[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Respenus

Hmm, Sky, while I do share more and more certain aspects of your viewpoint on the EU, I do have to point out, that whatever the video said, is mostly wrong. ESM isn't an entity like the Parliament or Commission, so the question of legal prosecution is the same as with the ECB or any Central bank at any point of time. That economic policymakers should be responsible to the people? Absolutely! That the ESM is suddenly evil incarnate that will control the budget of all Euro members? Absolutely not!

You should be more worried about the 6-pack of laws concerning economic governance and the Euro Plus pact about, which concerns itself with increasing competitiveness and certain fiscal measures. The ESM is nothing more than the EFSM in a new dress, with some new additional powers (very problematic, I fully support you in that), but it does nothing that would erode national sovereignty that hasn't already been done. Turning Europe into Germany on the other hand, which is what the packs of laws really are, is something that I, as an European citizen and someone who doesn't consider the German model to be sustainable, cannot support. Is the debt system capable of surviving? No. Can the German model? Also not likely, since you have criticised it yourself.

I would also like to point out to the newest Der Spiegel article on the question of a transfer union. The simple summary? Turn Europe into the USA or Switzerland, as no other model works. My response? Over my cold, dead body.

As always, we come to the same conclusion that things are bad, democracy is eroding (as it always is when appropriated by anyone), the economy is short of collapsing and the future is uncertain. So I've turned quite sanguine about the whole affair. Until the Revolution comes, there is little else for me to do.

You may want to check the treaty text yourself.

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/docs/draftesmtreaty.pdf

In reply to you, I just give the English translations of those passages they also mention in the video, in German:

Article 9, section 3:

ESM Members
hereby irrevocably and unconditionally undertake to pay on demand any capital call made on them by the Managing Director pursuant to this paragraph, such demand to be paid within seven (7) days of receipt of such demand.

Article 10, section 1:
1. The Board of Governors shall review regularly and at least every five years the maximum lending volume and the adequacy of the authorized capital stock of the ESM. It may decide to change the authorized capital and amend Article 8 and Annex 2 accordingly. This decision shall enter into force after the ESM Members have notified the Depositary of the completion of their applicable national procedures. The new shares shall be allocated to the ESM

Members according to the contribution key defined in Article 11 and in Annex 1.

Article 27, section 2&3:

2. The ESM shall have full legal personality; it shall have full legal capacity:
(a) To acquire and dispose of immovable and movable property;
(b) To contract;
(c) To institute legal proceedings and
(d) To enter into a headquarter agreement and/or protocols as necessary for ensuring that its
status, privileges and immunities are recognised and given effect.
3. The ESM, its property, funding and assets, wherever located and by whomsoever held shall enjoy immunity from every form of judicial process except to the extent that the ESM expressly waives its immunity for the purpose of any proceedings or by the terms of any contract, including the documentation of the funding instruments.

Article 27, section 4:
4. The property, funding and assets of the ESM shall, wherever located and by whomsoever held, be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of seizure, taking or foreclosure by executive, judicial, administrative or legislative action.

Article 27, section 5:
5. The archives of the ESM and in general, all documents belonging to it or held by it, shall be inviolable.

Article 30, section 1
1. Governors, alternate Governors, Directors, alternate Directors, the Managing Director and staff members shall be immune from legal process with respect to acts performed by them in their official capacity and shall enjoy inviolability in respect of their official papers and documents except when and to the extent that the Board of Governors expressly waives this

immunity.

What else do you need? Total immunity. Total right to claim any financial payments from nations they want. Total secrecy of decision-finding processes. No responsibility or legitimation. No checks, no balances. No public counter-control. No/rien/zero/keine rights for voters, citizens, electorates; nobody this gremium owes even the smallest ammount of responsibility or explanation.


DRAFT TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN STABILITY MECHANISM (ESM)

in other words:

a blue-print for dictatorial powers.

European people, citizens, electorates, elections, parliaments, checks and balances? Not wanted anymore.