bringing you the latest in science and technology from around the clock. we've got the future covered. and you can. follow in welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle european union leaders need to consider what is called a minor change to the lisbon treaty that minor changes a guaranteed financial bailout of weaker members is this legitimizing moral hazard and is it even democratic. and you can. discuss the e.u. in the lisbon treaty i'm joined by stephan unique in stockholm he's director of corporate relations at the center for european policy studies in london we go to robert oulds he's director of the bruges group and in amsterdam we crossed the

harry vaughan bell now he is a dutch socialist party member of parliament and another member of our cross talk team on the hunger all right gentlemen cross talk rose in effect you have differences of opinion here so i wanted to be shown first of all i'd like to go to harry when the when the lisbon treaty was being sold peddled to the europeans if i remember correctly the one of the selling points was that they would never be bailouts of member countries but that's what how they watered it down saying look this is we're never going to go that far you know where you know we're not going to violate the sovereignty of other countries we're not going to certainly pay for people to make mistakes it is my memory failing me because i remember that that was a selling point i know that that was one of the aspects i was brought into discussion because of course it is a bit the wrong way that the european union and the money for union has developed. of course you cannot have. single currency if you do not have

a political union and we're facing the problems have to be have to be dealt with today stephan what about you i mean do you support this there's a new clause being brought into the treaty don't you i think it's very important for us to say that the reason why we have a list when treaties to make you more efficient in decision making and more democratic and i think that is absolutely what has happened really since it has been in the in power since exactly one year it was the first of december last year that it came into power so i think that is something which is very important to deal with robert what do you think of it and of course then of our i think that was one of the most ridiculous comments i've ever heard to argue that the lisbon treaty which was brought in without having a referendum in many of the countries which were promised referendums especially in great britain france also when the irish rejected the lisbon treaty and had to vote again to argue the lisbon treaty makes the e.u.

more democratic and accountable is proposed to us that is absurd argument that is absolutely bizarre and totally fine i think i'll tell you what i think that's very dangerous. stephanie go ahead you want to it is easily defeated how can the european union really argue that it's democratic stephanie go ahead. first the recent went to and for the respond treat the words that you wanted to make more efficient when it comes to decision making more than you had to say was going to power to the elite international and i plan to go to a new nation stone fan continue continue your point go ahead it's very it's very difficult to argue when there's somebody who interrupts or go ahead steph and you continue this country once again the research i reserve for the earliest going treaty was to make a more efficient and more democratic in relation to the enlarged european union up to twenty seven member states to look at right long term plan to centralize power harry what do you think about that i mean i want to talk about this bailout clause

in this program but we've heard is the e.u. now more efficient and democratic. well first of all we have we have to do to bring the issue of sovereignty into the debate and i agree that the sovereignty is at stake because jus to the lisbon treaty powers are moving away from the member states to war it's the centralized european state it's not supposed to be called the state anymore because we don't call it the constitution anymore but it has effectively taken away veto powers from the member states and thereby making brussels stronger more democratic in the sense that european parliament has more power but if this power is taken away from the member states especially from the smaller member states then there is a democratic loss in my opinion now when it cuts are doing with harry the we countries when it comes to bailing out the we countries we are faced by the fact

that we have weaker countries in this common economy we have to help them in order to save the euro but as it looks today it might be the case that we cannot save the euro eventually and therefore we are now helping weak economies. by pouring in money from taxpayers and all the area making of the euro is the problem the euro is the problem that is one of the key things which is made these other economies absolutely alan kohler to go this isn't this a noisy this is the point here and this is the point i want to go to go do you think i think that stephan i'm not really you realize go ahead go ahead i think it would be i think it would be nice if we talk about what is really happening first one issue is that the european parliament has become much more important in the lisbon treated in previously european parliament is an elected parliament which we have to remember secondly the national parliaments have much more influence than there than they have previously so that's also

a democratic process that has developed another issue which has also developed is that you can collect one million signatures if you. i would like to change something that did not exist previously as i find this more democratic and it's also efficient in the decision making because in certain areas you have a qualified majority voting like you always have very qualified things you are hired when attending a little less hairy go ahead you are leaving you are leaving out the loss of veto rights fee to arise are important instruments in the hands of smaller countries such as another belgium and many other countries also sweden free to rights are important if you want to block i think this is you're wrong because you don't know you're not telling the truth because in certain areas you still have to have a sort of consensus on the decision making that's foreign policy defense yes and you'll have a. very silly small amount of areas in a democracy you can only exist in the united states let's k. fire jenny surely you think i was insulted that in closing down you know gentlemen

like i agree let's go back to the euro here because that that's how our as our point of reference here i mean moral hazard is certainly in play here and this is a slippery slope and this is what may destroy the euro it so where's the fiscal responsibility in this treaty ok it's a it's a monetary union but there's no fiscal responsibility so you can just go down the path of just wrecking your economy and well let's say it's a gentleman the germans bail you out how do you feel about that harry did i mean it did this this is not the way you can run an economy no one no household can run their way and no independent state can run that way that is true and therefore this crisis is being abused by those in favor of a federal europe to take steps towards the united states of europe we never wanted years ago it was promised that we would not create a european state by accepting the lisbon treaty we now see that through the back

door they are trying to make this this european project which is innocence an economic project not i'm. on a trip project into a european state that's not what we. want to hear you in if i can project it's very early on singles because we've seen you so you're standing i thought it was a mistake joining the cast the populace at it let me call it. the staff it was dark out of you gentlemen let's go to stockholm go ahead we talk some of you i don't know what exactly we're all supposed to sell that you talk about fiscal issues and taxation is a domestic issue which you have to remember you have to have a consensus on that if you have those that is no new e.u. has a new clue and so on tax actually. released countries to have higher corporation tax it controls it all in direct taxation in calls an increasing amount of business taxation so to argue that taxation is solely the c.e.o.

dealing with. a vested interest a film is explaining their own it's absolutely and i think i'm on the. television on the treasure island holiday here in korea. let's apply it to because in order to be constructive i think it's better one is again one is ruled by what is happening instead of by emotions and i think you are very emotional about your say i try to stick to what the fact is. i'm not absolutely absolutely love this is the whole you are always in direct sensation that you're going to be you're fair you don't know how much function you don't know how it functions and i think. you know you're here in the european motor to north korean monetary union is a political project you have to remember that. harry do you want to join us in a letter here a chance we hear a johnny b. in a make sense harris jump in and we are now in the middle of a debate of creating more instruments for the for the european commission to

introduce european taxes there are examples on the table we are now in the debate of creating sanctions the european commission wants more instruments to get involved in the national economies sanctions where. economies and governments do not follow the european rules so we are right in the middle of a debate that we never intended to harm and we should have never answered it really is the enemy so it is there for monetary union without a political union. visionaries only involves understanding only follow a political union and now we're trying to to to to to to get a political union accepted because we are facing problems with the monetary union that's that's the reality it's now which a unit cohesion is nearly always well into one union the whole what you had hoped is wrong when your heart and your you want to your union is wrong european gladly have a go ahead go ahead ok when we when the european monetary union was started there

was a stability pact connected to the problem and that was that the commission never was tough enough with those canvas who never followed the rules now in the lispund treaty if you understand what the lisbon treaty is the commission has got slightly increased possibility to go back and overview what countries are doing on the economic side so we in the future hopefully will not have lots of. complicated developments on the economic side and that is that the service delivery even when you look at the situation in many of our economies we see that the national debts are far greater than is accepted in the stability and growth pact that we see that but i mean that such as that is also far greater than sort of the excepted. and i think that's also something which is when she is willing to meet with a countering question if i'm happen to be now install code which is probably together would feel numb to best drown countries when it comes to know. there are

no neven of deficits and of course it's a domestic case you have to all right gentlemen to jump in here we're going to have a short break after a short break we'll continue our discussion on the lisbon treaty stay with r.t. . and you can. download the official location. i pod touch from the top story. lunch on t.v. life on the go. video on demand on t.v.'s my old costs and says feeds now in the palm of your. question on the. wealthy british style.

markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in the kinds of reports on our team. can. welcome back to rostock i'm hearing about remind you we're talking about the

amendments being made to billy's been treated. but before let's see what russians think about the e.u. the pressure is mounting the global financial crisis has plunged the european union into survival mode testing the lisbon treaty as well the two took effect on december first two thousand and nine eight years after european leaders longs a process to make the e.u. more democratic more transparent and more efficient the russian public opinion research center says the editor of citizens does the european union fifty five percent say they have positive feelings while another thirteen percent feel negative facing the eurozone escalating crisis the e.u. is also facing the necessity to amend the treaty. steffen if i go back to you going back to this bailout clause i mean it seems that you going to have to

have carrots also now so if a country doesn't do what it's supposed to it looking at brussels acting like the i.m.f. in europe ok they'll be. strings attached may be interesting to me chains attached ok to the change i mean my organization well my point is this is that our country if the bailout called cause will countries lose more and more of their sovereignty if they get into some kind of economic trouble if they and if the euro can continue to be dysfunctional within the monetary union i don't think it's the euro just as functional if you take greece for instance it was a very strange way of handling statistics that was. faked then you go to ireland it's a different case. you had the banking system down it was was coming into trouble so you have very very different issues coming out it's not to say that the euro is completely egyptology owners well you know i mean this sounds like to break this

coming back again but i mean you see the absolutely as we can realize we don't actually pick out the year i mean. you know it's it's very difficult if you talk all the time i'm trying to explain with my view if you look for a good old course interesting to see that that there is there is another there is another country coming on to join the euro that's dystonia and i think that's in. a bid to do it what are you doing i use it against. robert let me ask you a question about aryans want to keep what you were saying i want to ask everybody question so a little country one of the baltic republics becomes part of the euro zone and they get into economic trouble and so they just go to brussels and say we need money right ok i mean the moral hazard issued is being imbedded in this treaty ok and i think that's very dangerous here if i go to robert what do you think about that that's that's not the only issue that's wrong with the euro the fact is that these

countries cannot survive in a colonsay union with germany they are being destroyed their economies are being seriously undermined because they are stuck in a common sea union with germany and they cannot cope and it will. if you look at it is because it's massive current account deficits to germany it cannot work it does not work and these the political elite of you should realize that the euro is failing it is not helping it is creating more divergence within the e.u. if you have the eurozone economies and it should be wound up the country should exit and we'd all be a lot better off when they do ok harry what do you think about that go ahead i want to harry go ahead i think i think that eventually it will be in the benefit of some countries to have the ability to leave the eurozone and i'm. sure that in the future right now we have a fund of seven hundred fifty billion euros but eventually that might prove not to be enough to also save spain in portugal draws to

a stronger or larger economy such is very might need a lot more than that is available and eventually it might be to their own advantage to say that they will go back to their own national currencies so i agree that the project of the euro isn't proof of this crisis and eventually we will have to look for alternatives for some countries if not it might jeopardize the whole euro the whole project stephanie. go ahead jump in and say definitely if you look a bit north. then you come to feel which is a country that has euro and that has an extremely well kept economy so feelin is a very good example how a small county can function with the euro and the very adjacent country to finland is still me i say indicated earlier that it's going to introduce to you within very short and i think that's going to be interesting development and it's once again he once again sent out. terms to that to cap the country are such has to sort of have

its house in order when it comes to the economic situation if you don't have your house in order which was the case in greece and if you're fake statistics then of course you have trouble but if you have your house in order there's no problem in the u.s. and he surely nicholas in germany stefan it doesn't work it doesn't work when you have years most dynamic economy i don't i don't i don't do it is a little during economies that are that are suffering and being in the same currency it just does not work. as you are not in the same carriage it might be difficult to judge she completely but if you look to feel land which is a county that has a very good handling of its own economy and that has introduced the euro and is very happy with it that's a very good example where the swedish example is instead. when they voted to stay on harry harry said harry go go ahead harry i think that what stephanie says about phil and proves my point that the nordic countries are doing a lot better than the southern countries spain and portugal are the next and next

on the line might be france so the nordic countries are indeed doing a lot better so we might have a division inside a euro zone meaning that eventually we have to the euro's a weak and. being destroyed. what about you what about it due to. your role in hard to believe in if and what about that a week your own a strong euro rich europe poor europe i mean whatever it is it's always wrong when when it was introduced it was too strong later on it was too weak in later on it was too strong later on it was too weak and went that's goes up and down in a way like the weather when it was introduced if i remember correctly it was one point eighteen dollars later on it changed completely came down two point nine. then it was absolutely different so whatever it was it was never good so that's a thing but ok i am i think it's very something very interesting to see that this

