Dutch vote "NO" on EU Constitution

Zachtei ^ | 01 June 2005

[followerofchrist]

Were all European "nations" permitted to vote on this?

[followerofchrist]

"They love their wars over there."

Kidding? I never thought of Europe as warmongering.

[followerofchrist]

I opposed this because I don't want to see them lose their individual sovereignty and uniqueness, the way we did when we lost our states rights. What is the reason Freepers oppose this?

[Ken H]

Holland and Germany's abortion rates are lower than the US abotion rate?

The US has about 3X the abortion rate as Holland.

So are their birth rates.

Correct. Holland's birth rate is just over 11/1000 population, the US birth rate is just over 14/1000 (from nationmaster.com). That would still make Holland's birth to abortion ratio much higher than the US.

[eleni121]

Thanks for the update Ken. It's pretty horrible isn't it no matter how the figures add up?

Take a look at this table and notice the figure for the former soviet union (spans a period of time)!

http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/wrjp337sd.html

[Libertina]

Ah the "popular" kid on the block ;)

[Marie007]

Everybody wants chirac goes away. We want a change and Villepin is not the answer to our anger. Everything goes wrong, we want a new policy and new politicians, like in Great Britain. We want more freedom. Look at this guy, he is angry with the new of the nomination of Villepin like first minister.

Game, set and catch … a security guard at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris captures a spectator who took his protest against Dominique de Villepin and Jacques Chirac onto the court.

From bad to verse: anger over poet PM

By Jon Henley in Paris June 2, 2005

The French President, Jacques Chirac, has committed a huge error in his appointment of his longstanding ally, Dominique de Villepin, as France's new Prime Minister, commentators and opponents say. The elegant former interior minister and foreign secretary, known for his stirring United Nations speeches in defence of France's opposition to the Iraq war, replaces Jean-Pierre Raffarin following the Government's crushing defeat in Sunday's referendum on the European Union constitution. After a vote exposing the extent of the electorate's mistrust of its political class, picking a patrician part-time poet and high-flying diplomat would be perceived as little better than an insult, commentators warned. "It's a catastrophe, a real catastrophe," said Philippe Moreau Defarges, of the French Institute for International Relations. "People will go on to the streets to show their anger. This is a man who has never been elected, who doesn't represent the people at all. It will turn out badly. The crisis is not over yet." A banking analyst, fearful of a market backlash, described Mr Chirac's decision as "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic".. The left-wing opposition, including many Socialists who, like the Government, backed a yes vote, condemned the choice. "This is a denial of democracy in the light of Sunday's vote," the Socialist members of the upper house of the National Assembly declared in a joint statement. But according to Senator Roger Karoutchi, Mr de Villepin told a meeting of senators yesterday: "I give myself 100 days to restore the confidence of the French people." The Communist Party leader Marie-Georges Buffet, a leading no campaigner, said the appointment was "a provocation to the sovereign voice of the people", while the rebel Socialist MP Arnaud Montebourg, another no campaigner, said it was a "historic" error. "The citizens of France asked to be listened to," Mr Montebourg said. "The President's response is to appoint a man who has never crossed a voter in his life. From embassies to ministries, Mr de Villepin does not know his country - he knows only honours. This increases yet further the illegitimacy of this Government to govern." Mr Chirac's appointment of Nicolas Sarkozy, his bitter rival, as Minister of State, or No.2 in the Government, may also have dramatic consequences. Denied the right by Mr Chirac last year to combine the post of finance minister with his leadership of the UMP party, Mr Sarkozy opted for the party and turned it into his fiefdom. Hugely popular on the right but loathed by the Chirac inner circle, he enjoys grassroots backing for a tilt at the presidency in 2007. Mr Chirac will be hoping Mr de Villepin can use the prime minister's post as a springboard to presidential candidacy, undercutting Mr Sarkozy. Almost all agree, however, that Mr Sarkozy will turn the interior ministry job into the highest-profile post in government. Together with the UMP party machine, that would make him an unstoppable presidential runner. How Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy will co-exist in the same cabinet is open to question. Even during the referendum campaign, theoretically supporting the same yes cause, Mr Sarkozy could not resist a swipe at his rival. On Tuesday, Mr Sarkozy opted for more measured tones. "I will assume my responsibilities and my duties," he said. "What would you say if I decided to stand by and watch the ship sink?" The Dutch voted on the proposed EU constitution yesterday. Another no vote was expected, despite the efforts of more than four-fifths of Dutch MPs who support the yes case. The Dutch vote is not formally binding, as Parliament must still ratify the treaty. However, most political parties say they will respect a no vote if turnout is above 30 per cent.

