EU and Transparency

ibis wrote (on the Lisbon and Neutrality thread)

Quote :

True - the funny thing is that a favourite argument is sovereignty / national self-determination - by a government they don't trust, who are elected on not very different terms, and who are currently a whole lot less transparent than the EU.

I'm always fascinated by the assertion that the EU is more transparent than our national government. It is never qualified.

I'm sure Edo, cookiemonster and ibis will be able to explain what exactly it means.

Please and thank you.

Ehhh, I seem to remember a rather dubious scandal 18 months ago where EU finance was all over the place due to a single entry accounting system. Despite the fact the everyone else uses a Double entry system. It took a long time for it to be exposed, and I think money got lost on paper.
(I stand corrected if I got this arseways)

Anyway, the point is, I don't see how they can be more transparent. It is a massive unknown bureaucracy.

evm you are right on the basic point about the books being single entry - Marta Andriessen was the name of one whistleblower. A very mild-mannered person and a very professional EU employee. Then she started pointing out a few things that did not seem right, would not shut up about the situation and so was sacked in short order.

She - with others of courage - is mentioned here in a general discussion on whistleblowing.

Plenty more if you google her name, or that of Paul van Buitenen who was Internal Auditor at the Commission.

Quote :

For years, one of UKIP's main lines of attack has been that "the
European Commission is so corrupt that its books have not been signed
off by the auditors for the last 12 years".

With this in mind
I'm looking forward to them giving a statement on this week's report
from the House of Lords, which finds "no evidence to support this
suggestion".

According to the Lords, the problems that have
prevented the auditors from signing off the books, comes not from
corruption but from other problems and an inadequate system of auditing
that gives an inaccurate, negative impression.

Sir John Bourn,
head of the UK National Audit Office, stated that he would not be able
to sign off the accounts of the UK Government should he have operated
the same system here.

The Lord's report calls upon the European Court of Auditors to:

-
Make a clear separation between the audit of the Commission's accounts
- which has always been positive - and the statement of assurance on
the regularity and legality of underlying transactions - which has
always been qualified in certain specific fields

- Give separate verdicts on each different category of spending, instead of one overall verdict

- Make a clear distinction between fraud and other kinds of irregularity, giving separate figures for each

- List member states which demonstrate poor management of EU funds

Little challenge - find the following information:

1a. voting record of your TD
1b. voting record of your MEP

2a. Heads and spending of EU agencies
2b. Heads and spending of Irish agencies

3a. Budget 2007 for the ECJ
3b. Budget 2007 for the Irish Supreme Court

4a. What plans the EU has for a Register of Lobbyists
4b. What plans the Irish government has for a Register of Lobbyists

Still stuck on questions 1a and 1b. I gather there is no official answer to 1a (trick question!) and I may eventually, in the swirl and mire that is eu-stuff, find the answer to 1b. I feel like a kid picking up coins at the bottom of the swimming pool... it has to be here somewhere...

Stuck on 1a. ??

http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Stuck on 1a. ??

[url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html

http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html[/quote[/url]]

I did check that out - but I wasn't (and still amn't) able to find out how many votes Brian Cowen, for example, participated in last year....

Am I missing something?

Has anyone even found a list of Irish agencies and quangos, never mind who heads them or how much they spend?

ibis wrote:

Has anyone even found a list of Irish agencies and quangos, never mind who heads them or how much they spend?

Where to start????

For 2a you can start here. For Irish agencies....maybe when Enda publishes his list, if that's what he's doing?

not sure where to put this...


Fri. 18 April 2008:
Public Conference: The Treaty of Lisbon and the Irish Referendum: Perspectives and Reflections - Irish Society for European Law, Dublin
www.isel.ie/coming.htm

Zhou_Enlai wrote:

not sure where to put this...


Fri. 18 April 2008:
Public Conference: The Treaty of Lisbon and the Irish Referendum: Perspectives and Reflections - Irish Society for European Law, Dublin
www.isel.ie/coming.htm

Any idea who is speaking? Technology and the privacy law looks interesting.

No idea.

Unfortunately the Technology and Privacy one looks like it was on yesterday!

The information below comes from p.ie courtesy of RedRose of Cork. I've already registered for this - anyone else planning to go?

Quote :

This looks like being the best and most balanced line up to date




PUBLIC CONFERENCE ON THE TREATY OF LISBON
Friday, 18 April 2008
2.30 p.m. – 5.30pm

President’s Hall, Law Society of Ireland,
Blackhall Place, Dublin 7



THE TREATY OF LISBON AND THE IRISH REFERENDUM: PERSPECTIVES AND REFLECTIONS


The conference is open to all and is free of charge.
Solicitors'/Barristers’ CPD Allocation: 3 Hours Group Study


PROGRAMME


2.30pm - 2.40pm: Introductory Comments, Chairman Maurice Hayes

2.40pm - 3pm: “Reflections on the Treaty of Lisbon and the Irish Referendum” Peter Sutherland

3pm - 3.20pm: "Giving the EU the constitutional form of a State" Anthony
Coughlan

3.20pm - 3.30pm - Questions and Answers
_________________________________

3.30 - 3.50pm: "The Treaty of Lisbon: Intergovernmentalism Resurgent,
Constitutionalism Moribund?" Professor Michael Dougan

3.50pm - 4.10pm: [TOPIC TO BE CONFIRMED] Speaker from the Libertas Institute

4.10pm - 4.30pm- Tea break
_________________________________

4.30pm - 4.50pm: "The Treaty of Lisbon, the Consequences for Europe's
Smaller States" Mary Lou McDonald, MEP

4.50 - 5.10pm: "Interpreting the Treaty: The Court of Justice after
Lisbon" Dr Niamh Nic Shuibhne

5.10pm - 5.30pm - Questions and Answers

5.30pm: Closing remarks





SPEAKERS PROFILES:


Anthony Coughlan is Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin and Secretary of the National Platform

Michael Dougan is Professor of European Law, Jean Monnet Chair in EU law, Liverpool Law School

Mary Lou McDonald is an MEP and member of Sinn Féin.

Niamh Nic Shuibhne is Reader in EC Law, Director of Postgraduate Studies; School of Law, University of Edinburgh.

Peter Sutherland is Chairman of BP plc and a former EU Commissioner.

Speaker from the Libertas Institute. The Libertas Institute is a new European movement, that is opposing the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in Ireland.





As space is limited, you are requested to register in advance to reserve your place. All legal practitioners wishing to avail of CPD points should indicate this when registering to ensure that certificates of attendance can be collected on the day. To reserve your place and for further details, please contact: Dr. Elaine Fahey, Committee member, ISEL by email: elaine.fahey@dit.ie or telephone: (01) 402 7183.





The ISEL is grateful to the EU & International Affairs Committee of the Law Society of Ireland who are hosting the conference and a reception following the conference.

Why do they always have these on during the day!

url=https://machinenation.forumakers.com/the-new-europe-forum-f30/water-privatisation-and-the-eu-t295-25.htm#6138

There was an effort on p.ie to create a consolidated comparison. Is that available anywhere?