French Lawmakers Say Yes To EU treaty

Curt Here....

A couple of years ago the French people in a national referendum voted down the EU Constitution. Since all 27 nations of the EU had to approve the Constitution in order for it to go into effect this vote pretty much buried any chance that the Constitution would get passed as written.

So over the last couple of years the EU lawmakers went back to the drawing board, but you can guess that they would not make the same mistake twice. This time after very minimal changes to the overall context of the original document they tried again. They renamed the agreement from the "EU Constitution" to the "Reform Treaty." They also took out the provision that allowed the people of each country to vote on the document. Instead each national parliament will vote to ratify the document with a stated goal of implementing the treaty by January 1st, 2009.

In the news article posted below you will see that France became the 5th nation to officially ratify the Reform Treaty. I think that France's ratification of this document is significant, due to the fact that the lawmakers have successfully circumvented the will of the people of France. What was once a document declared dead by the people is now alive and kicking by the power of a few and now there are only 22 parliaments left across the EU that have any chance of stopping the final reunification of the Roman Empire.

Exciting times.

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French lawmakers say yes to EU treaty


By EMMANUEL GEORGES-PICOT, Associated Press WriterThu Feb 7, 6:51 PM ET

French lawmakers, mending wounds left by a national referendum that helped bury the proposed European Union constitution in 2005, voted Thursday to ratify a slimmed-down treaty meant to get the EU moving again.

French approval of the treaty — a revised version of the proposed constitution — is seen as crucial to restoring France's reputation as a strong backer of the EU.

"All of Europe is waiting for this signal from France," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told lawmakers before Thursday's vote in the National Assembly, which was the first step toward ratification.

Adoption would make France the fifth country — and the largest so far — to ratify the treaty, which would give the 27-nation union a long-term president and streamline its decision-making process.

The treaty abandons provisions of the rejected constitution calling for an EU anthem and sensitive language about free competition in trade. It allows the union to engage more swiftly and decisively in foreign policy, and allows more decisions to be made by majority voting instead of unanimous consent.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, approved ratification 336-52. The Senate was expected to approve it as early as Thursday night. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has championed the treaty, was likely to sign the ratification soon.

Communist and other far-left lawmakers voted against the treaty, saying it threatens France's generous social protections. Other opponents fear it surrenders too much French sovereignty to EU officials in Brussels, Belgium.

The proposed constitution had been heralded as opening a new era in European integration.

In 2005, then-French President Jacques Chirac championed the constitution — written by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing — and put it to a referendum, expecting to win. The rejection was an embarrassment to a nation that once saw itself at the heart of the European project.

Sarkozy decided that this time, the parliament — not the people directly — would vote on the treaty, diminishing the risk of rejection.

Sarkozy has been eager for France to ratify the treaty before the country takes over the rotating EU presidency in July.

Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Malta have already ratified the treaty. The other 22 EU nations must approve it for it to come into force. EU leaders hope to see that happen in 2009.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080207/ap_on_re_eu/france_eu_treaty;_ylt=AqNp13e.awxr5ekcvF6em3JvaA8F

Curt