[E-rundbrief] Info 679 - Susan George: Europe and the Lisbon Treaty

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 679 - Susan George (F): Europe deserves much better 
than the Lisbon Treaty.

Bad Ischl, 22.5.2008

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Europe deserves much better than the Lisbon Treaty

May 22, 2008 12:55 | by Susan George

European history provides a showcase of human beings at their worst. 
Constant conflict, the two bloodiest wars ever waged, famine, brutal 
industrialisation, oppression of workers and women, religious strife, 
colonialism, fascism, communism - all these stain our past. But Europe 
also represents the best humankind has accomplished, giving the world 
the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, a constant struggle for 
emancipation, democracy and the separation of powers, the welfare state 
- not to mention universally recognised cultural contributions from 
Greek drama to Finnegans Wake , from the symphony orchestra to Irish 
folksong.

Born in the United States and a citizen of France, I am a fervent 
European. At this point in history, I believe only Europe can provide 
all its citizens with democratic government, dignified living standards, 
greater social equality, public services, universal healthcare and 
education. This small continent, with just 15 per cent of the world's 
people, can lead the way towards ecological sanity and a liveable planet 
and prove nations can overcome even the most tenacious hatreds and live 
together in peace. Europe can be a counter-model to the myriad 
brutalities, affinity for war and stupendous inequalities on display 
elsewhere.

For these and other reasons, I voted no to the deeply flawed, 
undemocratic European constitution in May 2005. Had the French 
government not confiscated the people's right to another referendum, I 
would have voted no again to the Lisbon ("Reform") Treaty - a clone of 
the rejected constitution, except for "cosmetic changes" making it 
"easier to swallow", as Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, principal author of 
the constitution, said. No flag, no Beethoven hymn, but the rest is 
there as Angela Merkel, José Manuel Barroso, Bertie Ahern and other 
relieved European notables all agreed.

The treaty contains no substantive changes. It's just much harder to 
understand, worse even than the immensely complex constitution. Now we 
must deal with two European treaties (Rome, 1957, and Maastricht, 1992, 
with their subsequent revisions) to which Lisbon adds 145 pages of 
amendments plus 132 more pages of 12 protocols and 51 declarations, all 
legally binding, all superseding every law of the 27 member states.

There is no single text - you must cut, paste and collate the hundreds 
of pages for yourself. The very least one should require of a treaty 
that will dictate at least 80 per cent of all future legislation 
throughout Europe is that it be comprehensible. But complexity can be an 
effective weapon against democracy. Let us recall what commission 
vice-president Gunter Verheugen said after the French and Dutch No 
votes: "We must not give in to blackmail." So much for universal 
suffrage and popular sovereignty.

There are a few beneficial changes to the defunct constitution. The new 
treaty gives the European Parliament, the only elected body, marginally 
more power to co-decide on legislation, although it still cannot 
initiate legislation.

However, the unelected European Commission remains all-powerful, 
particularly in crucial areas such as trade. A new article specifies the 
European goal of "integration of all countries into the world economy 
through the suppression of barriers to international trade". Already 
trade commissioner Peter Mandelson is pushing for European corporate 
penetration in even the poorest countries, defining "barriers" as any 
government measure regulating foreign investment, public procurement, 
environmental or consumer protection.

The European Central Bank gets an even more iron-clad statute of 
independence from political supervision; its mandate remains control of 
inflation with no mention of full employment. The "market" (63 mentions 
in the text) remains the supreme good and "competition" (25 mentions) 
the overarching rule. Public services are specifically subjected to 
competition: government subsidies or other forms of support will become 
more precarious. European-wide social policies will require unanimous 
approval - this is a euphemism for a race to the bottom. The Charter of 
Fundamental Rights is inferior to most existing European constitutions.

Common security and defence policy places Europe firmly under the 
tutelage of Nato "which remains the foundation of the collective defence 
of its members". We are signing on blindfolded for whatever Nato's 
future policies may be - we only know for sure the US will remain in 
command. The treaty also obliges members to "progressively increase 
their military capacities".

This Lisbon Treaty is a model of failed neo-liberal economic nostrums 
and misplaced confidence in the market and competition as universal 
panaceas. Europeans deserve better, beginning with an elected convention 
for drafting a constitution, time for full debate and a popular 
ratification process.

Europe has now surpassed the US as the wealthiest political entity. We 
can afford to retain and perfect the European social model, provide a 
decent livelihood for all and undertake a swift conversion to an 
ecological economy; we can afford to embody the ideal of the common 
good. Not to demand all this and more is a betrayal of whatever is best 
in our history. This may be Europe's last chance.

Susan George is a Fellow and Chair of the Board of the Transnational 
Institute, on the website of which this first appeared. Her latest books 
are La Pensée enchaînée: Comment les droites laïque et religieuse se 
sont emparées de l'Amérique [Fayard, 2007], to be published in English 
as: Hijacking America: How the Religious and Secular Right Changed What 
Americans Think [Forthcoming, Polity Press 2008], and We the peoples of 
Europe [Pluto Press, 2008].

See also http://www.spectrezine.org/europe/wurtz11.htm

Aus "Spectrezine", http://www.spectrezine.org/europe/george7.htm

-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
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