SIR – I fear Britain can already be forced to bail out Greece under EU Treaties (report, “EU draws up plans for single 'economic government’”, March 26). The Government admitted to me in the Lords on March 15 that “any request for financial support… would be considered by the… Council, where it would be voted on by a qualified majority”.The letter was in reply to a piece by Bruno Waterfield on March 25, in which he talked of Van Rompuy's "mission ... to draw up a master-plan for the best way to oversee and enforce economic targets set in Brussels as a key part of a bail-out package for Greece". The last paragraph of the letter was edited out but was used in a speech in the House of Lords on March 30, which will be blogged next.
I also fear that the euro’s difficulties will not break up the EU itself, as many now hope. Even if Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland all fall out of the euro, it will not stop the European integration project.
Instead, it will be taken by the Eurocrats as the best “beneficial crisis” yet, to be overcome with “more Europe” under the powers granted at Lisbon.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Letter in the Daily Telegraph on a possible Greek bail-out
On March 27, Lord Pearson had a letter in the Daily Telegraph [scroll down to second topic], in which he touched on the possibility of Britain being forced to help bail out Greece and on the chances of the euro's problems being used by the colleagues in Brussels as a "beneficial crisis".
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Well said, Lord P. What people don't seem to grasp is that the EU lives on crises -- indeed, without a jolly good crisis every now and then, integration would likely grind to a halt...
ReplyDeleteMost UKIPers saw this coming. Never waste a crisis.
ReplyDeleteTo them, failure is an opportunity to provide another 'solution'.
Lord P, I see that the Lisbon Treaty has to be re-ratified - might this not be an opportunity to exploit? Here and here.
UKIP is a breath of fresh air compared to the other traditional parties. As far as i can make out lib/lab/con are virtually the same and don't have clear policies on a lot of things. Their position on the political spectrum is altering frequently. UKIP however has a clear and prinipal position.I will vote for the party that commits us to leave the EU. Cameron wont even allow his MPs to mention the EU in public so he will never get my vote.
ReplyDeleteI'm not actually a member of UKIP but they have my vote!
Fausty,
ReplyDeleteIt is not clear that the Lisbon Treaty will have to be re-ratified. The European Parliament Committee seems to think that this change can be achieved without a new Convention or a need to re-ratify. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-72195-096-04-15-901-20100406IPR72162-06-04-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm