Lisbon Treaty Ratified

The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the EUs Lisbon Treaty, the final step in the charter's ratification.

Among its measures, it creates a European Council president and alters the way member states vote. The treaty could now come into force as early as December. The Lisbon Treaty's supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs. Critics say it will cede too many national powers to Brussels.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the ratification, and said it marked the end of years of debate.
"Today is a day when Europe looks forward," he said.

So as Europe looks forward to a new future, I suppose it is a good time to ask ourselves a very important question - is it now time we embraced Europe and sought a new relationship with our European neighbours?

I am sure that this will not be the last time we hear about the future of Europe; with a general election on the horizon it will be a key issue between the parties. It is also possibly the one issue that could ruin the Conservative dream of government, as Cameron has not really sorted the European issue out within his party.

Interested in finding out more - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6901353.stm

The Problem of Trans-National Companies

Trafigura, a British Oil trading firm with 'offices in 42' countries is an example of a TNC. The company has been attempting, through the law courts to stop The Guardian newspaper publishing details of a question raised in Parliament by Labour MP Paul Farrelly. the question concerned the dumping of toxic oil waste in West Africa.

Why is this interesting for us as students of global politics?

1. Here is an attempt by a TNC to stop a newspaper reporting parliamentary procedure?


2. Here is an example of a TNC using the processes of globalisation to dump waste (this must be a disadvantage of globalisation)


3. Here is an example of the advantages of globalisation e.g. 'Twitter' - people posted the full text of the proceedings on the site within hours of the attempt to stop The Guardian publishing


4. All those involved are global names, from the newspaper, the networking site, the TNC, the law firm (Carter-Ruck) and have a global impact

Want to know more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/trafigura-drops-gag-guardian-oil