The Guardian; Los Angeles Times; Telegraph, London; Reuters

[Marie007]

I forgot the link :

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/From-b … click=true

[Marie007]

The european constitution dies. It is a good new for the europeans.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aFLDzyhdM.Ow&refer=germany

Eichel Says It's `Irresponsible' to Create Euro Panic (Update2) June 2 (Bloomberg) -- German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said it is ``irresponsible'' to scare the German public with reports about a possible failure of the euro. The weekly magazine Stern yesterday said Bundesbank President Axel Weber and Eichel held talks with economists last week in which they discussed a possible breakup of the dozen-nation currency as differences in growth and inflation rates widen. A headline on the front page of Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, today asked: ``Could the mark be coming back?'' ``It is irresponsible to create a panic after a magazine story that is not true,'' Eichel said in a debate in the lower house of parliament in Berlin today. The euro fell for a second day against the dollar yesterday after the Stern report and amid a deteriorating growth outlook for the euro region. It declined to an eight-month low, dropping below $1.22, after Dutch voters followed the French three days earlier in rejecting the European Union constitution in a referendum. ``It is not too difficult to see when the decline of the euro started,'' Eichel said, rejecting the notion that the descent was triggered by the magazine report. ``It started after the French referendum.'' Today the euro rose to $1.2248 by 4:11 p.m. in Frankfurt, from $1.2179 late yesterday in New York. Michael Meister and Steffen Kampeter, senior lawmakers from the opposition Christian Democratic Union, blamed Eichel in parliament today for contributing to the euro's decline. Eichel's ministry and the Bundesbank yesterday said they hadn't discussed the possibility of a euro failure and hailed the currency's introduction as a success. `Risk Has Risen' ``Increasing political and economic divergences imply that somewhere down the road it might all blow up,'' Joachim Fels, chief fixed-income economist at Morgan Stanley, said in an interview yesterday. ``I'm not saying it should or will, but the risk of a euro wreckage has risen significantly.'' The European Commission projected April 4 that German economic growth will be the slowest in the euro region this year and next, expanding 0.8 percent in 2005 and 1.6 percent in 2006. Since then, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted on May 24 that Italy's economy would shrink 0.6 percent this year. By contrast, the commission, the EU's executive arm, predicts that Ireland will achieve growth of 4.9 percent this year and 5.1 percent next. Rate Decision The commission yesterday cut its second-quarter growth forecast for the euro region to about 0.3 percent as manufacturing shrank and German retail sales dropped, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates from a record low. The ECB today kept its benchmark rate at 2 percent, the level it's been at since June 2003. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet at a press conference today said speculation about the end of the euro is like asking ``whether or not it is likely for California or Texas or Alaska to have its own currency.'' Differences in growth and inflation in the euro region are no different from those in the U.S., he said. Anton Boerner, president of Germany's BGA exporters' and wholesalers' association, said the ECB has no leeway to lower borrowing costs to bolster the economy as some of its members follow policies that undermine the euro. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's policies are ``absolutely counterproductive and do damage to the currency,'' said Boerner, whose lobby represents 135,000 companies employing 1.35 million people, in an interview two days ago. Berlusconi's leniency toward wage demands in the public service is ``hara- kiri'' given that the third-biggest euro nation is in recession, he said. The divergence in inflation and growth within the union ``risks widening, so that the danger of an adjustment crisis is growing bigger,'' Stern quoted a confidential Finance Ministry document as saying. `Absolute Nonsense' Outside parliament, Eichel told reporters that talk of a euro collapse is ``absolute nonsense,'' while Economy and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement said it's ``absolutely stupid.'' Leaders of the 25 European Union nations in March loosened the rules limiting deficits and debt for the 12 euro users, aiming to spur an economy that has lagged the U.S.'s rate of expansion in 13 of the past 14 years. The commission said budget risks are persisting in 10 of the EU's 25 countries, including Germany, France and Italy. Eichel, calling Germany's budget situation ``dramatic'' in today's parliamentary debate, said he won't present a supplementary budget for this year to plug a hole of as much as 12 billion euros ($14.7 billion). ``I will fill the gap through one- off measures and if needed manage it by additional borrowing authorizations,'' he said.

[Grampa Dave]

The security guard looks like he probably agrees with the protestor. He has a semi grin on his face.

Time of for the Free French or Want to be Free French to take to the streets and replay what happened Lebannon and demand the resignation of ChIraq and his villian, Ville Pin.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Agrarian]

Actually, the Islamic leaders in Europe are urging Muslims throughout Europe to vote for the EU. The public reason is that they claim the EU will give them better protection against discrimination.

The real reason is probably that the open borders and centralized structure would only speed an Islamization and takeover of Europe.

[Agrarian]

I'm buying a pack of Heineken on the way home tonight. Of course, buying a pack of Heineken on the way home isn't all that uncommon an event for me as it is...

[Earthdweller]

After the way Chirac has treated our country, I can only cheer gleefully at anything that upsets him.

[Soul Seeker]

Congratulations on the vote!

[JAWs]

The symbol of the Geuzen the (mostly) Calvinist Dutch forces who fought against the oppressive Spanish rulers of the Netherlands.

[LtKerst]

It is just what the Scumbags in Belgium deserve with their arrogant comments about our Beloved President.

These Elitist Bilderburgs need a good Kick in the Nards!!!!