The public appeal of the little-known CDA leader has been heightened by the good nature with which he has taken jokes about his resemblance to JK Rowling's boy wizard, Harry Potter.
"Now everyone knows what the new leader of the Christian Democrats looks like," he said, but added that the problems of the Netherlands were too complex for a magic wand.
The Guardian, 17/05/2002
BossaNova wrote:Yes he has, but what i said, or tried to, is that we need someone like him here in Europe.Olivier wrote:BossaNova wrote:
PS: what we need is an European LULA DA SILVA!
VAI LULA! VAI BRASIL!
He has already a lots of things to do in Brazil, hasn't he?
but this new generation of European politicians just sucks (Blair, Aznar, Chirac, Durão, Portas, Fortuyn, Berlusconi...etc)...
Okay.. This is most probably not going to happen, but.. Let's make it impossible to vote someone from your own country. This of course would have gazillions of drawbacks, like that German people could get the president's place quite exactly no how. But anyway. Whenever I get an idea, I say it. Because even the worst ideas often include a seed for something better :)querty wrote:You know in Belgium we have a king. His ancestors came from Germany. So he has no Flemish roots and no Walloon roots. For Belgium that's very good. What I am trying to say is that I think that a president for Europe is no good solution. Let's say the president comes from Belgium. Is he going to work for all Europeans or only for the Belgians? And what if the president comes from a big country? If we have elections by the people than we will have a president from a big country. I think most of the people will vote for candidates from their own country. I think we are better with a strong and powerful European government and parliament in which we can find people from all over Europe.
Yes, but what about the policital program of these people?querty wrote:Maybe it's better to let the Parliament elect one candidate from the biggest countries and one candidate from the smaller countries. After that the people can vote between those two.
It's a necessity, though! We don't still realize that 75% of the income of our states come from the tax on consumers (TVA in France). The level of this tax is fixed in Bruxelles! Today, the french government wishes to reduce this tax for the restaurants, but Europe said "not yet".querty wrote:That's the problem because most of these politicians don't have a European program.
Where did you find this figure? It seems far too high.Olivier wrote:We don't still realize that 75% of the income of our states come from the tax on consumers (TVA in France).
This is wrong. The EU fixes the minimal rates of 15% (regular rate) and 5% (reduced rate) in order to avoid that one country could gain advantages in economical competition by, e.g., abolishing the sales taxes (value-added taxes, VAT). It is apparently not even planned to aim at uniform rates.Olivier wrote:The level of this tax is fixed in Bruxelles!
Not knowing this particular initiative I'll guess. For buying food in a store, the reduced rate applies. For eating in a restaurant, the regular rate applies. The idea behind this is that everyone (even the poorest people) need food which they can buy in a supermarket. This is why there is made an exception from the regular rate. Since I don't belong to the gastronomy lobby I don't see why restaurants would need this exception, too.Olivier wrote:Today, the french government wishes to reduce this tax for the restaurants, but Europe said "not yet".
Which shows that he knows who is responsible for the decision about the application of reduced and regular rates.Olivier wrote:Jean-Michel Jarre (popular french musician) asked for a lower tax for music. He has not gone to Paris, but directly to Bruxelles and Strasbourg!
This is rather a consequence of geography than of the European Union.Olivier wrote:It has become a reality that if a boat sinks in Spain, the french coasts may be ruined.
That's right, and Helsinki, Athens, Lisbon are right. However, (see next paragraph) the decision not to respect the Maastricht criteria are not taken by the European Union or Commission but by the elected governments of France and Germany.Olivier wrote: If France stops its nuclear plants, there will be consequences in Italy. If Germany and France do not respect the Maastricht criteria, it concerns people of Helsinki, Athens and Lisbon...
In itself, elections are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to get a competent government. Schwarzenegger got elected...Olivier wrote: For the moment, the decisions are taken by non-elected people. This must change.
That was the rate I learned at school in the 90's... It has changed.Gauss wrote:Where did you find this figure? It seems far too high.Olivier wrote:We don't still realize that 75% of the income of our states come from the tax on consumers (TVA in France).
So, if there is a minimal rate, it shows that there are european rules.Gauss wrote:This is wrong. The EU fixes the minimal rates of 15% (regular rate) and 5% (reduced rate) in order to avoid that one country could gain advantages in economical competition by, e.g., abolishing the sales taxes (value-added taxes, VAT). It is apparently not even planned to aim at uniform rates.Olivier wrote:The level of this tax is fixed in Bruxelles!
I don't ask for a lower VAT for restaurants... I just say that most of the fiscal decisions are now taken in Bruxelles, no more in the national capitals. Jacques Chirac promised a reduction of the VAT, but he can't do it unless Europe agrees.Gauss wrote:Not knowing this particular initiative I'll guess. For buying food in a store, the reduced rate applies. For eating in a restaurant, the regular rate applies. The idea behind this is that everyone (even the poorest people) need food which they can buy in a supermarket. This is why there is made an exception from the regular rate. Since I don't belong to the gastronomy lobby I don't see why restaurants would need this exception, too.Olivier wrote:Today, the french government wishes to reduce this tax for the restaurants, but Europe said "not yet".
Yes!Gauss wrote:Which shows that he knows who is responsible for the decision about the application of reduced and regular rates.Olivier wrote:Jean-Michel Jarre (popular french musician) asked for a lower tax for music. He has not gone to Paris, but directly to Bruxelles and Strasbourg!
Of course, but each country can benefit from a european solidarity when such catastrophes happen.Gauss wrote:This is rather a consequence of geography than of the European Union.Olivier wrote:It has become a reality that if a boat sinks in Spain, the french coasts may be ruined.
True, but what I wanted to show is: our national governments are linked by all the european treaties. The decisions can't be taken alone, but inside the european era. I all wish is more democracy in that era.Gauss wrote:That's right, and Helsinki, Athens, Lisbon are right. However, (see next paragraph) the decision not to respect the Maastricht criteria are not taken by the European Union or Commission but by the elected governments of France and Germany.Olivier wrote: If France stops its nuclear plants, there will be consequences in Italy. If Germany and France do not respect the Maastricht criteria, it concerns people of Helsinki, Athens and Lisbon...
Fortunately, we are not Californians...Gauss wrote:In itself, elections are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to get a competent government. Schwarzenegger got elected...Olivier wrote: For the moment, the decisions are taken by non-elected people. This must change.
