In response to an FT article by Martin Wolf on 26th April 2016, entitled 'Arguments for Brexit do not add up'
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c72960f0-088c-11e6-a623-b84d06a39ec2.html#ixzz46xHbWzr5
"If the UK voted to leave the EU, it would almost certainly be outside the arrangement organising the life of our neighbours and principal economic partners forever. Given this, the question is whether the option to leave should be exercised now. My answer is: absolutely not. To see why, let us examine popular arguments in favour of departure...The top 10 points in favour of an exit and how to rebut them” - Martin Wolf.
11. The EU is a manifestation of a global trend towards large, centralised, governmental organisations that facilitate opaque decision-making, taken beyond the scrutiny of elected representatives, and which override national judicial systems. The decisions taken are increasingly in favour of corporate interests and their revolving door cronies in government, at the expense of national sovereignty. The Goldman Sachs ‘stitch-up’ of the Greek entry to the Eurozone is a perfect example of government ‘turning a blind eye’ for it's own agenda. The result was furtherance of the Brussels agenda of EU expansion, a nice fat profit for one of its cronies - Goldman Sachs, and a total whitewash of the so-called ‘rules’ – which in the case of the EU, is a mockery of the term.
This is by no means exclusive to the EU, as I said, it’s a global trend. Other current examples include the so-called ‘free trade’ agreement TTIP, which would be more accurately described as a ‘global governance’ treaty, created in the interest of corporations and their cronies at the expense of national sovereignty. This is particularly evident in the ‘investor-state dispute mechanisms’ (ISDS), which give foreign corporations the right to sue national governments for regulations that interfere with their expected profits. It allows multinationals to bypass the national courts, empowering in their place panels of private arbitrators—most of whom will be lawyers – effectively giving them the right to judge national laws. They owe no allegiance to any particular system or tradition of law, and are not bound by much precedent – whatever precedent exists has been developed by earlier panels, not constitutional judges. If that wasn’t enough to alert the alarm bells of anyone averse to the insidious growth of elitism and cronyism, the decisions of ISDS panels are typically considered to be final, and not subject to review by a higher court.
The TTIP is the agreement that President Obama has been peddling in Germany this week. If he closes the deal, he will do so without anyone elected having read it properly. When treaties are concocted in a Washington basement, when the people’s elected representatives can view them by appointment only, when they are disallowed from making copies or talking about it them openly…this is the sort of ‘deal’ I want absolutely no part of, whether inside or outside the EU. It is a symptom of the backroom governance that is ‘creeping’ its way around the globe, a style that Brussels appears entirely comfortable with.
In summary - The global trend is towards governmental secrecy and away from transparency; towards ‘legal bull’ and away from common law and the national judiciary; towards the patronage of political elites and away from the sovereignty of the ‘ordinary citizen’. The people who wield power in Brussels know this, and judging by their words and actions, clearly want this. Here’s Mr. Juncker on the subject:
"Britain is different. Of course there will be transfers of sovereignty. But would I be intelligent to draw the attention of public opinion to this fact?" – On the Lisbon Treaty, 2007
“We decide on something, leave it lying around and wait and see what happens. If no one kicks up a fuss, because most people don't understand what has been decided, we continue step by step until there is no turning back” – Referring to the European Council, 2012
“When it becomes serious, you have to lie” – 2013
Now, you may say: But they all lie! Governments always work in secrecy, and invariably give us what they want us to know.
Yes indeed, I know that. But here's the thing – I prefer to have my liars closer to home.
So you go ahead and make your lists Mr. Wolf. Nice try, but from my point of view, no cigar.