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The Danes deliver - 40.438 signatures to support a treaty referendum

Mon, 07/04/2008 - 16:51 — admin-b

Today Peoples Movement against EU and June Movement have demonstrated the broad and popular support to an appeal of referendum to the Danish Government and Parliament.

Tomorrow – Tuesday, 8th of April – is second and last reading of two bills about referendum of the Lisbon-treaty at the agenda in the Danish parliament – Folketinget. Also the ratification of the treaty itself will be discussed.

In connection with this Peoples Movement against EU and June Movement have today handed over 40.438 signatures of an appeal, which call on the Danish Government and Parliament to call a referendum of the treaty. The two movements have invited the Prime Minister´s department and all the political parties in parliament to receive them. Representatives of the Social Democratic Party, the Danish Peoples Party, the Socialistic Peoples Party, The Conservative Peoples Party and the Red-Green Alliance was there to receive them.

All opinion polls shows a large majority in favor of a referendum – not only in Denmark, but by and large also in every EU-country. Our petition is a symbolic expression of this wish from a majority of the people, said member of the European Parliament from the Peoples Movement Søren Søndergaard at the presentation.

One of the new things in the Lisbon-treaty is, that the peoples can get a matter on the agenda of EU, if in all EU are collected one million signatures. The rule is not yet in power, and you can give many different opinions of the value of this, when it gets to the point. But it doesn´t change, that it corresponds to about 10.000 signatures in Denmark, Søren Søndergaard said as he presented the signatures, and continued:

Therefore our intention was to collect 10.000 signatures as a symbolic expression of the wish for a referendum. The reaction has been very positive, and that is why we today can hand over more than 40.000 signatures. Together with these signatures we will send you a request to take on responsibility for the future of democracy and secure tomorrow that the Danish people will get the opportunity to vote on the Lisbon-treaty.

Press release, press photos and more information from People’s Movement here. Here is the report from the June Movement.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S from the TEAM!

Comments

Tue, 08/04/2008 - 13:31 — admin-b

Letter from Lave Knud Broch

Dear friends,

Today (8th of April) the Danish Parliament will have a second round on the ratification on the Lisbon Treaty (The renamed EU constitution). Yesterday the People’s Movement and June Movement handed over more than 40.000 Danish signatures for referendum to the Prime Minister and the Parliament. You can see more about the signatures here - And 11 organizations made an event for referendum. I attach pictures and a video.

The 11 organizations will do the event one more time today and there are already talks about more events for referendum. The 11 organizations are:

Attac Danmark (the Danish Attac organization)
Borgerinitiativet ja til Europa – nej til EU-forfatning (A network against the EU constituion)
Fagbevægelsen mod Unionen (Tradeunions against EU)
Folkebevægelsen mod EU (People’s Movement aganist EU)
Junibevægelsen (The June Movement)
Nationernes Europa – EF-tilhængere imod mere union (Europe of nations - EEC supporters against more union)
Nødvendigt Forum (Necessary Forum)
Radikalt EU-kritisk netværk (The EU-critical Network of Sociall Liberals)
Tænketanken Ny Agenda (The thinkttank New Agenda)
Udfordring Europa (Challange Europe)
Ungdom mod EU (Youth Against EU)

All the best,

Lave

PS. here is a video about handing over signatures:

Wed, 09/04/2008 - 20:15 — admin-b

Danish Parliament and PM deny the right to a referendum

Peoples Movement against EU, Denmark, 8th of April 2008:

Refusing a treaty-referendum is an assault on the democracy

The majority of the Danish MPs fear and betray the democracy, when they refuse to ask the voters about the Lisbon Treaty, says Søren Søndergaard from The Peoples Movement against EU.

Tuesday the 8th of April did the Danish Parliament reject three proposals on referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. On that occasion Søren Søndergaard, member of the European Parliament for The Peoples Movement against EU made a press release saying:

It’s tragic, that a majority of the peoples representative in the Parliament again has chosen to neglect the democracy. The Parliament forgets that they are elected by the Danish people, not placed by democracy-hostile super-bureaucrats in Bruxelles. They should listen to voters wish a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which several polls has showed a majority for, says Søren Søndergaard, member of the European Parliament for The Peoples Movement against EU.

The Danish PM got applause from his colleagues in EU, for his promise on, that there would not be any referendum on the treaty in Denmark. He has decided it, even though the treaty in every important issue - same as the EU-constitution, that he promised a referendum on in 2005. It means a big loss of sovereignty, that decision in the parliament is a clear assault on the Danish democracy.

Søren Søndergaard is a member of the European Parliament for the Peoples Movement against the EU. He can be contacted at (00 45) 40 45 38 49.

Article on the People’s Movement website.