is here you have campus that try to solve these issues together and i think that is something very very strong and the euro of course facilitates that because you have a more transparent situation than you had previously ok you know the central bank is hard to transfer exactly it will right robert fully unaccountable omri money and seal about this if we if this change this bailout plans is added is it opening a pandora's box because yes you know those printing no you exact cannot make a government it is for far more centralization and the people of you actually wanted it is a long term project to have most power the european institutions based in brussels not without elected politicians based in national parliaments carry what do you think they are there i mean yes and they don't. here you go here in theory was this a pandora's box i am assuming also and say ok we're going to use different military certainly go ahead yes i agree with that certainly because what we see is that mr

von rumple the europeans and the president is looking for the economic government of europe he's looking for it and he's using this crisis and. the members of european commission also are using this crisis to take this important step towards european economic government we have never wanted that i don't think it can on the governance should not go as far as as european commission being able to to to to to lay sanctions on countries to have a. direct effect on national economies that is not how it was planned and that is not what we can accept it is contradictory contradictory to our sovereignty and i'm sure that if this is brought into the debate by altering the lisbon treaty that many countries that is maybe governments will go ahead but there are there are people's will say no and therefore for such an important for such an import alteration of this when treaty we should have referendums in various countries

examine yeah absolutely mad mad mad mad mad mad that there is something i mean in order to know what's happening it's good if you have some knowledge about it when it comes to the least country to be fooled that you have the stability pact which gave formerly that commission the right to impose fines on those countries that have two big deficits that was not done and you can see that one should have been more sort of eager in following the rules this is not something that was installed with the lisbon treaty that was existed in this debility pact and the stability pact was not deficient enough that something then when it comes to the national governments national governments have more power now in the lisbon treaty than they had previously they can also through seize new. in order to have this service of her but i mean rather good to say please asterisk go ahead robert i mean go ahead robert it's good this is when treaty takes far more power away from national

governments and any previous treaty to take away sixty sixty three areas of policy making from national control to e.u. control it is about creating a centralized if you really state which is not against you had listened to the facts you had ok stephanie what are they going to stephan go ahead if if you had listened to what they say because you don't listen to just talk that is that i said that national parliaments have more power now than they had before disabled pretty girls you know that your whole host of your book about gambling i haven't even played it as a you have on minister we have the army you lease the national parliament do not don't make most of their national guard in my limited hand and i come to you and got out of business a german study found eighty four percent of the new legislation came from brussels national parliaments are becoming increasingly irrelevant as a result of the lisbon treaty me that those are the fact that. and when you put up

some of these true you have to understand we were actually to not just national the national all right the national people you are the brits participate in the decision making in and the decision making on the lead is the tory process in. sense you don't abstain. you hear the last word harry gets the last word go ahead. i'm dealing with this every day national parliaments lose their influence because their governments come home saying we were against it but there was a majority in favor and therefore we were overruled and that leaves parliaments with no instruments to change the policy of their own governments because therefore i gentlemen i'm going to have to jump in here i do not see the trials and tribulations of the lisbon treaty many thanks to my guest today in stockholm amsterdam and in london and thanks to our viewers for watching us here r.t. see you next time and remember cross talk.

can. still.

for the full story we've got. the biggest issues get voice face to face with the news makers. on r t riot police in moscow react swiftly to fears of a fresh football fire president better vows to use any legal means to punish the perpetrators of the weekend's clashes. russia has condemned north korea shelling of a south korean island and calls on pyongyang to rein in its nuclear program. and a disturbing anti drugs campaign vows to shock but the producers say it's the only

way to step russia's plague of narcotics. this is our welcome it's kevin owen here in moscow tonight with our top story at midnight president medvedev says those behind saturday's nationalist riots in moscow will be brought to justice a weekend rally commemorating a football fan who was killed turned into clashes with police and attacks on ethnic minorities monday saw another security crackdown in the capital amid fears the violence could have flared again. police received reports and monitored various communications from the internet about a group of football fans who planned to meet a number of people from the north caucuses here in the very heart of the russian capital to basically fly it out their differences of course police decided that it

is better to be safe than sorry and deployed.