A little noticed fact today was the irony of David Cameron pleading to HMV in Brussels for the return of powers – and doing so the day after a report was published calling for yet another power, namely press regulation, to be handed to Brussels. Our good Lord does indeed have a sense of humour!
Mary Ellen Synon has a short article in the Speccie, one headed “The EU renegotiation pantomime” (most apt) from which:
“I asked Pia if she could describe for me any existing mechanism under present treaties by which Britain could claw back powers which have already been surrendered to the EU. She gave only a brief reference to treaty change, then refused to take a follow-up question. Yet giving a follow-up is the usual procedure.
I wasn’t surprised. What the Commission won’t come out and say – because it would hand another weapon to eurosceptics – is that it is legally impossible for any EU institution or EU member states to hand back powers to Britain, even if they want to.”
One can usually rely on our Mary Ellen to ask awkward questions. Far be it for me to dirgress and ask why Nigel Farage is not shouting this fact from the rooftops……
Rumour has it that Cameron, to reassure Brussels that contrary to what they may hear he is still deeply in love with them, is to issue a remake of this Harry Nilsson song, from the refrain of which: “I can’t live, if living is without EU……….”
Update: just noticed this superb line in Chapman & Co (Daily Mail). Discussing various Tory MP’s reactions to Camerons speech:
“Andrea Leadsom, leaderene of the loyalist Fresh Start group – the ‘Gis a job, Dave’ tendency – says it was ‘very good’.”
2012
09/16
Category:
David's Musings
TAG:
Angus Lapsey
Boris Johnson
Daniel Hannan
Democracy
Douglas Carswell
European Global Issues Secretariat Cabinet Office
European nion
Foundation for Political Economic & Social Research (SETA)
The commentator
COMMENTS:
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That Turkey dilemma
In a little reported piece of news in the British Press, Angus Lapsey – Director of the European and Global Issues Secretariat at the UK’s Cabinet Office – has said that United Kingdom has been supporting Turkey’s accession to European Union (EU) from the beginning. Lapsey delivered a speech on Thursday at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in terms of the future of the union and Turkey-EU relations, in Ankara, the Turkish capital. A little background to Angus Lapsey can be found here. In his speech Lapsey said:
Little known – and not that much spoken or written about – is the organisation called Conservative Friends of Turkey, nor that among the founder members of that group are, for example, Daniel Hannan, Douglas Carswell and Boris Johnson – together with serving members of the present government.
Neither Hannan nor Carswell appear to write much about immigration, especially for two politicians so set against EU membership and all that it entails – so why would they be founder members of a group that campaigns for yet more immigration to this country? What kind of effect on the immigration numbers does Hannan and/or Carswell think Turkish EU accession will have? Why would Hannan give a speech in the European Parliament hectoring that organization for creating difficulties with Turkey’s admission to the EU. Writing in The Commentator, Douglas Carswell states:
An odd request from one who is a founder member of a group which would mean yet more immigration from a member state – once Turkey was admitted. Even odder a statement when he is well aware that immigration from member states is not totally within our control.
When one considers the statements by Lapsey, Hannan and Carswell one is immediately reminded of that old line in early cowboy and indian westerns:
“White men speak with forked tongue.”