Lisbon Treaty EU Constitution By Another Name
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James Joyner | Tuesday, October 23, 2007 |
An Eastern European journalist blogging under the pseudonym New European has a scary and yet funny take on the Lisbon Treaty, a backdoor deal reached last Friday to circumvent the European public’s distate for “Europe.”
The final deal was struck on Friday in Lisbon, Portugal, where all the EU member states agreed that the new Treaty would be ratified by parliamentary procedures. No more referendums (except for Ireland and possibly the UK if Gordon Brown caves in to the Tories). The EU learned its lesson the first time after France & the Netherlands rejected the Constitution. Democracy is a bitch and it is better to keep the role of deciding the new shape of the European Union out of the hands of the voters.
Why the dull name “Lisbon Treaty” instead of “EU Constitution” or even the “Reform Treaty”? First, the name will simply join the list of the other confusing names of EU institutions and projects: The “European Council”, which is the main decision maker in the EU and features a gathering of the heads of all member states. This is not to be mixed up with the “Council of Europe”, which is a UN-like, human rights watchdog that includes “democratic”, non-EU countries, such as Russia. Confusing? All the better! The populace of the EU isn’t supposed to be able to tell the difference between the myriad of EU institutions!
[...]
In fact, the name “Lisbon Treaty” is designed to suggest that the new document is part of a series of Treaties all signed in nice touristy locations that have come to define the competences of the EU institutions: the “Rome Treaty”, the “Maastricht Treaty”, the “Amsterdam Treaty” and the “Nice Treaty”. In no way is it designed to remind the populace of the failed EU Constitution (even though that is what it is).
Much more at the link; I commend the whole piece to you.
Via Stephen Green, who dubs this the “Witless Protection Programme.”
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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