#maastricht treaty

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Western Europeans mostly grabbed America's money, accepted its military leadership, and joined or drifted toward a democratic, pro-trade European union.†

†This began with the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, founded in 1948, and the 1952 European Coal and Steel Community. These were refounded in 1958 as the European Economic Community and transformed into the European Union by the 1993 Maastricht Treaty.

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[radicalgraff]

"30 years and still bullet wounds"

Mural promoting a demonstration in Copenhagen at 6pm today to mark the 30 year anniversary of a left autonomous protest against the EU Maastricht treaty on 18 May 1993. The protest evolved into a riot and police opened fire on the crowd, resulting in dozens of people being shot.

[celticcrossanon]

“With the Commonwealth Realms, I expect Charles to fulfil his role as their Head of State regardless of which government is in power.”

Until John Major signed, Maastricht treaty in the mid 1990’s we had anchor butter and New Zealand Lamb. These things, and others, disappeared from supermarket shelves and EU produce was prioritised.

After the Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2009 military co-operation with Europe (France) was prioritised, seemingly above UK Commonwealth and NATO links, in terms of funding and development.

The Late Queen and now the King are Head of a realms whose army swears allegiance. It means something, or it should. Our shared history should mean closer, cooperation, and trade and travel. The similarities in our Parliaments and Health Service and peoples should be highlighted with the monarchy as an umbrella or lynchpin. But on none of these things can the king or the late Queen act independently of government. 

A resurgent, China started rolling out the Belt and Road initiative in 2013, directly targeting Commonwealth Realms and Nations. And government moved out of the way to let them because no one saw Brexit coming.

Thing is Sunak’s Windsor framework reverses the closer ties Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were working towards post Brexit which would mean not only enhanced trade but closer military co-operation.

It’s why the King went to Germany as his first state visit not Australia, New Zealand or Canada imho.

The Commonwealth of Nations is different, because there it is predominantly trade I believe, as well as the opportunity for cooperation. And that will continue, although I do not think Prince William will be head of the Commonwealth.  I think there may be a revolving head by then, i.e. the representative from a certain country for certain amount of years. 

Hi Nonny,

Thank you for that explanation of what is happening in GB. I always read "the Commonwealth" as "the Commonwealth of Nations", so I will have to remember that other people mean "the Commonwealth Realms" when they say "the Commonwealth".

"Our shared history should mean closer, cooperation, and trade and travel. The similarities in our Parliaments and Health Service and peoples should be highlighted with the monarchy as an umbrella or lynchpin." - I agree, but I don't see this happening. Instead I see the Commonwealth Realms drawing further and further apart.

China is a concern to me as well.

I also think that after King Charles the position of Head of the Commonwealth will change and not longer be the ruler of Great Britain.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 24 November 1995, French workers took part in a massive general strike against welfare and pension reforms. A movement arose in October to oppose measures by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Alain Juppé which aimed to reduce France's budget deficit to the three percent limit set by the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The most controversial proposals were to cut public sector pensions, and increase the minimum retirement age to 60. Some schemes allowed employees to retire at 50 or 55. Short protest strikes and demonstrations against the plan took place in October, and escalated to a general strike on November 24. Transport workers shut down most rail, subway, bus and air travel, and marched in the streets chanting "Bye, Bye Juppé". Gas, electricity and postal workers joined the strike, and in early December private sector workers in banking and insurance began to walk out as well. Health workers launched "safe strikes", maintaining staffing levels to care for patients, while joining picket lines, hanging banners in the wards and talking to patients about the dispute. Police attacked striking workers, who fought back in the Channel Tunnel and in mining towns with makeshift weapons like crowbars and rocks. Many unemployed workers joined the protests in solidarity, and the Pompidou Centre in Paris was occupied by homeless and unemployed workers, who held joint meetings with strikers. Eventually, on December 15, the government agreed to scrap its pension reforms. However, it refused to back down on planned welfare and health cuts. And despite many workers continuing to strike, the unions called off the dispute, and people largely returned to work by December 23. * We only post highlights on here, for all our anniversaries follow us on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@workingclasshistory https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2143131729205299/?type=3

[mariacallous]

Europe has once again sleepwalked into an existential crossroad. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine challenged the liberal democratic order that the European Union champions and sparked a crisis many deemed unthinkable after decades of peace. Amid rising tides of Euroskepticism and ultranationalism across the continent, the new war seemed to create a perfect storm for the disintegration of the European project.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the EU pulled together, swiftly and collectively committing materiel and financial support to Ukraine. While there is little that the EU could have done to forestall Russia’s invasion, the bloc’s disinterest in Ukraine in the years following Putin’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula—a clear sign of his aggressive ambitions—has proved woefully misguided. Only now, more than a year into the war, are serious conversations about rebuilding and integrating Ukraine into the EU beginning to take place.

This is a familiar cycle for the EU: of apathy leading to crisis, and crisis leading to greater integration. It is one that has defined the European project since its origins in the European Coal and Steel Community of the 1950s. The physical and psychological destruction of World War II, dual crises of stagflation and energy insecurity in the 1970s, and financial crisis of the 2010s all led to more Europe rather than less, just as the war in Ukraine seems poised to do.

After far-right parties catapulted to the fore of European politics in 2010, many conversations about the future of Europe focused on its imminent demise. As recently as January 2022, with many still wallowing in a post-Brexit malaise, there was little serious possibility of Ukraine acceding to the EU—or, for that matter, of Germany increasing its military spending and cutting its energy dependence on Russia.

