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THE SUPREME COURT has asked the European Court of Justice to issue urgent rulings on three questions dealing with whether the planned new permanent European bailout fund is legal under existing EU law.
The court today reached an agreement with independent TD Thomas Pringle, and the government, on referring the three issues to Europe’s highest court as a matter of “exceptional urgency”.
The referral came after Pringle took a Supreme Court appeal to his appeal against the Irish government’s ratification of the European Council decision allowing the EU’s existing treaties to be amended so that the European Stability Mechanism could come into being.
The Donegal South-West TD had also sought an injunction stopping the government from ratifying the European Stability Mechanism Treaty itself. That Treaty has been approved by the Oireachtas, but the government has yet to deposit formal ratification papers in Brussels.
The Supreme Court proceedings have been adjourned until the ECJ gives its response to the three questions, which are as follows:
Pringle said he was “extremely pleased” to have secured the referral, saying he had only taken the case because he was “very concerned” about the legality of the ESM treaty under Irish and European law.
The Irish Times reported that the Supreme Court had reserved judgment on a parallel question of whether the ESM is in breach of the Irish Constitution, which Pringle said may be the case given the potentially infinite financial obligations it could place on the State.
The Court is likely to rule shortly on whether to grant an injunction stopping the Irish government from proceeding with the ratification of the ESM Treaty pending the outcome of the case.
Unusually, all seven members of the Supreme Court were hearing Pringle’s case in its three days of hearings – a sign of the gravity of the matters before it.
The ESM can still come into effect without Ireland’s ratification, but it cannot be established without German approval, which has also been deferred until its own Constitutional Court has ruled on whether the treaty breaches German law.
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Praise to Mr. Pringle. The people of Ireland are behind you.
Fair play to him! If he wins this maybe Pringle will move onto another..afterall, once you pop, you cant stop!
Really
“The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.”
Henry Kissinger
God henry Kissinger has gone down in history as an awful awful man, but he really laid it out straight didn’t he.
Great comment !!
I’m sure he polishes his Nobel peace prize every night before he goes to bed!
The warrior FG/LAB supporters are flat out disliking the comments well heres another for ya blue shirts….WELL DONE MR PRINGLE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
spiteful shinners….
go pringle !
Have any of these gonzo politicos in Europe ever actually sat down and thought where the hell this whole project is going and what the point of it is in the first place? The original idea of a free trade zone was fine until it evolved into a colonisation by stealth operation. These clowns think they can somehow force nations with long histories, strong cultural traditions and well established national identities into a United States of Europe? They look to America as an example, well wake up you eurojerks, America was a nation of immigrants that had a chance to form a new identity due to their unique historical situation. Not that it turned out too well for the natives. As for the Euro, now that was a real snafu from day one. Back to the drawing board you euro dipsticks, dump the euro, trim down Brussels, and get back to basics, a European Economic Community.
Well said Mark.
Fair Play to Mr Pringle. I would rather wait and see than rush head long into a disaster. We have had enough disasters to last us several generations.
I think what has happened here is that our judicary have decided that they are not going to be the ones to stop this and have passed the parcel.
You got stuck in Pringle, when people who we agrre with politically or oppose politically are genuinely motivated by what is best for the Irish people, then we’ll be a free and modern country.
Jus to say I applaud and congratulate mr pringle for doing so. These eurocrats wal all over citizens in europe ontheir mission for the USE united states of europe. But I would bet anything and everything I own, he will lose! Sure they find what they want to find illegal and legal to suit themselves, honestly bet anyone here my life! There not going to get rid of something they created to benefit themselves!
He certainly will loose, u don’t get on the ECJ without a proven track record of thinking the right way.
Good stuff. It should have been dealt with here on Irish soil, but at least it will be given consideration.
The boys here dont have the guts, knowledge or capacity to deal with something like that. Nevermind the fact that there’s no way of getting a corrupt payment out of it, so why bother
pity our own judges didn’t have the required testicles to say this is illegal well done to him but i have little faith when it comes to European courts.
Should it be illegal then there a whole lot of trouble coming our way.
At least the Journal didn’t confuse it with the European Court of Human Rights. It tends to be one blurry “European Court” for most people.
The Irish judiciary is compromised by the fact that the people voted to allow Enda to cut their pay if they don’t toe his line. This referral is a handy fudge that allows the EU Judges to rule in favour of ESM, without Enda getting the blame here for “fixing” the result.
ESM can then plough-ahead, federalising Europe, without forcing the ECB to become lender of last resort for the banks and the gambling bankers/bondholders win official control and cronies rule.
Single World Currency, Ahoy! The rich will continue to grow richer at the expense of the “ordinary citizens” and the gamblers will never lose money on a failed bet again. Normal rules of capitalism circumvented, with all losses socialised, all profits still private.
Fe
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