Posted on 03/12/2014 12:18:44 PM PDT by Olog-hai
The European Commission on Tuesday (11 March) announced a new measure to challenge member states in breach of EU rule of law.
The proposal would allow the European Union to intervene at an early stage in case of “serious and systemic threats” to the rule of law in member states. Isolated cases of breaches of fundamental rights or miscarriages of justice are excluded from its scope. […]
The plan is described as a missing element between a standard infringement procedure and the “nuclear option” of Article 7, which withdraws a member state’s voting rights at the EU level.
Article 7 has proven difficult to use in practice. There were discussions about invoking it when Austria’s center-right party went into government with the far-right Freedom Party in 2000. …
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
On a reasoned proposal by one third of the Member States, by the European Parliament or by the European Commission, the Council, acting by a majority of four fifths of its members after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, may determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2. […]And Article 2 reads thus:
Where a determination under paragraph 2 has been made, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may decide to suspend certain of the rights deriving from the application of the Treaties to the Member State in question, including the voting rights of the representative of the government of that Member State in the Council. …
The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.A naked power grab that totally negates self-government in any member state it chooses to target, basically.
I agree completely with your analysis.
Just speculating, I’d imagine that “leaving the EU” they would find to be in gross violation.
"If you like your sovereignty, you can keep your sovereignty."
Well, yes. And that’s in spite of their lengthy “withdrawal from the EU” process, which gives all the negotiating advantage to the central government.
For the record, the USSR also had a brief clause in its constitution that allowed any member of the USSR to “freely secede”. In practice, that was certainly a different story; just ask Hungary.
Just the headline reads like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
Especially out of the Queen of Hearts’ press corps.
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