Q & A.... on Europe
Adam, I like the idea for a written constitution. Will this overule any outside 'influence' such as EU?
In my view of supra-national law such as that of the EU, a de facto federal system is achieved if a country's laws are subordinate to those of a superior organisation such as the EU. Under the European Communities Act 1972, as held in the Factortame cases, UK law can in certain circumstances be set aside (I think the proper word is disapplied) if it contravenes EU law. This is not widely understood but ultimately means that at the moment UK law can be overruled by the EU. As a result we live in a weakly federal European superstate already.
My view is that the EU cannot progress as its leaders would like any further without becoming a more fully fledged European superstate. And this is the point : I don't think this should happen. This far and no further. EU law has been of tremondous help in a lot of areas - especially the environment. But it must not develop into a super state. Its origins as an economic entity coupled with Europe's long history strongly recommend that it is not suited to becoming a USE. Europe is not the America of the late 18th century. There has been no populist, passionate quest to set up a democratic European super state. It should not happen until there is such a popular sentiment.
Then add in the large amount of corruption prevalent in the EU and the democratic defecit and I reach my conclusion that the EU has gone far enough. We need a long time of consolidation before further intergration occurs.
In my model then, we stand back from the weakly federal system so that British constitutional law is, if there is a conflict, supreme. Fortunately it is unlikely that there will be a conflict between the British constitution and EU law. I am not for one minute suggesting a withdrawl from the EU, far from it, but Europe intergration is perhaps the most fundamental issue the future of Britain faces and the country has to be clear about what it wants. The present position could be described as something of a "fudge".
If the EU don't like it - tough. We have to be clear one way or another as to what the country wants. Sliding subconsciously into a European superstate is not the future I have in mind.
In my view of supra-national law such as that of the EU, a de facto federal system is achieved if a country's laws are subordinate to those of a superior organisation such as the EU. Under the European Communities Act 1972, as held in the Factortame cases, UK law can in certain circumstances be set aside (I think the proper word is disapplied) if it contravenes EU law. This is not widely understood but ultimately means that at the moment UK law can be overruled by the EU. As a result we live in a weakly federal European superstate already.
My view is that the EU cannot progress as its leaders would like any further without becoming a more fully fledged European superstate. And this is the point : I don't think this should happen. This far and no further. EU law has been of tremondous help in a lot of areas - especially the environment. But it must not develop into a super state. Its origins as an economic entity coupled with Europe's long history strongly recommend that it is not suited to becoming a USE. Europe is not the America of the late 18th century. There has been no populist, passionate quest to set up a democratic European super state. It should not happen until there is such a popular sentiment.
Then add in the large amount of corruption prevalent in the EU and the democratic defecit and I reach my conclusion that the EU has gone far enough. We need a long time of consolidation before further intergration occurs.
In my model then, we stand back from the weakly federal system so that British constitutional law is, if there is a conflict, supreme. Fortunately it is unlikely that there will be a conflict between the British constitution and EU law. I am not for one minute suggesting a withdrawl from the EU, far from it, but Europe intergration is perhaps the most fundamental issue the future of Britain faces and the country has to be clear about what it wants. The present position could be described as something of a "fudge".
If the EU don't like it - tough. We have to be clear one way or another as to what the country wants. Sliding subconsciously into a European superstate is not the future I have in mind.
posted by Captain Panache at 7:07 AM
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