Below is the decision made today by the European Parliament's Conference of
Presidents contrasts with the ranting statement produced by Libertas &
Ganley.
Ganley's statement , couched in his usual intemperate language
suggests that people who have been through the communist era are
capable of being intimidated by a phone calls. Suggests that he has a
very poor view of the moral fibre of his associates.
EU Parliament Statement
European recognition of Libertas suspended pending check on signatures
At its meeting today, the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents asked the institution's administration to verify the validity of the signatures submitted by Libertas in its application for registration as a European political party.
On Monday, the Parliament's Bureau (comprised of its President and 14 Vice Presidents) had approved an application by Libertas to register as a "political party at European level". Since then, two of the signatories - Mr Igor Gräzin, Member of the Estonian Parliament and Mr Mintcho Hristov Kouminev, Member of the Bulgarian Parliament - have denied signing for the purpose of registering a political party at European level, thereby casting doubt on the validity of their signatures. Given the Parliament's legal obligation to verify that the conditions for registration are fully and properly met, on a continuing basis, the Conference of Presidents, which brings together the leaders of all the political groups, discussed this matter at its meeting today.
The Conference of Presidents asked the Parliament's administration to look into the issue in detail as a matter of urgency. The administration will contact all the European, national and regional law-makers whose signatures were submitted by Libertas, when it applied for the status of political party at European level, in order to verify the situation. In the interim, the release of funds to Libertas has been put on hold. If the Bureau concludes that Libertas has correctly fulfilled the legal requirements, then its recognition as a European political party will proceed in the normal way.
This is the Libertas statement: demonstrates advanced state of their paranoia
MORE INTIMIDATION OF LIBERTAS SIGNATORIES
Mr. Mintcho Hristov Kuminev, a Member of the Bulgarian Parliament, has claimed not to have signed Libertas's application to become a European political party. This is untrue. Mr. Kuminev has consciously and kindly signed this document at the request of Libertas. The document, together with the required copy of Mr. Kuminev's passport and his member's pass for the Bulgarian parliament, is in our possession and we invite any interested party to view it. It might be a coincidence or it might be a concerted effort to intimidate or otherwise influence those who expressly support the
advancement of democracy, that this is the second Libertas signatory who feels they must now distance themselves from their actions. We appreciate that they both gave us their initial support. We deplore the corrupt,dishonest and anti-democratic forces that are pushing them to renounce their support. We are mildly amused that the other Libertas signatories have not been persuaded to suffer from amnesia. Libertas will provide over and above the required number of signatures in spite of - and partially as a result of - this blatantly anti-democratic campaign to undermine the first truly pan-European party. We will succeed in our campaign of democracy, accountability and transparency. Voters across the 27 Member States should draw the clear message that these anti-democratic elites do not so much fear Libertas as fear the will of 500 million Europeans. Libertas looks forward to being being a catalyst for change - change that is sorely needed in a corrupt and unaccountable system. The people of Europe have had enough. Libertas will find tooth and nail to defend democracy for those who support us and for those who do not. For further information: Anita Kelly libertas.eu
Showing posts with label Georgios Georgiou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgios Georgiou. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Libertas EU funding in doubt as Estonian says he never signed up for Ganley's program
Libertas' application for EU funding is in disarray only 24 hours after the EU committee responsible approved 200,000 euro for the group..
Richard Corbett MEP calls for investigation as Libertas application is now open to question with one alleged signatory denies he supported the application.
The Estonian MP Igor Gräzin, " issued an affidavit on 3 February stating: “I have never signed any papers asking for a recognition of Libertas as a political party in the EU and all corresponding claims are utterly untrue.” So whose signature was on the application?
What is Ganley up too?
The committee refused 's apllication for 100,000 euro for a think tank as it had the same name as the political party and its appointed members were all Irish. No doubt his usual Irish Libertas hacks like Caroline Simon the leading anti abortionist and legal officer of C.O.I.R. , and former Rivada employee David Cochrane.
Richard Corbett MEP calls for investigation as Libertas application is now open to question with one alleged signatory denies he supported the application.
The Estonian MP Igor Gräzin, " issued an affidavit on 3 February stating: “I have never signed any papers asking for a recognition of Libertas as a political party in the EU and all corresponding claims are utterly untrue.” So whose signature was on the application?
What is Ganley up too?
The committee refused 's apllication for 100,000 euro for a think tank as it had the same name as the political party and its appointed members were all Irish. No doubt his usual Irish Libertas hacks like Caroline Simon the leading anti abortionist and legal officer of C.O.I.R. , and former Rivada employee David Cochrane.
Libertas bid for funding comes a cropper
03.02.2009 / 12:25 CET
Libertas funding deal at risk after Estonian MP denies backing the formation of a pan-European party.
