Ruling underscores national sovereignty

According to the liberal conservative daily Corriere della Sera the German constitutional judges' ruling on the Lisbon Treaty is above all proof of the follwing: "Europe is neither federalist nor a super state as some would say. It is a Europe of nations. The court in Karlsruhe has decided that the Treaty must be accompanied by a letter that explicitly reaffirms that power of the German parliament. … In a series of matters Brussels cannot decide alone. … In the areas of police, military, taxes, social legislation, family law and penal law the Bundestag and the Bundesrat [the lower and upper houses of the German parliament, respectively] are to remain at the core of the decision-making process even after the Treaty comes into effect. … The political reaction to the Karlsruhe ruling was one of great relief - a sign of a certain degree of concern that prevailed among the major parties, even if they didn't show it openly. … But even those who brought the case before the Karlsruhe court, the Left Party led by Oskar Lafontaine and some conservatives with Bavaria's Christian Socialist Union, are content with the judgement because it underlines national sovereignty and democracy."

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