The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive - commentaires

The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive

There are indeed a large number of pro-Europeans in the UK, and probably a majority are more or less favourable of the EU. However federalism is a dirty word to the majority in the UK, and any creep towards it will only distance the majority from what is otherwise good in Europe.

This applies not only to the UK, federalists do not have the political high ground anywhere, and why they think they do is beyond me.

The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive

Dear Keith,

Many thanks for pointing out that it was indeed Declan Ganley who was the founder and chairman of the political party Libertas, not Duncan Ganley, as previously cited.

The correction has now been made. Many thanks again for pointing out this important mistake.

The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive

Its Declan rather than Duncan Ganley

The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive

While this article displays correctly that the UK Conservatives have put themselves in an isolated situation within the EP, it is now sure that the possible Tori government cannot ask its citizens any longer about Lisbon as it is in force.

Further, it has to be considered that there are a large number of pro-Europeans in the UK - even in the Conservative party but a conduct of not talking about Europe has come about. Politicians ignoring the topic is far worse than those openly against Europe.

We have to get discussion going - that is the only way of convincing the British public !

The Eurosceptics are on the Offensive

Calling on political parties to get together either in a federalist coalition or in a eurosceptical one... Well, it is not really a new idea. And it has 4 limits.

First, the so-called federalists in the EP are already in a sort of Grand coalition : S&D+ALDE+EPP. And it doesn't really make it more influencial or more visible for the voters.

Second, let's assume political parties deliberately endorsed the idea and acted accordingly. We would have a formal federalist alliance of 300 (?) French, German, Italian, and Spanish (PSOE) MEPs ; and a eurosceptical alliance of 300 (?) MEPs from UK, Central Europe, Spain (PP), Germany (CSU), Italy (Lega Nord). And the rest having no idea where they should stand. Then what ? Do we reach an agreement on Galileo ? On a common defence policy ? On tax harmonisation ? On economic governance ? On minimal social standards ? On the industrial policy ? No. Not even the beginning of an agreement.

Third limit, we can not clearly divide the Parliament between federalists and eurosceptics. On the one hand, take the eurosceptical PiS party (of the Polish Kaczynskis), which seats in the rows of the ECR group : it has had rather unexpected positions on defence and energy. Take De Villiers : he is constantly talking about European protectionism. On the other hand, take the SPD or the CDU. They pretend to be federalist. But they would block any decision in the Council when it comes to economic governance, cooperation in research, energy, industrial policy… And the German governments like to seize any opportunity to remind of the subsidiarity and proportionality principles. In some fields, some of the so-called federalists are just very happy with a passive Europe. And in others, some of the so-called eurosceptics are just criticising the EU for its lack of political leadership.

Fourth limit : organising a regime's political spectrum between those who support its institutional setting and those who criticise it is the best way to destroy this regime. Take the late IVth Republic in France or the Weimar republic.

So what's the solution then ? The solution is not to oppose actors according to their institutional viewpoints, not to get inpiration from the theories about a “consociative Europe” where all parties govern together in harmony, but rather to come back to the good old method : a Europe functioning on the principles of representative democracy, with the rule of the democratically elected majority. For that, existing European political parties should have concrete programmes ahead of the next elections, and designate their front-runners before the start of the campaign, and possibly non-consensual ones.

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