The EU will have EMBASSIES around the world (source)

According to the Times Online:

The [Lisbon] treaty creates an External Action Service for the EU — effectively a Foreign Office, with embassies around the world.

I never believed it would come to this. After all, all the nations within the EU have their own embassies already, so why should the EU also have its own?

Is it really coming to be a superstate - the United States of Europe? Worst will have come when they start closing down the nation's embassies, which by then may just be states.

However, no one will notice because the names of the states will be similar as when they were countries and they will still have leaders, even if no longer federal.

As the German EU Parliament Chief said in one of his speeches:

If we were not that influential today, then we would not be the legislator of 75% of all cases [in Europe] and with the Lisbon Treaty in nearly 100% of all cases...

So he appears to admit that "75% of all our laws are EU-made, and that under the Lisbon Treaty it will be 100%".

Having grown up in Germany, I can confirm that this is what he said in the video above.

There are those who claim he did not exactly say that - that it was distorted by the UKIP, partly because the video does not show the full speech.

The European Parliament claims he said:

Today approximately 75 % of the European Union legislation is decided by the European Parliament together with the Council of Ministers and has a direct impact in our daily lives.

But he didn't say those words in the video above. His quote is exactly as above.

However, a claim by blogspot blogger Adrian Windisch goes as follows:

For what Pottering was actually saying was that the European Parliament (not the EU) legislates on 75% of laws *passed by the European Union*. Not passed by EU member states – just by the EU itself, at EU level.

Either way they are looking to centralize all law making in the European Parliament, which of course influences all member states. How can the member states not be influenced by laws made by a union that they are members of?

So let's look into this so called External Action Service...I remember learning about "double speak" in high school back in the day. Using big words to prevent people from understanding what's really going on.

Wikipedia gives a quote of the original article from the treaty, followed by the following summary:

The External Action Service will include civil servants and officials from both the Member States and the European Union.

They will help the new High Representative to implement a more effective and coherent European foreign and security policy by forging a centralised institution, rather than the current set of procedures, which are undertaken in two locations: The European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

A combined High Representative without a foreign office to help him or her would, as Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform, puts it '...be like having a conductor without an orchestra—or rather, a conductor trying to conduct two separate orchestras at the same time.'

The new External Action Service will assume all responsibilities previously undertaken by the European Commission, and will direct European diplomatic missions and embassies overseas. It will be located in Brussels.

Wikipedia

For the actual article within the treaty you can either read it at Wikipedia or in the actual treaty itself (152 pages)

According to the EU Observer who are critical of the Lisbon Treaty, but only based on intense research as shown in their many long articles:

The EU will get a new foreign minister - or High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as its now less-than-snappy title goes - and a permanent president as two of the most visible innovations click into place.

[edit on 5-10-2009 by MightyAl]

[edit on 5-10-2009 by MightyAl]