Another Good Reason to Vote Yes

Under the Lisbon Treaty, there would be a new obligation on the Commission to send legislative proposals to national parliaments. John Carroll of Semper Idem sets out the provisions here and I would echo most of his comments thereon.

It may seem odd, given what I said the other day, but I disagree with the comment left on the Irish Election page by someone calling themselves "Future Taoiseach". While the provision does carry a whiff of the same tokenism as the Citizens' Initiative, and the time limits are still unreasonable, I share Mr Carroll's optimism on the effect that the new procedure would have on increasing scrutiny of EU proposals by national legislators. Unlike the Citizens Initiative, the Commission is obliged to be pro-active in sending the information, and there are specific requirements for the Commission to address the issues raised by the national legislatures.

Again not a sufficient one, this is another good reason to vote for the Treaty.