The EU reform treaty and the left
Posted on Monday 22 October, 2007
Filed Under Politics
Of course the left in Britain should favour a referendum on the European Union reform treaty, an issue that will dominate official politics for months to come. But it needs to make absolutely certain it doesn’t line up with UKIP and the Daily Mail in the process.
A referendum is the only politically honest course for Labour, after having promised such a vote on proposals for an EU constitution.
The only reason for the prime minister to pretend that the reform treaty is not essentially a repackaging of the document rejected by the Dutch and the French is the certain knowledge that the chances of securing assent are slimmer than a bulimic supermodel on amphetamine sulphate.
Resort to such a flat-out lie that will both bolster distrust in the political process and feed the Tories’ ‘Bottler Brown’ meme.
On the other hand, old-style left calls to pull out of the ‘bosses’ club’ because it is ‘not socialist’ end up pandering to nationalism in much the same way as promises of ‘British jobs for British workers’. The EU clearly has many progressive aspects.
It has secured some major achievements over the last two decades, including the single market, the single currency, a common foreign policy and an increase from 12 members to 27.
In today’s Europe, it is inconceivable that France and Germany could go to war. And that is a good thing. The 2004 enlargement marks the definitive end of the cold war division of the continent, and is another step towards a united Europe
However much it suits some politicians in Britain and Scandinavia to deny it, it is quite clear the EU’s founders explicitly envisaged it as a federation in the making. The very least that can be said is that the EU seeks to transcend the notion of exclusive national sovereignty. It is already a federal system. A weak federal system, perhaps, but a federal system nevertheless.
That shouldn’t be a problem for us in principle. Socialists favour the closest possible voluntary unity of peoples, in the biggest possible state units. After all, we have traditionally demanded a United States of Europe.
Nevertheless, there is plenty to oppose in the EU as presently constituted: the lack of democracy, the neoliberal economic agenda, the ‘Fortess Europe’ mentality.
The Common Agricultural Policy – which takes up 40% of the EU budget – remains an abomination. How individual countries wish to support farm incomes is a matter solely for their governments and electorates. One size doesn’t fit all.
It’s quite clear that any serious social democratic government, of the Attlee or Mitterand stripe, elected in any European country, would at the very least have to radically renegotiate its terms of membership, and in all likelihood would have to withdraw. However, we are a long way from needing to have that sort of tactical discussion.
In the mean time, instead of lining up with eurosceptic front organisations such as Better Off Out, parties of the left should be advancing positive demands for democratisation: a European parliament with real powers in place of the unaccountable bureaucracy, and a levelling up of social wages, union rights and working hours across the EU.
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5 Responses to “The EU reform treaty and the left”
A real problem here is that the debate — for or against a referendum on the proposed document — does not allow for any alternative to the ‘bosses’ Europe’ versus ‘little Englanders’ alignments we have today.
I think that socialists should argue for a workers’ Europe, one that will benefit the majority of the continent’s citizens, not just the bosses of Europe.
The question is how we can intervene in this dispute in a way that can transcend the reactionary alternatives on offer, and provide something positive.
Attlee or Mitterand stripe, elected in any European country, would at the very least have to radically renegotiate its terms of membership,
And when did Mitterand do that? Wot? Intensely social-democratic Holland, Sweden and Denmark also seem to manage.
Excellent post Dave, especially the final paragraph.
I agree with your general conclusions Dave. The left should be in favour of greater democratic federalism in Europe and against unacciountable “inter-governmentalism.” But I do not see how any of your positive objectives could be advanced by a “no” victory in any referendum. Such an outcome could only benefit the UK right and the far right. By the way it is worth looking at the CAP more closely. The food mountains, wine, milk butter lakes etc have long disappeared. Far from the problem being subsidisation of agricultural surpluses, the real danger is of food price inflation and shortages. This is the product of climate change, the move to gain bio-fuels and harvest failures. Incidentally the EU has massively opened its market to food exports from poor countries.
John Palmer
Why should always Brussels formulate the alternatives? Say instead YES or NO to Free Europe Constitution at http://www.FreeEurope.info!