises himself in the European
institutions, which he criticises as heavy, rigid and above all
lacking in transparency," the document says.
It goes on to say that citizens find the union is too little involved in the issues that matter and interferes too much in matters best left to national governments.
People also find that too much is being done behind closed doors, without public knowledge or democratic control, the report
found.
The UK's Times newspaper reports that the French Government, in particular, believes that the draft prejudges too many issues that should be debated further and decided by heads of government in 2004.
Bigger terror role
More Eurosceptical states, such as Sweden and Britain, are likely to disagree with proposals to transfer more power to a Commission headed by an elected president, at the expense of national governments.
As further proof of disenchantment, the document cites Denmark's and Ireland's No votes in recent referendums on European questions, as well as the low turnout in recent Euro-elections.
Surveys show that ordinary citizens want the EU to play a bigger role in fighting terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration and tackling environmental ills, the report says.
"The citizen demands a clear, transparent, efficient and democratic approach (from Europe)... There is no doubt that Europe must, for this reason, fundamentally reform itself, refresh its ideas and in a certain way reinvent itself," the document says.
[The European citizen] no longer recognises himself in the European institutions, which he criticises as heavy, rigid and above all
lacking in transparency
Belgian document
Drawn up by Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, the leaked draft says the union is facing an identity crisis and a gulf is opening between the people and Brussels.
It also contains Belgium's proposals for a radical reform of EU institutions to stem a rising tide of Euroscepticism and prepare for the admission of 10 new members in 2004.
Correspondents say the document may yet undergo several changes before being presented at the Laeken conference.
Secretive
Mr Verhofstadt is touring EU capitals with the draft document, entitled The Future of the European Union.
Belgian draft proposals
Directly elected European president
European Constitution
Enshrining Charter of Fundamental Rights in EU law
Extension of qualified majority voting
Cross-European political parties
Council of Ministers to become second parliament
"A gulf has opened up between the citizen and the European
institutions... He [the citizen] no longer recognises himself in the European
institutions, which he criticises as heavy, rigid and above all
lacking in transparency," the document says.
It goes on to say that citizens find the union is too little involved in the issues that matter and interferes too much in matters best left to national governments.
People also find that too much is being done behind closed doors, without public knowledge or democratic control, the report
found.
The UK's Times newspaper reports that the French Government, in particular, believes that the draft prejudges too many issues that should be debated further and decided by heads of government in 2004.
Bigger terror role
More Eurosceptical states, such as Sweden and Britain, are likely to disagree with proposals to transfer more power to a Commission headed by an elected president, at the expense of national governments.
As further proof of disenchantment, the document cites Denmark's and Ireland's No votes in recent referendums on European questions, as well as the low turnout in recent Euro-elections.
Surveys show that ordinary citizens want the EU to play a bigger role in fighting terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration and tackling environmental ills, the report says.
"The citizen demands a clear, transparent, efficient and democratic approach (from Europe)... There is no doubt that Europe must, for this reason, fundamentally reform itself, refresh its ideas and in a certain way reinvent itself," the document says.
BBC
Homepage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1684000/1684815.stm
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Europe is shit
30.11.2001 19:46
Leaked documents show pro-euro campaign in chaos- legal threat still looms
Leaked documents from the European Movement, reported in the Times on 26 November, show the pro-euro campaign in chaos. The documents, sent to the no campaign, contain letters from the former head of Britain in Europe’s South West operation, Ken Daly, who launches a scathing attack on the campaign’s leadership. According to Mr Daly, “Make no mistake, there are aspects of our organisation which are rotten to the core. The character assassination that has gone on in the last year is out of the ordinary… We are running a campaign - not a circus.”
Mr Daly was particularly critical of Britain in Europe’s Director, Simon Buckby, who has faced persistent criticism for BiE’s lamentable performance over the last two years. According to Ken Daly, Simon Buckby turned against him because he was “too tough to accept the bullying he inflicts, and seems to enjoy inflicting, on younger staff”. He also stated that “Buckby’s control freakery verges on the seriously paranoid and blinds him to the realities on ground.”
The documents also revealed internal concern that the pro-euro campaign is, because of Simon Buckby, far too close associated with the Labour Party. Ken Daly wrote, “Perhaps more serious is the attempt to impose more Labour apparatchiks on an already seriously imbalanced situation.”
A copy of the leaked documents is available at www.no-euro.com/swie.pdf. An updated version of our document on the pro-euro network is available at www.no-euro.com/proeuro.pdf. If anyone has any further information on the links between the Government and the European Commission to the euro campaign, please reply to
Britain in Europe are facing further problems. The no campaign has been told that after having agreed to issue a full apology to Derek Bennett, who they wrongly claimed was a “self-confessed neighbourhood nazi” (they got the wrong man), Simon Buckby had second thoughts. The apology was due to be issued in last week’s BiE bulletin - which was never sent out. Buckby’s intransigence may cost BiE, who are now facing the threat of further legal action.
However, despite their obvious problems, BiE are planning a major campaign to coincide with the introduction of notes and coins. They are planning a series of press ads endorsed by pro-euro businesses.
Reginald Mitchell