Summary of Libertas' Policies

[Bobert]

Movement wants short EU treaty, more transparency - The Irish Times - Fri, May 01, 2009

EUROPEAN CO-OPERATION should be based on a short treaty of no more than 25 pages which every citizen can read, understand and use.

Only elected representatives should make EU law.

Commissioners should be accountable to (and be able to be sacked by) the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.


Meanwhile, all MEPs and commissioners’ expenses should be published.


All EU laws should be negotiated and decided in public.



Savings of €10 billion should be made by the commission in the next financial year.

[toxic avenger]

How much depth will they go into tomorrow, do we know? I do hope, for their sake, that they drop the strike-breaking stuff...

[pd_phoenix]

anyone else waiting for the repeated and no doubt multiple claims of 'publication of expenses, what about Libertas funding'

It should be good to day alright and I do hope thy go indepth

[setanta]

Is that it? A list of 6 items, including one on teh length of a document?

should be based on a short treaty of no more than 25 pages which every citizen can read, understand and use.

The length of a treaty is irrelevent, it's what it contains that is important. Does Liebertas have anything to say on what a new EU treaty should contain? They've been asked this question repeatedly before including when they appeared at the Oireachtas Sub-Committee but failed to even attempt an answer.

Only elected representatives should make EU law.

This is already the case. EU law is initiated by the European Commission but "made" by elected politicians in the Parliament and the Councils of Ministers.

Commissioners should be accountable to (and be able to be sacked by) the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

The Commission is already accountable to the Parliament and can be sacked by it.

Meanwhile, all MEPs and commissioners’ expenses should be published.

Agree with this. This requirement should also extend to the electoral funding arrangements for MEP's. Oh wait it does, but apparently with the exception of you-know-who who have already been shown to be utterly dishonest and devious in their financial reporting and funding arrangementns.

All EU laws should be negotiated and decided in public.

This is already the case with the European Parliament and the Lisbon Treaty introduces this requirement for the Councils of Ministers. This extension only applies however to the point when the Council is voting on a law, and should in my view include the delibertations as well.

Savings of €10 billion should be made by the commission in the next financial year.

A meaningless figure plucked out of the air. You could imagine the discussion in Liebertas: "What figure will we call for?", "Oh, let's say 10 billion. It's a nice, round figure that people will easilly remember." What savings, of what amount and with respect to which programmes. Unless Liebertas say where the spending cuts should be made then this policy is just hot-air.

[pd_phoenix]

This requirement should also extend to the electoral funding arrangements for MEP's. Oh wait it does, but apparently with the exception of you-know-who who have already been shown to be utterly dishonest and devious in their financial reporting and funding arrangementns.

I knew it wouldn't take long

[Edo]

Movement wants short EU treaty, more transparency - The Irish Times - Fri, May 01, 2009

Great - fantastic -25 pages - I can live with that

But what do they want in the Treaty itself?

thats the big question and thats what everybody wants to know - everything else is just gimmickry -

More explanation about the elected commissioners would be interesting -how would you make that work? - given that Ireland has only a population of 4.5 million ?

Wheres the Beef Declan?

[smitchy2]

As I predicted Libertas would highlight the waste which has occurred within the EU mechanisms, emphasise a more democratically elected system without the influence of bureaucrats and an EU wide election on all referendum and presidents.

Will appeal to many who feel disconnected what Europe do and there are many people like that throughout Europe.

[mccafferty cat]

Commissioners should be accountable to (and be able to be sacked by) the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

All EU laws should be negotiated and decided in public

This is astonishing.

1) Commissioners can already be sacked by the European Parliament (thanks to the Nice Treaty, which Ganley supported)

2) Laws are already made in public in the European Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty will also make Council meetings public!

Who drafted this crap for them? They are obviously grossly incompetent and haven't the slightest clue about current EU law. (Must have been Caroline Simons then! )

[Edo]

This is astonishing.

1) Commissioners can already be sacked by the European Parliament (thanks to the Nice Treaty, which Ganley supported)

2) Laws are already made in public in the European Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty will also make Council meetings public!

Who drafted this crap for them? They are obviously grossly incompetent and haven't the slightest clue about current EU law. (Must have been Caroline Simons then! )

That is really beside the point - Libertas are obviously once again hoping to benefit from the average Joes ignorance of how the EU works - rather than shedding any real light on how they would do things any differently - probably knowing full well that they wont be a position to do anything about it ever - the Sinn Fein strategy here - They should get a lot of mileage from it.

[setanta]

I knew it wouldn't take long

Of course it wouldn't take long, largely diue to the fact that Liebertas are by now notorious for their dishonest statements about their funding and their repeated attempts to circumvent national laws on political funding. The fact that you anticipated this criticism does not make the criticism any less appropriate.

Rather than whinge about people pointing out your organisation's utter hypocrisy on financial matters, you might reflect on what Liebertas needs to do to conform with the law on party and campaign funding.