What Has Europe... etc?

Surprise, surprise, there's some disquiet within the EU at the moment; I don't know how these muppets ever thought such a project would work.  For muppets read delusional and traitorous b@st@rds.

Poland isn't happy; the Czech Republic isn't happy; neither is Hungary nor Slovakia.  And those are just the governments.  Germany is squabbling with France over Sarkozy's proposal to create a designated EU humanitarian relief fund (The European Union Natural Disaster Rapid Relief Fund - EUNDRRF.  Is anyone managing to keep track of all these abbreviations?)

I think the only government not making waves at the moment is our own - perhaps Cameron, like Blair, sees himself as a future President.  Let's see what he does with the EU's proposal to raise the British contribution to their budget to £10.3bn by 2013.

EU Foreign Minister, Cathy Ashton, is to speak on behalf of the EU at the UN.  Apparently Cameron won a 'concession' here - she'll only be allowed to speak in the General Council and not the Security Council.  It always goes the same way - give a centimetre and they take a kilometre.

Speaking of kilometres, road pricing across Europe, "for the sake of the environment", seems to be on the cards but that shouldn't come as a surprise given the number of surveillance cameras already lining our roads.

I think I've already mentioned Italy's proposal to extend expulsion (aka deportation) to EU nationals as well as the Roma in France but it's worth repeating if only to draw attention to the way politicians play with words.

Scotland and Norway aren't too happy either.  They're threatening Iceland with legal action over mackerel fishing rights.

It pays to riot in the EU says Evans-Pritchard and I think he has a point. Ireland, which abided by the rules, is paying more for its borrowings than Greece, which did not.

Thanks to Open Europe for this link.  Five activists from the group Désobéissance Civile Belgique occupied a crane in the centre of Brussels to protest against the Lisbon Treaty, which they said "rejects the European member states and has been ratified without consulting the citizens". They attached a banner to the crane criticising the "antidemocratic movement" of the EU. They also argued that no referendum has been held on the euro and that EU President Herman Van Rompuy was elected without elections.  Good for them - that's five more up a crane in Brussels than there are in Great Britain.

Open Europe also reports that the EU wants to set up a database to fight "radicalisation", noting that it should target not just terrorists, but also the far left, the far right, and anti-globalisation activists

My eye and Betty Martin  "EU citizens favour stronger European economic governance. 75% of  Europeans are in favour of giving the EU a stronger role in the co-ordination of member states' economic and budgetary policies."

The German Constitutional Court has strengthened the ECJ and Lisbon Treaty.   "EU decisions may only be checked if European institutions seriously overstep their powers" .  I wonder what 'Common Purpose' is in German?

This looks promising:  86m euros and 750 'citizens'  could "launch a devastating cyber attack on the EU."     It's time to raid the piggy-bank, folks.

Other Sources:
New Europe
Euractiv
EU Observer
Heise.de
Open Europe

What Has Europe... etc?