Kremmen wrote:
Also Boris now will have HS2 running right through his constituency. Locals reckons he will need to back the anti-HS2 campaign or lose out.
I believe Boris is playing a game of deceit with us. He talks of renegotiating the UK's membership of the EU, while all the time he is fully aware that from the 1st of November 2014 any renegotiation or plans to leave the EU will be subject to Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) of EU member representatives. See item 43: “
Withdrawal of a member state” in the list below.
Boris' anti-car and transport policies come directly from the EU – and he knows it. Item 42: “
Transport” in the list below confirms that Boris' transport policy will also be subject to the EU's QMV from the 1st November 2014.
According to Wikipedia, UKIP claim the HS2 project is an EU policy.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Speed_2Quote:
The UK Independence Party (UKIP), which is fully opposed nationally and locally to the proposed HS2 plans. UKIP says there is no business case, no environment case and no money to pay for it.[181] UKIP has been campaigning against HS2 as it is also part of the EU's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Policy. It had previously proposed a much larger and more expensive three-line high-speed network running from London to Newcastle (and on to Scotland), London to Bristol (and on to Wales) and London to Birmingham along with upgrading several other sections of the WCML and Scottish rail to high speed in its 2010 manifesto
And HS2 is part of any transport policy, and is subject to the EU's QMV from the 1st November 2014. So it will be interesting to hear what Boris has to say about HS2. Will he stand against the EU; will he offer jumbled empty promises; or will he simply say nothing and hope that we are all too busy watching dumbed down TV 'entertainment'?
Note: In the list of policy areas listed below “Nice” refers to the Treaty of Nice; and “Lisbon” refers to the Lisbon Treaty.
The list below is taken from here:
http://iainmckie.co.uk/uk-parliament-co ... -eu-rules/Quote:
On the 1st November 2014 the right of Parliament to legislate over us in 43 areas, the important ones, will be removed and be made subject to approval. They call it QMV, Qualified Majority Voting.
Each member State will lose it right of Veto over these areas, so Cameron’s idea of negotiation to recover any areas goes out the window at the same time.
The following areas of competence will switch from requiring unanimous approval of all member states to qualified majority voting only:
The 43 Initiatives of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs that take – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV1: Administrative co-operation – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
2: Asylum – Nice: QMV; Lisbon: QMV
3: Border controls – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
4: Citizens' initiative regulations – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
5: Civil protection – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
6: Committee of the Regions – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
7: Common defence policy – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
8: Crime prevention incentives – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
9: Criminal judicial co-operation – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
10: Criminal law – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
11: Culture – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
12: Diplomatic & Consular protection – Nice: Unanimity Lisbon: QMV
13: Economic & Social Committee – Nice: QMV Lisbon: QMV
14: Emergency international aid – Nice: Unanimity Lisbon: QMV
15: Energy – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
16: EU budget – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
17: Eurojust – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
18: European Central Bank – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
19: European Court of Justice – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
20: Europol – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
21: Eurozone external representation – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
22: Foreign Affairs High Representative election – Lisbon: QMV
23: Freedom of movement for workers – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
24: Freedom to establish a business – Nice: Unanimity Lisbon QMV
25: Freedom, security, justice, co-operation & evaluation – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
26: Funding the Common Foreign & Security Policy – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
27: General economic interest services – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
28: Humanitarian aid – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
29: Immigration – Nice: QMV; Lisbon: QMV
30: Intellectual property – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
31: Organisation of the Council of the EU – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
32: Police co-operation – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
33: President of the European Council election – Lisbon: QMV
34: Response to natural disasters & terrorism – Lisbon: QMV
35: Rules concerning the Armaments Agency – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
36: Self-employment access rights – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
37: Social Security Unanimity – Nice: QMV; Lisbon: QMV
38: Space – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
39: Sport – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
40: Structural & Cohension Funds – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
41: Tourism – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
42:
Transport – Nice: Unanimity; Lisbon: QMV
43:
Withdrawal of a member state – Lisbon: QMV
Clause 4 of Article 16 of this document defines QMV:http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ ... U%20Treaty.
Quote:
Article 16
1. The Council shall, jointly with the European Parliament, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall carry out policy-making and coordinating functions as laid down in the Treaties.
2. The Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the Member State in question and cast its vote.
3. The Council shall act by a qualified majority except where the Treaties provide otherwise.
4. As from 1 November 2014, a qualified majority shall be defined as at least 55 % of the members of the Council, comprising at least fifteen of them and representing Member States comprising at least 65 % of the population of the Union.
A blocking minority must include at least four Council members, failing which the qualified majority shall be deemed attained.
The other arrangements governing the qualified majority are laid down in Article 238(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
5. The transitional provisions relating to the definition of the qualified majority which shall be applicable until 31 October 2014 and those which shall be applicable from 1 November 2014 to 31 March 2017 are laid down in the Protocol on transitional provisions.
6. The Council shall meet in different configurations, the list of which shall be adopted in accordance with Article 236 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The General Affairs Council shall ensure consistency in the work of the different Council configurations. It shall prepare and ensure the follow-up to meetings of the European Council, in liaison with the President of the European Council and the Commission.
The Foreign Affairs Council shall elaborate the Union’s external action on the basis of strategic guidelines laid down by the European Council and ensure that the Union’s action is consistent.
7. A Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States shall be responsible for preparing the work of the Council.
8. The Council shall meet in public when it deliberates and votes on a draft legislative act. To this end, each Council meeting shall be divided into two parts, dealing respectively with deliberations on Union legislative acts and non-legislative activities.
9. The Presidency of Council configurations, other than that of Foreign Affairs, shall be held by Member State representatives in the Council on the basis of equal rotation, in accordance with the conditions established in accordance with Article 236 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.