Thursday, May 31, 2012
Ireland Is Holding A Huge National Referendum Today That Could Ultimately Determine Its Fate In The Euro
It hasn't gotten that much attention, but Ireland is holding a national referendum today on whether it will join the Fiscal Compact, the agreement made last year whereby every Eurozone country basically agrees to strict deficit controls and oversight. Basically it's the beginning to giving up budget sovereignty, a necessary long-term move if the Eurozone is ever going to have any kind of permanent transfers from rich to poor countries.
Ireland is the only country that's having a national referendum on the question.
And it's expected to pass, but not overwhelmingly so. Polls show a consistent lead, but also a consistent bloc of undecided voters which could throw a wrench into things. Ireland's pro-Fiscal Compact contingent seems to be, shall we say, 'cautiously optimistic.'
Polling ends tonight at 10 PM Ireland time, and counting begins tomorrow.
For a really great read on the issue, see economist Megan Greene's take, wherein she argues that the Fiscal Compact is not going to solve anything, but that Ireland needs to vote yes. Why? Because Ireland will likely need another bailout, she says, and rejecting the Fiscal Compact will make getting one basically impossible.
ACTA rejected by EU Parliament committees in crucial vote
The European Parliament has opposed the controversial ACTA treaty, after three of its influential committees said the trade agreement should be rejected.
The Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), the Committee for Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) all voted against implementing the agreement, which caused mass protests in several European countries this year.
In ITRE, the votes were split 31 members for and 12 votes against a draft opinion which called on the Parliament to reject ACTA. One member abstained.
In JURI, 10 votes were cast for a pro-ACTA draft opinion and 12 against, while two committee members abstained. The small-margin victory still went to opponents of the treaty.
LIBE also sided with critics of the treaty, with 36 members voting for a negative report on ACTA, 1 against and 21 abstaining from the vote.
The cold shower news for the trade agreement does not seal its fate. The next vote on it by Committee on International Trade (INTA) of the European Parliament will take place on June 21. It will be the fourth and final opinion the committees are to submit before ACTA is taken to a plenary session in early July.
Earlier on Tuesday Dutch legislators voted to ax ACTA, saying the government of the Netherlands will never sign it. They said they would oppose it even if the European Parliament approves the treaty.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is aimed at protecting copyright in many industries, from software engineering to agriculture. Critics say the national governments would have to make a draconian attack on online privacy to implement provisions of the treaty on their soil.
The European Union suspended efforts to ratify the treaty in February amid a storm of protest from human rights activists. Thousands demonstrated across the EU against ACTA and the amount of power it would give to big corporations.
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