today i'm talking to daniel hanna is a conservative member of the european parliament he's about to bring his euro skepticism to the heart of brussels mr houghton thanks for talking to us now apparently doing the rounds in brussels is a popular joke which says that if the european union was a country applying to join itself it would be rejected for not being democratic enough it's an amazing thing and we've stopped being amazed by it simply because of

familiarity but we should be shocked by it that the only body that can propose new legislation in the european union is the unelected european commission if any country were run by if supreme power wielded by twenty seven people were immune to the ballot box that would be regarded as an outrage. and yet the people who talk most fervently about turning the e.u. into something like a super state are remarkably relaxed about the undemocratic nature of it and from that basic lack of democracy you get the contempt for popular opinion you get the way the slide referendum results if they go the wrong way and you get a sense that public opinion is an obstacle to overcome rather than a reason to change direction it is an extraordinary and sad paradox that twenty seven countries each of them a liberal parliamentary democracy in its own right have come together and accepted

a system that would make zimbabwe look democratic and how did that happen exactly was this kind of creeping takeover by technocrats i think the origins actually go back to the very beginning of the european union the founding fathers had had a very mixed experience of democracy is especially of the referendum plebiscite re kind of numb ocracy that existed in the one nine hundred thirty s. they sort of mock or see as opposed to i would go so far so they were anti democratic but they saw it is a potentially dangerous force that could lead to demagoguery to fascism and to war and so they were quite open about deliberately vesting supreme power in the hands of why technocratic experts who wouldn't have to worry about public opinion would be able to take the tough decisions and of course you know there is no such person as the wise disinterested expert they all have their prejudices they all have their assumptions and freed from the constraints of public opinion they were able to get on with creating an almost autocratic system which has stayed in large measure in

place to this day which is why you know when people vote against it that is seen as the beginning of the argument rather than as it would be in a proper democracy the end of the argument you've recently released a book under the title of marriage which is about the relationship between the e.u. and the u.k. why did you decide to give the subtitle is britain and europe is not a is not a. marriage guidance piece although well it's an interesting one i read the review of work by a marriage guidance counselor didn't read the book but with the review said something fascinating. it said that a relationship can take a lot of arguing that rouser not a bad thing because if you are arguing with your husband or wife it suggests that you care enough about his or her view that you want to change it it's when the rowels give way to contempt when the stormy sessions fall silent and give way to scorn the relationship is over and i think something similar has happened even in

the time that i've been an m.e.p. when i was first elected constituents would write to me very angrily and say outrageous that the budget is on approved outrages that all the money is being spent on these agricultural and foreign aid boondoggles outrages that the system is so undemocratic and now what you get much more often is a kind of you know what you expect the whole system is russian and that's when you realize that the marriage is over and i think it's just a question of time and how we how we negotiate the most amicable divorce even going as far as to cool the relationship between you're a craps and ordinary that is abusive yes in the sense that the ordinary voters if you like the vote i mean we're not doing the order of the voter is seen as an inconvenience is seen as a problem you know when i think back to the way in which the french and dutch referendums were greeted six years ago. every single speaker with two exceptions and in the entire european parliament stood up to say how do we get around this problem you know why did they get it wrong how do we how do we really educate

voters you know i was reminded of those that eerie poem by bertold brecht where he says wouldn't it therefore be easier to dissolve the people and elect another in their place and that it didn't occur to anybody that the people have spoken and that therefore the politicians should listen talk to me about your assertion that it was brussels backed coups that toppled george papandreou in greece and silvio berlusconi in italy what proof do you have of that well in two countries a an elected prime minister was removed from office and replaced with a technocrat who had never stood for office in his life not just a technocrat for your account in greece it was the former head of the euro the former vice president of european central bank in italy it was a former european commissioner mario monti who as well as appointing yourself prime minister appoint himself finance minister giving a whole new meaning to the phrase the full monty and didn't have a single elected doesn't have

