With the appointment of Mario Monti in Italy and Lucas Papademos in Greece the EU now has two unelected bankers holding the reins of power.

Next in line for an unelected banker would appear to be Spain as the tried and tested method of racking up interest rates starts with today Spain seeing short term borrowing costs surge.

The evil spectre of Fascism is being raised across Europe, we are in mortal peril and no one seems concerned.
I’m reminded of Martin Niemöller’s poem First they came… although it might need adjustment

First they came for the Greeks
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t Greek

Then they came for the Italian
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t Italian

Then they came for the Spanish
And I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t Spanish

Then they came for us
And there was no one left to speak out for us

It’s time to stand up to the neo-liberal bankers we surely don’t want to end up as slaves to the financial markets paying back their debts!

Charles Grant at the Centre for European Reform outlines four options for Tory leader David Cameron on Europe

One option would be to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. But if the British people voted against a treaty that was already in force, they would probably have to leave the EU. So Conservative leaders have ruled this out.

A second option would be to hold a referendum on repatriating powers in certain defined areas, such as social policy. The referendum would precede an attempt to opt out of some parts of the EU treaties. In a variation of this option, a referendum would be held after, rather than before, the attempted renegotiation.

A third option would be to attempt to renegotiate the EU treaties without the aid of a referendum. But this option, like the second, would probably lead to an impasse. Having spent almost a decade negotiating the Lisbon treaty, Britain’s partners are unwilling to re-open the existing texts.

A fourth option would be to avoid trying to unpick the EU treaties. A Conservative government would instead urge its EU partners to make pledges in areas such as the budget, social policy and financial regulation. Conservative leaders could then tell Eurosceptics that that they had achieved ‘victories’ in the EU. Charles Grant, CER.

As Grant goes on to explain options 1, 2 and 3 can only lead to impasse which results in one of two things and embarrassing climb-down for Cameron or the UK completely withdrawing from the EU which leaves Cameron only sensible choice as option 4, which too many in his party won’t seem any different from current Labour policy.

I look forward to Cameron attempting to square the EU circle – particularly if against the odds he fails to win the forthcoming general election

Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, yesterday afternoon signed the Lisbon treaty, finally completing the ratification process of the charter designed to transform Europe into a more unified and influential global player.

Klaus, widely known for his Eurosceptic views, announced that he had signed the treaty at Prague Castle after the Czech constitutional court announced its decision that the document, which has already been ratified by all 26 other EU countries, does not violate the country’s constitution.

Klaus’s signature sealed a painful eight-year effort to bring about a wide range of major constitutional reforms of the EU. Jason Burke, The Guardian.

So where does that leave Cameron’s cast iron guarantee of a referendum on the treaty – rusting.

Italy’s parliament has given final approval to a law criminalising illegal immigration and allowing citizens’ patrols to help the police keep order.

The new measures have been strongly criticised by human rights groups and the Vatican.

Illegal immigration will be punishable by a hefty fine and those who knowingly house illegal migrants will face up to three years in prison.

The law also extends detention periods for illegal migrants to six months.

It was passed in the Senate (upper house) on Thursday, with 157 in favour and 124 against. The lower house passed it in May.

The unarmed citizens’ patrols are among the most controversial measures.

A right-wing uniformed group called the Italian National Guard was set up last month, likened by some to Benito Mussolini’s Fascists. It vowed to start patrolling the streets.

But Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the group, which sports beige uniforms and black military-style hats, would not be allowed to mount street patrols. BBC.

And how exactly will they stop the Italian National Guard from patrolling the streets, surely all they have to do is leave their uniforms at home and they look like any other Italian citizen – vigilantes never a good idea.

Curly cucumbers, crooked carrots and mottled mushrooms – odd-looking fruit and vegetables are making a comeback as 20-year-old EU rules are lifted.

Marketing standards for 26 types of produce have been scrapped, in a drive to cut EU bureaucracy.

The standards will remain in place for 10 of the most popular types. But with an appropriate label shops will be able to sell “ugly” specimens of these too.

“July 1 marks the return to our shelves of the curved cucumber and the knobbly carrot,” said Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

“We don’t need to regulate this sort of thing at EU level. It is far better to leave it to market operators.

“The changes also mean that consumers will be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the ‘wrong’ size and shape,” she said.

The rules were introduced to ensure common EU standards, but are regarded by critics as examples of Euro-madness.

Some 20% of produce is rejected by shops across the EU because it fails to meet the current requirements.

The 26 types are: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, avocadoes, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, courgettes, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, water melons and witloof/chicory. BBC.

The trouble is.

Rules will remain unchanged for 10 types of produce, which account for 75% of EU fruit and vegetable trade: apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. BBC.

Still

Member States may also exempt these from the standards if they are sold in the shops with an appropriate label. In practical terms, this means that an apple which does not meet the standard may still be sold in the shop, as long as it is labelled “product intended for processing” or equivalent wording. Europa.

Which is completely daft what is a shopper to make of the label “product intended for processing” it sounds ominous when in fact it means fruit of non-standard shape – you know we are all capable of deciding what shape fruit and vegetables we want to buy. As I said EU does itself no favours.