The European Parliament is re-considering a decision to give €200,000 in EU funds to Libertas, a new political party opposed to the EU's Treaty of Lisbon, after a member of the Estonian parliament denied that he had signed the documents used to establish the party as a pan-European organisation.
Estonian MP Igor Gräzin, a member of the Estonian Reform Party, issued an affidavit on 3 February stating: “I have never signed any papers asking for a recognition of Libertas as a political party in the EU and all corresponding claims are utterly untrue.”
Gräzin was one of eight politicians who signed the documents seeking to establish Libertas as a pan-European political party. EU rules require that, to be eligible for EU funding, a party's founding documents must have signatories from at least seven EU member states, a quarter of the total number of states.
Libertas was set up by Declan Ganley, who led the successful campaign for a ‘No' vote in the Irish referendum against the Treaty of Lisbon in June 2008.
Gräzin said that “none of Libertas's agenda” matched his position in the Estonian parliament or the Estonian Reform Party.
Gräzin was the only member of the Estonian parliament to vote against the constitutional treaty, the failed precursor of the Treaty of Lisbon, when it went before the parliament for ratification in 2006.
Gräzin's declaration came just the day after the European Parliament's budgetary bureau, made up of its president and fourteen vice-presidents, decided to award just over €200,000 to Libertas.
A prominent political opponent, the UK Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff, commented that “Mr Ganley seems to have fallen at the first hurdle. Apparently his claim to have recruited enough supporters was untrue. What Europe really needs is a bit more Veritas and a lot less Libertas.”
The Parliament's bureau on 2 February allocated funds to ten parties other than Libertas for their campaigns for elections this June to the European Parliament.
The largest chunk of funding – €3.4 million – was allocated to the conservative European People's Party.
One group that has an explicitly Eurosceptic platform, the Independence/Democracy Group, received funding.
Another political group that, like Libertas, challenges the way the EU is run, Adie, received EU money until last year.
Libertas also applied for €111,000 to fund a think-tank affiliated to the party. The bureau turned down that request as the members of the think-tank's board come from just one member state (Ireland) and as it had the same name as the political party.
More
EU funding for Libertas group thrown into doubt
The confirmation of the Eurosceptic group Libertas as a pan-European political party, entitling it to EU funding, has been cast into doubt, this website can reveal.
It follows Monday night’s decision by parliament’s bureau, the assembly’s key decision-making body, to endorse its status as a fully-fledged European party and allocate it €200,000 in EU funding.
However, it has now emerged that one of the eight people who Libertas claimed had signed its application to parliament appears to have withdrawn his ‘signature.’
UK ALDE deputy Andrew Duff today said he had received an email from Estonian MP Igor Grazin, a member of the liberal Reform Party in Estonia, which seems to distance himself from Libertas, the anti-Lisbon treaty group set up by Irish businessman Declan Ganley.
The email said to have been sent by Grazin reads, “I have never signed any papers asking for recognition of Libertas as a political party in the EU and all corresponding claims are utterly untrue.”
Duff says he received the correspondence after the decision by the bureau, comprising parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering, its 14 vice presidents and six quaestors.
Grazin was not immediately available for comment but, if correct, the development is significant and would, says Duff, leave the bureau having to reconsider its decision.
According to EU legislation, a pan-European political party must be formally endorsed by elected representatives from at least seven member states.
Libertas said its application for recognition as a political party had been signed by “eight European democrats”. Apart from Grazin, they included two elected representatives from France and one each from the UK, Poland, Finland, Greece and Bulgaria.
“If, as appears the case, Grazin has withdrawn his support, the bureau decision will have to be changed because Libertas will have signatures from only six EU countries and not seven,” said Duff.
“I am satisfied that the email sent by the Estonian MP is genuine, not least because people I know have spoken to him. The fact of the matter is that his signature is needed in order to validate the application.”
He added, “This is a significant development because it is a constitutional issue. I have to say that it also proves the fragility of Mr Ganley’s enterprise.”
Libertas spokesperson Anita Kelly strongly refuted any suggestion that parliament’s bureau has been misled in any way.
She said, “I know nothing about this alleged email sent by Mr Grazin to Mr Duff.”
“The fact of the matter is that he did sign the submission which went to the bureau.
“The application was carefully scrutinised by parliament’s legal service and if it contained insufficient signatures it is hardly likely the bureau would have accepted the application because it would have been rendered invalid.”
When asked about the implications if Grazin's signature was not in the application, a well-placed parliament source said, “At a minimum the matter will have to be investigated.
“Grazin has, after all, sent an affidavit to the parliament so there are now two conflicting sources of information - the other being the application submitted by Ganley.
