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Turkey offers referendum gamble to Europe | EurActiv - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...ndum-gamble-europe-news-498293 enlargement enlargementpolicy_candidates turkey
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 30 Sep 10 - No Cached
  • Egemen Bağış, Turkey's chief EU negotiator, sought yesterday (29 September) to unblock Ankara's accession bid by calling on European Union countries to call referenda on the country's EU membership. Turkey may also chose to consult its citizens, he said.
  • So-called 'Norway status' (see 'Background') appears to be a formula which Turkey is officially putting on the table, it emerged after a two-hour Q&A session between Bağış and the Brussels press. Bağış, who is a leading politician from Turkey's AKP party, repeatedly referred to Norway, which had completed accession negotiations but twice decided not to join the Union following referenda lost by narrow margins in 1972 and 1994.
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03.04.08: Sarkozy in U-turn over Turkey referendum - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-171300 croatia enlargement enlargementpolicymemberstates france referenda turkey
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 03 Apr 08 - Cached
  • Referenda linked to future EU enlargements will no longer be compulsory in France under a draft law amending the Constitution to be adopted in July. The move primarily aims to allow Croatia to join the bloc next year but also clears the way for Turkey's accession bid, EurActiv France reports.
  • The "referendum lock" contained in article 88-5 of the French Constitution will be entirely lifted when both houses of Parliament adopt the law at a Congress meeting on 7 July, in what will seem a symbolic gesture from France just days after it assumes the rotating EU Presidency on 1 July.
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02.11.10: Nightmare scenario of Dutch referendum returns to haunt EU - 0 views

euobserver.com/31180 eu-constitution referenda economic-policy eu-policy_memberstates netherlands
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 02 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • The nightmare scenario of another referendum on a change to the EU treaty in the Netherlands, five years after the country rejected the bloc's proposed constitution, could return to haunt European leaders, with the hard-right Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders on Tuesday (2 November) announcing it is considering proposing just such a vote.
  • MP Louis Bontes of the anti-immigrant PVV, which is part of the governing coalition pact, said his faction in the parliament may push for a referendum if the penalties for countries in breach of new EU fiscal rules are not strict enough.
  • The left-wing Socialist Party, one of the leaders of the No campaign in 2005 against the EU constitution, claiming that the dud EU charter had favoured the interests of businesses over citizens, has already endorsed the idea that another referendum should be called. On Friday, MP Harry Van Bommel, the party's spokesman for EU affairs and the deputy chair of the parliament's standing committee on the same subject, said that if a treaty change is approved by the European Council, it will call for a referendum. "We are very happy to have the support of the PVV in our push for a referendum," he told EUobserver, "and that they are willing to look into the issue as well." Mr Van Bommel was keen to stress that his party's opposition to the treaty change was for different reasons to that of the PVV. "They are more concerned that we not pay out to poorer countries whereas we are more worried that the proposed changes limit a nation's policy space in the social arena," he explained.
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21.10.08: Irish MEP: Hold second Lisbon vote, with opt-outs - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-176570 constitution lisbon-treaty eu-policy_memberstates ireland referenda options_after_Irish_No
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 23 Oct 08 - Cached
  • rish centre-right MEP Colm Burke (EPP) recently became the first Irish politician to propose a specific 'roadmap' for holding a second Lisbon referendum in Ireland. Discussing this plan and other issues in an interview with EurActiv, Burke called for a multi-question referendum to be held in October 2009, allowing Irish citizens to vote on possible opt-outs from the Lisbon Treaty while also constituting a second ballot on the text itself.
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09.09.08: Compromise over Irish revote on EU treaty takes shape - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-175187 constitution ireland lisbon-treaty referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 09 Sep 08 - Cached
  • A compromise package aimed at convincing the Irish to return to the urns and agree to the Lisbon Treaty seems to be taking shape as Dublin considers opt-outs on defence. Meanwhile, EU countries appear to be leaning towards retaining the current system of one commissioner per country in response to Ireland's concerns that it may lose its commissioner.
  • According to the source, keeping the present system of one commissioner per country may not only serve to give the Irish a sense of having accomplished an important goal with their negative vote. Such a measure could also be easily adopted (by means of a brief intergovernmental conference) because other countries are starting to have second thoughts about reducing the number of commissioners, the source added. 
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12.01.09: Irish poll shows majority support for Lisbon Treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27385 constitution lisbon-treaty referenda ratification eu-policy_memberstates ireland publicopinion
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 12 Jan 09 - Cached
  • A new poll suggests that a majority of Irish voters may back the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum set to be held this year. The Sunday Independent / Quantum Research survey carried out last Friday showed that 55 per cent of the 500 people asked would support the treaty while 37 per cent said they would oppose it and 15 per cent said they were undecided.
  • These latest figures should a strong rise in support (plus 16%) for the charter when compared to a survey carried out by the same newspaper in December. Those saying they would vote against the treaty decreased by seven percent.
  • Ireland's deteriorating economy is likely to be an important factor behind the change of heart, with many still shocked and angered by last week's announcement that 1,900 jobs at the Dell plant in Limerick are to be transferred to Poland.
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09.01.09: Czechs begin work on legal guarantees for Ireland - 0 views

