The erosion of British sovereignty

European superstate

David Cameron may claim that the UK is exempted from moves to create an ever-closer Union. However, it seems clear to me that the destination of a federal state of Europe is very clear, and that the position of non-Eurozone members within such a European nation will become more and more untenable as federalisation evolves.

That this is the clear intention of the European project was explicitly stated in June 2015, in The Five Presidents’ Report – signed by The President of the European Commission, The President of the Euro Summit, The President of the Eurogroup, The President of the European Central Bank and The President of the European Parliament. They said that moves towards political, economic and fiscal union were of paramount importance, and that non-Euro members would be encouraged to fully participate. They insist that European Monetary Union needs a unified external representation, complaining that an EU fragmented between the Eurozone and non-Euro members is "punching below its political and economic weight”. Whilst they were primarily dwelling on a complete merger of powers of Eurozone members in a relatively short time span, their language was clear that they felt other member states should move across to this structure, and there is no doubt that this is their underlying intentionality.

In February this year, just the week before the Brussels negotiations, The Inner Six, the founding members of the EU, reiterated their pledge to move to ever-closer political and financial union.

Is this intentionality new?

Whilst British Europhiles have always derided the sceptics’ view that our sovereignty is being eroded by moves towards a European superstate, this has been the intention from the birth of the European project.

As the novelist Frederick Forsyth points out, the EU is not fundamentally about trade but is entirely political. Britain’s parliamentary democracy contrasts completely with the original intentions of Jean Monnet, one of the founding visionaries of a unified continent of Europe, who went under the title President of the Action Committee for the European Superstate. The superstate has always been the intent.

Monnet wrote in the early 1950s: “Europe’s nations should be guided towards the superstate without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps, each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.”

This accomplishment by deceit is by no means confined to Monsieur Monnet. Our very own President of the European Council, Jean Claude Juncker, (ex-Prime Minister of Luxembourg whose term of office ended amongst allegations of deficiency in his control over the State Intelligence Service, bugging of officials and corruption), is on record as having said “When the going gets tough, you have to lie”.

How is our sovereignty eroded?

EU laws are proposed by the unelected European Council, the majority of whose members are from Eurozone countries and who support the move to a superstate. These laws are ratified by the European Parliament, the majority of whose members are from Eurozone countries and who support the move to a superstate. The interpretation and upholding of these laws lies with the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, both at the heart of the federalist project. As the proportion of legislation in the UK that originates from Brussels relentlessly increases, the greater the accountability of the UK to these Central European institutions.

For ages, this ceding of sovereignty has not just related to trade and agriculture, but has brought the free passage of EU nationals within the EU and has applied to human rights and financial issues. Indeed, in the area of VAT, the UK has completely ceded sovereignty to the ECJ. Some may argue that the British Supreme Court might still overturn some ECJ decisions – however, for any organisation or individual, there is an exorbitantly costly mountain to climb to get to that stage, a legal journey so arduous that few would contemplate it.

The EU has already replaced its member states in international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation. It is already well advanced in creating an EU diplomatic service, with hugely expensive EU embassies being established. As more weight is given to overall EU foreign policy and diplomacy, the less authority remains with the member states. Plans are already being developed for a European army – again, as its influence grows the less authority will remain with the member states.

Conclusion

All of these moves erode UK sovereignty, and what may be the right thing for the EU as a whole will very often not be in Britain’s best interest. As more and more countries are allowed to join the EU, the more our sovereignty will be compromised. David Cameron may have won some theoretical exemption, but in real terms, the strength of this federalist move will surely swamp any such independence. He attempted to bolster the perception of a successful outcome to his negotiations on sovereignty by referring to the ability of national parliaments to veto a commission proposal, if 55% of national parliaments agree – well, in the real world, where a majority of states are either current Eurozone member states or on the waiting list to join, the likelihood of any such veto arising is negligible.

Mr Forsyth suggests that the EU’s true destination is post-democratic government by unelected committee and, given the words of M. Monnet and M. Juncker, I find it hard to disagree with him. Should we remain, regardless of any alleged exemption that David Cameron may claim, Britain will be stuck in a club where the unelected governing committees remain fully intent on a continual process of change towards a European superstate. The Five Presidents said as much last year; the heads of the founding member states reiterated this in February. One would be deluding oneself to think otherwise.

Contemplation

The EU has hijacked Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Why not sit back and enjoy this brilliant piece by another European composer? Press the arrow, maximise the screen, delete any advertisement, and turn up the volume, whilst contemplating the above thoughts.

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