“Should it prove that Grazin is not one of the signatories, then Libertas will be one country short of the criterion to qualify for recognition and funding.”
Further reaction came from UK Socialist deputy Gary Titley who described Libertas as "phoney," adding, "EU funds should only go to political parties whose elected representatives were elected in their name. As far as I am aware, this is not the case with Libertas."
His party colleague, Richard Corbett said, "As far as I am concerned Libertas has not yet proved its existence. I would like the bureau to investigate further, in particular the affiliates and members Libertas claims to have." here
Declan Ganley get his"Pick of Europe's pond life"
Ganley's Motley Crew
During the summer a columnist in an Irish newspaper accused Declan Ganley of hanging out with the ‘pick of Europe’s pond life’. Many at the time felt the criticism harsh.
Ganley has just announced that he is now about to join the very gravy train that he has been criticising and he is going to Brussels with the begging bowl looking for taxpayers money to fund his political ambitions for next June’s EU Parliament elections. Some might think that the decision stinks of hypocrisy.
That isn’t the only thing that stinks – the list of worthies that Ganley has announced as his spear carriers in his efforts to get a grant from Brussels has more than a slight whiff about it. Virtually all of the Ganley crew are on the outer rim of euro-sceptics and a disturbing number of their CVs have references to xenophobia and anti-semitic views.
The one thing they all have in common is there opposition to the European Union. That seems to jar with Ganley’s protestations that he really is pro EU.
Here are some details – email peoplekorps@gmail.com if you have more
Bulgaria
Mincho Kuminev,
Kuminev is an independent member of the Bulgarian parliament. He was first elected in mid 2005.
On February 2, 2006 he was voted out from Parliamentary Group of the Ataka Coalition. The reasons for his exclusion were systematically disturbance of the order in the group during the introduction of new draft legislation and initiatives.
He was seen as a bit of a loose canon even within the group. On his expulsion from the group he said he left the party of his own choice.
Estonia
Igor Grazin
Grazin is a member the Euro sceptic Estonian Reform Party in the Estonian parliament.
He was a member of the last USSR Congress of People’s Deputies before Estonia won its freedom.
France
Phillipe de Villiers
De Villiers, (born Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon) was the Mouvement pour la France nominee for the French presidential election of 2007. He received 2.23% of the vote, putting him in sixth place. He was eliminated from the race.
De Villiers is noted for his anti-Islamist views: he wants France to break away from the Euro and to restore the French Franc.
An arch eurosceptic, deVilliers announced, in December 2008, on the MPF website that his candidates would be integrated into the Libertas slate for the European elections.
A political relationship between de Villiers and Declan Ganley, has been blossoming since the two men met two weeks before the Irish referendum, with Le Monde describing it as "love at first sight".
Ganley stayed at the French count's Vendee farm in the summer of 2008 and addressed the MPF's annual conference in Paris to a rapturous reception.
De Villiers was a guest at the dinner hosted by Ganley for Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, where Klaus breeched normal rules of diplomacy by attacking the Irish Government.
Paul Marie Couteaux, MEP
A member of de Villiers, Mouvement pour la France Couteaux is on record as saying that he would like to see France distancing itself from the union.
Poland
Cyprian Gutkowski, a number of the regional assembly of Mazovia, Poland. A supporter of MEP Maciej Giertych, 72, of the League of Polish Families who was censured in the EP for his booklet suggesting the Jews were biologically different.
Finland
Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962 Rauma, Finland) is the leader of the True Finns party. Member of the Parliament of Finland. The party has 5 seats in the Finish parliament.
Soini was a member of the Rural Party (Suomen Maaseudun Puolue, SMP), and was Party Secretary General from 1992 to its end in 1995. He joined the True Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) when it was founded in 1995 and succeeded Raimo Vistbacka as Chairman of the party in 1997.
Soini was his party's candidate in the 2006 Presidential election. He finished fifth out of the eight candidates in the first round, with a vote share of 3.4%. A book about Soini, Maisterisjätkä, was released by Tammi on March 2008.
Soini has been accused of xenophobia, which, as a devoted Catholic, he denies.
Greece
Georgios Georgiou,MEP: Georgiou 72, is a member of the People’s Orthodox Rally.
Georgiou’s Party has recently moved from being anti-semitic to advocating gay rights.
United Kingdom
Lord Alton (David Patrick Paul Alton)
Alton is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) who now sits as cross bench member of the House of Lords. He was made a Life peer as Baron Alton of Liverpool in 1997. David Alton has British and Irish citizenship.
The most respected of Ganley’s recruits, Alton is noted for his opposition to abortion. In 2007 Alton was one of a number of people lodging an appeal against the decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department refusing their application for deproscription of the Peoples Mojahedin of Iran.
