Britannia Radio

It's refreshing to see the EU not getting everything itrs own way all 
the time.  It must come as a culture shock to trhe eurocrats !

But as country after country ignores Brussels and goes its own way to 
subsidise its car industry Brussels is struggling to reassert its 
authority.  There is a report in the Telegraph Business section 
(p.B4) entitled " French bail-out of car industry may be illegal".  
(Pressure from other news stops me typing this out -and I can't find 
it on the web! )  This says that the EU will block any aid given if 
it is tied to promises to keep car production in France or preserving 
'French jobs for French workers'.

"[If the aid] violated the principles of the internal market then the 
aid would be illegal." , said a spokesman.    The Geman industry body 
the BDI has expressed alarm at the Fren ch proposals.

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EU OBSERVER    11.2.09
German judges express scepticism about EU treaty
HONOR MAHONY

Several of the eight judges in charge of examining whether the EU's 
Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German constitution have 
expressed scepticism about the constitutional effects of further EU 
integration.

According to reports in the German media, the debate during the 
crucial two-day hearing starting on Tuesday (10 Februrary) on the 
treaty centred on criminal law and the extent to which it should be 
the preserve of member states rather than the EU.

The judges questioned whether the EU should be allowed to increase 
its powers in criminal law.

Judge Herbert Landau said new EU powers in criminal justice affected 
"core issues" of German legislative authority.

"These are issues affecting the shared values of a people," he said.
Judge Udo Di Fabio, who prepared the procedure and will deliver the 
judgement on the treaty, asked whether the transferral of powers to 
the EU really means more freedom for EU citizens.
"Is the idea of going ever more in this direction not a threat to 
freedom?" he asked, according to FT Deutschland.

Judge Rudolf Mellinghoff asked whether the treaty was already "in an 
extensive way" being applied when its comes to the area of criminal 
sanctions in environment issues - the European Commission may 
sanction companies for polluting the environment  ['jumping the gun' 
is widespread -cs]

In all, four of the eight judges questioned the Lisbon Treaty.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that the judges were united 
on one issue: that the treaty is not a work of high literature.

Less-than-clear passages from the treaty were read out aloud, 
guaranteeing a laugh, noted the paper.

Referendum
On Wednesday, the court is to examine article 146 of Germany's 
constitution, which says that a referendum may be called if the 
constitutional order in the country is changed to the detriment of 
Germany's current constitution - the Grundgesetz or Basic Law.

The court could therefore ask for a referendum, concludes the 
Suedeutsche Zeitung.

The hearing is being watched keenly across Europe as all member 
states need to ratify the EU treaty before it can go into force.

The German government, a strong supporter of the document, sent two 
of its senior ministers to defend it during the hearing, which is 
examining whether the treaty is anti-democratic by allowing the 
powers of national parliaments to be circumvented.

The case was brought before the court by conservative MP Peter 
Gauweiler and several deputies from the left-wing Die Linke party.

Ireland, the Czech Republic and Poland have also yet to ratify or 
complete ratification of the treaty.