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That's a common misconception, actually the European Union has a lot of power, and member states are obliged to align their national laws to those of the EU. F
by mixmax 17y ago
That's a common misconception, actually the European Union has a lot of power, and member states are obliged to align their national laws to those of the EU.
From the wikipedia article on EU: "The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. A common currency, the euro, has been adopted by sixteen member states constituting the Eurozone. "
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union)
The problem is that for the common man in the various member states EU is seen as a monolithic bureaucracy placed in a country far away. Many don't realise it's power. This is the problem that the members of parlaiment face.
- anigbrowl 17y agoEuropean Union =/= European Parliament. I suggest that the EU Commission and Council of Ministers, along with the European court, have more influence on the development of the EU than its Parliament; which is not to say that the European Parliament is entirely toothless. The election of a Pirate Party member to that body, while interesting, is likely to have only marginal effect.
- mixmax 17y agoThe parlaiment, along with the council is the highest legislative body of the union and yields a lot of power. From Wikipedia: "The European Parliament has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world." Of course, as you say, a single representative from the Pirate Party will only have marginal effect. Those are the rules of a democracy.
- anigbrowl 17y agoI suggest you ponder the rest of that wikipedia article, or since you live in Europe, look at its day-to-day workings for a while. As a fellow European, surely you are aware that in practice the EUP is a punching bag for national governments and widely perceived as a sideshow, which is why nations fight tooth and nail to preserve their commission representation. Given its inability to propose legislation, it is hamstrung compared to a typical national legislature, not to mention being riven by petty disputes of language nationalism and so forth. With the best of intentions, how is the new Pirate Party member going to bring about a provocative debate on the meaning of copyright and intellectual property when everything has to go through a tabling committee and debates normally impose a 1 minute time limit for speakers. Hell, I'm an ardent europhile and even I think it's politically moribund. One upside of this, though, is that I ever move back to Europe I'll consider running for a seat...I figure it ought to be relatively easy to get elected given the general public apathy that prevails around euro elections :)
- vidarh 17y agoI agree with you, mostly. However there is one significant effect of the election of the Pirate Part: Swedish political parties have been given a rude awakening and if the Pirate Party continues to gain they will need to face up to the fact that a lot of people want more relaxed copyright legislation, or the Pirate Party may be swept into the Swedish parliament next. (keep in mind: they were polling around 5%, and many dismissed them, claiming that their key demographic of <30's "doesn't vote" - instead they performed better than the polls indicated; that's going to scare a lot of politicians into rethinking their stance) It's also bound to make a lot of people think seriously about trying to get equivalent platforms in place in other EU countries. It's an amazing showing for a "single issue" (not really, but almost) party running in only a single, small country.
- anigbrowl 17y agoOh absolutely. And it's a welcome counterweight to the fringe right-wing parties (I'm looking at you BNP) and the various communists.