You might remember Henry Kissenger’s famous quip about his decision making weakness with respect to the then European Community –
“If I want to talk to Europe who do I call?”
Well, the introduction of a European Foreign Minister in the forseeable future will probably solve this problem for the likes of Mr Kissenger. But what about the rest of us? Whom do we call when we want to talk to Europe because we don’t like the latest directive regarding the amount of bubbles in sparkling wine, or to cheer up Romano Prodi after the latest insult from Mr Berlusconi, or simply to chat about clever ways for extracting money from the EU film fund by presenting our latest holiday video from Spain as a culturally vitally important common European film production?
Well, gentle readers, search no more. Here’s your answer (I accidentally stumbled upon it while looking for EU press statements regarding today’s referenda). We can call the citizen support center called “Europe direct“, open on weekdays between 09:00 and 18:30 CET.
They offer support on everything EU-related for free – and yes, apparently that offer includes the phone charges – from anywhere within the EU. The following quote is from their webpage:
“EUROPE DIRECT is a service which will help you find an answer to your questions about the European Union. The EUROPE DIRECT call centre can be reached between 09h00-18h30 CET Mondays-Fridays. Outside of these hours you may leave a message on the voice-mail system. EUROPE DIRECT offers information on all sorts of subjects related to the EU including your rights and opportunities as an EU citizen and how to take advantage of them. It can provide direct responses to general enquiries and, if you have more detailed questions, signpost you to the best source of information and advice at EU, national, regional and local levels.”
Typical EU – hours:9 – 6.30, five days a week, and not on week-ends or Bank holidays.
A corporation of that size would have lines open 24/7, but then a private enterprise would want to help it’s customers, unlike the EU.
“including your rights and opportunities as an EU citizen”. No rights as an individual, no opportunities, unless you are a ‘euro-elite’. perhaps that is the reason for the part-time opening hours – they really are not expecting much business….
The Rise of the Roman Empire
I have long been a Pro European liberal in Sweden.
Looking upon the EU project as a great endeavour, which brings together the peoples of Europe in peace and harmony. Like a family who can use the common language of english to understand eachother ( atleast try)
Now reading mr Hilton or was it mr Hilter this dream has sadly been crushed as an illussion. Now i have realised what the EU really is.
It is The Pope’s plan to reconstruct the Roman Empire. ( Dont mension the spanish inquisition ) .
This may sound paranoid and so i thought to. But the more information i get the more these conspiracy theories are comming true .
What we have to remember is that all the founding fathers of the EU were roman catholics and they got their instructions from Rome and the Bilderberg group.
EU is the new Roman Empire. The 12 stars of the Eu flag symbolizes virgin mary who is a particular catholic godess.
What is your prime minister Tony Blair really doing ?, hes is ushering in the [resurrection of that] ‘Holy’ Roman Empire. The real aim of the European Union is a United Roman Catholic States of Europe, which was the ideal pursued by Pius XII through his Concordat with Adolf Hitler. In a remarkable speech given in French in 1975, Pope Paul VI said that it was “the [Roman] Catholic faith that made Europe” and added: “No other human force in Europe can render the service that is confided to us, promoters of the faith, to awaken the Christian soul of Europe, where its unity is rooted.” [Reported in The Reformer, January/February, 1976. Note that it is a “human” force, not one of God.]
It is the Papacy that is behind the drive for European unity. The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588?1679) once remarked: “The Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.” [Leviathan, Part 4, Chapter 47 (1651).] The Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia 99 article on the Roman Empire states:
Atleast there is a tiny tiny risk that this is true.
Mr Kissinger also stated
” Who do you call if you want talk to Chile, call the CIA “
Stop believing everything you read the Spectator Magnus.
Well it was a bit ironic
I wouldn’t even want to claim I can foresee all the way to eternity so this kind of comment seems to me utterly unhelpful for those committed to progressing the European monetary union project:
“Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said that he respects the No of the Swedish people in the referendum on the euro, but that it cannot remain outside the euro zone forever.
“The Commission expects all the members of the EU to become members of the euro zone at a certain point”, Mr Solbes said this evening as he gave his first reaction to the Swedish poll.” – from: http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=12691
If there is really no plan for a European superstate then there is no inescapable need for a single currency in Europe. If Canada along the northern border of the USA can retain its national currency then so can individual nation states in Europe. There is nothing in the economic case for monetary union which impels a conclusion that it is inevitable or necessarily beneficial regardless of prevailing economic conditions. In 1998, more than 150 economists from Germany were saying they regarded economic conditions as unsuitable for the launch of the Euro: http://www.internetional.se/9802brdpr.htm
The sluggish performance of Germany’s economy is persuasive evidence that their assessment was correct. And Germany is not just one member state in the EU. Its economy amounts to about a third of the Eurozone. If the German economy is sluggish that depresses economic conditions in its main trading partners in Europe.
Nor was it helpful to say, as the Belgian finance minister evidently did in 1996, that monetary union is about “preventing the encroachment of Anglo-Saxon values” in Europe. [source: Bernard Connolly: The Rotten Heart of Europe (Faber 1996, p/b edition)]
So that’s the Socialist,Democrat,Hypocrite definition of ‘Democracy’.
We have ways of making you say ‘yes’.
Magnus,
My friend Irony usually posts short comments. I think you meant it!
Anyhow, it’s great to know that I am a European citizen (I thoght I was British) and that Europe direct is on call to support me, just waiting … waiting …