Yet today, because of a crisis Europe neither wanted nor was prepared for, Ukraine seems poised to become an EU member upon the war’s resolution. Germany also reneged on its controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and Poland—previously an internal roadblock to European solidarity—has become an advocate for collective European defense. The newly war-torn continent looks poised to come out of this crisis more unified than before.

Now, as Europe begins to enter its latest integrative phase, there is an opportunity to break this reactive cycle in favor of a proactive and intentional expansion of European solidarity. The continent can do so by giving a greater voice to the first generation to have grown up entirely with the EU—whom we call the Maastricht Generation.

For the first time in history, there is a fully grown generation of Europeans who have only ever known a united Europe. In our recent edited volume, contributing author Floris Rijssenbeek dubbed members of this group the Maastricht Generation because they grew up after the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, which formally created the EU as it exists in its current form. For members of the Maastricht Generation, a united Europe is not just a mechanism for peace and growth. The values that Europe embodies—such as democracy, the rule of law, and humanitarianism—are inherent to their identities in ways they were not for their forebears.

This matters because people fight for what they believe in, as well as for the identities they hold and value. Members of the Maastricht Generation will proactively work to make the European project better rather than waiting for a new crisis to fuel reactive integration.

Members of the Maastricht Generation tend to have a more pro-EU stance than do prior generations. Nowhere is this more evident than in Hungary. Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has governed the country uninterrupted since 2010, Hungary has turned toward autocracy and become a vanguard of the global illiberal movement. Through it all, Orban has maintained remarkably broad public support, with approval ratings consistently at or above 50 percent.

But one group is notoriously absent from Orban’s base: 16- to 29-year-olds. In Hungary’s April 2022 parliamentary elections, fewer than 25 percent of first-time voters chose Orban and his party, reflecting a nearly decadelong trend of young voters turning away from far-right conservatism. As Orban consolidated power, Hungary’s Maastricht Generation expressed a growing preference for democracy and rejected the government’s authoritarian practices. They have also turned away from rising conservatism in Hungarian political culture, rejecting Orban’s Christian identity politics in favor of classical liberal concerns such as social welfare and economic growth.

It’s no surprise, then, that Hungary’s opposition is led by young people who deeply identify with Europe and its values. And despite government-led barriers to democratic engagement, such as voter intimidation and lack of media pluralism, this opposition is vibrant—just not in the places one might expect. Disillusioned with traditional politics, Hungary’s Maastricht Generation has turned away from the voting booth to alternative forms of democratic expression. They are engaging in political conversation on social media rather than through traditional (and now state-run) media outlets, participating in pro-democracy protest movements, and joining new parties in droves.

Hungary’s Maastricht Generation is not alone. Across Europe, young people consistently demonstrate high levels of support for liberal democracy and the universal values that the EU champions. Research by social scientist Jan Zilinsky shows that young Europeans express more faith in democracy than older generations. This is not simply a case of young people being more progressive on average than older citizens. As Pew Research Center data has shown, young Europeans express significantly more faith in the EU than any other age demographic, regardless of political affiliation. Rather than relying on disintegrative pressures—such as stagflation, recessions, or wars of aggression—to fuel the engine of European solidarity, the EU can leverage the creativity, ingenuity, and Euro-enthusiasm of youth to spring forward.

Doing so will require creative reforms to the EU’s institutional mechanisms. The EU’s policymaking processes and national electoral thresholds have not been built to incorporate the Maastricht Generation’s perspectives, and the bloc’s rigid policy agenda and consistent neutering of ambitious policy proposals do not adequately reflect young Europeans’ ideals. Nothing exemplifies this disconnect better than the failed promise of Volt Europa, a pan-European, pro-Europe party founded in 2017, largely by members of the Maastricht Generation. Volt promised a radically fresh approach to European politics and gained popularity among younger voters across the continent ahead of the 2019 European Parliament elections, also performing well in 2021 general elections in the Netherlands. But Volt has failed to deliver on its promise so far, in part because its message does not resonate with voters outside of the Maastricht Generation.

Members of the Maastricht Generation are eager to support and defend Europe’s democratic values, but rightly express a frustration with the way the system functions today. The slowness of the European Parliament’s and Council of the European Union’s legislative processes, physical and psychological distance between Brussels and its constituents, and the arguably undemocratic system of indirectly appointing members of the European Commission prompt many to turn their backs to traditional politics in favor of protest movements, like those in Hungary, or transnational climate activism, such as Fridays for Future.

It is critical that the EU take proactive steps to reincorporate the Maastricht Generation into ongoing policy debates and discussions. Of course, all governments should work to include younger voices—but as a supranational entity that has long struggled to form a distinct identity, the EU especially would benefit from doing so.

To start, politicians at the EU and domestic levels must begin taking protests movements seriously as means of democratic expression. Legislators need to spend more time engaging with young activists, whose visions for the future can help guide innovative policies in the realms of climate, defense, and migration. In countries within the EU suffering from democratic backsliding, engagement with and support for nontraditional democratic activists from EU institutions is arguably more likely to lead to substantive political change than sanctions or legal proceedings.

More active engagement of young voices can take a variety of forms, from lowering age minimums for holding elected office in both the European and national parliaments to instituting local, national, and European-wide youth councils that can develop policy recommendations for national and EU legislative bodies. The European Parliament, for its part, should create a special parliament that represents the Maastricht Generation in European political debates.

