Britannia Radio

16 July 2009 The Law Cannot Stop Us : It Can Catch Up I don’t think of myself as a man who gloats, especially over the misfortune of others. But I have to admit a moment of sheer joy when I heard that the socialist Richard Corbett had lost his seat in Yorkshire and Humberside in the June election to the European Parliament. And he lost it to the BNP!!! This is the lead mischief-maker in the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee over recent years. He helped transform the discredited Constitutional Treaty into the Lisbon Treaty and then claimed it was somehow different because the flag, motto and anthem had been dropped. Then, recently, he drafted a report which re-installed them as official symbols of the EU. The Parliament approved his report during its final session before the election. All carried out with great precision, no publicity, and timed to perfection. Such is the devious nature of Mr Corbett’s politics and his commitment to the EU. Mr Corbett’s style when faced with opposition is to get his punches in first - personal abuse being his weapon of choice. If he can’t carry an argument, he shoots the opponent. As the current idiom might have it, he doesn’t ‘do’ tolerance for other people’s opinions. Insulting the messenger suits him better and appears to be – in his eyes at least – a more than adequate substitute for reasonable discussion. At one meeting – amongst many – when the Constitutional Affairs Committee reviewed the problems which would arise if the Lisbon Treaty were not ratified, he observed that “we” could always review the situation when the parliament reassembled after the election – meaning in September. I could not resist the temptation to observe that such a comment was based on the arrogant assumption that he would be back. A mixture of hollow laughter and haughty words of dismissal greeted my remarks. No longer, I think. Which brings me to another devious consequence of ex-MEP Richard Corbett’s report approved by the European Parliament just before the elections in June. His report, written in cahoots with another on reform of the European Parliament by former Belgian prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, has had a direct impact on membership of the EP. Between them, these two reports allowed the European Parliament’s membership to be altered in anticipation of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. They permitted the election in June of 18 MEPs who will sit as “observers”, at least until Lisbon is ratified. Despite not being able to take up full political office for the time being, these 'observer members' will receive a normal MEPs' salary, allowances for assistants and office expenses, and a tax-free daily attendance allowance. In all, they will create an extra expense of some £6 million. So, on 13th July in Strasbourg , 736 MEPs took their seats while the other 18 phantoms elected under the Lisbon rules waited outside. What happens if Lisbon is not ratified remains to be seen. Spain's Europe Minister Diego López Garrido has said that Spain will propose a protocol that would give the Lisbon MEPs the right to take up full office with immediate effect should the Lisbon Treaty be ratified after a second referendum in Ireland. Richard Corbett defended the arrangement saying "this is straightforward and there is no need to make a fuss. They can do all the work of an MEP except taking part in votes. This is a way of making a smooth transition, and has been done before." Well he got that right. There are countless examples over the years of the EU not bothering to wait for their decisions and plans to be legalised before they are put into effect. The Austrian Foreign Minister told me at a meeting of that very same committee some years ago that the EU was going ahead with 36 projects and new institutions which depended on the original Constitutional Treaty for their legality. He did not exaggerate. Many of them still do not have any legality today. Neither does the de facto EU foreign minister, the Spaniard Javier Solana, who has been prancing around the world speaking for the EU for years, using a budget we cannot see, nor call to account. Still without any lawful authority, he is now organising for the EU both the buildings and the staff to create an entire new layer of ambassadorial presence across the globe.  There are no prizes for guessing who’s paying for it.  Nor are there any prizes for guessing why the UK media has largely ignored all these issues.   To respond to, or comment on this Email, please email ashley.mote@btconnect.com