Meanwhile the mandarins continue to plan their version of our future.

Here is a peep behind the curtain.

With thanks to the BBC and Mark Mardell

The French have said beefing up the EU's military capability will be a key part of their six-month presidency.

The BBC has been told their plans also include a new EU military headquarters.

Other items on the French list of proposals involve calling upon all EU countries to increase spending on defence to meet a new target of perhaps 6% of Gross Domestic Product.

More aircraft

France's leadership of the EU will also include a push for the creation of more rapid reaction forces to enable Europe to collectively undertake three simultaneous missions.

They also want more helicopters and aircraft to be made available for missions.

The EU will not officially comment until the proposals are unveiled by French President Sarkozy in two weeks time.
....

With the MRBI showing that neutrality is the third strongest reason for No voters, this will be hot if our media pick it up.


...

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'To attempt to rerun a referendum as a means of reversing the democratic decision taken by the people would be rightly regarded as an affront'. Dick Roche TD 21.12.01

So what? WE HAVE A VETO! D'oh!

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(Guys, when I type in capitals it isn't shouting. I have technical problems which makes using italics difficult. Please don't take offence if you see capitals used!)

What about the actual article NDS, what would your opinion be of the article? What would you think of this direction for the EU?

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Food tastes better when you put it all together! It's the one best mayonnaise!

I would totally oppose it. So would all the political parties and Ireland and almost half of Europe would veto it and kill it stone dead.

Sarkozy is new in power. New leaders dream up all sorts of wacky ideas. They almost invariably get binned. Most of Mitterrand's and Chirac's ideas for the EU were binned also.

The French and the Brits are notorious for this sort of thing when in the EU presidency. Countries like Ireland, Portugal etc go into European Council meetings with carefully thought through proposals designed to find agreement. The Brits and the French drive the EU mad with off-the-wall grand schemes which either prove unworkable or unwanted and ended up dumped.

What would simply happen is that if the French introduce the proposal, some of the many states would say 7 simple words - "Vetoed. What is next on the agenda?

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(Guys, when I type in capitals it isn't shouting. I have technical problems which makes using italics difficult. Please don't take offence if you see capitals used!)

If the Lisbon Treaty is passed, the French will have every right to promote such plans because article 42 of the amended TEU requires that "Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities."

We have the power to foil Sarko's schemes: next Thursday is "put up or shut up" time.

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Bíonn beag álainn. Small is beautiful. Male jest piekne. Le petit est beau. Lo pequeño es hermoso. ???? ??????????.
Klein ist fein.

[quote=Grumpy Fogey]If the Lisbon Treaty is passed, the French will have every right to promote such plans because article 42 of the amended TEU requires that "Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities."

We have the power to foil Sarko's schemes: next Thursday is "put up or shut up" time.[/quote:1e7hqniv]

It is indeed.

To borrow the phrase used by NDS, and paying due homage to Dermot Morgan and his writers on Father Ted, it is time to reach for the placards that say Down with this sort of thing.

Anyone put French on that for us?

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'To attempt to rerun a referendum as a means of reversing the democratic decision taken by the people would be rightly regarded as an affront'. Dick Roche TD 21.12.01

[quote=Grumpy Fogey]If the Lisbon Treaty is passed, the French will have every right to promote such plans because article 42 of the amended TEU requires that "Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities."

We have the power to foil Sarko's schemes: next Thursday is "put up or shut up" time.[/quotefz9zkqz]

Germany won't allow it, voting no on Lisbon there is unnecessary.
"Sarko's" scheme simply won't fly.

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Economic Left/Right: -2.12 | Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.21

Is Ireland obliged to participate in any of this? No. We also have a veto, along with every other member state, over common defence and security policy proposals.

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'It would actually give me the greatest of pleasure watching non-compliant taxpayers going to jail. That's the kind of person I am.' Bertie Ahern, 1993.

This is not about participation in a military adventure or a defence pact. This is about "beefing up the EUs military capacity" (to use the BBC's language), or about the legally binding treaty obligation that "Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities" (to use the wording of the Lisbon Treaty).

That will become a legal imperative if Lisbon is approved.

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Bíonn beag álainn. Small is beautiful. Male jest piekne. Le petit est beau. Lo pequeño es hermoso. ???? ??????????.
Klein ist fein.

1. The Treaty says absolutely nothing about use of said beefing up, Ireland's neutrality still exists.
2. Ireland is already beefing up it's military capabilities to deal with it's peacekeeping missions, it recently agreed to buy Javelin AT missile systems from Thales Missiles Systems (which currently is up in Belfast).
3. We still have a veto as well.

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Economic Left/Right: -2.12 | Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.21