Perhaps most importantly, the EU needs to invest in the political and leadership potential of its younger generations. It already does so successfully in the education sphere with its Erasmus+ study abroad program, which helps to create a network of young Europeans connected by a common understanding of the world. The European Parliament also makes this type of investment with political activists from non-EU countries through its Young Political Leaders Programme, which connects democratic activists from Europe’s neighborhood to develop their potential as future leaders for lasting peace.

The EU should burnish the same attention and investment on its own emerging leaders and create a program that will allow them to design policy initiatives to deepen European unity. Young leaders would ideate concrete policy proposals for the EU, and selected proposals would then be presented to EU officials. Such a program would cost just a fraction of the European Commission’s annual budget and could be appropriated from the existing funds that support Erasmus+ as part of the next budgetary package, which begins in 2028.

None of this can happen without acknowledging that the EU’s Maastricht Generation brings a unique perspective to—and has a unique stake in—the bloc’s future. That future will be stronger, better, and less prone to crisis if this generation is allowed to push European integration forward. Recognizing the Maastricht Generation’s ingenuity and potential is an essential first step to a more resilient Europe.

[rabbitcruiser]

Europe Day

Europe Day is a continent-wide celebration of peace and unity in Europe in May every year, on two separate dates. The European Union celebrates the day on May 9, while the Council of Europe celebrates it on May 5. Europe Day is a time to celebrate Europe’s rich history while planning for its future. It celebrates the unity among the countries in the European Union while challenging people to reflect on the issues that affect it. On Europe Day, European citizens are made to feel closer to each other. Countries within the union strengthen their ties and citizens can overcome any sense of distance they feel from the various European countries.

History of Europe Day

The Council of Europe, the international organization founded to uphold democracy in Europe, first created Europe Day in 1964. May 5 was chosen to celebrate the first Europe Day because it was the day the Council of Europe was created. It wasn’t until later that the European Union established May 9 as their own Europe Day in honor of the 1950 Schuman Declaration. This is why some people refer to Europe Day as Schuman Day. The Schuman Declaration or Schuman Plan was a proposal by the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, to place the French and West German production of coal and steel under a single authority that would later be opened to other European authorities.

The Schuman Declaration was important because, as Schuman asserted, the coming together of the countries of Europe would not be possible without ending the age-old opposition of France and Germany, a rivalry that was eliminated by uniting their coal and steel resources. The six founding members of the Schuman Declaration signed the Treaty of Paris, which created the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951.

The European Coal and Steel Community was Europe’s first supranational community, and it paved the way for the European Economic Community, and eventually, the European Union. So, we can say that the Schuman Declaration was responsible for uniting all of Europe under the European Union. Europe Day celebrates the peace and unity that the Schuman Declaration established. After the European Union was founded, more countries started observing Europe Day. Germany even extended it to Europe Week.

Europe Day timeline

1949 The Council of Europe is Founded

The Council of Europe is founded officially on May 5.

1985 The European Council Adopts Europe Day

The European Council adopts Europe Day on June 29 after a report by the ad hoc commission for “a People’s Europe.”

1993 The E.U. is Founded

The European Union is established as a result of the Maastricht Treaty.

2019 Europe Day is a Public Holiday

In Luxembourg, for the first time, May 9 is declared an official public holiday to mark Europe Day.

Europe Day FAQs

What is Euro Day?

On January 1 every year, Europeans come together to celebrate the monetary unity recognized by the European Union – the Euro, which was created in 1999 and is used by over 300 million Europeans.

What is the capital of Europe?

Being a continent, Europe does not have an official capital. However, Brussels in Belgium is considered the de facto capital of the European Union because it hosts the official seats of many principal European institutions, such as the European Commission and the European Council.

What is EU Regions Week?

The European Week of Regions and Cities is a four-day event held every year in Europe. During the week, cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs and implement cohesion policies. It is a time for governments at the local and regional levels to show their importance in governance.

Europe Day Activities

Fly the flag

Visit an E.U. institution

Rock out at a concert

The European flag is an official symbol representing Europe and the European Union. On Europe Day, you can buy, make, or print a copy of the flag of Europe and wave it in solidarity and patriotism. You can get your family and friends to participate and paint the entire continent blue.

On Europe Day, certain European institutions like the European Parliament and the European Commission open their doors to citizens. You can visit any of these institutions and learn about how decisions that affect Europe are made.

Every year, official Europe Day concerts are held all over the continent. You can attend a concert and enjoy Europe’s rich history through music. From opera to polka to pop, you can enjoy some of Europe’s best musical genres.

5 Important Facts About Europe

The happiest place on Earth

They love IKEA

Small but mighty

It’s not “the West”

Greek love

Even more popular than the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland in Paris is one of Europe’s most-visited attractions.

In the 2021 financial year, Europe accounted for about 70.7% of IKEA's sales,

Even though Europe is the second-smallest continent, it has the third-largest population and is one of the most powerful continents on Earth.

Even though people often refer to Europe as “the West,” it is contained entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, with most of its landmass in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The name “Europe” is derived from Greek Mythology, named after the Phoenician princess Europa.

Why We Love Europe Day

It celebrates unity in a diverse world

We learn about history

It brings people together

In a world with so much diversity, it can be hard to stay united. Europe Day teaches us that it is possible to work together towards a common goal while being respectful of our differences and celebrating our similarities.

On Europe Day, we learn about the history of one of the most powerful continents in the world. We learn about how it got to this point, what mistakes were made, and what differences we can make going forward.

Europe Day brings over 500 million people from 27 European countries together. A farmer in Belgium will be able to celebrate with a trader in Spain even though they are miles apart. No matter where you are, you can celebrate Europe Day and feel connected with other Europeans all over the world.