a single elected politician in the italian government right now both in the case of the property most administration in greece and the monti administration initially we were told that these were national governments that was the phrase used. and yet the whole purpose of these governments was to push through a program that would be rejected by the nation in a general election so if you like the the the last shreds of pretense were said to the velvet glove was taken off of the iron fist underneath which i'm sure you then had what was always implicit but is now explicit which is apparatchiks in brussels ruling directly through apparatchiks in rome and in athens with the people and their elected representatives cut out altogether i saw last week that mario monti said he might seek a second term but i remember him seeking a first from your description it sounds terrifying easy for brussels today that what steps see your across have to take these were civilian jumpers ok it is true

that the letter of constitutional propriety was observed in the sense that parliament in both cases indorse the new government that's the case with every dictatorship starting from napoleon they always manage to get the parliamentary vote in their favor the reality is that we're dealing with administrations that have been imposed on countries because keeping those countries in the your was thought to be more important than allowing them to vote for the policies they want we do appear to be drawing nearer to a referendum on whether the u.k. should stay in the european union what would it take do you think for the government to take that final step well politicians in my experience feel the heat before they see the light i don't think any political party likes referendums to be honest because politicians are instinctively mistrustful of a process whose outcome they can't control nonetheless they all see that there is big public demand. people want to be consulted they feel that it's a huge issue you know what country you want to put on to and that it's insulting and wrong not to allow people the referendum which all three parties were recently

promising and all three have managed to draw back from i'll go so far as to say that the party which gets there first will probably win the next election the people who feel strongly about this may be a minority but they are not an insignificant minority and it's a vote determining issue for the chunk of the electorate. and so. it's almost as opposed like a kind of game theory like a prisoner's dilemma my the party desperately wants a referendum but neither can afford to let the other get there first what kind of referendum decent course is simple in or out or a more complex construct i think ultimately they will have to be an in out referendum i think is the only one that makes sense you can't offer people something that you haven't yet negotiated or something that isn't in your gift to deliver i mean if you had a referendum and said wouldn't it be great if we opted out of all the following areas but remained in the free market will you know idea whether the e.u. is going to give you that and so you that that's a meaningless question unless the renegotiation has already been completed by then and that's how i think it it should happen let me be is generous as i can do people

want to stay in and is fair about this is like. if the problem is timing and what is going to emerge from the eurozone crisis because that's what we're told no one now admits to being against the referendum in principle what they're all there now saying is now isn't the right time we've got to see what emerges fine if that's the case then pre-announce now and pretty legislate now for a referendum to take place in those twenty sixteen ok that's plenty of time you've then got four years you supporters of membership to come back with a deal that you reckon you can sell to the british people. and the fact that you preannounced that referendum means that all of the other member states also understand that if you don't get the deal that you can sell to the country the alternative is that we leave and we negotiate something differently from the outside i think if you did that then it is even possible that you could succeed in getting something along the lines of the swiss deal without calling it leaving i mean if it then becomes a presentational question whether you call it associate membership or whatever but

what is absolutely certain is that if our own civil servants and if the other member states do not understand that it's either a renegotiation or exit there will be no significant improvement in our terms of membership and what about was all three parties saying and they which is you know we've got this crisis going on our main priority should be to reduce the deficit we don't have the time with inclination now to talk about having me referendum is wonderful isn't it we were told for twenty years that now was not the right time for a referendum because europe wasn't an issue and now we're told now it's a wrong time because europe is an issue you know the eurozone crisis and all this i mean it's the ultimate yes minister argument you know a perfectly good idea in principle minnesota perhaps now is not the most propitious occasion if not now when you know the eurozone crisis has wrecked the premise on which we joined it's falsified our membership terms europe is collapsing as a share of our exports the rest of the world is increasing almost by the minute as

a share of our trade. the reason that we went in in the first place in the early seventy's in the argument has been deployed for nearly forty years has now been made redundant by the collapse of the eurozone economy and the militia insistence of the euro zone governments on accelerating all the policies that have created the crisis that now is the time for us to raise our eyes to more distant horizons and reimburse the wider world daniel had on thank you very much thank you. the legacy no one should be proud keeps of scrap metal littering pristine arctic landscape building stilton over their foundation pipes spewing black smoke over the snow covered peaks the traces of the soviet industrial activity on the burgen archipelago don't make a pretty picture the guiding principle here is the worse the better locals like to

