Comments on: Disgust

By: Reflections on European Democracy » EU presidency: the quiet candidates (II)

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:05:04 +0000

[...] ten years as Prime Minister. The British EU presidency in 2005 was, if not a failure (there was an agreement on the Financial Perspectives after all), at least a [...]

By: beatroot

beatroot — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 13:35:40 +0000

It’s funny how every single leader went back home declaring ‘victory’. It was the budget deal that everybody won. Though Marcinkiewicz got it in the neck from his rightwing mates in parliament.

Merry Christmas, and thanks for the detailed posts this year.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 20:03:30 +0000

I forgot to add that the idea of a percentage tax on all member states that is spent as decided by the commission according to a *general* framework created by the Parliament/Council is one that appeals.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 20:01:00 +0000

I’ve always thought things like this suggest that the majority of the EU’s problems are caused by the leaders of Governments, who spend a lot of their time grandstanding, pork-barrelling, trying to push their own agenda to make themselves look good and get relected back home and otherwise blaming the EU for problems that are not of its making (and often blaming decisions where that county’s representitives have previously supported).

Some examples are the location of the Parliament, the CAP and, of course, the budget.

It seems that the Commission and the Parliament are ‘better’ at deciding what is best and sensible for the EU and its members as a whole as they don’t have to make stupid, short-term decisions for the benefit of their domestic audience (and often, domestic media/political backers). However, the Commission not being elected would mean getting them more involved in such decisions would be hard to sell.