Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has spent half a million euros fighting for a Yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty. Ireland was voting Friday on the EU’s Lisbon Treaty in a crunch second referendum. (AFPTV)
Fear and anger
A huge round up on the referendum and other news from the EU
MAIN FOCUS: The Irish referendum – part II | 02/10/2009
The Irish will once more vote in a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon today, Friday. The Treaty can only go into force once it has been ratified by all 27 EU member states. In the first referendum in June 2008, 53 percent of the Irish electorate said ‘no’ to the EU Reform Treaty, and things look just as close today. The European press speculates on the outcome of the second Irish referendum and the repercussions it could have.
Lisbon 2009 referendum: Better than Nice
Today three million Irish voters decide if they want Ireland to participate fully in an improved European Union, or if they want the EU to stagnate.
Two-speed Europe is the dog that doesn?t bark
According to Brian Cowen, Ireland?s premier, a No result in Friday?s referendum on the European Union?s Lisbon treaty would raise the prospect of a ?two-speed Europe?, with some countries forging ahead with closer political and economic integration and others staying outside. But isn?t a two-speed Europe the dog that is hauled out of its kennel every time
European Union aims (short version)
Friday?s vote in Ireland means a choice between the Treaty of Nice and the amending Treaty of Lisbon.
This is the short version of the aims of the European Union, straight from Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) of the consolidated (readable) Lisbon Treaty:
20 Reasons to Vote Yes to Lisbon
I got sent this list the other day, but due to events I am only posting it now. They are under a few caetgories and are linked!
Introduction speech – European Culture Forum, Brussels
The Forum kicked off with a welcome speech by Ján Figel (commissionner responsible for education, training, culture and youth). He stressed out that the essential values discussed in the forum were reflected and embedded in each other – for instance, creativity is always reflected in and by diversity. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, Swedish minister of Culture, also reminded the audience that one of the focus points of the Swedish presidency is to strengthen the link between education/schools and cultural operators/artists, in order for children to be able to develop their creative abilities in their younger years. The relevance and importance of this topic in the cultural policy landscape was demonstrated by the success of the event “Promoting a creative generation”, organised in July 2009 in Göteborg.
Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD)
As we noted about the political groups in the European Parliament and in parallel with the anti-EU European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the new home for Europhobes, the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group is practically inexistent on the web.
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
As we noted about the political groups in the European Parliament, the anti-EU European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) seems to be practically inexistent on the web.
Authors receive EU literature prize
Excellent Lisbon Treaty information
Jason O?Mahony has been blogging away like a stakhanovite, mixing fact, fiction and humour against the backdrop of the Irish Lisbon 2009 referendum. His post on ?The best Lisbon Treaty information out there? represented the more sober side of his ?ramblings?.
Results of the German National Elections, Sunday, September 27, 2009
The German national elections, held every four years, were held yesterday, Sunday, September 27, 2009.
There were some changes, but in stable Germany, such changes are seldom earth-shaking, even if the currently ruling grand coalition of the left and the right was deposed.
MAIN FOCUS: What will become of the Social Democrats? | 29/09/2009
After their major defeat in the elections to the Bundestag, Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have been relegated to the opposition with just 23 percent of the vote. For the last four years the SPD formed a grand coalition with the conservative Christian Democrats. The European press discusses the future of the battered Social Democrats and their relations with The Left party.
European Union values
One of the good things about the Lisbon Treaty is its statement on the founding values, in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union:
?The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.?
The Czechs will probably ratify the Lisbon treaty this year
by Charles Grant
Any prediction about the timing of the Czech Republic?s ratification of the Lisbon treaty must be heavily qualified; politics in Prague are so complex and opaque that many Czechs find it hard to understand what is going on. But having just spent a couple of days talking to politicians and officials in Prague, I think it likely that the Czechs will ratify this year.