Important Conference - The EU in crisis: Prospects for regaining Ireland’s sovereignty. 7-8 October 2011

The EU in crisis
Prospects for regaining Ireland’s sovereignty.

Friday-Saturday 7-8 October 2011 in the Ireland Institute
27 Pearse Street Dublin 2


Friday 7 October 7.30pm
Was ‘Social Europe’ a con?

-- Speakers: David Begg, Gen Sec ICTU
Alex Gordon, Gen President RMT
Chair; Seamas Ratigan, Campaign for a Social Europe


Saturday 8 October 11.00am
Should Ireland stay in the Euro?

Speakers: Frank Keoghan, People’s Movement
Joe Higgins TD
Chair: Padraigh Mannion, PANA


Saturday 8 October 2.00pm
The EU’s emerging superstate

Speakers: Roger Cole, Chair of PANA
Declan Power, Security and Defence Journalist
Chair: Michael Youlton, Campaign for a Social Europe


Saturday 8 October 4.15pm
The struggle to regain Ireland’s sovereignty

Speakers: Alex White TD
Robert Ballagh, Peoples Movement
Aengus O’Snodaigh TD.
Chair; Mick O’Reilly, People’s Movement

Pat Cox for President?

Pat Cox is one of the elite steering group of the Spinelli Group.

They state as their aim; ‘We want to make a network of those who choose the European interest above their national interest, those who want to push the federal project in their respective environment".

Now we know why Cox wants to be President! Besides being a corporate pimp, he openly declares that he places EU interests before those of Ireland.

Do you think he’s a suitable person to be President of Ireland?

The reward for default; why don’t we just get on with it?

The credit default swap (CDS) for the Icelandic sovereign has now dropped to 200 points and has not been lower since months before the banking collapse in October 2008. The CDS has been in constant decline since January and indicates growing belief in Iceland’s economy.

Meanwhile, the CDS spread for Ireland is 683 basis points.

So it seems as if defaulting on debts run up by greedy bankers (German and French with the assistance of their Irish acolytes) and letting your currency depreciate works better — even from the point of view of investors — than socializing private-sector losses and sticking with a fixed exchange rate – the Euro?

Anybody for President but Pat Cox!

Pat Cox, an Irish MEP for fifteen years (1989 - 2004) and president of the European Parliament for two years (2002 -2004) has now set his sights on the Irish Presidency. 

It is well to remember some of Mr Cox’s connections and just to remind you of some of them, have a look at this old blog on Politics.ie; 

http://www.politics.ie/lisbon-treaty/102036-yesman-pat-cox-talks-transparency-practices-secrecy-3.html

Is this person suitable for the position of President of Ireland?

Anyone for a "Stop Pat Cox" Campaign?

What does it take?

Four short months ago Michael Noonan, called the IMF-EU deal “a downright obscenity”, now he tells us that “Europe has been very good to us . . . They’re actually treating us very well.”

The same Fine Gael that endlessly plugged five-point plan suggested that Ireland might have no choice but to “write down the value of the bonds in the Irish banks” now blithely informs us, via Noonan, that “that debate is over”, that ‘there is no stomach’ in Europe for burning the bond-holders.

And Joan Bruton and the Labour party are strangely quiet on the issue now that the ‘old guard’ of Labour have parked their rears in ministerial seats.

But, more ominously, the people are also very quiet as stealth tax follows stealth tax and the promised change from FG/Labour turns out to be a change for the worse. Do we get what we deserve in the end?

Government determined to make working people pay

Believe it or not, the €70 billion we’re putting into insolvent banks is €38,000 for every person at work in the Irish economy. If we add €35 billion for NAMA, it’s €57,000 for every worker.

A worker on the average industrial wage will pay €260,000 in tax over a working lifetime. It would therefore take all the tax paid by more than 400,000 workers over their entire careers to pay for the bank bailout alone. Even if we’re wildly optimistic and assume that we’ll eventually get back half of the €105 billion; that still leaves 200,000 of us working our whole lives to save the euro and pay off the gambling debts of a private elite.

It simply cannot be done without reducing us to absolute poverty. The FG/Labour government is determined to make working people pay but we should shout ‘we can’t pay and we won’t pay’ – and call for a structured default now.