Source

[emmashouldbewriting]

“You don’t think it’s strange that a king would rather visit EU countries than those he is Monarch of in the Commonwealth? All I see is a WEF puppet on the throne”

@sallysmith

It’s as pertinent that both Boris and Liz were nationalist pro UK PM’s whereas both Sunak and Starmer are Supranationalists. Remember Starmer said he preferred Davos to Westminster.

The monarchy isn’t independent from the government of the day and their choices as regards foreign visits and state visits etc are all determined by the FCDO.

Our late Majesty was lucky that for the greater portion of her rule her governments, whether Tory or Labour, prioritised and fought for the country.

Heath may have taken us into the EEC but it was the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties that subjugated us to supranational organisations. 🇬🇧

rishi sunak snaked his way into becoming prime minister

2. keir starmer is an absolute bellend

3. the electorate were robbed of the people they actually voted for ie boris and liz

and yes, politically we are not the same as we were 20, 30, 50 years ago, never mind 70. nor will we ever go back to those times. we cannot compare those times to those of today. it's been 6 months, it's time charles was given some grace to become the king he is without living in the shadow of his mother or being held to the expectations we had of her, never mind slapped with preconceived notions or ideals

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.7

457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. 1301 – Edward of Caernarvon (later king Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales. 1313 – King Thihathu founds the Pinya Kingdom as the de jure successor state of the Pagan Kingdom. 1365 – Albert III of Mecklenburg (King Albert of Sweden) grants city rights to Ulvila (Swedish: Ulvsby). 1497 – In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities". 1756 – Guaraní War: The leader of the Guaraní rebels, Sepé Tiaraju, is killed in a skirmish with Spanish and Portuguese troops. 1783 – American Revolutionary War: French and Spanish forces lift the Great Siege of Gibraltar. 1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified. 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon finds Bennigsen's Russian forces taking a stand at Eylau. After bitter fighting, the French take the town, but the Russians resume the battle the next day. 1812 – The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri. 1813 – In the action of 7 February 1813 near the Îles de Los, the frigates Aréthuse and Amelia batter each other, but neither can gain the upper hand. 1819 – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar. 1842 – Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien. 1854 – A law is approved to found the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Lectures started October 16, 1855. 1863 – HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189. 1894 – The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States. 1898 – Dreyfus affair: Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse…! 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops fail in their third attempt to lift the Siege of Ladysmith. 1900 – A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco falls ill to bubonic plague in the first plague epidemic in the continental United States. 1904 – A fire begins in Baltimore, Maryland;[12] it destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. 1940 – The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres. 1943 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign. 1944 – World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle. 1951 – Korean War: More than 700 suspected communist sympathizers are massacred by South Korean forces. 1962 – The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports. 1974 – Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1979 – Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered. 1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission: Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). 1986 – Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation. 1990 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power. 1991 – Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in. 1991 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government. 1992 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union. 1995 – Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan. 1999 – Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein. 2001 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-98, carrying the Destiny laboratory module to the International Space Station. 2009 – Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history. 2012 – President Mohamed Nasheed of the Republic of Maldives resigns, after 23 days of anti-governmental protests calling for the release of the Chief Judge unlawfully arrested by the military. 2013 – The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995. 2014 – Scientists announce that the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, date back to more than 800,000 years ago, making them the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa. 2016 – North Korea launches Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 into outer space violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world. 2021 – The 2021 Uttarakhand flood begins.

[puttingtheainalevels]

21/09/2024

Politics - The British Constitution

Uncodified vs Codified Constitutions

Uncodified Constitution

- An uncodified constitution refers to a constitution were parts are written down, but there is no one single document outlining the constitution of the State.

- The UK's constitution is uncodified and draws on a variety of sources.

- This type of constitution is flexible, because any of its sources can be changed without any lengthy or difficult process, however, this is in the context of the rule of law.

- The rule of law is the idea that everyone, including the government, is completely equal under the law.

- Our constitution is unentrenched, meaning that constitutional laws are no different from statute laws. Parliament is sovereign, so can change the constitution by passing statute law. Basically, laws concerning aspects of the constitution are no different to any other ordinary legislation.

- Judges cannot challenge Parliament's ability to make or amend statute laws, the constitution is non-judiciable

- The constitution states that Parliament is sovereign, and part of a unitary system. This means that supreme power lays only with Parliament, and any power given to other governing bodies can be taken away.

- Our system is also evolutionary, one which has emerged over centuries, constantly changing and adapting to its circumstances.

Codified Constitution

- A codified constitution is a constitution in which the key constitutional structure and arrangement in a stats are collected together within a single legal document.

- They are rigid and require a lengthy and difficult process to alter them.

- They are entrenched so it's difficult to amend or remove them. They are usually the highest law of the land and often stand above anything else.

- They are judicable as a constitutional court can decide if government action or laws are constitutional.

- In a federal state, authority is constitutionally divided between various regions. Central government may have the more important responsibilities but the regional governments are sovereign within their constitutionally defined areas of responsibility.

- Codified constitutions normally arise from revolution, where previous power has been overthrown and a new system has been carefully and clearly designed.

The Sources of the UK's Constitution

Constitutional documents are very old laws which signify an important stage in the UK's democratic history and still bear some relevance. These include: the Magna Carta (1215), Bill of Rights (1689), and the Parliament Acts (1911/1949) to name a few. Besides these historical documents there are five main sources that make up our constitution.

