David Craig, on June 2nd, 2014(I wanted to stop blogging in protest at the lack of support given by readers. But then I worried over how people would find out about major news stories the mainstream media will do everything they can to ignore. So here is one of those stories)
One date I suspect none of our politicians and media pundits will mention is 21 November 2014. Why not? Because on 21 November 2014, an absolutely crucial piece of the EU Constitution (renamed the Lisbon Treaty) comes into force.
In the EU, the Council of Ministers is supposed to make a lot of the key decisions about the main legislation to be passed by the EU. In the Treaty of Nice, many of the areas where the EU wished to legislate required unanimity of the Council of Ministers.
But,�in order to ‘improve the quality of decision making’,�the Lisbon Treaty moves a huge number of areas from ‘unanimity’ to what is called ‘qualified majority voting’ (QMV). Moreover, the threshold for QMV is lowered from countries with over 70% of the EU’s population to countries with just 65% of the EU population.
The areas which will move from ‘unanimity’ to ‘QMV’ are all of these:
Area of decision-making����������������������������������� Nice��������������� Lisbon
| Initiatives of the High Representative for � Foreign Affairs | Unanimity | QMV following unanimous request |
| Rules concerning the Armaments Agency | Unanimity | QMV |
| Freedom to establish a business | Unanimity | QMV |
| Self-employment access rights | Unanimity | QMV |
| Freedom, security and justice � cooperation and � evaluation | Unanimity | QMV |
| Border checks | Unanimity | QMV |
| Asylum | Unanimity | QMV |
| Immigration | Unanimity | QMV |
| Crime prevention incentives | Unanimity | QMV |
| Eurojust | Unanimity | QMV |
| Police cooperation | Unanimity | QMV |
| Europol | Unanimity | QMV |
| Transport | Unanimity | QMV |
| European Central Bank | Unanimity | QMV (in part) |
| Culture | Unanimity | QMV |
| Structural and Cohension Funds | Unanimity | QMV |
| Organisation of the Council of the�European Union | Unanimity | QMV |
| European Court of�Justice | Unanimity | QMV |
| Freedom of movement for workers | Unanimity | QMV |
| Social security | Unanimity | QMV |
| Criminal judicial cooperation | Unanimity | QMV |
| Criminal law | Unanimity | QMV |
| President � of the European Council election | (New item) | QMV |
| Foreign Affairs High Representative election | (New item) | QMV |
| Funding the Common � Foreign and Security Policy | Unanimity | QMV |
| Common defense policy | Unanimity | QMV |
| Withdrawal of a member state | (new item) | QMV |
| General economic interest services | Unanimity | QMV |
| Diplomatic and consular protection | Unanimity | QMV |
| Citizens initiative regulations | Unanimity | QMV |
| Intellectual property | Unanimity | QMV |
| Eurozone external representation | Unanimity | QMV |
| Sport | Unanimity | QMV |
| Space | Unanimity | QMV |
| Energy | Unanimity | QMV |
| Tourism | Unanimity | QMV |
| Civil protection | Unanimity | QMV |
| Administrative cooperation | Unanimity | QMV |
| Emergency international aid | Unanimity | QMV |
| Humanitarian aid | Unanimity | QMV |
| Response to natural disasters or terrorism | (new item) | QMV |
| Economic and � Social Committee | QMV | QMV |
| Committee of the � Regions | Unanimity | QMV |
| Economic and � Social Committee | Unanimity | QMV |
| The EU budget | Unanimity | QMV |
So, on 21 November 2014 we can say goodbye to the UK as an independent country, because after 21 November 2014, Britain will no longer be able to block any legislation which is against our national interests. No wonder Cameron, Miliband, Clegg or any of their stooges in the mainstream media will ever mention 21 November 2014. After all, if we plebs understood how our quisling leaders were handing over control of our country to Germany, we might support UKIP.
Category: 
You would like to think that the Daily Express, which claims to be anti EU, could be bothered to inform its readers.
Perhaps the Express thinks its readers are too dim to understand the importance of these changes? Much better to write about “Britain hasn’t got talent” and other trashy z-list celebs programmes.
I seem to remember that the first time I saw this, it was from the hand of Rodney Atkinson (brother of Mr. Bean), and he was suggesting (as David does) that even Art. 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is subject to QMV.
They wouldn’t be so brazen, surely?
I am just wondering what the reaction of an applicant member state would be, having triggered the leaving process, only to be told that the other 27 (and counting) won’t accept your application.
I remember being at a Christmas party when Nigel told us, along with Patrick O’Flynn, that henceforth the Daily Express, would be campaigning to withdraw from the EU… I take the point that this is one of the best campaigns in the history of the British press…
…However, it does not distract from the fact that the paper is a little bit rough around the edges. It’s not really on the ball, more into general sensationalism like the Mail.
We must leave the EU and regain our independence. I always thought that
Adolf Merkel was in control. Thanks Mr Craig for keeping up the blog.
Dear Mr Craig,
I am so heartened that you have decided to carry on your blog, as I was going to send you and email on your “final” blog urging you to continue, there are so few outlets that reflect what is going on and what our political masters don’t want us to know.
Don’t lose heart ,I have an ex colleague that has written books and his attitude is that the books don’t earn him much money,its the work he gets out of it! Keep up the blog,guest speaking and lectures.
Your Sincerely
Glad to see you have changed your mind about abandoning us.
Alan Mabey sums up your followers thoughts rather well I thought.
Regarding the above article.
Could you possibly elaborate on it for the dummies like me who’s grasp on how the EU works is tenuous at best ? Could you perhaps give us a few examples of how we can look forward to being stuffed in the future with the new rules ?
Glad to see you back, I have been following your blog for a while now and find it very informative. I have also read your comments in the Telegraph. Keep up the good work
So, you took two whole days to reconsider, not the one I thought.
Good to have you back.
Big push on the lovely Baroness now – just to liven things up?
“Big push on the lovely Baroness now…”
Come again?
[…] I have written before about an absolutely catastrophic (for Britain) change in the way votes are conducted in the EU after November 2014 http://www.snouts-in-the-trough.com/archives/9608 […]