2 ms·

"The whole purpose of the EU from day zero was to ensure lasting peace in Europe" ? You do realize the EU as a body politic is very recent? (Not sure how goo

by jariel 6y ago

"The whole purpose of the EU from day zero was to ensure lasting peace in Europe" ? You do realize the EU as a body politic is very recent? (Not sure how good your history is. ?) 1) Yes, major powers who have economically integrated tend not to fight, that's great. It's the same all over the world. The US doesn't fight Japan either. 2) Europe's true sovereign guarantor, the US and their Nuclear Umbrella, which is the other 1/2 of the equation. 'The EU' is long after the fact. Moreover - it's besides the point - as I articulated, the EU has fundamental flaws with respect to democracy that can't be addressed with any reasonable argument it seems. EU citizens have little to no influence over their body politic, because all the power is a few points indirection away from their reach. Europeans were told after the election who their anointed leader would be, what her political platform was, and what her vision for the EU was. Just consider why for a moment the EU doesn't require leaders to be publicly announced and vetted before elections? Wouldn't that be a highly rational, reasonable, and arguably necessary element for legitimate democracy? What were EU leaders thinking when they definitely decided that this would not be required? It's absurd. Many citizens saw it was absurd, voted against the Constitutional Treaty, and it was passed anyhow.

pmontra 6y ago
> Europeans were told after the election who their anointed leader would be, what her political platform was, and what her vision for the EU was. > Just consider why for a moment the EU doesn't require leaders to be publicly announced and vetted before elections? I'm from Italy. This is exactly what our Constitution provides about our Prime Ministers. They can be anybody, even without a seat in Parliament (or current Prime Minister doesn't.) The President of the Republic appoints them, probably even you because I don't see requirements about citizenship or residency. They must be confirmed by a vote of the Parliament (50%+1) and that's it. Actually, if they are not confirmed they still are Prime Minister until the President appoints somebody else. You can check Articles 92 to 96 of the Constitution at http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costit... (PDF, English) from the site of one of the chambers of the Parliament. I don't particularly like this but it's an example of how that is usual in Europe. Many other countries don't have direct elections for their leaders. Given this status it's normal that we don't elect the President of the Commission. Furthermore what really matters is the Council, made by the leaders of each country. The Commission is the government but the real power is in the Council. A Commission going against the Council doesn't have any political backing.

by jariel 6y ago

pmontra 6y ago

> Europeans were told after the election who their anointed leader would be, what her political platform was, and what her vision for the EU was. > Just consider why for a moment the EU doesn't require leaders to be publicly announced and vetted before elections? I'm from Italy. This is exactly what our Constitution provides about our Prime Ministers. They can be anybody, even without a seat in Parliament (or current Prime Minister doesn't.) The President of the Republic appoints them, probably even you because I don't see requirements about citizenship or residency. They must be confirmed by a vote of the Parliament (50%+1) and that's it. Actually, if they are not confirmed they still are Prime Minister until the President appoints somebody else. You can check Articles 92 to 96 of the Constitution at http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costit... (PDF, English) from the site of one of the chambers of the Parliament. I don't particularly like this but it's an example of how that is usual in Europe. Many other countries don't have direct elections for their leaders. Given this status it's normal that we don't elect the President of the Commission. Furthermore what really matters is the Council, made by the leaders of each country. The Commission is the government but the real power is in the Council. A Commission going against the Council doesn't have any political backing.