German ruling has a lesson for EU states

A RULING of the German Constitutional Court on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty should give pause for thought in all 27 EU member states.

The court has ruled that the ratification of the treaty cannot go ahead until legislative safeguards are in place as at present both houses of the German parliament “have not been accorded sufficient rights of participation in European lawmaking procedures and treaty amendment procedures”. Simply, this requires legislation to ensure that the transfer of competencies cannot occur without approval of both houses of parliament. However, a recent survey published by Open Europe shows that 77% of the German population want a referendum on the treaty.

This highlights the democratic deficit currently at play in the EU, which will be exacerbated by a “self-amending” treaty.

As in Ireland, without reference to the electorate, competencies of the member states can be handed over to the union – even when this is clearly at odds with the wishes of the citizens of a member state.

The only recourse is to call to task the elected government in a general election – though the competencies that have been handed over will be gone forever.

Dualta Roughneen

Kiltimagh

Co Mayo