Posted on 09/11/2012 2:07:47 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
So we wait for the Verfassungsgericht to deliver its verdict of life or death for the euro at 10 AM Wednesday, Karlsruhe time.
The German constitutional court is not to be trifled with. Its ruling on the Lisbon Treaty in June 2009 was a thunderous defence of German national sovereignty, the greatest legal shock to the European order since the launch of the Project in 1957.
The eight judges fired a cannon shot across the bows of Brussels and the European Court, asserting the supremacy of the German Grundgesetz over EU law as a permanent principle.
They reminded those with superstate pretensions that Europe's sovereign states are the "Masters of the Treaties" and not the other way round, and that the national parliaments are the only legitimate form of democracy.
They constructed a line of defence against any future trespass, ruling that certain fields "must forever remain under German control", including the power of the purse – the parliamentary prerogative over which the English Civil War was fought, and the American colonies pushed to revolution.
The court said Germany must be prepared to "refuse further participation in the European Union" if EU aggrandisement threatens German democracy any further.
In a sense the Verfassungsgericht is the only functioning supreme court for all EU citizens, given the European Court's habit of rubber stamping abuse of power (Connolly, Andreasen, Tillack), and given the craven behaviour of other national courts over the years – Ireland excepted. As a Briton, it is my court too in a sense.
Two years later they ruled again, this time on the EMU bailout machinery. They stated that the Bundestag may not alienate its budgetary powers to any "supra-national body" on a permanent basis, even if it wishes to. It cannot sign off on open-ended liabilities
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.telegraph.co.uk ...
Let’s not get started about the German people and their sovereignty.
Let’s not get started about the German people and their sovereignty.
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If only the American supreme court guarded American sovereignty as well as the German supreme court has been doing their sovereignty.
By the way, the Germans have the right of their sovereignty as much as the US and other nations have their rights to ours.
Germans have already forfeited their sovereignty before and lost it before.
Whatever their national rights now, the headline leaves a strange aftertaste given all that's happened in the past.
World War II was 70 years ago. I think its time to get over it now.
No kidding, especially when they’re behaving better than we are in this case.
It reads as if “someone” had truly studied “the American experiment”, and has taken to heart the complete understanding of what the 10th Amendment is all about!
I applaud the Germans for their steadfastness in their immutable sovereignty, and their tenacity in defining that the EU IS a federation, and not, a singular country, borders, or set of laws!
Now, tell that to Obama and crew!
This might be the death knell of the EU.
“No kidding, especially when they’re behaving better than we are in this case.”
Agree...they are behaving much more MATURE than our government is behaving (both parties)...particularly with respect to fiscal responsibility. For a long time (decades) we could make a case against Germany, but we’ve shot that wad.
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