tell the story about back in soviet times where norwegians were visiting barons were they also expressed. at how prosperous the settlement was well times have obviously a challenge where they saw it lags they still attracting a region tourists are barons work i would then cons watch native cash that's why when. our goal is common as was uncovered here a few days ago instead of throwing it away the local administration decided to paint it in you and put it at variance work central square that in the nine hundred eighty s. there was a burgeoning mining community the soviet union was determined to maintain its own costs. are located halfway between north america and western europe bergen archipelago is part of norway but a special status that allows other countries to set up industrial bases here in the middle of the cold war it served as the use of western most outposts now it's one

of the last preserved relics. of the soviet union if it was cut off from any financial support for two decades it's a curious site for western tourists and i think it could be even more appealing for russians trying. to keep its presence on spitsbergen russia still maintaining a coal mine here but in terms of profit is far behind local shops so between. bill it is a big hit the defunct aren't curtain still helps keep the money flowing. it's all rushing through your show but you can't but if. you are the local administration is increasing and a pressure to bring the infrastructure up to more than standards these modernization efforts and not very popular with tourists if you come into a very authentic place like. it should stay the way it is that would be my wish i

mean that's the part of the you know authentic tradition. i should not i would not like to have it in a shiny condition to be on those they tend to change even for the better is not always good for business something that even a local band has become attuned to when they try to add morning russian songs to die repertoire the audience called the wanted to hear it was a song comfortably familiar. mission. critical three. charges three. three. three. three.

three broadcasts video for your media project free media r.t. dot com. the week's top stories on our t.v. people across the world demand an end to austerity as global noise protests make themselves heard of more than thirty countries but the loudest and i agree is taking place in europe this is separatists in belgium get a boost from the. consonance financial will. be un syria on boy draws up plans to deploy a three thousand strong peacekeeping force to oversee a potential truce in the country this is turkey closes airspace to syrian civilian flights in response to a similar move by damascus after a syrian jet was grounded by argument. and one of the jailed members of the russian punk band pussy riot released on appeal two other bandmates will continue their twenty four month prison sentences for

a pool game is an after their punk prayer stunt in russia is going to be. kate's up next with sports stay with us. welcome to the sports thank you for joining me and these are the top stories. that master no bad joke of it saved five match points before ending andy murray's two year run as champion with a thrilling master's final victory in shanghai. while top of the world sebastian vettel produces a dominant victory in the korean grand prix to overtake fernando alonso at the top of the driver's championship with four races to go. on to fall from four fabio capello's russia aim to keep up their one hundred percent record as the group that leaders prepared to host azerbaijan in their world cup qualifier on tuesday. but

first a tennis where second seed novak djokovic saved five match points before overcoming twice defending champion andy murray to win a thrilling shanghai masters final last month murray had prevailed in an epic u.s. open final between the two and this time the stops were also to see so first set seven five as joke of each lost his temper after a blunder at the net but the serbian regained his composure to force a nail biting time break in the second and eventually won it thirteen eleven margin so that the talk a couple of much points in the decider but still lost six three in almost three and a half hours to stop in his first defeat in shanghai in the three years a tournament while a straight open champion joke of each lifted his trophy of the season and second in a row you following this trial beijing last week. there could have gone either way really i cannot say i. have dominated the match because all three sets were very

close and he had so many match points and opportunities to finish the match so i could have easily been a runner up today but. very. for all the flights and believing and you know coming back for much more inspiring this much. now to formula one and defending champion sebastian vettel has clinched a dominant victory at the korean grand prix to overtake for all respond though along the top of the driver's standings with four races left to go the german started second behind red bull team mate mark webber took the lead only on and eventually won by an eight second margin to claim his third win in a row and become the first driver to win four races this season whether we're second a long as i took third internet sensation p.s.y. waving the checkered flag vettel is now six points clear of alonso in the drivers' championship with a maximum one hundred points available from the remaining four races in india abu

