"European" police and judges to have exchange scheme

[Lance-Corporal Jones]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8391685.stm

The EU plans student-style exchanges for European police and judges in a new five-year blueprint to improve justice co-operation in the 27-nation bloc. EU leaders are expected to approve the so-called Stockholm Programme at a summit in Brussels next week.
The funding arrangements and other details are yet to be worked out.
"We need more of a common understanding of other systems," said Swedish Justice Ministry spokesman Martin Valfridsson, adding that the UK would participate.

He told the BBC that "we can't achieve it unless there is more contact between law enforcement agencies on a day-to-day basis".
The plan, spearheaded by Sweden as current holder of the EU presidency, would still respect the independence of judges, he stressed.
"We can't force judges to go abroad, but we will offer - and the member states would pay."
Parliament's new muscle
The blueprint calls on the European Commission to draw up a detailed scheme to make the training and exchanges a reality.

It would build on the justice co-operation that already exists, such as the European Arrest Warrant, which has replaced extradition procedures between EU member states.
The European Parliament is preparing to play a big role in the Stockholm Programme negotiations, because the Lisbon Treaty puts MEPs on an equal footing with EU governments in the area of justice and home affairs.
The latest draft of the programme says: "It is essential to step up training on EU-related issues and make it systematically accessible for all professions involved in... freedom, security and justice."
"This will include judges, prosecutors, judicial staff, police and customs officers and border guards."
The plan was criticised by Timothy Kirkhope MEP, leader of the UK Conservatives in Europe.
Speaking on the BBC programme The Record Europe, he said the plan lacked focus, and "the Conservatives have a problem with the whole question of a single area of freedom and justice in Europe".
"Do we really need a European academy to train our judges?" he asked.
A Dutch liberal MEP, Sophie in t'Veld, said the parliament's new powers of co-decision under Lisbon would mean "we'll fight criminals in a much more efficient way", because justice ministers would no longer be able to ignore MEPs' views.

Well, well, looks like we are starting to reap the grotesque ripe fruits of Lisbon. In the latest news, it seems our national governments are "no longer able to ignore MEPs' views" and that "the Lisbon Treaty puts MEPs on equal footing with EU governments in the area of justice and home affairs" -- something which the eurozealots have been consistently and conveniently denying.

Are we once again entering the wonderful world of "shared" competences, which are only "shared" as long as the EU has kept its paws off them?

[removeduser_487563287433]

This is peanuts compared to how they'll be ing up the economy with that frog in the finance chair.

[Martin N]

Is this really a surprise, i mean the eu has basically a government, now a president, a home office, a basic army, an economy, and god knows what else, and you people really expected your single country to have more power over this hellhole of eurocrats and political elites ? no the EU will now be a single entity soon enough, whether its there now or not doesnt matter, it will be, whether a single eu state is a good thing for the average european ? well it doesnt look like it so far. New taxes and new anti terror laws, yay.

Lisbon just finalises it all, adds the last cog in the machine, it wasnt official until that treaty was signed, its rather funny how many hundreds of millions of people got screwed on the chance to vote though i must admit that was funny.

[Lance-Corporal Jones]

Is this really a surprise, i mean the eu has basically a government, now a president, a home office, a basic army, an economy, and god knows what else, and you people really expected your single country to have more power over this hellhole of eurocrats and political elites ? no the EU will now be a single entity soon enough, whether its there now or not doesnt matter, it will be, whether a single eu state is a good thing for the average european ? well it doesnt look like it so far. New taxes and new anti terror laws, yay.

Lisbon just finalises it all, adds the last cog in the machine, it wasnt official until that treaty was signed, its rather funny how many hundreds of millions of people got screwed on the chance to vote though i must admit that was funny.

It's their funeral if they want to do it without any legitimity at all. Even those referendum-dodging bureaucrats must understand that, whatever they want to do, they can't just do it behind the people's back and then present them with a fait accompli.

But then again, this has been their usual tactic for the past 50 years.

[Monarchist]

What do you expect when an international cabal of thieves hijacks Democracy and takes over Europe... variety? Justice? Anything different from what Mao brought us? Europe shall fall into the depths of true autocracy from this position, only today there will be no legal aristocrats. "Von", "Fürst", "Freiherr", "Markgraf", and "Kronprinz" may be outlawed in Austria, but something tells me there will be equivalent positions in the future; de facto, if not de jure. This is all the result of the abandonment of good sense and faith in 1914. Farewell to Europe! They'll probably start selling off historic noble residences to Japanese tourists and Somali warlords now.

Goodbye Old Country; we shall see your marble palaces and halls of the mighty in the next life, then.

[justicar5]

What do you expect when an international cabal of thieves hijacks Democracy and takes over Europe... variety? Justice? Anything different from what Mao brought us? Europe shall fall into the depths of true autocracy from this position, only today there will be no legal aristocrats. "Von", "Fürst", "Freiherr", "Markgraf", and "Kronprinz" may be outlawed in Austria, but something tells me there will be equivalent positions in the future; de facto, if not de jure. This is all the result of the abandonment of good sense and faith in 1914. Farewell to Europe! They'll probably start selling off historic noble residences to Japanese tourists and Somali warlords now.

Goodbye Old Country; we shall see your marble palaces and halls of the mighty in the next life, then.

because marrying your cousin as a family plan for hundreds of years made the aristocracy so fit to lead, oh no wait it didn't, it lead to a class with the intelligence and appearance of horses.

[wilting]

The Parliament is an elected body, so I'm not really understanding the objection here?

[Lance-Corporal Jones]

The Parliament is an elected body, so I'm not really understanding the objection here?

Two objections:

1 - Said parliament is at the same level as my national government

2 - Said parliament can "ban" my national government from certain areas by exerting its own power due to the twisted concept of "shared competences"

As my national government is truly representative of a demos, it carries more democratic legitimity than a parliament backed by no demos and characterized by a majority of abstentions; therefore, the European Parliament should not be at the same level as my national government.

[antares24]

Well so the police forces of Europe plan to exchange officers and judges to share the respective experiences. And this is bad for some people?
Hopefully in a not so distant day we will get a European police force able to arrest criminals all around the EU.

That day we Italians will finally put our hands on all the terrorists of the Red Brigades and other organizations that France has shamefully welcomed and protected since the '70.

Oh and guys, criminals these days don't care about borders and make business everywhere in the common market. If you want to stop them a European police force is the best way to do it.

[Rt. Hon. Gentleman]

I used to think the EU was designed to benefit France and Germany and penalise anyone else. I was wrong. It is becoming painfully clear that the European Union is built to help no-one except the power hungry reject-politicians who pretend to run it. If you can't get international power and acclaim from the parliament of your own country, why, make a new Parliament and fill it full, of course!