Britannia Radio

The Euro-elections are now only just over 2 months away and nobody  
seems aware of this!!   So the incursion of Libertas into the scene  
was an event worth watching.

I do not expect a major breakthrough largely because it has had  
enough time to establish itself.  It is not a thoroughly euro-sceptic  
body and in Britain it would appear to have no role.  Withdrawal is  
here espoused by the tarnished UKIP as well as by a more dynamic  
BNP.  Even the Tories voice more anti-Brussels feelings than Libertas  
- sometimes!

Anyway, here is a EU-wide round-up.

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EU OBSERVER            16.3.09
Libertas leader to run in European elections
    HONOR MAHONY

  BRUSSELS - The head of the anti-treaty Libertas group, Declan  
Ganley, has announced he will run for a seat in the European  
Parliament in the June elections.

The announcement that he will contest a seat in the North West of  
Ireland puts an end to months of speculation about whether Mr Ganley,  
a business man who last year led a successful campaign against the  
Lisbon treaty in Ireland, would take the ultimate step by personally  
entering the political arena.

"We have to wake up in this country and realise that being in favour  
of Europe does not mean being in favour of everything Brussels  
wants," Mr Ganley told supporters on Saturday evening (12 March),  
reports the Irish Times

Mr Ganley, who during the pre-referendum campaign played on fears  
about Ireland losing its tax sovereignty under the Lisbon treaty,  
said his group was against the treaty "not because we opposed Europe,  
but because we opposed its direction.

"A vote for us is not a vote against Brussels, it is a vote against  
those in Brussels who ignore you, don't listen to you, and don't care  
about you."

Since the June No vote, Mr Ganley has been trying to put together a  
political force at the European level, often saying he wants the  
upcoming European elections to be a referendum on the Lisbon treaty,  
which introduces new institutional rules for the bloc, including an  
EU foreign minister, more powers to the European Parliament and a  
different decision-making system.
So far, Libertas has had mixed results on its pan-European endeavour,  
pulling together an assortment of people - often with no political  
experience - who do not always appear to share the same values.

Its French platform launched last week saw it unite Movement for  
France (MPF), headed by the right-wing Philippe de Villiers, with the  
traditionalist Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Tradition (CPNT) parties.  
Mr Villiers used the launch to cite a litany of complaints against  
Europe and to call for more protectionism.

The German branch meanwhile lacks major names, something expected to  
negatively affect its outcome in the traditionally pro-European country.
The Polish Libertas branch is expected to run people under the right- 
wing Roman Catholic League of Polish Families party, the nationalist  
Roman Catholic Mlodziez Wszechpolska youth movement, the left-wing  
farmers' party Self-defence, Stronnictwo Piast, a left-wing peasants'  
group, and the deregulation-focused UPR party.

Libertas UK is headed by Robin Matthews, a former British Soldier.  
But with Britain already fertile ground for euroscepticism, it faces  
competition at the urns from the UK Independence Party, advocating  
withdrawal from the EU and the Conservatives, also against the Lisbon  
treaty and further EU integration.

Controversies
Its attempts to recruit Swedish Eurosceptic Junilistan party went  
awry after allegations appeared in Swedish newspapers that Libertas  
tried to seal the political merger with money.

Soren Wibe, the leader of Junilistan, claimed that almost €1 million  
was offered by Libertas representatives, although not by Mr Ganley  
himself.
Meanwhile, Libertas' move to establish the party as a European  
political party, entitling it to EU funds, ended in fiasco.

Shortly after having made the application to be a pan-European party,  
requiring representation in seven member states and an adherence to  
democratic principles, its list of signatories quickly became invalid  
when two politicians, from Estonia and Bulgaria, withdrew support.  
Libertas claimed they had been subject to pressue. The matter remains  
unresolved.
Libertas has also attracted controversy in Ireland. Mr Ganley quickly  
built up the group into a high-profile and well-organised force,  
largely considered responsible for the country's No vote.

But there have been several questions about the source of Libertas'  
funding. Last week, Ireland's ethics watchdog, Standards in Public  
Office (SIPO), added fuel to the fire by saying that it did not  
provide it with enough information about its campaign, particularly  
on donations.

The US angle
It also made specific reference to Rivada Networks LTD, Mr Ganley's  
communications technology company, which has in the past supplied the  
US military. Some of Rivada's employees worked for Libertas. The anti- 
Treaty group says they did so on a voluntary basis but SIPO says it  
has not received detailed information on the matter, despite a request.

Mr Ganley's opponents claim his anti-Lisbon stance reflects his close  
connection with US industrial military interests, something he has  
always rejected.

He says Libertas is being subject to undue scrutiny because of the  
result of the referendum, which shocked the political establishment  
in Brussels and sparked muttering about Ireland's ungratefulness.

A second referendum on the treaty is due in autumn, with recent polls  
suggesting Irish citizens are more inclined to back the document amid  
the tumultuous economic problems in the country.