Out of darkness came light

What would life be like if marmite didn't exist, pretty much the poorer I would say. With that profound statement and with my taste-buds recovering from sensory overload what better way to compliment a Friday morning than perhaps the hardest-hitting speech Nick has ever delivered in the European Parliament. You can see why they are so desperate to shut us up.


 

BNP Exposing the Carbophobiacs

Busy again all day with the Strasbourg voting sheets but at least the plenary session has now finished. Whilst I am waiting for the other speech videos to be made available, here's Nick's speech from earlier on this morning concerning the EU's carbophobic designs for the year 2050.

Naughty Dutch

Thought you might like to see what I am working on right now, a resolution concerning the very naughty Dutch Freedom Party. Looks like they have caused quite a stir!

European Parliament resolution on discriminatory internet sites and government reactions


The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Articles 2, 3, 4, and 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), Articles 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 45, 49, 56, 67, 83 and 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR),

–   having regard to Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law(1),

–   having regard to Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States(2),

–   having regard to Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin(3),

–   having regard to Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding’s statement of 11 February 2012 on the PVV website(4),

–   having regard to Rule 110(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, at the beginning of February, the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) launched an internet hotline ‘Meldpunt Midden en Oost Europeanen’, calling on people to report complaints arising from the ‘massive labour migration’ of ‘Central or Eastern European citizens’, in particular Poles, Romanians and Bulgarians; whereas people are asked, in particular, whether they have experienced any problems in terms of anti-social behaviour and whether they have lost their jobs to one of those citizens;

B.  whereas the free movement of citizens in the European Union is enshrined in Article 21 TFEU, and the free movement of workers within the European Union in Article 45 TFEU;

C. whereas the right to protection from discrimination on grounds of nationality is enshrined in Article 18 TFEU, and protection from discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin in Article 10 TFEU;

D. whereas the right to freedom of thought is enshrined in Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and freedom of expression in Article 11 thereof;

E.  whereas the European Union is founded on the values of democracy and the rule of law, as stipulated in Article 2 TEU, and on unequivocal respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and in the ECHR;

F.  whereas the Member States have an obligation to all EU citizens to ensure that they are not discriminated against or stigmatised when living and working across Europe;

G. whereas the PVV hotline openly incites discrimination against European Union workers from Central and Eastern European countries and is creating divisions between communities in Dutch society;

H. whereas the PVV website undermines the free movement of persons and the right to non-discrimination, based on Directive 2004/38/EC and the relevant Treaty articles;

I.   whereas the Dutch Government has signed a parliamentary support agreement with the PVV and can thus count on a majority in the Dutch Parliament;

J.   whereas the Dutch Government has so far not formally condemned the PVV hotline;

K. whereas the ambassadors of ten Central and Eastern European countries in the Netherlands have strongly objected to the website, stating that ‘it encourages negative perception of a particular group of EU citizens within the Dutch society’;

L.  whereas, according to the latest studies carried out by the Erasmus University in Rotterdam(5), migrant workers from Central and Eastern European countries are making a significant contribution to the Dutch economy and the Dutch labour market;

M. whereas the commitment of Dutch government policy to European integration has significantly decreased over the last years, as demonstrated by the position of the current Dutch Government on issues such as Schengen enlargement and the free movement of workers;

N. whereas there is a real risk of similar hotlines being launched in other Member States;

1.  Strongly condemns the website launched by the PVV, as it goes against the fundamental European values of human dignity, freedom, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights and risks destroying the very basis of the Union, which is pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and freedom of movement;

2.  Considers the PVV hotline as an ill-intentioned initiative aimed at creating divisions within society and obtaining political gain to the detriment of workers from Central and Eastern Europe;

3.  Strongly calls on Prime Minister Mark Rutte, on behalf of the Dutch Government to condemn and distance himself from this deplorable initiative; stresses, furthermore, the obligation of all European Union governments to guarantee the rights of free movement and non-discrimination, and thus calls on the European Council formally to condemn the PVV hotline since it undermines those rights and is an affront to European values and principles;

4.  Urges the Dutch Government not to turn a blind eye to the policies of the Party of Freedom which are in contradiction with fundamental EU values;

5.  Calls on the Dutch authorities to investigate whether this initiative has resulted in incitement to hatred and discrimination;

6.  Stresses that workers from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have had a positive impact on Member States' economies and have not caused serious disruptions in their labour markets, but have made a significant contribution to sustained economic growth in the EU;

7.  Calls on the Dutch Government to give a swift answer to the letters sent by the Commission on envisaged legislation that may infringe Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, and to follow up on the requests made by Parliament in its resolutions;

8.  Calls on the Commission and the Council to do their utmost to stop the spread of xenophobic attitudes such as those expressed on this website and to ensure the effective implementation of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia in all Member States;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Council of Europe and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

Vive le franc

You might be interested in this letter published in the Financial Times this morning. Not so sure I agree with the conclusion of the analysis, but it shows just how precarious the European Union project now is.

Merkel has prevented Le Pen from becoming president 

Sir, I read with interest Wolfgang Münchau’s article “Well done Merkel on campaigning for Sarko” (March 12). I would go even further than that. In fact, by agreeing to the Greek bailout whatever the cost, Angela Merkel has prevented a major disaster from happening in the upcoming French presidential election.

The four main contenders for the first round of the election are Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, François Bayrou (centre), and Marine Le Pen (extreme right). Ms Le Pen argues (among other things) that the euro is a wrong concept and that France should give it up.

Now imagine for one minute that the Greek bailout had failed. We are now in April 2012, just before the first round of the French election. Greece is out of the euro, there is widespread panic in financial markets and economic uncertainty is at its peak. In such a context, Mr Sarkozy does not stand a chance of making it through to the second round. Instead, Ms Le Pen is in the second round and faces Mr Hollande, a Socialist. The result of that face-off in the context of a major euro crisis is much less certain than was the Jacques Chirac/Jean-Marie Le Pen face-off in the second round of the French election in 2002, in which the choice was between right and extreme right.

Mr Sarkozy can now claim that “We saved Europe” at his last rally in Paris. He will make it to the second round, thanks indeed to Mrs Merkel. Well done, Mrs Merkel; not so much for campaigning for Mr Sarkozy, but most importantly for preventing Marine Le Pen from becoming the next French president.

Votes, amendments, resolutions, motions, proposals and recitals

Didn't like that report on red and processed meat out this morning. By all accounts I should have been dead by 2005 so it didn't stop me enjoying my Wiltshire oak smoked cancer and mushroom sandwich this morning.
Been working on European votes all day today and have just had to invest in some Australian Shiraz Grenache in order to restore my faith in humanity as a consequence.
Shocking stuff ensnaring more countries in the EU's hideous web and trampling all over our way of life with sinister social engineering.
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Huddersfield and Paris

Good news from France as Marine ends ridiculous speculation that she would not get the 500 signatures needed to run.

 French far-right leader Marine Le Pen secures backing to run as presidential candidate

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has obtained the backing of 500 elected officials required to be a candidate in the April-May presidential election, she told Reuters on Tuesday, clearing a hurdle days before Friday's filing deadline...


Meanwhile, I am getting reports that the main war memorial in Huddersfield was badly damaged last night perhaps somebody could post a photo on Facebook for us all so we can see whether this is true.

News from Kettering

Just spoke to some poor chap from Rothwell near Kettering where the bomb squad evacuated a whole street after a suspect device was discovered. The RAF bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion yesterday and the police have yet to release details as to whether or not it was genuine. My source was convinced that it looked real. Local coverage here.