[VOTE] Decision time approaches

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...r-Britain.html

Plans for EU referendum drawn up for Britain

Plans for a British referendum on a new European Union constitution are being drawn up after José Manuel Barroso called for Europe to take the "federal path" in response to the eurozone crisis.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso presented his flagship plans to Parliament in his annual State of the Union speech Wednesday.

The European Commission president on Wednesday vowed that he would make transforming the EU into "a political union, with a coherent foreign and defence policy" his mission, adding that it would require an overhaul of the EU's treaty.

"Let's not be afraid of the words: we will need to move towards a federation of nation states. This is what we need. This is our political horizon," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"We will present explicit proposals for the necessary treaty changes ahead of the next European parliamentary election in 2014. We must use the 2014 election to mobilise all pro-European forces. We must not allow the populists and the nationalists to set a negative agenda."

To rapturous applause from MEPs, Mr Barroso added: "We need to have this vision, vision of a medium term, longer term EU that is a federal path."

Mr Barroso's call for a new constitutional treaty follows Angela Merkel's demands for a political union to centralise the EU in order to avoid future debt crises threatening Europe's single currency.

His timetable for bringing forward a proposal for a new EU constitution could not be worse for David Cameron, the Prime Minister, as it would come in the run-up to a general election in 2015 and put the deeply divisive issue of Europe at the top of the political agenda.

In 2014, the government also faces a difficult decision on whether to use a block opt-out of 130 EU crime and policing laws, including the unpopular European Arrest Warrant that has recently led to allegations of miscarriages of justice.

In the same year, the government publishes an audit on Brussels powers and the impact of European regulation which will fuel a heated debate of whether Britain is better off inside or outside the EU.

European elections in June 2014 will rock the coalition government by bringing deep disagreements between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over the EU into the open as the Eurosceptic Tories face losing heavily to Ukip over claims that Mr Cameron is soft on Europe.

A senior source told The Daily Telegraph that Whitehall officials and government lawyers had already begun considering how to deal with a referendum on a "recommendation that Britain stays in the EU without joining a political union".

Coalition divisions were highlighted when Andrew Duff, a Lib Dem MEP and president of the Union of European Federalists, welcomed Mr Barroso's proposals.

"The president of the European Commission has done well to drop his former inhibitions about the 'F-word'. His call for Europe to follow a federal path is absolutely right," he said.

Mr Barroso's call for a European federation has triggered fresh calls for a popular British vote on the EU, which would be the first referendum on Europe since the 1975 plebiscite on the "Common Market".

Douglas Carswell, the Conservative MP for Clacton, said that the government could no longer dodge the question now that the issue of a United States of Europe had publicly been put on the agenda.

"It is clear now what the EU is trying to do. The question for David Cameron is does he want to be part of it and when is he going to give us a say in a referendum."

Mats Persson, the director of Open Europe, said: "His call for a federal Europe clashes head on with the increasingly sceptical UK public and political class."

Nigel Farage, leader of Ukip accused Mr Barroso of supporting an "emerging, creeping European dictatorship".

"The only good news I take from today, is you've helped to bring that referendum just a little bit closer," he said.

I know i've posted something similar earlier, but this is more so a vote as opposed to a news piece.

Anyway, it is looking as though we're here at last despite the lies that have been told by the three main parties for decades. Whether and to what extent the plans will go to depend, as the Euro might not make it to 2014 or 2015 and I think the peoples of Europe will turn it flatly down - but it is looking like the EU is going for the golden prize they've been working towards since the 1950s, a United States of Europe.

What does this mean though? it means we're dealing with potential end to the nations of France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Italy and many more - maybe even our own. I do not think they will succeed, but the pace which they've come fighting back with despite the Euro crisis has surprised me. Indeed, so historic is this that I cannot believe this is not front page news and on the BBC.

The question is and if we are asked and if they get to this point, will you stand by the British flag and 1,000 years of independence or the ring of stars?

Because this, if they get their way, is going to be bigger than any General Election ever.

[Chippiewill]

In a hundred years time or so after the independant states of Europe have liberated themselves from the inevitable dictatorship of the EU, our ancestors are going to be thinking of us with pride for not bowing down to the european pressure or with disgust for losing our independance to an undemocratic federation - I'd prefer the former, and hopefully our national leaders won't sell us out for their own gains.

[-:Undertaker:-]

A sad day when silly photos of the Duchess of Cambridge recieve more interest than the independence of our own country.

[Chippiewill]

A sad day when silly photos of the Duchess of Cambridge recieve more interest than the independence of our own country.

In fairness it's kind of hard to spot the difference when it comes to your posts

[-:Undertaker:-]

In fairness it's kind of hard to spot the difference when it comes to your posts

I think the unelected man who is responsible for 60%+ of our laws calling for our country to be abolished is worth a tad more interest (24 views yet only one comment and four votes) than a topless Duchess.

Let's just hope any possible referendum in the future isn't on while X Factor is on, otherwise we're doomed I tell ya..

[Chippiewill]

Let's just hope any possible referendum in the future isn't on while X Factor is on, otherwise we're doomed I tell ya..

As long as the government doesn't list down non-voters as supporting the EU we're probably better off if it is on.

[dirrty]

brb while i imagine the mayhem that'd ensue if it was to actually happen. the ****storm shall sweep the nation

i'm quite ignorant towards all things politics, but i seriously can't imagine the (majority) general public remotely being/voting for this. i do agree that this should be top news everywhere (especially since it affects every single one of us), but hey we live in a society where the mass-media influences what news is *important* for audiences. so no surprise that sensational topics overshadow topics such as this. shall be interesting to see how the news media cover this over the next 2 years, and certain politicians viewpoints on it. its really not what the UK needs at the moment imo...

[Grig]

haha if Cameron gives up to Europe before his re-election, he'd be committing political suicide. People will not vote for a European Constitution, nor for a government that supports it. This is why parties like the UKIP have been gaining more support in recent months and years.

You also need to realize, many people are like donkeys and unlike us will not nit-pick and choose what to read, but would just go with the flow. Sometimes, and even often times I feel like hitting them on the head. But that's the success of the mass-media.

Also, could the person who voted make it a 'United States of Europe' actually care to explain why they think that and not blindly vote.

[FlyingJesus]

A sad day when silly photos of the Duchess of Cambridge recieve more interest than the independence of our own country.

It's a ruse by the French media to stop us from seeing any news about Europe obv

[shiver]

omg this picture is giving me LIFE