Re:EU’s New VAT Rules Could Create a Mess for Startups
by Silhouette on Tuesday November 25, 2014 @01:22PM
(#8658892)
The EC is appointed by elected national governments, no different from how the US President is appointed by the elected Electoral College.
No, it really isn't.
When the US people go to the polls to vote for a president, they are voting for the President. There might be some oddities in how the votes are counted, as with any electoral system, but there is no doubt about what position you're voting for or who your vote a certain way will help the most.
The number of levels of indirection involved in the election of European Commissioners and the mandates they receive within the Commission is such that there is really no significant accountability to the general public at all. The reality is that the Commission is often full of failed national politicians who have been given a cushy job as a thank-you from political colleagues when they can no longer credibly run for office in their own country. The "we have to do this, it's a European directive that all national governments must implement" technique has become a standard political tool for introducing unpopular legislation that would cause serious political damage if anyone whose job actually depended on being directly elected were to propose it back home.
No, it really isn't.
When the US people go to the polls to vote for a president, they are voting for the President. There might be some oddities in how the votes are counted, as with any electoral system, but there is no doubt about what position you're voting for or who your vote a certain way will help the most.
The number of levels of indirection involved in the election of European Commissioners and the mandates they receive within the Commission is such that there is really no significant accountability to the general public at all. The reality is that the Commission is often full of failed national politicians who have been given a cushy job as a thank-you from political colleagues when they can no longer credibly run for office in their own country. The "we have to do this, it's a European directive that all national governments must implement" technique has become a standard political tool for introducing unpopular legislation that would cause serious political damage if anyone whose job actually depended on being directly elected were to propose it back home.