english french german greek italian lithuanian russian serbian spanish
Home arrow newsitems arrow Belgium after 2010 Elections: 95 MPs Center-Right pro-EU Majority possible for EU chair

Belgium after 2010 Elections: 95 MPs Center-Right pro-EU Majority possible for EU chair

Written by ACM
Monday, 14 June 2010
belgium_2010_elec_400_01

Despite curiously alarming Press reports, a Coherent and 95 MPs Strong Majority of Center-Right pro-European political forces in Belgium seems possible after the June 2010 Elections in the Country which will Chair the EU during the crucial semester of July - December next.

The Biggest Winner : NVA Party, which came clearly 1st, can, indeed, form the biggest political Block, together with some other Parties with similar Political views (fex. on Econmy, Belgium's Future and Turkey's controversial EU bid, etc), which could easily re-join the ChristianDemocrats (as it had already done in the Past), and gather around it Liberals from both French and Dutch-speaking areas.

The move would also be in line with Recent Developments on the Conservatives-Liberals recipe, currently used by Governing Coalitions in Germany, the UK, indirectly even in France, Italy, etc., and possibly also in neighbouring Netherlands after the latest election, (See relevant "EuroFora"'s publication).

An official meeting of EU President Van Rompuy (former Belgian ChristianDemocrat Prime Minister himself) with the current Belgium's out-going PM Leterme, etc., on Friday, June 18, might indicate what direction is best in order to allow an efficient EU Chairmanship in 2010. Several Relevant Facts are obviously converging :


"New Flemisch Alliance" NVA is the only Winner of 2010 Elections who gets more than 1 Million Votes, gaining the bigger number of MPs : 27. It is both pro-European and against Turkey's controversial EU bid. As for the "Flemish interest" party,  it keeps 12 MPs.  New "Popular Party" (opposed to Turkey's controversial EU bid, at the French-speaking part) wins, for the First time, more than 84.000 votes , and gets 1 MP. This is also the case for "Dedecker's List", which keeps 150.000 Voters and one (1) of its MPs. Together, they win 41 MPs, composing the Biggest political Block.

(I.e. more than the two Socialist parties, who follow only at the second place, with only 39 MPs :  - 2 less).

If they join anew the ChristianDemocrats CVD, which keep 17 MPs, (and have had several leaders reportedly opposed to Turkey's controversial EU bid, such as Van Rompuy, Leterme, etc., even if the view of Thyssen, abandoned now by many voters, seem unclear), they arrive up to 58 MPs.

Liberals from French-speakers (MReformists), which keep 15 MPs, admit that Turkey's controversial EU bid raises many Question marks, and are ready to accept that Ankara stays out of the EU if it doesn't meet EU's criteria. SImilarly, Dutch-speaking Liberals ("Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats), who seem well aware of the Problems that Turks oppose to Integration, keep 13 MPs. Adding them all, would bring together 86 MPs.

Belgium's Parliament having 150 MPs in all, by bringing together these 86 MPs, more or less opposed or at least critical against Turkey's controversial EU bid, can obviously from a Large Center-Right Majority.


Eventually, this, already large and coherent Majority, could be extended even to the French-speaking "Humanist Democratic Center", which keeps 9 MPs, with a program calling to "insist" on the need for Turkey to respect EU Conditions, and "in case of failure", to offer Ankara only a "Privileged Partnership".

A good thing for Belgium and Europe is that such a 95 MPs strong Majority would be mainly  pro-European, uniting together MPs from both the French and the Dutch-speaking communities.  and much more Politically Coherent than any other alternative :

Indeed, an hypothetical NVA - Socialists' tactical Cohabitation would obviously be Fragile and Unstable, because Divided, with Differend Socio-Economic views and Opposed positions on Turkey's controversial EU bid, so that it would soon collapse, particularly since there are such Disagreements on crucial EU issues.

On the contrary, a Center-Right Majority based on  NVA's victory, joining together also  ChristianDemocrats and Liberals (See supra), would naturally be much more Coherent, and therefore much more Stable and Efficient, both on Internal and on EU policies, (Comp. supra).

Because, in fact, the Turkish controversy is a "crossroads" linked with many Other Issues :  As the New Belgian "Popular Party" (which was created just a few Months earlier, on November 2009, but already succeeded to start electing an MP for the 1st time) puts it, (reminding a largely shared Analysis also in biger EU Countries, as France, etc): - "Two Contradictory trends divide the UE today : Some conceive the EU as a large common Market extending towards other Countries as Turkey. But the opposite trend, is Federalist and defends a Political Union. These contradictory views are reflected inside various EU institutions, often pushed into Inertia and an obvious Democratic Deficit. .. We defend the creation of a (Political) Europe composed by a Center of gravity of Countries which desire to Advance further than an merely Economic Union", as "the only way to avoid Dilution of the European Project in an Enlarged union, and to have a say, tomorow, in the World-wide debate between big powers". Human Rights, Democracy, as well as Economic/Social Development, Culture and Historic Identity, EU Citizens' support, etc., could obviously be also added in this regard.

The 2 "Green", Environmentalist Dutch and French-speaking small Parties could naturally join, here or there, some Selective points among the policies of such a Center-Right Majority, particularly on anti-Corruption, anti-Bureaucratic and BioEthical issues, where usually "Greens" are opposed to Socialists almost everywhere in Europe and Worldwide. 

These Facts seem so Obvious, that it's strange that some other Media don't even cite these New Possibilities for a New Center-Right Coalition Government in Belgium, curiously preferring to suggest some other, too artificial and weak recipes, more tactical than strategic....