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shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 09 Jan 09 - Cached
  • The Czech EU presidency is to begin the complicated task of providing the legal guarantees for the political concessions that Ireland has received on the rejected Lisbon Treaty. Work will soon begin between Irish lawyers, the legal services of the Council (representing member states) and the European Commission, to firm up EU promises to that the treaty will not affect Irish neutrality, abortion or tax laws.
  • Mr Martin admitted that running a second referendum will be "very challenging" but noted that the worsening economic situation in Ireland due to the global financial crisis may make voters "accept that it is far better for Ireland to be at the heart of the European Union ... rather than to marginalise itself."
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09.01.09: Slovenia waves referendum card at Croatia - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-178349 enlargement enlargementpolicymemberstates slovenia referenda croatia
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 08 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Slovenia may call for a referendum over Croatia's accession to the European Union if a long-standing border dispute between the two countries is not quickly resolved to Ljubljana's satisfaction.
  • Slovenian Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Zbogar stated that if talks over the border dispute are not resolved in his country's interest, it would be "quite realistic" to expect a popular referendum on ratification of Croatia's accession treaty to the Union, the Croatian daily Jutarni List reported yesterday (7 January). 
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24.11.08: Eurosceptic chancellor to take lead in Austria - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-177443 eu-policy_memberstates austria political_parties publicopinion lisbon-treaty referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 24 Nov 08 - Cached
  • Austria yesterday (23 November) formed another grand coalition between the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). But this time the new government is expected to be led by a eurosceptic chancellor.
  • A 200-page coalition agreement indicates that the government will fall if one party decides to push for a referendum on a new EU treaty. The Austrian Parliament ratified the Lisbon Treaty in April 2008 amid calls for a referendum from the right-wing opposition.  The prospective new chancellor, Werner Faymann (SPÖ), insists that a nationwide referendum should be held on any new EU treaty. But his future Deputy Chancellor Joseph Proell (ÖVP) insists that no referendum should occur against his party's wil
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16.02.09:_ Irish poll shows swing in favour of Lisbon treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27613 constitution lisbon-treaty ratification referenda eu-policy_memberstates Ireland options_after_Irish_No
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 16 Feb 09 - Cached
  • A new poll has shown a swing in favour of the Lisbon treaty in Ireland as the main political parties argue about when would be the best time to hold a second referendum on the document. According to a survey carried out by the Irish Times newspaper, 51 percent are in favour of the treaty while 33 percent would vote against it.
  • Analysis of the results suggests it is farmers and middle-class voters who have shifted their opinion towards a Yes since the referendum in June last year. Meanwhile, the least well off tend to be opposed to the treaty. The swing in Lisbon's favour comes amid the country's convulsions in the economic crisis, which has caused massive job losses.
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21.01.09: Polish president won't sign Lisbon before Irish referendum - 0 views

