http://www.wikio.com/search=Wolfgang Münchau Wikio - Wolfgang Münchau http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=62747268 This column from Wolfgang Munchau is a keeper. Challenged by Gideon Rachman last week to reveal the theory under which he believed that the Irish could be kicked out of the EU for having had the impertinence to vote ‘No’ a couple of weeks ago, Munchau obliges: My own hunch is that they will try to [...] Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:08:14 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=62747268 2008-07-02T14:08:14Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=62382439 Simply to continue with Nice is out of the question. The negotiation of yet another treaty is not going to happen either, writes Wolfgang Münchau Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:21:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=62382439 2008-06-29T17:21:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61557736 Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:45:27 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61557736 2008-06-22T20:45:27Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61550467 It could still use the single currency if it left the EU but this would be like Panama using the dollar – a little sad, really, writes Wolfgang Münchau Share This Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:22:10 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61550467 2008-06-22T19:22:10Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61550304 It could still use the single currency if it left the EU but this would be like Panama using the dollar – a little sad, really, writes Wolfgang Münchau Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:21:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=61550304 2008-06-22T18:21:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60848453 The Financial Times columnist Wolfgang Münchau appears to have been unhinged by Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. "I personally found last week's Irish No vote shocking, not in terms of what it means for the EU, but what it... Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:27:25 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60848453 2008-06-16T22:27:25Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60819597 On Ireland, by Wolfgang Münchau in the FT (sub required for most content) :- What if the Irish government refused to hold a second referendum? In that case I would suspect a frantic discussion about enforcing the Lisbon treaty without the Irish. I honestly have no idea of how this could work. I know this appears to be in contravention of European law . But then again, European law may not be quite as predictable as you may think. It is not enforced by pundits, but by an often unpredictable court. [...] Faced with this situation, the strategy most likely to be successful from the perspective of the rest of the EU is to play hardball . This is plan B. Oh, yes, that's the way to make Europhiles of us all, especially the British: to screw around with the law to suit yourself in every circumstance. These Eurocrats are just the sort of law-abiding bastards you'd want to write your constitution for you, aren't they? Fuck them. Fuck them all. They do not know what law is. No wonder their fucking continent has been at war with itself for the past 1,000 years. No, scrub that. For ever. And doubtless will be again, God help us all. What part of Better Off Out do Britain's politicians not understand? ____________________________ What unalloyed joy it is to live in Humpty Dumpty's Evil Empire. 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.' Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:54:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60819597 2008-06-16T17:54:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60798112 The Irish ‘no’ and the EU’s “nuclear”option Daniel Gros (CEPS) argues for “a radical solution – the other EU members should propose to leave the old EU and create a new one with the Lisbon Treaty as its founding document.” So much for bringing Europe closer to the people Everyone is right and wrong at the [...] Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:45:12 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60798112 2008-06-16T12:45:12Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60736449 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:20:10 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60736449 Yves Smith (noreply@blogger.com) 2008-06-16T06:20:10Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60707143 The European Union will find a way to implement the Lisbon treaty, leaving Ireland potentially isolated within the EU. And there will be another Irish referendum at some point, probably in the first half of next year. That is the view (or expectation) of Wolfgang Münchau, columnist for The Financial Times . So solidly europhiliac is this man that, if you cut him in half (do not try this at home), you would see the words "European Union" running through him like a stick of rock. And, he asks – rhetorically … they love their rhetorical questions – "Why am I so confident that the Lisbon treaty is going to be implemented?" You do not have to wait long for an answer: Because, contrary to widespread protestations, Europe's leaders actually have a plan B. It is not a pretty plan. Just listen to what senior French and German politicians had to say over the weekend. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, suggested on Saturday that one way to implement the treaty was for Ireland to withdraw temporarily from the process of European integration … What he is saying in effect is that Ireland should quit the EU. Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French European minister, said something similar. He talked about a "legal arrangement" with the Irish. It seems to me that France and Germany have put some thought into how to drive the Irish out of the EU if they fail to reverse their "no" vote. With the cat only poking its head out of the bag, it now takes a gigantic leap and it is free. Writes Münchau: The most important prerequisite of plan B is a 26-to-1 situation in terms of countries that have actually ratified the treaty. This outcome is far from assured and explains why Brussels, Berlin and Paris are so adamant that the ratification show must continue. So far 18 countries have ratified, with eight to go plus Ireland. Once 26 countries have ratified, EU countries accounting for more than 99 per cent of the EU's population will have approved the Lisbon treaty. The pressure on Ireland would then become unbearable. This is, of course, why the pressure is on for the UK to continue the ratification process. As Münchau remarks, the situation would be completely different if the ratification process were interrupted. In that case, the treaty could probably not be resuscitated. A ratification strike is what sank the constitutional treaty. The man worries about the eurosceptic Czech government, which may be tempted to follow the Irish. And, he says, it would also be a mistake to take Swedish ratification for granted. But on balance he expects a 26-to-1 ratification score at the end of the year. Then the pressure is on Ireland. One idea this man has is another referendum, but rigged in the same way of the last Lisbon vote. He suggests a question: "Do you want to remain in the EU on the basis of the Lisbon treaty?" thus forcing voters to make the choice between accepting the treaty or leaving the EU. In the event that the Irish government refused to hold a second referendum, though, there would be "a frantic discussion about enforcing the Lisbon treaty without the Irish." This might appear to be in contravention of European law, writes the man: But then again, European law may not be quite as predictable as you may think. It is not enforced by pundits, but by an often unpredictable court. My hunch is that if the 26 member states really wanted to do this, they would find a legal way. So, he concludes, "the treaty of Lisbon will be implemented one way or the other, but only if the other 26 countries continue to ratify. Otherwise, all bets are off." And, to deal with the Irish, the strategy most likely to be successful from the perspective of the rest of the EU is to play hardball. This is plan B. That is the authentic voice of the EU. Forget David Miliband and his blathering about there being no question of "bulldozing" Ireland into voting again on the EU Treaty. He is a bit player in this drama, and has yet to get his instructions from the EU foreign ministers' meeting tomorrow. But, so far, he is following the line – Britain must ratify and, like a good and faithful servant, little Miliband is ensuring that his master's voice is obeyed. COMMENTS (Irish referendum thread) Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:38:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60707143 2008-06-15T20:38:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60700906 Once 26 countries have ratified, EU countries accounting for more than 99 per cent of the EU’s population will have approved the Lisbon treaty. The pressure on Ireland would then become unbearable, writes Wolfgang Münchau Share This Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:56:22 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60700906 2008-06-15T18:56:22Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60716059 Once 26 countries have ratified, the pressure on Ireland will become unbearable, writes Wolfgang Münchau Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:37:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60716059 2008-06-15T17:37:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60697346 Once 26 countries have ratified, EU countries accounting for more than 99 per cent of the EU's population will have approved the Lisbon treaty. The pressure on Ireland would then become unbearable, writes Wolfgang Münchau Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:37:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=60697346 2008-06-15T17:37:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59905188 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:52:53 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59905188 Yves Smith (noreply@blogger.com) 2008-06-09T11:52:53Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59875754 FT.com / Columnists / Wolfgang Munchau - Trichet justified in diverging from the Fed: As monetary policy of the world’s two largest economies moves in starkly opposite directions, interesting possibilities are opening up. One is whether the dollar will decline... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:02:22 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59875754 2008-06-09T07:02:22Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59832758 In terms of global monetary policy, we are in the middle of a shift from a unipolar to a bipolar world, writes Wolfgang Münchau Share This Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:22:01 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59832758 2008-06-08T18:22:01Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59825209 In terms of global monetary policy, we are in the middle of a shift from a unipolar to a bipolar world, writes Wolfgang Münchau Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:13:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Wolfgang+M%C3%BCnchau?rinfoid=59825209 2008-06-08T17:13:00Z