- Statute Law - These are sovereign laws passed by Parliament, for example the Freedom of Information Act

- Works of Authority - Books written to explain the constitution have become so vital they gave been incorporated into it, for example Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice (1844).

- Common Law and Case Law - Judges make decisions based on long-established practices to form an opinion of just outcomes. It works on the principle of precedence where similar cases are all viewed in the same light.

- Conventions - Conventions are traditions and customs which have gained the significance of laws. For example, it isn't law for a PM to resign after losing an election, but it wouldn't be ok if they didn't resign.

- EU Treaties - Treaties like the Treaty of Rome (1957), the Maastricht Treaty (1992), and the Lisbon Treaty (2009), are all additional sources of the UK's constitution.

Before Brexit, EU laws took precedent over all other sources, but this has mow been replaced by Statute laws. Common law cannot contradict statute law, but they have equal authority. Authoritative works and conventions are not binding but are considered extremely strong guidance.

[ministerforpeas]

Alas Smith & Brown - the Maastricht Treaty

[euro-industry-org]

Industrial policy: European Union action

The industrial sector, which now accounts for almost a quarter of Europe's GDP, is facing increasing global competition. The European Union seeks to stimulate its development by funding projects and setting a number of regulations. The EU is currently the third largest industrial power in the world, behind China and the US.

The continent is home to a large number of large companies, particularly in the automotive, transport, defence, chemical/pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors. However, compared to the services sector, the weight of industry is gradually declining. Between 2000 and 2020, industry's share in the EU fell from 25.5 to 22.2% of GDP (including the construction sector). Industry is also the largest employer in several Eastern European countries, but on a European scale it now accounts for less than 22% of jobs.

The role of the European Union

Industrial policy is essentially the responsibility of EU member states. However, since the 1950s, the EU has limited the practice of state intervention within the single market to encourage competition between states. Under the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, industrial policy became a subsidiary competence of the EU. This means that the EU can intervene ‘to support, co-ordinate or supplement actions taken by Member States’.

Since then, European industrial policy has aimed at creating an environment that favours the competitiveness of companies in the sector. Its objectives, as defined in Article 173 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, are as follows:

To accelerate the adaptation of industry to structural change;

To promote a favourable environment for the initiative and development of enterprises within the Union, especially small and medium-sized enterprises;

To create favourable conditions for cooperation between enterprises;

Encourage better utilisation of industrial potential for innovation, research and technological development policies.

Horizontal policies and measures

As the Union's powers in this area are limited, its industrial policy is essentially horizontal: it aims at improving the overall economic situation in the sector. Among the general objectives defined in 2010 (Europe 2020 strategy), the EU has set itself the task of ‘co-operating closely with stakeholders’ and ‘creating a framework conducive to the emergence of a modern industrial policy’.

Measures taken include:

Simplification of administrative formalities for SMEs;

Defining common rules for exports from the defence industry;

Several plans to improve the energy efficiency of buildings;

A ‘circular economy’ programme aimed at recycling and extending the life cycle of products.

Europe's new industrial strategy

A new industrial strategy was proposed in March 2020, aimed at funding industry ‘alliances’ to boost European competitiveness in areas ranging from pure hydrogen to satellites. It also emphasises the need to protect European intellectual property to ensure a level playing field globally.

In May 2021, new targets were added in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Three key areas are highlighted:

Strengthening the resilience of the single market, especially in times of crisis;

Reducing Europe's dependence in strategic areas such as raw materials and advanced technologies;

Developing industrial alliances to increase Europe's autonomy in key sectors.

Regulating external competition

While developing its industry, the EU also seeks to better protect it from international competition. It has trade defence tools at its disposal: anti-dumping rules, anti-subsidy measures and safeguard measures. In 2020, a foreign direct investment filtering mechanism was introduced to protect the Union's strategic interests.

In 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal to regulate foreign subsidies distorting the single market. Negotiations are underway to introduce a border carbon adjustment mechanism aimed at raising prices for products from countries that do not comply with the same environmental rules as Europeans.

Financial support for industry

The EU also helps finance industrial projects through cohesion policy and other programmes. Between 2014 and 2020, €65 billion was allocated exclusively to SMEs, especially in the industrial sector. The Horizon Europe programme is funded at 95.5 billion euro between 2021 and 2027. The Investment Plan for Europe was adopted in 2015 and its successor, the 750bn euro Next Generation EU Recovery Plan, is designed to ensure Europe's recovery from recession.

However, support to the EU and individual member states is highly regulated. Competition policy limits governments' room for manoeuvre in industrial policy, which poses some challenges.

Conclusion

European industry needs stronger support for start-ups and innovation to improve competitiveness. The introduction of new technologies and improved financing conditions play a key role in this process. These measures will help to strengthen economic development and adapt to global change.