euobserver.com/27446 constitution lisbon-treaty referenda ratification eu-policy_memberstates poland czechia ireland germany
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 21 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Poland will not complete the final step of ratification for the EU's Lisbon treaty until after Ireland has had its second referendum on the document, the Polish president has reiterated. While noting that his country does not intend to be an obstacle to the bloc's ratification of the text, Lech Kaczynski said he would only sign off on the treaty if Irish citizens say Yes in the new vote, expected in autumn.
  • The president's tough stance comes despite the Polish parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday passing a resolution for him to yield. "The parliament requests the president to respect the will of both houses of parliament and to finish the process of ratification as quickly as possible," the resolution - which is to be voted on in plenary on Thursday - says, according to Rzeczpospolita.
  • Besides Ireland and Poland, Germany - which is awaiting a ruling by its highest court on legal challenges to the text - and the Czech Republic have also not yet ratified the EU treaty.
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14.01.09: UK opposition leader vows Lisbon referendum - 0 views

euobserver.com/27401 constitution lisbon-treaty referenda eu-policy_memberstates uk political_parties
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 14 Jan 09 - Cached
  • David Cameron, the leader of the opposition Conservative party in Britain, has pledged to hold a referendum on the EU's Lisbon treaty if his party is elected later this year.
  • An early election by Mr Brown - the last date by which the government has to call an election is June 2010 - would hand the Conservatives an opportunity to derail the EU's latest treaty, although it has already been ratified by British Parliament and approved by the queen. Britain's Conservative Party, which is generally eurosceptic, is a strong opponent of Lisbon and has long campaigned to hold a referendum on the document.
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17.03.09: Sweden preparing for difficul EU presidency - 0 views

euobserver.com/27783 Swedish_Presidency_2009 eu-institutions constitution lisbon-treaty referenda europeanparliament elections
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 17 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Sweden has set itself ambitious goals for its six-month stint at the EU helm but the upcoming European elections and uncertainty about when the next EU commission will be appointed will make its presidency "quite difficult", the country's minister for European affairs has said.
  • Sweden is to take over the EU chair from the Czech Republic on 1 July until the end of the year. The period coincides with the end of the mandate of the current European Commission, due in October, and follows the European Parliament elections in June. "Two key players and very important partners of the presidency – the parliament and the commission – will not be fully operational until quite some time into the autumn, which of course complicates matters," Swedish EU minister Cecilia Malmstrom said at a debate organised by Brussels-based think-tank The Centre on Monday (16 March). To the institutional limbo, she said, should be added the economic crisis and the planned second referendum in Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty, set for October
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13.03.09: Outside interference in Lisbon treaty campaign, Irish minister says - 0 views

euobserver.com/27776 constitution lisbon-treaty eu-policy_memberstates ireland referenda ratification
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 14 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Irish Europe minister Dick Roche has said there was "serious external interference" in the run-up to the country's referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The minister made the comment after Ireland's ethics watchdog published a report Friday (13 March) saying that Libertas, which last year led a successful campaign against the EU's Lisbon treaty, did not reveal enough information on its referendum campaign.
  • Reacting to the report, Europe minister Dick Roche, who has a long-running feud with Mr Ganley, was quoted by the Irish Times as saying: "It raises real issues regarding the extent of foreign interference channelled via Libertas into the referendum campaign. The report demonstrates the need for an immediate strengthening of the law." "It confirms questions raised by me and others about the role of US defence contractor Rivada Networks Ltd and its Irish office. It contains and confirms that there was serious external interference in Ireland's referendum campaign from Mr Ganley's eurosceptic contacts via the Libertas campaign." In the run-up to the June referendum last year, Ireland was awash with speculation that Libertas was being funded from US sources opposed to European integration.
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22.05.08: Lisbon treaty not easy to sell to Irish voters - 0 views

euobserver.com/26193 constitution eu-policy_memberstates ireland lisbon-treaty referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 23 May 08 - Cached
  • With just three weeks to go before Ireland's highly anticipated referendum on the Lisbon treaty, the country's European commissioner has admitted that the document is hard to sell because it does not bring tangible benefits to the population. "One of the difficulties this time in getting out the vote is seeing how you can energise voters," said Charlie McCreevy in an interview with EUobserver, with pundits widely predicting that a low voter turnout would result in a "No" vote on 12 June.
  • A "No" vote is likely to scupper the whole process, as all member states need to ratify the document for it to kick into place.
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20.05.08: France may keep referendum on Turkish/Ukrainian membership - 0 views

