Libertas Party Launches in Europe

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There is an interesting and ongoing debate in Europe over the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to create a more coherent and efficient EU and thus more adequately address policy areas such as global warming and energy.  Critics say the treaty would centralize European power in Brussels at the expense of a more representative democracy.
 
Germany and Poland are in the final stage of treaty agreement, leaving Ireland and the Czech Republic as the only European nations that have not fully ratified the treaty.
 
News reports such as this one suggest that Ireland – which has already voted once against the treaty – is more likely to pass it this time around:
 
“The country known formerly as the Celtic Tiger is gripped by the worst recession of any developed country, according to a report this week. Irish anxiety about the collapse of its glittering economy may finally convince voters, however, to vote “Yes” later this year in a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty.”
 
And, as the colorful argument below lays out, if Ireland were to pass the treaty, the Czech Republic would likely follow suit:
 
“The Czech senate and president would almost certainly ratify and deposit the treaty immediately following a yes vote from bankrupt Ireland, leeching on the Brussels teat in its hour of need.”
 
One recent development is the launch of the Libertas Party, a pan-European group that is fielding anti-treaty candidates for the upcoming EU parliamentary elections.  Libertas played a key role in opposing Ireland’s first referendum, and the group is hopeful that it can win seats in next month’s elections.
 

Eline van den Broek, a 28-year-old Dutch political scientist and journalist, is one of the party’s superstars.  Van den Broek was instrumental in setting up a network of free market Young Professionals in the Netherlands, and I’ll soon be publishing a paper with her about whether policymakers in the United States should use the Dutch health care system as a model for reform.
 
Watch van den Broek and Declan Ganley, the Libertas chairman, talk about the importance of the party. I especially like Ganley’s comments beginning at 2:49 and ending at 3:07.