Posted on 06/01/2007 7:08:25 PM PDT by WesternCulture
Sweden’s Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern in Berlin last night to discuss how to resurrect a new constitution for the European Union.
Reinfeldt expressed his support for the Germans’ efforts to come up with a draft that all 27 EU countries can accept, after voters in the Netherlands and France rejected the proposed constitution in 2005.
After the meeting he said Sweden’s views were heard, and the meeting was part of efforts to get Sweden to play a more constructive role in EU affairs. Germany has held the rotating European Presidency since the beginning of the year and is keen to come up with a new proposal before its six month term comes to an end at the end of June.
Following Thursday’s talks, Angela Merkel said if all countries were like Sweden the job would be easy.
The European continent needs to rediscover
- Work ethics
- Productivity
- Capitalism
Mr Reinfeldt, PM of Sweden is a laid back, cautious type of guy.
Still, his message is the same as that of this historical ruler of Sweden:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Adolphus
Namely, All of Europe needs to get a grip on reality.
Lutheran work ethics forever!
Just give them the UN Charter. That’s what’s coming anyway.
What part of reality have you explored besides Benzodiazepine?
Not all of us need drugs to make it through the day. When you can actually see the truth maybe you won’t need them either.
But me thinks it would be much more complicated story to find enough euro-Zombies in the member countries to approve a goodbye kiss to their sovereignty, as well as passing all the political power to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.
What a waste of time and money are all these "euro deliberations...
“Not all of us need drugs to make it through the day. When you can actually see the truth maybe you won’t need them either.”
- Can’t stop yapping?
Which nation was prepared to fight The Soviet Union at a point in history when the US was paralyzed:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1841067/posts
The lesson the EU should take from the first EU Constitution’s defeat: Stop asking Europeans to create a new Roman Empire.
The lesson the EU will take from the first EU Constitution’s defeat: Don’t let the People of Europe vote on the proposed EU Constitution.
Resistance Is Futile, You Will Be Assimilated.
“The lesson the EU should take from the first EU Constitution’s defeat: Stop asking Europeans to create a new Roman Empire.
The lesson the EU will take from the first EU Constitution’s defeat: Don’t let the People of Europe vote on the proposed EU Constitution.
Resistance Is Futile, You Will Be Assimilated.”
- Thank you and enjoy your life despite the fact that you’ll never rejoice too see a magnificent constitution being born.
I will.
Just like Benjamin Franklin did, against all odds.
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/917.htm
It is far too complicated furthermore it lacks democracy and freedom. Since the European countries themselves are too weak to play a significant role in a globalized world it is unavoidable to give up sovereignty sooner or later.
The problem I have is that most Europeans do not get what the whole thing is about. Some explode in a orgy of local patriotism, others have no awareness about the extensive impact that this constitution will have on their existence and there are people who are keen to give up all their achievements to a bigger entity. Nothing well thought out.
We need a constitution that is backed by the European people and not just by the European politicians.
In one way, I agree. But let’s be realistic. Most people in the EU of today don’t know much about the EU or about other parts of Europe, like you said.
I suggest we let the politicians settle this issue on their own so that they can start dealing with other important matters. There’s no point in discussing a constitution for year after year.
Whatever constitution is agreed upon will be met with protests, BUT will also be possible to alter and amend in the future.
There are three important aspects here that needs to be kept apart:
- WHAT kind of constitution do we need?
- HOW long can we afford to wait for a constitution?
- WHO should be allowed to have a vote concerning the constitution?
My answer to these questions:
Basically, we need a constitution that ties the EU members closer to each other without completely eradicating national sovereignty. More or less any constitution that can ensure this is fine with me.
Personally, I think it would be an advantage if we could settle this issue as soon as possible and then start focusing on all the things that need to be done in Europe. There’s lots of work ahead of us.
In this case, I would suggest that we remember that the EU IS NOT A DIRECT DEMOCRACY BUT A UNION OF COUNTRIES THAT THEMSELVES ARE REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACIES. After all, we have given the politicians a mandate to do what is best for our countries and the EU as a whole. Let’s trust their ability, in the same way Europeans like you and I trust each other and believe each other to be good Europeans.
Best of regards from Sweden!
“Lutheran work ethics forever!”
I didn’t know that it’s the matter of religion, how hard people work. In Poland it doesn’t matter if you are catholic or not, as hard work is the matter of honor rather then religion. That makes us second hardest working nation in the world (just after S.Koreans) (source: OECD Employment Outlook)
I still agree with most of what you say, though... (especially those things in post no. 11)
- There are, obviously, parts of the world that are NOT Lutheran that also are/have been very productive. Poland of today is one such example and Japan and South Korea are other such examples. The Polish economy is indeed strong and this strength also has a significant impact on European economy in general, as Poland is one of the largest countries of the continent.
However, I would say Lutheranism often has promoted the belief that hard work, moral conduct and law obedience is a very good way to please God. Catholics believe so too, but my impression is that Lutherans put more stress on this issue.
Furthermore, I don’t think the prosperity of countries like the US and the Scandinavian ones can be explained just by Lutheran work ethics, but I think these ethics are ONE of several cultural and national elements that make these countries resist ideas like the “6 hour work day that”, one of the major reasons to the poor performance of the German (paradoxically, Germany is a country with many Lutherans!) and French economies in recent years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.