More broken promises – remember?

Irish voters were promised a special Treaty Protocol on (a) Neutrality, (b) Ireland’s right to decide its own company taxation and (c) the constitutional position on abortion, in the next EU Treaty.

At the time it was thought that this would be the EU Accession Treaty for Croatia or Iceland. Now to establish the ESM, (a) the Lisbon Treaty will be amended and the amendment ratified by all EU Member States and (b) ‘The ESM will be established by a treaty among the euro-area Member States’ binding the EU Member States signatories.

The Government and the Opposition parties that foisted the Lisbon Treaty on the Irish people have an obligation to tell us why it is impossible for them to have the promised Protocol now. As well as this promised Protocol itself, the Government promised during the 2009 Lisbon Treaty referendum that it intended registering the agreement to give Ireland a Protocol with the United Nations in New York. Has this been done? If not, why not?

Thousands protest in Madrid today over the economic crisis – but why are we so quiet?

Thousands of Spaniards have defied a ban on demonstrations and mounted a protest camp in the heart of the Spanish capital to express anger at political parties and the country's handling of the economic crisis.

The crowds packed Madrid's Puerta del Sol square this morning and pledged to stay there until after municipal and regional elections this weekend. The Madrid electoral board had banned the demonstration because it could influence the elections Sunday.
Similar demonstrations have been held in other Spanish cities.

The protests are a spillover from countrywide demonstrations last Sunday and have triggered a lively debate throughout the country, something that we badly need. 

I wasn’t asked ………

The European Union plans to open an office in Benghazi, Libyan town in insurgent hands, to facilitate assistance to the Transitional National Council.

Lo ha riferito il capo della politica estera dell'Ue, Catherine Ashton.

EU foreign minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton said; "Intendo aprire un ufficio a Bengasi, in modo da poter spostarci verso la gente... per sostenere la società civile, per sostenere il Consiglio nazionale di transizione", ha detto Ashton al Parlamento europeo, aggiungendo che il sostegno Ue include aiuti per il settore della sicurezza, riforme e istituzioni."I intend to open an office in Benghazi, in order to move towards the people ... to support civil society to support the National Transitional Council," Ashton told the European Parliament, adding that the EU support include aid for the security sector reforms and institutions.

But that could hardly mean any military involvement?

That’s why we need a referendum on the European Stability Mechanism!

“The Community shall not be liable for or assume the commitments of central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of any Member State, without prejudice to mutual financial guarantees for the joint execution of a specific project”.

- Article 104b, Maastricht Treaty, 1992.

“We have a Treaty under which there is no possibility of paying to bailout states in difficulty”.

• German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, 1 March 2010.

And before the Irish ‘forced loan’ …..

“The euro is in danger – if we do not avert this danger, then the consequences for Europe are incalculable, and then the consequences beyond Europe are incalculable.”

- German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, 19 May 2010.

“We cannot allow the bankruptcy of a euro member state like Greece to turn into a second Lehman Brothers […] The consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank”.

- German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, 18 April 2010.

“There is a grave threat of contagion effects for other member states in the monetary union and increasing negative feedback loop effects”.

• Bundesbank Chief, Axel Weber, 5 May 2010.

Portugal reaches deal with EU/IMF

Portugal announced that it has reached an agreement with the EU/IMF for a €78bn bailout spread over three years. The plan will include €12bn in financial support for the Portuguese banking sector as well as pension cuts, but it is not expected to reduce the minimum wage or cut education or healthcare spending.

The deal also gives Portugal more time to reduce its deficit than was previously planned. The government will have to cut its deficit to 5.9% of GDP, from 9.1%, by the end of the year and to 3% by 2013. Details on the interest rate and on the source of the bailout funds have not been announced. Both decisions are expected to be made soon.

José Sócrates, caretaker Portuguese Prime Minister, suggested that the EU/IMF had recognised that “the situation in Portugal is far from being as serious as in other countries”, a sentiment with which we in Ireland are familiar!

Increasing doubts in Iceland

Iceland’s Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson has voiced opposition to Iceland’s bid for EU accession saying, “Iceland is probably better off with other forms of agreement and connections with the EU than full membership…I am still very sceptical when it comes to the overall benefits of membership”