Eurotrash - The latests from Brussels
WORKERS, JULY 2006 ISSUE
EU Constitution – dead or alive?
European Union leaders will try to resurrect the Constitution in the next two years. Blair's spokesman said that the UK government is "perfectly happy" with this: it is also planning to break its promise to hold a referendum on the Constitution.French and Dutch voters voted to reject the EU constitution last year. Since then opposition has increased. According to a recent poll 55.5% of French people would reject the constitution today: 1% more than last year. In Holland 65% would reject it, up from the 61.5% No vote. About 75% of the people in each country believe that no parts of the Constitution should be implemented without fresh referendums.
But former EU Commissioner Michel Barnier wants to avoid more embarrassment. He said that the Constitution should be ratified by national parliaments, not by referendum. Dutch Prime Minster Jan Peter Balkenende explained that referendums are "risky affairs".
Parliaments are more persuadable. Estonia's Parliament has just ratified the Constitution, with only one member voting against. Polls showed that 80% of Estonians opposed it.
Euro finance calling....
A European Parliament working group is looking at the idea of taxing e-mails and mobile phone text messages. At present the EU raises money from import duties; value added tax and contributions from member states.
The EU has now decided that the way in which it is funded should change, with new proposals expected by 2008/2009. One idea from the European Parliament would tax electronic transactions: 1.5 cents (0.8p) for every text and 0.00001 cents for every email. "This...could still raise an immense income," said French MEP Alain Lamassoure. He added, "Exchanges between countries have ballooned, so everyone would understand that the money to finance the EU should come from the benefits engendered by the EU."
So now you know, it was the EU that gave us texting and email! The popular response is that the proposal is more likely to help to sink the EU than anything else.