Germany appoves Lisbon, rejects role of national parliament as insufficient

[He3]

The Court judgment has caused ripples which are spreading through German politics. More in the Irish Times and Die Zeit.

Fischer the Green ex Foreign Minister calls the Court cowardly.

The CSU wants to see progress on the Court demand for stronger parliamentary oversight.

Not over yet.

[He3]

Interesting how intemperate people like Fischer can be. Accusing your Constitutional Court of cowardice when it has just issued a very closely reasoned judgment is unhelpful, and for a former Green who had held the post of Foreign Minister, surprising.

[CookieMonster]

You can almost hear the foot stomping...

[FutureTaoiseach]

FT admits No side's 'halving of voting' argument in Lisbon is bogus: 'There is no population-weight with Nice, so that's a bogus comparison'.

Twisting what I said.

[Al.]

Basically, the German minisiter that sits onthe Council of the European Union will have to seek prior approval of the Bundestag before voting on certain issues.

This is a great idea. It makes the German minister far more accountable. It will increase transparency in the decision making process. I would be delighted if other Member States took a similar view.

Germany doesn't see it that way, and they do not want the other member states to suddenly follow their example. Certainly, the German politicians involved, and the German press, does not. In fact, the ruling places the German parliament above the member states, especially insofar as the Brussels government is now below the German national government and the governments of the other member states have submitted themselves to Brussels. (Bad enough that the German market model has been forced upon the EU and its prior iterations for so many decades; now it'll be the rest of Germany.)

Consider what Peter Gauweiler said on the 1st of the month. He lost, and he's happy with the ruling notwithstanding. His thoughts?

In 91 pages, the Federal Constitutional Court expressly held that the treaty and its accompanying law must conform to Germany’s constitution, the so-called Basic Law ….

Yes, Germany's constitution. Not Ireland's, not any other member state's—see the quote below from Die Tageszeitung. (Britain doesn't have a constitution.) Therefore, any new Irish amendment that ratifies the Treaty of Lisbon will also find itself needing to conform to Germany's constitution. (Is that independent?)

Some other interesting views from the other German papers. For example, the Frankfurter Allgemeinde Zeitung says:

This is the end of European integration as we know it … Germany will support the Lisbon Treaty, but only under strict conditions. And anyone who wants to found a European state must now ask for the permission of the German people.

Who else, Sueddeutsche Zeitung:

German politicians will need to become involved with every new law, no matter how small. … And with this decision, European integration becomes part of Germany’s domestic politics…

Die Tageszeitung shoots down the notion of other countries following Germany's example (as I alluded to above):

It's also a verdict that matches the moods of other nations. The danger is that courts in other countries follow Karlsruhe's example and make themselves overseers of the EU too. They need to be aware that too much sand in the motor can stop even the most robust engine ...

Handelsblatt makes this very revealing remark:

Even though the judges have said yes to the Lisbon treaty it is still difficult to call this decision pro-EU. What they are saying is actually quite obvious: European Union institutions should not be taking on additional jurisprudence without asking first. Also obvious is the inherent democracy behind the strengthening of the European Parliament.

But the German judges are actually contesting this. They clearly see the European Parliament as a minor instrument which is 'not suited to major political decisions.' For Karlsruhe, democracy has only one important organ: the national constitution. And that's not exactly an altruistic move -- because by saying this, the Constitutional Court is also increasing its own claim to legislative power. Only Karlsruhe can stop Brussels from going overboard, only Karlsruhe can protect the principles of democracy. And that secures Karlsruhe a long sought-after advantage over various European tribunals...

Karlsruhe has placed itself over every member state, in effect, plus made itself legislators from the bench for same. (Brussels has expressed concern, and nothing stronger than that.)

So have we ditched the Republic of Ireland in favour of Bundesland Irland? Ja? Nein?

[ibis]

So have we ditched the Republic of Ireland in favour of Bundesland Irland? Ja? Nein?

They might well ask the same the other way round, since, court case or no court case, they're waiting on our vote...and presumably there must be a couple of Germans equally unable to read plain English.

[He3]

That is an informative cross-section of views Al. Thanks.

[ibis]

That is an informative cross-section of views Al. Thanks.

No, it's a farrago of misinterpretation, Captain Chorusline.

[He3]

Thanks for the latest tag ibis. Happily we can see from the very clear judgment and even the synopsis issued in English by the Court press service how the German media views are grounded in it.

[mmclo]

How sure can we be that a referendum is required in accordance with the crotty criteria?
Cheers.

Maybe you could tell us what they are. Changing more ares to QMV does not automatically mean a referendum according to the Crotty judgement for a start