[brookston]

Holidays 2.11

Holidays

American Hospital Day

Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (Iran)

Armed Forces Day (Liberia)

Assault on Copenhagen Day (Denmark)

Be Electrific Day

Burt Reynolds Day

Couch Grass Day (French Republic)

Day of Revenue Service (Azerbaijan)

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day

Don’t Shoot Your Friend in the Face While Hunting Day

Evelio Javier Day (Philippines)

Flash Appreciation Day

Forest Animal Feeding Day (Poland)

Get Out Your Guitar Day

Ghost Day

Giorno della Conciliazione Day (Italy)

Grandmother Achievement Day

Gratified Being Single Day

Guðfriðr's Day (Aedeland)

Hug a Tall Person Day

International Day of Women and Girls in Science (UN)

Islamic Revolution Day (Iran)

Janet Jackson Appreciation Day

KISS Day (South Carolina)

Leslie Nielsen Day

Make A Friend Day (a.k.a. Make A New Friend Day)

Meaning of Life Day

Meringue Memorial Day

National Ava Day

National Emergency Number Day (Finland)

National Guitar Day (a.k.a. Get Out Your Guitar Day)

National Marc Day

National Inventor's Day

National Shut-In Visitation Day

National 211 Day

National Van Day

Nelson Mandela Day (South Africa)

112 Day (EU)

Promise Day

Pro Sports Wives Day

Satisfied Staying Single Day

Shaheed Day (Bangladesh)

Weiberfastnacht (Germany)

White T-Shirt Day (a.k.a. White Shirt Day)

Whitney Houston Appreciation Day

World Day of Medical Women

World Day of the Sick (Roman Catholic)

World Unani Day (India)

Youth Day (Cameroon)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Latte Day

National Pork Rind Appreciation Day

National Roast Day

Peppermint Patty Day

2nd Sunday in February

Autism Sunday [2nd Sunday]

Daytona 500 Race Day [2nd Sunday]

International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger Syndrome [2nd Sunday]

International Flirting Week begins [Sunday before Valentine’s Day]

Man Day [Sunday before 14th]

Mother’s Day (Norway) [2nd Sunday]

National Preacher’s Kid Day [2nd Sunday]

Quinquagesima Sunday [Sunday before Ash Wednesday]

Race Relations Sunday (Methodist Church) [2nd Sunday]

Racial Justice Sunday (UK) [2nd Sunday]

Sour Sunday [1st Sunday of SF Beer Week]

Super Bowl Sunday [2nd Sunday] (a.k.a. ... 

Bud Bowl Day

National Bring Back Marching Bands Day

National Homegating Day

National Popcorn Day

National Pork Rind Day

NFL Day

Neo-Prohibitionist’s Complaining Day

Puppy Bowl Day

Rene Descartes Memorial Day

Suberb Owl Day

Super Bowl of Caring [ website ]

Super Chicken Wing Day

World Marriage Day [2nd Sunday]

Independence & Related Days

Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (Iran)

Foundation Day (Japan; 660 B.C.E.)

Honduras (Declared; 1922)

Independence Proclamation Day (Norway; 1814)

Vatican City (Lateran Treaty signed with Italy, 1929)

New Year’s Days

Hindi New Year (Hinduism) (a.k.a. ... 

Dangpa Losar (Bhutanese New Year; Bhutan) [2024: Year of the Male Wood Dragon]

Gyalpyo / Gyallo Loshar (Nepal)

Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Brau Saka (Indonesia)

Losar (Sikkim, India)

Losar (Tibetan New Year)

New Year's Celebration, Day 2  [Lunar Calendar] (a.k.a. …

Chinese New Year Holiday, Day 2 (Bhutan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan)

Public Sector Holiday (East Timor)

Second Day of the lunar New Year (Hong Kong, Macau)

Tet Holiday (Vietnam)

Festivals Beginning February 11, 2024

Carnival of Aalst (Aalst, Belgium) [thru 2.13]

Carnival of Binche (Binche, Belgium) [thru 2.13]

Carnival of Maastricht (Maastricht, Netherlands) [thru 2.13]

Fastelavn (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Gasparilla Carnival (Tampa, Florida)

Panama Carnival (Panama City, Panama) [thru 2.14]

Paris Carnival (Paris, France)

Feast Days

Adolph (Christian; Saint)

Benedict of Aniame (Christian; Saint)

Blaise (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Bounce on the Bed Day (Pastafarian)

Cædmon, first recorded Christian poet in England, c. 680 CE (Anglicanism)

Carlo Carrà (Artology)

Feast of Our Lady’s Miraculous Apparitions (Christian)

Festival of Ptah (Ancient Egyptian God of Creativity; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Gobhnat (Celtic Book of Days)

Gobnait (Christian; Saint)

Gregory II, pope (Christian; Saint)

Hide Under the Bed Day (Pastafarian)

Jane Yolan (Writerism)

Lazarus of Milan (Christian; Saint)

Lucius (Christian; Martyr)

Our Lady of Lourdes (Christian; Saint)

Overindulgence Festival (Church of the SubGenius)

Paschal I, pope (Christian; Saint)

Pattern Day (Ireland)

Phidias (Positivist; Saint)

Pilgrimage Day (Lourdes, France)

Saturninus Dativus, and others (Christian; Martyrs)

Severinus (Christian; Saint)

Sol (Muppetism)

Tachychardia Week (Church of the SubGenius)

Tales of Kelp-Koli (Shamanism)

Theodora, Byzantine Empress (Anglo-Romish)

Tiresias’s Day (Pagan)

True Parents Day (Unification Church)

Ume Matsuri begins (Plum Blossom Festival; Atami, Japan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [7 of 53]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [8 of 37]

Premieres

The Beach (Film; 2000)

Between the Buttons, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1967)

Black Spring, by Henry Miller (Novel; 1936)

Born This Way, by Lady Gaga (Song; 2011)

Bosko in Person (WB LT Cartoon; 1933)

The Bourne Supremacy, by Robert Ludlum (Novel; 1986)

Box-Office Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1991)

Bride & Prejudice (Film; 2005)

The Captains and the Kids (MGM Cartoon; 1939)

Cedar Rapids (Film; 2011)

Death on the Nile (Film; 2022)

Dirty Snow, by Georges Simenon (Novel; 1948)