It is claimed that Alton was the author of a chain letter distributed by independent Irish MEP Kathy Sinnott.
During the summer a columnist in an Irish newspaper accused Declan Ganley of hanging out with the ‘pick of Europe’s pond life’. Many at the time felt the criticism harsh.
Ganley has just announced that he is now about to join the very gravy train that he has been criticising and he is going to Brussels with the begging bowl looking for taxpayers money to fund his political ambitions for next June’s EU Parliament elections. Some might think that the decision stinks of hypocrisy.
That isn’t the only thing that stinks – the list of worthies that Ganley has announced as his spear carriers in his efforts to get a grant from Brussels has more than a slight whiff about it. Virtually all of the Ganley crew are on the outer rim of euro-sceptics and a disturbing number of their CVs have references to xenophobia and anti-semitic views.
The one thing they all have in common is there opposition to the European Union. That seems to jar with Ganley’s protestations that he really is pro EU.
Here are some details – email peoplekorps@gmail.com if you have more
Bulgaria
Mincho Kuminev,
Kuminev is an independent member of the Bulgarian parliament. He was first elected in mid 2005.
On February 2, 2006 he was voted out from Parliamentary Group of the Ataka Coalition. The reasons for his exclusion were systematically disturbance of the order in the group during the introduction of new draft legislation and initiatives.
He was seen as a bit of a loose canon even within the group. On his expulsion from the group he said he left the party of his own choice.
Estonia
Igor Grazin
Grazin is a member the Euro sceptic Estonian Reform Party in the Estonian parliament.
He was a member of the last USSR Congress of People’s Deputies before Estonia won its freedom.
France
Phillipe de Villiers
De Villiers, (born Viscount Philippe Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon) was the Mouvement pour la France nominee for the French presidential election of 2007. He received 2.23% of the vote, putting him in sixth place. He was eliminated from the race.
De Villiers is noted for his anti-Islamist views: he wants France to break away from the Euro and to restore the French Franc.
An arch eurosceptic, deVilliers announced, in December 2008, on the MPF website that his candidates would be integrated into the Libertas slate for the European elections.
A political relationship between de Villiers and Declan Ganley, has been blossoming since the two men met two weeks before the Irish referendum, with Le Monde describing it as "love at first sight".
Ganley stayed at the French count's Vendee farm in the summer of 2008 and addressed the MPF's annual conference in Paris to a rapturous reception.
De Villiers was a guest at the dinner hosted by Ganley for Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, where Klaus breeched normal rules of diplomacy by attacking the Irish Government.
Paul Marie Couteaux, MEP
A member of de Villiers, Mouvement pour la France Couteaux is on record as saying that he would like to see France distancing itself from the union.
Poland
Cyprian Gutkowski, a number of the regional assembly of Mazovia, Poland. A supporter of MEP Maciej Giertych, 72, of the League of Polish Families who was censured in the EP for his booklet suggesting the Jews were biologically different.
Finland
Timo Juhani Soini (born 30 May 1962 Rauma, Finland) is the leader of the True Finns party. Member of the Parliament of Finland. The party has 5 seats in the Finish parliament.Soini was a member of the Rural Party (Suomen Maaseudun Puolue, SMP), and was Party Secretary General from 1992 to its end in 1995. He joined the True Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) when it was founded in 1995 and succeeded Raimo Vistbacka as Chairman of the party in 1997.
Soini was his party's candidate in the 2006 Presidential election. He finished fifth out of the eight candidates in the first round, with a vote share of 3.4%. A book about Soini, Maisterisjätkä, was released by Tammi on March 2008.
Soini has been accused of xenophobia, which, as a devoted Catholic, he denies.
Greece
Georgios Georgiou,MEP: Georgiou 72, is a member of the People’s Orthodox Rally.
Georgiou’s Party has recently moved from being anti-semitic to advocating gay rights.
United Kingdom
Lord Alton (David Patrick Paul Alton)
Alton is a former Liberal Party and later Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) who now sits as cross bench member of the House of Lords. He was made a Life peer as Baron Alton of Liverpool in 1997. David Alton has British and Irish citizenship.
The most respected of Ganley’s recruits, Alton is noted for his opposition to abortion. In 2007 Alton was one of a number of people lodging an appeal against the decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department refusing their application for deproscription of the Peoples Mojahedin of Iran.
It is claimed that Alton was the author of a chain letter distributed by independent Irish MEP Kathy Sinnott.
IRISH MEP Kathy Sinnott has acknowledged she forwarded a chain letter which called for fasting and nine days of prayer beginning on January 11th, as part of moves to oppose US legislation liberalising access to abortion.
Irish Times 9 Jan. 2009
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