Is this the New Winston Churchill?

[Kupsised]

That's the point I was making. It's kind of complicated to explain without going into too much depth, but the example of the United States is always a good one.

The Council and European Council are somwhat like the Senate, in which the people in them represent their member state (or state in the case of the US)

The Parliament is somewhat like the House of Representatives, in that they are not supposed to represent their specific member state or state, but the Union as a whole.

Therefore, it makes no sense for him to be discussing matters that relate to something that the United Kingdom has done because even though he is British in the European Parliament he does not represent the UK, but the European Union.

If he were in the Council or the European Council these kind of comments would make sense, but he isn't, and therefore they don't. It is sort of like having anarchists elected in parlaiment, it doesn't really serve a purpose. They are not elected to the parliament to choose how or what to govern, but to simply govern over what is given to them in the treaties. In his capacity as an MEP (same applies to Farage) there is no point in him expressing these opnions (although of course he is more than free to do so) and, at the same time, his opinions therefore don't matter to anyone important in the Union because it's not his job and he has no real effect on these things. Again, as I said, it just hinders the process by wasting everyone's time.

Anyway, I've spent quite a lot of time studying EU Law and the treaties of the EU and it's the fact that the EU doesn't make any effort to educate people about what it does and how that most annoys me about it. But at the same time, I still haven't found a way to explain it in a way that's very easily understandable either. I just wish that peoples reasoning for not supporting the EU was based on fact and not heresay perpetuated by the press, members of government and people like Farage or Hannan.

[arthursmedley]

Originally Posted by Kupsised

I still haven't found a way to explain it in a way that's very easily understandable either.

You're not kidding! Everything you have just posted about the rights and responsibilities of the EU parliament and it's members and it's relationship to other EU bodies and the council of ministers is totally incorrect.

[Kupsised]

Originally Posted by arthursmedley

You're not kidding! Everything you have just posted about the rights and responsibilities of the EU parliament and it's members and it's relationship to other EU bodies and the council of ministers is totally incorrect.

What specifically about it was wrong?

EDIT: Ok, I've had a look at the treaties.

As to what I said about the Council (used to be the Council of Ministers, but they changed the name), article 16, paragraph 2 of the Treaty on European Union (from the consolidated version post-Lisbon):

"The Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at a ministerial level, who may commit the government of the Member State in question and cast its vote." - Therefore, members of the Council represent the interests of the member states, as I said.

As to what I said about the Parliament, article 14 paragraph 2, same treaty, though I've seriously cut it down because most of it is irrelevant:

"The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens." - Meaning, like I said, they represent the Union (or the citizens of the Union), not their Member States.

I can go deeper into the treaties to show what I said about the relationship between the two, the decision making process etc., but it's boring and written in very long-handed legal speak so I'm not going to post it here.

Knowing these treaties is my job. If you can find any other articles in the treaties, or anything elsewhere, that proves me wrong, seriously please let me know, since I am interested to read these sorts of things and although it is my job, that doesn't mean I know everything so would like to learn more. But, as it is, that's how it's written in the treaties and so that's how it is as far as I know, unless you can show me otherwise