[Peace-discuss] The EU constitution = BS

[Lisa Chason]

Thanks to Matt Reichel for his thoughtful insights from France. Here and
in another posting are some more of what's stirring in Euroland.
Lisa

 

The EU Constitution; don't believe the BS (=bullShit)

by Mike Whitney 

05/30/05 " <http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/> ICH" - - The EU
constitution is a Trojan horse slapped together by corporate and banking
elites with the clear purpose of undermining national sovereignty and
accelerating globalization. Thank God the French had the common sense to
read the document and vote it down. Unlike their American counterparts,
who have been the victims of a barrage of free trade agreements (NAFTA,
CAFTA, FTAA) which have sacrificed the environment, eviscerated national
sovereignty, and savaged the middle-class; the French thumbed their
noses at a plan that was designed to torpedo their economic system. If
the constitution had passed, its neoliberal policies would inevitably
put Frenchmen in direct competition with the lowest paid workers in
Canton Province. 

No thanks; that' a model that only works the corporate oligarchy and
their friends in the "free press". 

It doesn't take much research to figure out who was behind this EU
turkey. A quick glance at Google News shows that every media outlet in
the world, excluding the Socialist Worker and the International Herald
Tribune, supported the treaty and is already bemoaning the election
results, dismissing them as a sign of "French stubbornness" and
"cultural arrogance". Most of the news completely eschews the facts;
choosing instead to whimper about a "divided Europe" and the disgrace
that Chirac's naughty children have heaped on his pristine reputation. 

Just listen to the braying at the New York Times: "PARIS, May 29 -
Turning its back on half a century of European history, France
decisively rejected a constitution for Europe on Sunday, plunging the
country into political disarray and jeopardizing the cause of European
unity." 

"Plunging the country into political disarray and jeopardizing the cause
of European unity?" My Gawd, they never tire of hyperbole at 'the paper
of record'. 

First of all, it's a stretch just to call this neoliberal rag a
constitution at all. Typically, we think of a constitution as a document
that embraces the highest ideals of a people; laying out clear
guidelines for safeguarding civil liberties and the rule of law; not a
compendium of perks for big business and their cronies in high finance.
The EU constitution simply hands over more power to an "unelected" class
of euro-parasites who want to suck the life out of the social welfare
system that has raised the standard of living for the middle class to
the highest in the world. The French were smart enough to say, "non!" 

The constitution poses an even greater threat to French national
sovereignty. As George Will notes in his May 27 article, "The
constitution says member states can 'exercise their competence' only
where the EU does not exercise its. But the constitution gives EU
institutions jurisdiction over foreign affairs, defense, immigration,
trade, energy, agriculture, fishing and much more." 

What?!? Control over "foreign affairs, defense, immigration, trade,
energy, agriculture, fishing and much more"? 

Why would any sovereign people transfer authority on these issues to
bureaucrats and corporatists whose only interest is the bottom line?
Even the conservative George Will admits that a "yes" vote "would
accelerate the leeching away of each nation's sovereignty." (Ironically,
Will's article was one of only two articles, out of 1,400, to criticize
the EU constitution) 

An article by America Vera Zavala "The French vote on the Constitution"
further clarifies the sovereignty dilemma: "The constitution centralizes
even more power in the hands of the undemocratic .EU commission. The EU
commission gets a fast track in trade issues..The constitution clearly
speaks about a military union and states that the nation states have to
increase military expenses in their national budgets ..The neoliberal
economic policy is fixed in the treaty; it gives priority to the fight
against inflation over unemployment - an economic dogma creating
problems in the entire world." 

In other words, the same neoliberal straightjacket that has been used
throughout developing world is now being tailored for Europe. It is a
strategy that reliably transfers the lions-share of the wealth and
resources to multi-national corporations and their colleagues in the
banking establishment. Presumably, the resources that are directed into
the military would go straight into NATO (not some alternative, European
force) and remain under American control. The reason for this is that
the US Military is a fully owned franchise of the corporate elite; a
model that requires no fine-tuning. 

The French vote is just the first volley in what will undoubtedly be a
long war. The corporate moguls and their political underlings have
sharpened their talons for a long and bloody conflict; they won't be
discouraged by results of the democratic process. Luxembourg Prime
Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has already brushed aside the French vote
saying the ratification process must, "go on"; and certainly it will. 

The EU constitution provides an excellent example of the underlying
dangers facing democracy in the modern world. The insidious influence of
corporations far surpasses the danger of international terrorism; at
risk, are the institutions that protect personal liberty and national
independence. The EU constitution, bathed in the soft pastels of a
massive public relations campaign, is just the latest malevolent scheme
to undermine the nation state and establish the apocryphal "new world
order". 

George Will said it best, "Sovereignty is a predicate of
self-government. The deeply retrograde constitution would reverse five
centuries of struggle to give representative national parliaments
control over public finance and governance generally." Amen.
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