Wolfgang Munchau(German FT):Lisbon:A pre-crisis treaty for a post-crisis world

[NapperTandy]

A pre-crisis treaty for a post-crisis world By Wolfgang Münchau

Published: September 13 2009 20:38 | Last updated: September 13 2009 20:38

So what will happen if the Irish vote No in their second referendum on the Lisbon treaty on October 2? Would a No vote not produce a massive political crisis, both in the European Union and in Ireland? Might it not lead to a speculative attack against Irish government bonds, and raise the risk of outright default? Last year, after a first referendum produced an overwhelming No, I argued in a series of columns that a definite rejection of the treaty would effectively strike that country off the political and economic map.
I no longer believe that to be the case. If the Irish vote No, I now believe it will be the end of the treaty, not of Ireland. The presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic will suspend ratification processes indefinitely. The treaty will not come back the following year, or even in five years, not even in disguise, or with a different name.

The main reason for my change of mind has been the conduct of the EU during the financial crisis, and the narrow-minded reassertion of national sovereignty in macro- and microeconomic policy. If EU leaders do not have the strength and solidarity to treat economic crisis management as a common endeavour, they will not have the strength, let alone the unanimity, it would require to isolate Ireland. It has never been safer not to ratify a European treaty than it is now.

...

I have been, and still am, an unenthusiastic supporter of the Lisbon treaty, because its institutional rules are more appropriate for an enlarged EU. But I, too, find the treaty increasingly hard to defend with a straight face. The Irish Yes campaign could once again find itself in a tight spot. It is not that easy to explain why this particular treaty is necessary when the real problems of the EU lie so obviously outside its scope.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9fb71816-a09...nclick_check=1

Game, set and match. The Lisbon Treaty is dead!! Wolfgang Munchau is the most respected financial journalist in Europe, when he says this about the Lisbon Treaty, you know deep down that the Lisbon Treaty is dead.

Let's bury the Lisbon Treaty on Friday!!

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[CookieMonster]

Wasn't he on de wireless this morning... wonder what he said, he didn't defend what he said did he?

One imagines if he did that the wonderfully informative yes people would report that.

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