tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post4854614613526309119..comments2023-12-02T00:59:10.380+01:00Comments on England Expects: "The Reverse Majority Rule": The end of QMV?Gawain Towlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08583658895528269901noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-57556342207799994392011-06-24T02:46:09.398+02:002011-06-24T02:46:09.398+02:00Here you go Gawain:
Send in the clowns:
http://w...Here you go Gawain:<br /><br />Send in the clowns:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvhck5wI-8ukipwebmasterhttp://www.ukip.tvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-21636824479540931642010-09-30T10:30:56.471+02:002010-09-30T10:30:56.471+02:00Anon,
I suspect you are right when it comes to s...Anon, <br /><br />I suspect you are right when it comes to some arcane aspect of Commitology, Richard North has the same idea.<br /><br />It is a sad truth that most Eurosceptics (and I include myself in this) fail to realise the importance of commitology. It is too complex, too opaque and too much like hard work for anybody to care about it. And yet it is one of the most important tools of the system that we ignore at our peril.<br /><br />Ralph.<br /><br />We are thinking of putting down an oral question to Mr Van R, to find out what he thinks he means by the term. Hopefully some light will shine on it.Gawain Towlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08583658895528269901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-21002084746692210002010-09-30T09:57:42.376+02:002010-09-30T09:57:42.376+02:00I'm no constitutional lawyer, but the "re...I'm no constitutional lawyer, but the "reverse majority" idea sounds much the same as our old friend comitology, i.e. the Commission proposal ultimately gets through unless the Council can muster a qualified majority against it, although obviously, politically, if there's significant opposition the Commission is at least likely to modify its proposal.<br /><br />But decisions of this nature would take the Commission's powers (even if only in respect of the eurozone countries) to another level entirely. Effectively, under the current system, a member state needs only to put together a blocking minority (excluding its own votes) to avoid being fined under the excessive deficit procedure, but under the new rules, it would need to assemble a qualified majority AND do so in only ten days.<br /><br />Parliament isn't likely to sit back without fighting to have its say in the process, even though under the treaty its role in the procedure is limited to getting a report from the Council president. Particularly since this could set a very significant precedent, with the usual suspects demanding the extension of this new method into other policy areas in due course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-5596550953871644222010-09-30T06:57:23.137+02:002010-09-30T06:57:23.137+02:00Gawain,
I have not had time (nor yet the inclina...Gawain, <br /><br />I have not had time (nor yet the inclination) to look into the matter in detail, but you have spotted an interesting 'institutional innovation'. <br /><br />More information can be found in the Commission's (Ecfin) package on improving economic governance, especially the two proposals regarding stricter sanctions.<br /><br />The 'reverse' rule is explained, although my hasty look did not catch any discussion about treaty compliance. <br /><br />However, the scope of these proposals seem to be limited to the eurozone, which could open the road for freely cooperating nation states to agree intergovernmentally, i.e. outside the EU's institutional framework. <br /><br />If so, the UK would be outside, and British supporters of intergovernmentalism should rejoice on grounds of principle as well.Ralf Grahn https://www.blogger.com/profile/02156293782163802007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-33980262110090871642010-09-29T17:04:51.978+02:002010-09-29T17:04:51.978+02:00I dearly hope that this should trigger a referendu...I dearly hope that this should trigger a referendum, whether or not one is called. If the coalition does indeed call a referendum true colours will be shown. If they do not true colours will also be made known.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-2732203898419151222010-09-29T16:35:44.299+02:002010-09-29T16:35:44.299+02:00Good find Gawain. Just blogged it.Good find Gawain. Just blogged it.Kleinverzethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16652291476894638204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-56230953157702525712010-09-29T14:41:02.004+02:002010-09-29T14:41:02.004+02:00Cool - so the best outcome is for this to be pushe...Cool - so the best outcome is for this to be pushed through so we get our referendum - yes?Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10605617930455114746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10701792.post-6123064536897596452010-09-29T13:54:34.267+02:002010-09-29T13:54:34.267+02:00Nice spot GT - have retweeted and linked.Nice spot GT - have retweeted and linked.Witterings from Witneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11349563961787006775noreply@blogger.com