Comments for Federal Union

Comment on Federal UK by JHLondon

JHLondon — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:18:59 +0000

‘Devo-max’ in Scotland will make the need for federalism even greater. Sign the petition for a Federation of British Nations.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1107

Comment on EU Transparency and Lobbying (3 November 2011) by Opinion: MEP Diana Wallis resigns – but the European Parliament’s great ‘stitch-up’ continues

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:00:52 +0000

[...] Diana just a few months ago, when she described her initiatives to make European policy-making more open. It seems ironic now that after having done so much to promote the cause of participatory [...]

Comment on EU Transparency and Lobbying (3 November 2011) by MEP Diana Wallis resigns-but the European Parliament’s great stitch up continues | Eurology

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:50:46 +0000

[...] initiatives to get more people involved in European policy-making and try to make the whole process more open. It therefore seems ironic that after having done so much to promote the cause of participatory [...]

Comment on What went wrong with the euro? by BJW

BJW — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:59:32 +0000

Thank you. This is one of the funniest defences of the indefensible I have read in a long time. Greece and Italy have friends in the Eurozone – please stop it hurts to laugh this much.

Comment on Federal UK by Finn

Finn — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:21:58 +0000

I think Federalism is a must for this country, and failure to make serious moves in that direction will be the end of the Union.

People are angry and are sick of being ruled by Westminster (whether you are English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish). Federalism would be a great way to get rid of the London-centric nature of this country. Westminster has proven time and time again that blanket nationwide policies don’t work. We need more localised policies to deal with local issues.

The UK remains one of the most centralised states in the Western world. This needs to change.

Comment on Federalism by editor

editor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:47:57 +0000

No contradiction. The European Commission and the European Parliament are, together, the European level of government. Its electoral mandate derives from direct elections.

The alternative would be that elections at national level provide the legitimacy for the choice of the European political leadership. This is how the president of the European Council is chosen – his electorate was the 27 heads of national government. It is not a better way of choosing the leadership of Europe.

It is often argued that the relatively weak position of the European Parliament is due to the lack of Europe-wide political parties and Europe-wide political campaigning; in effect, the EP is elected by 27 simultaneous national elections rather than a European election. Stronger European political parties and a stronger set of European political identities would therefore be a major step towards making federalism work within the European Union.

Comment on Federalism by Adam Miller

Adam Miller — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:48:37 +0000

“Each level of government has its own direct relationship with the citizens.”

seems to be contradicted by

“The European Commission should become the executive arm for all areas of EU activity, elected by and accountable to the European Parliament”.

I would prefer direct elections of the commission or a senate and president – US style. I thought democracy might involve the people, but I’m old-fashioned!

Comment on The uncertain boundary between politics and law by S.R. Simon

S.R. Simon — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:05:25 +0000

Entire bodies of jurisprudence are entirely created by the judiciary. Judge-made law is called the common law.

Any suggestion that courts do not “make” law is at best disingenuous, and at the worst a prevarication.

Sumption knows better.

~ S.R. Simon
Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Comment on Is Germany doing enough to save the euro? by Richard Laming

Richard Laming — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:31:09 +0000

Germany needs to free itself from the shackles of history - By Roger Boyes http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/60128/germany-needs-free-itself-shackles-history

Comment on Three threats to the euro still remain by Richard Laming

Richard Laming — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:00:49 +0000

The thinktank Policy network has published some interesting papers exploring the challenges posed to the UK by economic policies of the sort proposed by the new treaty. Read about them here http://policy.squareeye.com/mailout/pn/link.asp?h=516".http://policy.squareeye.com/mailout/pn/link.asp?h=516. The fact that Britain is not in the euro does not spare the UK the same need to get its finances in order, if it is too satisfy the markets. It does not face a Greek-style crisis at present because, in part, the Bank of England has become a major buyer of UK government debt. One of the short-term solutions for the eurozone proposed, but so far not taken up, is that the ECB should play an equivalent role.