Word: lisbon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Nothing could be further from the truth. Assertive Angie is no Kaiser Bill. Nor is fiscal probity anti-European - quite the contrary. Article 125 of the Lisbon Treaty, Europe's quasi-constitution, forbids bailouts for the reckless. Moreover, in the last few months the euro has lost more than 10% against the dollar, and the fiscal chickens have come home to roost. The central problem - as critics of the euro predicted before the currency's launch - is not Germany's tightfistedness; it is a common monetary policy without a common polity that sets fiscal policy. (See pictures of immigration...
...problem is that the E.U. was not set up to be a global hammer-throwing political power. The member states did all that 200 to 300 years ago, and history has moved on. The Lisbon Treaty was not designed to colour chunks of the planet blue with yellow stars. Its job is to get the national economies of 27 extremely diverse nation-states working together more smoothly than before, and getting the politics united is just part of that economic lubrication. Better by far to be underwhelming and effective rather than overbearing and running a democracy where agreed national reform...
Furthermore, Europe is criticized for being too preoccupied with itself. True, several years of public debate over the Lisbon Treaty might be interpreted as institutional navel-gazing. But have a broader look at the facts: over the last 15 years, the E.U. has taken on board 15 new members, doubling its size without compromising on its strict accession criteria. This required massive transfers of wealth and a high degree of solidarity...
Robert McIver, Edinburgh To a significant proportion of Europeans, the E.U. President and Foreign Minister are entities which have been created by the political élite of the E.U. and agreed to by Europe's governments, and are virtually irrelevant. The Lisbon Treaty was approved by E.U. heads of state, with only a small number of states holding a democratic referendum prior to signing up to the treaty. Like most countries, the British government did not hold a referendum, and the government signed up to the treaty on our behalf. Little wonder then that many Europeans remain uninterested in these...
...rest of the world would welcome a stronger European voice. Capitals from Pretoria to Washington are constantly urging more from their European allies. As U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon said to the House Foreign Affairs Committee after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty last year: "We hope E.U. member states will invest the post-Lisbon institutions with the authority and capacity to make concrete contributions to the pressing global challenges we face together." In Africa, India, Latin America, leaders would fall over themselves to engage more closely with a power that...