dhabi the usa and brazil as the red bull driver aims his third consecutive title. we had a good last couple races but you know we've seen the championship is pretty much up and down a lot of things that can happen so what do we do i think we have to focus on ourselves i think you know we need to have our best possible results and then we'll go from there at the end of the year. if we have enough points there's a lot of people telling us so we don't have to do the mathematics those. things are also hotting up in the motor g.p. title race spaniard dani pedrosa claim victory in japan on his honda overtaking championship lead a full day in the wrens i was thirteen laps to go to ensure the young man finished second britain's count crutchlow completed the podium win at the drugs that is now twenty eight points behind lorenza in the overall standings with three races left to go. on to football now in russia defender of a silly bet as a ski says his side should be wary of a well rested azerbaijan squad in the next world cup qualifier at the luzhniki

stadium on tuesday russia held an open training session in moscow where manager fabio capello is looking to. untamed his one hundred percent competitive record the national side have won all three of their qualifying matches so far scoring seven goals and conceding on the secure top spot in group path russia are also three points clear of christiane iran algos portugal if they beat one they'll also be lost on thursday but russia's next opponents azerbaijan didn't play this week and they also managed to keep portugal at bay for sixty four minutes if only king three goals in their three nil defeat in prague last month. now with sixteen months to go until the saatchi winter olympics i.o.c. supremely junk lord carey believes these will be against to remember as the triple olympic skating champion told our own robert father. the great jones for a big country in twenty fourteen this russian city of sochi will host the first

winter olympics in the country's history. it used to be a well known seaside town but now with massive olympic preparations the future of the city itself is under construction benefits of having had the games will be there for ever in my opinion so it's a it's a it's a chance for this region today everyone in the world knows where searching is on the map i believe it's almost unique in the world because you have trees where the hockey tournament is going to be played and then twenty five minutes later by train you are in a fabulous ski resort this is very specific it's the sounds of russia it's very comparable to a place like this in france where you swim in the morning where you sit in the morning and swim in the afternoon after a one hour car drive and. the world will know about it very soon holding the winter olympics in so the climate is what makes the sochi games so

special and so challenging three time olympic alpine ski jumping around and currently the chairman. of the olympic ordination commission is uncle kili is sure we will be there as soon as it's needed even despite the fact this could be the hottest winter olympics ever snow is going to be made whenever it's possible. and today you can store keep the snow and the protection during the summer but then use it for example in ski jump you can use it whenever you you want or need it. obviously that's the lessons from vancouver this or she games are also set to create some brand new experiences in olympic history something to make them truly unique the most compact games ever most athletes skiers we go down out of the chalet put their skis on and there are hockey player will

walk to the ring as skaters. which is incredible. i don't think we have we have ever had that before while the sochi twenty fourteen official slogan was also revealed only twenty fifth of september hot to us i think it is terrific absolutely terrific because it's. it's a winter summer. yours north south it's. snow ice and yours and it's. i think it's one way to say the rest of the world is going to be what come. to searching in your office that's a gift from russia to the rest of the world and the best present would be for russia to turn their first winter olympics into the best games ever robert

brilliant forty. and finally to icici where the n.h.l. is a look at who is the k h l's game with some of the best players from the north american league producing some of the week's best moments it's goals galore on ice. little.

clegg. led the. little. league. lead. legalese. and that's all the sports news i for. commission free accreditation free in-store charge is free the

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favorites. t.v. is now required to watch all its hit all you need is your mobile device to watch ati in any time. what's the strangest attempt of a military takeover. of. the us president trying to overthrow a foreign country's government but his strategic games must. and america recognized its defeat. questionings if cuba managed to cope with its victory all gone to. pay i. leave me thank you i'll go but the rajab out there live via the cuban missile crisis games and reality t.v. . i'm in sochi but normally a city in europe i'm the host of the twenty four team which are the pick of. sunset

. thank you. saatchi. thank you for the. dog days of. the fridays it. picks the calm. of the fish sudsy it's so true. blue beasts in which brighten. someone from phones to oppression is. screwed.