LE FIGARO: Jean Leonetti, médecin, député maire d'Antibes, remet mardi à François Fillon le rapport parlementaire d'évaluation de la loi fin de vie de 2005, qui s'oppose une fois de plus à la légalisation de l'euthanasie. >>> | 2.12.2008
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Grand Duke of Luxembourg Will Lose His Veto
Luxembourg's parliament looks ready to strip the Grand Duke of his last lawmaking power as a controversy over euthanasia comes to a head. One of Europe's last royals with political sway may lose his formal veto by taking a stand against a law legalizing euthanasia.
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who has said he would interfere with a decision by parliament, will likely be stripped of his veto in a historic decision after a heated showdown over a bill to legalize euthanasia.
Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg protested the bill and threatened to kill it next week by refusing to sign it into law.
Since parliament is expected to pass the bill, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the Grande Duke has overstepped his role. Juncker personally opposes the euthanasia bill but says he will propose a change to the constitution to deny the Grand Duke his veto. His role by the end of 2008 could be reduced to rubber-stamping parliamentary decisions, instead of deciding whether to approve them.
"That means he will only technically enact laws," Juncker said, according to Reuters.
The euthanasia bill passed a first vote by parliament in February. It looks set to pass a second and final vote next week, but the Catholic Grand Duke announced on Tuesday -- in a closed-door meeting with leaders of Juncker's ruling Christian Socialists -- that he would refuse to enact the law.
His position tipped the tiny nation into the worst constitutional crisis in its history. The Luxembourg royal house has tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, when the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide refused to sign an education bill in 1912. >>> msm -- with wire reports | December 4, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
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