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European Investigation Orders will erode national sovereignty
Tags: Abuse of Power, Con-Lib Coalition, Dishonesty, EU, Law and Order, Sovereignty, State Intrusion
Remember all those Eurosceptic noises that were made by the Conservative Party in recent years? Actions speak louder than words and that fact is about the brought into clear focus thanks to the planned forthcoming implementation of European Investigation Orders (EIO) reported in the dead tree press today.
For while the Conservatives chant their mantra about being 'in Europe but not run by Europe', they concede to every directive that emerges from Brussels that cement still further the EU's control over the United Kingdom. This is evident from the news that Theresa May, the Conservative Home Secretary, will announce she plans to sign up to the European Investigation Order (EIO) – a move that has been identified by Steve Peers, professor of Law at Essex University, as:
"… an attack on the national sovereignty of Member States, which would in effect lose their power to define what acts are in fact criminal if committed on the territory of their State."
Not run by Europe? The continuing Conservative deception concerning our relationship with the EU is exposed once again. Many decent Tory backbenchers have again had the legs cut from under them by the self serving autocrats who hold the whip hand over party and policy. Why these MPs remain in a party that lies repeatedly to the public passes understanding.
The EIO is an insipid instrument that builds upon the European Evidence Warrant (EEW), but crucially it sweeps away most of the grounds upon which states could refuse a request for mutual assistance in criminal investigations – thereby eroding protections that existed to ensure individuals were treated in a just and fair manner. As Peers explains in the document linked above:
The combination of these changes [from EEW to EIO] would mean that a person who committed an act which is legal in the Member State where the act was carried out could be subject to body, house and business searches, financial investigations, some forms of covert surveillance, or any other investigative measures within the scope of the Directive as regards any 'crime' whatsoever which exists under the law of any other Member State, if that other Member State extends jurisdiction for that crime beyond its own territory. Note that there is nothing in EU law or any other set of rules in this area which restricts a State from extending its extraterritorial jurisdiction over criminal offences.
The effect of all this is to further erode national sovereignty and centralise power outside member states. The systems of law and order in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively, are being changed without reference to or sanction by the people who will be subjected to police action directed by a foreign power.
For all the fine rhetoric of David Cameron and Nick Clegg, pledging as they have to give people more power over their lives, the reality is people are being ever more tightly controlled by the organs of the state. The political class has seen to it that we have no legal recourse to prevent this increase of state control and we are sleepwalking into a totalitarian nightmare.
3 Responses to "European Investigation Orders will erode national sovereignty"
1 Rereke Whakaaro 27/07/2010 at 6:55 am
When I studied Political Science (many years ago), we were taught that a nation state (which is a concept, not a geographical area) was defined by its laws, and its currency.
Britain may still exist as a geographical country, but it is certainly no longer a nation state.
Who mourns for what has not seen to have been lost?
1 That which has been stolen from the British people « Autonomous Mind Trackback on 16/10/2010 at 11:44 pm
2 How is Theresa May a government minister? « Autonomous Mind Trackback on 18/10/2010 at 10:23 am