The New thing about a Center-Right Majority with 95 MPs out of 150 in all, which was made possible after the June 2010 Elections, would be to put an end to counter-nature cohabitation between the Center-Right and Socialists, and, respecting People's democratically expressed choice, could shape a New, Coherent EU strategy.

***



EUDigitalMedia

Statistics

Visitors: 60905641

Archive

Login Form





Remember me

Lost your Password?
No account yet? Create account

Syndicate

RSS 0.91
RSS 1.0
RSS 2.0
ATOM 0.3
OPML

Other Menu

 

pace_freeze_meps_400_01

They voted to "freeze" UK Government's draft to put People in jail for 42 Days on "anti-terrorist" suspicion without charge, or they abstained. Don't they look suspect ?
-------------------------

CoE's debate on UK controversy stirs PanEuropean check of anti-terror suspects' imprisonment

Former Leftists of the Sixties would boil in hot water if they heard PACE's debate on the controversial 42 days detention without charge, currently drafted by the British Government :

A "Socialist" Government, a Socialist PACE Rapporteur and a Socialist Chair of PACE's Legal Committee, opposed a .. "Conservative" amendment (supported by .. Liberals, Democrats, etc), to freeze the measure, in order to protect Citizens' Freedom, by "waiting" until CoE's Venice Committee checks its conformity with Human Rights' principles.

"Left"'s support to Conservative-Lib.Dem's criticism, wasn't enough to obtain a majority, nor to make things as they were back in the good old days, when "Left" and "Right" had a clear meaning, as "liberty" and "restrictions"...

Conservatives and most Democrats were joined by the Left in voting for the "freeze", as well as Liberal Paul Rowen, while Socialist MEP Ivan Popescu, an experienced MEP from Ukraine (PACE Member since 1996-2008) abstained. But most Socialists, added to a few Liberals and EPP's Right, voted against.

Fortunately, someone inside PACE had the wise idea to shorten the Debate for less than 1 Hour, and put it on the Agenda only at the end of an exceptionally busy day, towards the end of the Evening, when most MEPs had already gone to taste wins and foods at various Receptions all around Strasbourg's "European" area : As a result, not even 42 MEPs weren't present..

Socialist Lord Tomlinson accused the leaders of the PanEuropean Assembly, in its highest body : the "Bureau", to "lack wisdom" by deciding to hold a Debate on an issue that neither the Socialist Chair of the Legal Committee, nor its Socialist "reluctant Rapporteur", did "not want to do", ...

tomllinson

Finally, everybody (critics and supporters alike) was happy to agree, in substance, that the controversial measure "may" gravely violate Human Rights, and therefore, PACE asked Legal Experts of Venice Commission to check UK Government''s plans.

But this might take more than .. 42 Days to do, since PACE's Rapporteur asked the Experts to enlarge their study in a PanEuropean comparison of all that is happening on "anti-terrorism" legislation in 47 CoE Member Countries, including Russia, Turkey and Azerbaidjan..

Bad lack : "The existing 28 days’ detention without charge in the UK is, in comparison with other CoE member countries, one of the most extreme : In Turkey, the period is 7,5 days, in France 6 days, in Russia 5 days, and in .. the U.S. and Canada just 2 and 1 days respectively", denounced Democrat MEP Ms WOLDSETH from Norway..

woldsteth

"Numerous respected human rights organisations, including Liberty and Human Rights Watch, have expressed serious concern" "The proposed legislation ...could easily lead to extensive abuses. ...Detention for 42 days means six weeks in which one is taken away from one’s family, friends, home and livelihood only to be let off without being charged. That will destroy lives and isolate communities", she added.

- "3 years ago, the UK Government sought to increase the period of pre-charge detention from 14 days to 90 days. Not long before that, it had been only 7 days. There was a vigorous debate ...and a ...compromise was reached of 28 days. We have to ask whether there are proper safeguards in place to extend the period to 42 days. I suggest that there are fatal flaws", reminded British Conservative Clappison.

- "What sort of society holds someone in detention for 42 days and does not have to tell the person who is in prison why they are there, or explain the suspicions that arose and led to their detention? What sort of society believes that that is the way to treat its citizens? That is an appalling injustice, ...A 42-day detention period will not make the UK safer. Instead, it will be the first step to giving in to terrorists; it is saying that we are prepared to sacrifice our democratic rights and the principles for which we have stood for centuries", criticized British Liberal Michael Hanckock

hancock

"Comments made ...by Norwegian delegates are unfortunate", replied British Socialist MEP Ms.Curtis-Thomas, accusing them to "besmirch the reputation of our police force, which is one of the Best in the World", as she said, believing that "there are significant safeguards ...to ensure that individuals are not subjected to unlawful detention"

curtis

PACE "has serious doubts whether ...the draft legislation are in conformity with the ...case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. A lack of ..safeguards may lead to arbitrariness, resulting in breaches of ... liberty and ...right to a fair trial". PACE "is particularly concerned that: ..the judge ..may not be in a position to examine whether there exist reasonable grounds for suspecting that the arrested person has committed an offence;"; that "... representation by a lawyer may be inappropriately restricted or delayed;" that "information on the grounds for suspicion of a person ...may be unduly withheld.. ;" that this "may give rise to arrests without the intention to charge;", and; in general, that "prolonged detention without proper information on the grounds for arrest may constitute inhuman treatment", says Klaus De Vries' Report, adopted with 29 votes against zero.

vries

Records don't say if it took him 42 Days to draft his Report, but, at least, he knew why...

Polls

2009 EU Elections were won by Parties against Technocracy and Turkey's controversial EU bid, while the 1999-2004 Majority Abstention trend decelerated. What should be done in 2009-2014 ?

Results

SMF Recent Topics SA

PHP WARNING 
PHP WARNING 
PHP WARNING 
PHP WARNING