Donald’s Happy Birthday (Disney Cartoon; 1949)

Elvis (TV movie; 1979)

Gnomeo & Juliet (Animated Film; 2011)

The Grocery Boy (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Happy Together, by The Turtles (Song; 1967)

Hitch (Film; 2005)

Hoppy Daze (WB LT Cartoon; 1961)

I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata (The Lombards at the first Crusade), by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1843)

Inviting Anna (Film; 2022)

Just Go with It (Film; 2011)

La Fille du Régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment), by Getano Donizetti (Opera; 1840)

Linger Awhile and Mobile Day, recorded by Rex Stewart & His Orchestra (Song; 1940)

Lovesick Blues, by Hank Williams (Song; 1949)

The Magic Christian (Film; U.S. 1970)

Memories of the Future, by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky (Short Stories; 1989) [Written in 1920]

The Might Celt (Film; 2005)

The Moose and the Monster or Nothing But the Pest (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 255; 1964)

Mutiny on the Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1950)

Nurse to Meet Ya (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1955)

Our Cartoon President (Animated TV Series; 2018)

The Piano (Film; 1994)

Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (Animated Film; 2005)

The Quetong Missile Mystery (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #22; 1965)

Robin Hood Makes Good (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

R.U.R., by Karel Čapek (TV movie; 1938) [1st Science Fiction program]

Scrappy Birthday (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1949)

Self Control (Disney Cartoon; 1938)

Simon Says, Be My Valentine, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S3, Eps. 17 & 18; 1967)

Smash and Grab (Pixar Animated Short; 2019)

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, by Anton Bruckner (Symphony; 1903)

Testing 1, 2, 3, or Tape a Number (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 256; 1964)

Thieves Like Us (Film; 1974)

The Tigger Movie (Animated Disney Film; 2000)

The Violins of Saint-Jacques, by Patrick Leigh Fermor (Novel; 1953)

Walking After Midnight, by Patsy Cline (Song; 1957)

Weasel Stop (WB LT Cartoon; 1956)

Today’s Name Days

Anselm (Austria)

Marija, Mirjana (Croatia)

Božena (Czech Republic)

Euphrosyne (Denmark)

Teri, Terje (Estonia)

Iisa, Isabella, Talvikki (Finland)

Lourdes (France)

Maria Lourdes, Theodora, Theodor (Germany)

Avgi, Theodora, Vlassis (Greece)

Bertold, Marietta (Hungary)

Dante, Durante, Eloisia, Lourdes (Italy)

Laima, Laimdota, Laimrota (Latvia)

Adolfas, Algirdas, Algirdė, Liucijus (Lithuania)

Ingve, Yngve (Norway)

Adolf, Adolfa, Adolfina, Alf, Bernadetta, Dezydery, Eufrozyna, Łazarz, Lucjan, Maria, Olgierd, Świętomira (Poland)

Teodora, Vlasie (Romania)

Dezider (Slovakia)

Lourdes, Pedro (Spain)

Inge, Yngve (Sweden)

Ulas (Ukraine)

Adolfo, Adolph, Adolpha, Alva, Alvarita, Alvaro, Lourdes (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 42 of 2024; 324 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 6 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 22 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Bing-Yin), Day 2 (Yi-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 2 Adair I 5784

Islamic: 1 Sha’ban 1445

J Cal: 12 Grey; Fryday [12 of 30]

Julian: 29 January 2024

Moon: 5%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 14 Homer (2nd Month) [Phidias)

Runic Half Month: Sigel (Sun) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 53 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 21 of 28)

Calendar Changes

Shaʿbān [شَعْبَان] (Islamic Calendar) [Month 8 of 12]

[gameofthrones2020]

Why Israel is Against Universal Liberalism

Israel is Against Universal Liberalism because Israel is a nationalistic state, which goes against Western political culture.

Israel is the world’s only Jewish state, and its existence is an antithesis to liberalism and universal liberalism and the creation of non-governmental organisations such as the United Nations in 1945 and the European Coal and Steel Community of 1951, which became the European Union after the Maastricht Treaty of 1993. These international organisations were created to prevent another war in…

[thebugaftermayakovsky]

TIMELINE HELSINKI

1905 - first Russian revolution, Freud's theory of sexuality, Potemkin incident

1912 - Stanislawski's acting method is created.

1914- assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, beginning of World War I.

1915- Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

1916- Zurich, Cabaret Voltaire

1917 - Bolshevik Revolution

1918 - Assassination of the Tsar and the Romanov family

1922 - March on Rome and coming to power of Mussolini

1929 - Mayakovsky's bug. Prisypkin is frozen as a result of a fire during his wedding.

1930 - Mayakovsky's suicide.

1931- Second Spanish Republic

1932-33- Great famine in Ukraine, Holodomor (famine). Between 3 and 5 million people died.

1933- Hitler comes to power in Germany.

1936- Spanish Civil War. Murder of García Lorca.

1938 - Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). First awareness of climate change: Guy Callendar connected carbon dioxide increases in Earth's atmosphere to global warming.

1939 - Invasion of Poland and beginning of World War II.

1940 - Torutra and execution of Vsevolod Meyerhold.

1945 - The US drops two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

1947 - For the first time, insects are launched into space: In 1947, the United States sends fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) into space aboard a V2 rocket. They were the first animals in space and were part of a series of experiments to study the effects of cosmic rays on living organisms.

1947 - beginning of the Cold War (Mar 12, 1947 – Dec 25, 1991) tensions between United States and Soviet Union, that fed into the Vietnam War and the Korean War.

