Comments on: Gunpowder plots

By: Kevin Hayden

Kevin Hayden — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 22:42:52 +0000

European politics doesn’t get enough attention in the blogosphere We’ll try to mention it more. Just help me here; I can’t find it on the map. ;^) N. Todd Pritsky will likely lead our way on EU stuff as that’s his area of expertise.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 13:39:52 +0000

Debating whether Adrian Hilton is a flat-earther or an anti-papist may be a fascinating pastime but it is apt to distract attention from real and important issues such as the scale of fraud and maladministration in the EU Commission for which there is compelling evidence. From a report by Britain’s National Audit Office, published on 12 June this year: “For the year 2001, the [European Court of Auditors] drew similar conclusions to previous years and for the EIGHTH year in succession qualified its opinion on the reliability of the Community’s accounts. The Court’s opinion on the financial statements again emphasised the persistent and on-going weaknesses in the [EU] Commission’s accounting systems, particularly the lack of reliable information on the completeness of assets held, and recommended that urgent action be taken to address these problems.” – at: http://www.nao.gov.uk/publications/nao_reports/02-03/0203701.pdf Recent joiners to accounts of this long-running saga may like to know that all EU Commissioners were obliged to resign in March 1999 following an adverse report by an expert panel on maladministration, nepotism and fraud in the EU Commission. A leading task of the newly appointed Commission was to ensure administrative reforms were introduced to prevent reversion to old ways. Four years on, reports of yet another scandal of fraud and corruption have recently surfaced. Those of us who have repeatedly tried to engage in constructive debate on Europe’s future have, sadly, become only too familiar with diversionary spin to channel discussion away from fundamental issues into trivia and recourse to blatant abuse of EU critics. In my long experience of this, there are indeed those quick to paint any criticism of the EU and its institutions and policies as akin to “blasphemy” (citations available) and dub critics as xenophobic Europhobes or “nutters” – a recent speech, supposedly on the benefits to Britain of joining the Euro, by Jack Straw, Britain’s foreign secretary being a graphic example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/euro/story/0,11306,1030159,00.html The predictable outcome of the serial diversions is that urgent reforms of EU institutions and policies are not pushed through with determination and conviction. Just possibly that is among the undisclosed intentions. The discussion on A Fistful of Euros gives extensive citations to online documentation.

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 08:43:36 +0000

There’s an interesting article to be done on what fantasies European integration evokes from local paleocons. In Britain, it’s apparently Guy Fawkes. In Poland, it’s godlessness, Communism and abortion. In Hungary, it’s Jews and maybe Germans. In Germany, it’s waves of invaders from the East. There’s probably a specific set for almost any EU or soon-to-be EU country that would tell outsiders a lot about the neuroses in national history. And these, in turn, tend to draw on political tropes that are so old fashioned you wonder what steamer trunk someone lifted them out of. (For outside observers like Russia or the United States, there’s probably also a set of specters that lead to advice like telling the Brits to pick up the pieces. In fact, for the US there’s probably a very good article to be done on the weird Anglophilia many American conservatives have for a Britain that’s even more imaginary than Middle Earth. Perhaps it lets them give full throat to their monarchist tendencies.) I wonder what Hilton will have to say about Turkey’s application to join the Union. The contortions to needed dress up the Sublime Porte’s homage to Berlaymont as a Catholic plot should be very entertaining indeed. On the other hand, I am sure that the Austrian press will soon be invoking Sobieski.

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Thu, 04 Sep 2003 05:47:56 +0000

I don’t know about cultural Britishness. I do know that the EU and the Euro have some very substantive economic problems. See this thread at Dan Drezner. Beyond that France bailed out the conglomerate Alstom to the tune of $3×10^9. It seems that under EU rules, governments are not supposed to bailout private companies. The Alstom bailout is just the latest French violation of this rule. I am short on the EU. I think the EU constitution is DoA. The Euro is 50/50. If the brits are smart they will pass and be well positioned to pick up the pieces.