euobserver.com/26182 enlargement enlargementpolicymemberstates france referenda turkey
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 20 May 08 - Cached
  • The French parliament will on Tuesday evening (20 May) discuss a constitutional reform plan that could eventually make it compulsory for France to hold a referendum on large countries wanting to join the EU. Under an amendment tabled by Jean-Luc Warsmann – a deputy from the centre-right UMP party – in the French parliament's Committee on Legislation last week, holding a referendum would become obligatory to approve the EU accession of any country whose population surpasses five percent of the EU's population - currently about 500 million people.
  • After the debates on the constitutional reform proposal and its amendments in the French Assembly, the text will be brought before the French Senate and a final decision is to be taken by a three-fifths majority of the two bodies gathered for a Congressional meeting in July.
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13.05.08: Dublin launches EU treaty "Yes" campaign - 0 views

euobserver.com/26124 constitution eu-policy_memberstates ireland lisbon-treaty referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 13 May 08 - Cached
  • The Irish government has launched its campaign in favour of the EU treaty with the new prime minister, Brian Cowen, calling for a "yes" vote in next month's referendum. "It would be a very backward step to resign from the strategic political positioning we have established in 35 years of (EU) membership," Mr Cowen said on Monday (12 May). "It would have very serious implications.
  • Ireland is the only EU member state to have a referendum on the new treaty and the government is coming under enormous pressure to secure a "yes" vote, with all 27 countries needed to ratify the document for it to come into force. Analysts suggest that much will depend on voter turnout among the 3-million-strong electorate. A low turn-out could result in a "no" vote, they say, while a higher turnout is set to work more in favour of the "yes" camp.
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09.05.08: Danes likely to have two referendums on EU treaty op-outs - 0 views

euobserver.com/26115 denmark eu-policy_memberstates referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 09 May 08 - Cached
  • The Danish centre-right government has launched negotiations with opposition parties to agree on a strategy for scrapping opt-outs from the EU treaties, with the government hoping to abolish the derogations in two steps, according to Danish media reports.

    Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is set to call for a referendum in September to remove the derogation from judicial and defence co-operation and at the same time announce a subsequent referendum on the euro.
  • Denmark is not bound by first-pillar legislation on justice and home affairs and EU citizenship and does not take part in EU defence co-operation. Denmark is also not obliged to take part in the single currency and refused to abolish its national currency, the Krone, in a referendum in 2000. The liberal-conservative coalition government is eager to scrap the opt-outs and have the country participating fully in the EU.
  • Big-bang referendum difficult to win Opinion polls have suggested a big-bang referendum including all four Danish opt-outs would be very difficult to win – but taking the issues one-by-one would increase the chances of a yes. According to a fresh poll by the Greens polling institute, published by business paper Boersen on Friday (9 May), a slim plurality of 43 percent would accept scrapping all four derogations in such a big-bang referendum, 39 percent would vote no and 18 percent are undecided.
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06.05.08: EU urges irish farmers to keep treaty and trade talks separate - 0 views

euobserver.com/26088 constitution eu-policy_memberstates interest-groups ireland lisbon-treaty referenda
shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 06 May 08 - Cached
  • EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson has urged Irish farmers to refrain from linking next month's vote on the Lisbon Treaty to ongoing world trade talks. "I don't think the Doha talks should get mixed up with the Lisbon Treaty or any referendum on it. Rejecting the treaty would not be in Ireland's interests, it wouldn't be in Europe's interests," said Mr Mandelson on Tuesday (6 May).
  • The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has delivered up the threat of a No vote in next month's referendum to both the commissioner and the Irish government if their interests are not defended in the talks.
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26.05.08: Voting gap narrows ahead of Irish referendum - 0 views

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shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 26 May 08 - Cached
  • The gap between the "Yes" and the "No" camps ahead of the EU treaty referendum in Ireland has narrowed, according to the latest poll published on Sunday (25 May). The survey for the Sunday Business Post shows that 41 percent plan to vote in favour of the treaty - a three percent increase on a similar poll two weeks ago. But the same survey showed that the No side has increased its share of the vote by five percent in the same period, with 33 percent saying they plan to reject the pact. A quarter of the electorate remain undecided about how they will vote on 12 June.
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