EU Flag - CC / Flickr

As quoted in this piece at EUObserver:

A former British EU ambassador, Stephen Wall, also poured cold water on the scheme, saying that the appointment is about balancing national and political interests in Europe, rather than individual merit.

“Given that they have to placate the right, the left, the north, the south, the large and small nations, you could have a brilliant presentation but, if the politics didn’t fit, what would be the point?” he said in an article in the New York Times on Tuesday.

This is in response to a Polish proposal that candidates for EU top jobs should make presentations to EU leaders.

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At the Conservative Conference, in Manchester, David Cameron has used one of the most common argument to attack the European Union, the lack of democracy, but he has only showed his own ignorance.

Talking to the conference he siad: “People who think of themselves as progressives have fallen in love with an institution that no one elects, no one can remove, and that hasn’t signed off its accounts for over a decade”.

Which institution was he talking about? Maybe the directly elected European Parliament? Or was he talking about the European Commission, that has to receive the confidence of the EP and that  (remember about Mr. Santer) can be sacked by the Parliament itself?

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EU voter phone bank flickr slide show

Jointly organised by London Labour & the Labour Movement for Europe
The aim is to get EU-expats to register on the electoral register and to vote in the European elections. May 19 is registration deadline. EU expats are 4 times more likely to participate in elections in their country of residence than the country they are citizens of. An increased EU voter participation will help decrease the chances of the extreme right BNP to win a London seat and also weaken other euro-sceptic and euro-phobic parties like UKIP, Libertas and the Tories. Training and a script will be provided.

Dates:        May 6, 12 and 14, 2009

Please also RSVP  on facebook (links below) and to lme.lse@hotmail.co.uk

May  6 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189567160528#/event.php?eid=75261404817

May 12 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189567160528#/event.php?eid=78355536431

May 14 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189567160528#/event.php?eid=189567160528

Today your European party – the European Liberal Democrats – will launch its European election campaign. One of its priorities for the elections worries us. It says “The single market should be reinforced and extended in energy, postal services, railways and health care”.

We are writing to ask you a question, and give you a challenge. Our question is: how do you propose to use the single market to ensure these services remain high-quality, affordable and accessible to all? We warn you: tread carefully, much more carefully than you have in the past. Our challenge to you is to make an unambiguous commitment to protect public services.

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