1948 - Nakba, and creation of the state of Israel.

1950 - Invention of Artificial Intelligence

1952 - 6 February, Queen Elizabeth is crowned, she will be queen until her death in 1922, being the longest reigning monarch ever.

1955 - First documenta in Kassel.

1955 - First Israeli raid on Gaza.

1959 - First color TV broadcast

1960 - The contraceptive pill for women is marketed. The Beatles forms as a band in Liverpool.

1961 - First man launched into space: Yuri Gagarin

1964 - US Congress passesThe Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

1966 - Earth is photographed from space

1968 - Tlatelolco Tragedy, May 68 in France. Murder of Martin Luther King

1969 - Riots at the Stone Wall, marking the beginning of gay rights struggle

1971 - Commercialization of the first Intel 4004 microchip. Abandonment of the gold standard by Richard Nixon.

1972 - Since 1972, no more humans have travelled beyond low Earth orbit, since the Apollo 17 lunar mission in December 1972.

1973 - Coup in Chile, death of Salvador Allende. Yom Kippur War - The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from 6 to 25 October 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

1975 - Thrilla in Manilla, Muhammad Ali faces Joe Frazier.

1978 - The Russian-Afghan war begins. It will end in 1992.

1979 - Prisypkin wakes up. The Clockwise Experiment: This concept was first developed and tested in 1979 in Ellen Langer's "counterclockwise" study, which examined the psychological effects of turning back the clock on the physiological state of an older adult. The research question was, "If we set the mind back twenty years, will the body reflect this change?"

1980 - Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected president of Iceland becoming the first female president.

1981- AIDS crisis.

1983 - January first, Internet was invented

1989- Fall of the Berlin Wall. Tiananmen Square, protests and massacre. Francis Fukuyama publishes "The End of History". Creation of the World Wide Web.

1990 - Nelson Mandela is released from prison.

1991 - Invention of the world wide web (Tim Berners-Lee integrated hypertext software with the Internet)

1992 - Maastricht Treaty

1993 - April 30, The World Wide Web became available to the broader public

1996 - Death of Tupac Shakur

1997 - Death of Princess Diana of Wales. Launching of SixDegrees, considered the first social media. Asian Financial Crisis begins in Thailand and spreads quickly to the rest of East and Southeast Asia. The United Nations adopts the Kyoto protocol, and this is considered the climax of Green Capitalism or EcoCapitalism, an approach to managing the relationships between economic activities and the environment that presumes a large degree of compatibility between capitalism and current efforts to reduce human impacts on the non-human world. Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone is published.

1999 - Putin comes to power in Russia.

2000 - Y2K. Y2K was a computer glitch, or bug, that may have caused problems when dealing with dates after December 31, 1999.

2001 - 9/11, Terrorist attack, two planes crash against the Twin Towers in NY, which collapse. Beginning of the "US war on terror".

2003- Beyoncé releases "Dangerously in Love". Beyoncé is 21 and already dating Jay Z.

2007 - #metoo

2008 - War in Georgia. Bankrupcy of Lehman Brothers, climax of the subprime mortgage crisis

2009 - Ru Paul's drag race. Michael Jackson dies.

2011 - Arab Spring. Occupy movement. 11M. Beginning of the Civil Syrian War.

2014 - Russia invades Donbas and annexes Crimea. Beginning of the Russian-Ukranian War.

2016 - Murder of eco-activist Berta Cáceres.

2017 - Hollywood's #metoo

2018 - First Fridays for Climate Greta Thumberg strikes.

2020 - COVID. Murder of George Floyd. BREXIT, or withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

2021, January 6, United States Capitol attack

2022 - Rihanna's son is born. Russia invades Ukraine and war begins. Decriminalization of sex work in Belgium. The first person who does not die is born. Jan Fabre is found guilty of sexual harassment. Spanish government approves trans law recognizing free gender self-determination. Russia invades Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War. On 16 September 2022, murder of Mahsa Amini and beginning of the movement Woman, Life, Freedom. Woman, Life, Freedom, is a popular Kurdish slogan used in both the Kurdish independence and democratic confederalist movements. The slogan became a rallying cry during the protests which occurred in Iran as a response to the death of Mahsa Amini.

2023 - Following an incursion of Hamas into Israel, Israel launches Gaza Genocide and escalates ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

NOW

2030 - The increase in global temperature is irreversible.

2031 - Third Spanish Republic

2032 - There is one person alive left on facebook

2039- Crypto Crash

2050 - Ecological Collapse

Somewhere soon:

- rising inequality

- massive emigration - climate change reffugees

- war and violence

- decentralized government - municipalism

- radical different ways of living and being together

- forced changes in consuming habits

- life without work - automatisation buses will drive themselves and cars too and planes and robots will serve domestic robots and sexual work too

- UBI

- everyone will be an artist, finally

- new pandemics

- no more consumption of meat and fish

- population will move to rural eras

- rising digital inequality

Somewhere later:

- end of the nuclear family and instead, sex with friends

- end of heteronormativity

- porn is preferred to real intercourse

- no children and gradual extinction of mankind, finally - postchildren

3,050 - Days lengthen by 1/30th of a second

10,000 - Extinction of humanity. The water level rises by 5 m in relation to the present.

[cyberbenb]

Zelenskyy says Ukraine is looking to receive a political decision on EU accession this year

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to X to mark the occasion of 30 years since the Maastricht Treaty, the foundation treaty of the European Union, went into force. The president added that t Source : www.weareukraine.info/zelenskyy…