No EU Constitution

T HE proposed constitution for the European Union threatens to fundamentally alter the way we are governed and how laws are made. Therefore, it should be of interest to all trade unionists. Put simply, the constitution turns the EU on its head. At the moment, legitimacy remains with the member states. Under the constitution, the EU itself becomes the source of legitimacy and its laws will have primacy over member states. Power is irreversibly transferred from elected governments to the un-elected European Commission in Brussels. In other words, the EU consti- tution is almost entirely about amassing power for a superstate. It confirms the sole right of the Commission to initiate new laws and removes the power of veto from member states in over 30 new policy areas. This means that the lobbying of MPs and parliament for progressive change would be rendered almost meaningless overnight. It would be far harder to influence policies decided by the remote, unaccountable and un- elected commission in Brussels. Raising issues with MEPs would also not produce much in the way of results as they have no rights to table legislation. As RMT general secretary Bob Crow put it recently: “the bottom line is that “any government that hands over power to a degree envisaged in the proposed constitution is effectively no longer a government”. The right to strike? Attempts have been made to sell the constitution based on its supposed support for workers’ rights, claiming that the Charter of Fundamental Rights contained within it enshrines the right strike. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. Article II 28 explains that the "limits for the exercise of collective action, including strike action, come under national laws and practices". In other words, the UK’s draconian anti- union laws will remain enforceable until they are removed from the statute books. Article II-52 also states that such rights can be removed ‘in the general interest of the Union". Therefore, the EU Court of Justice, which exists to further the interests of the EU, would reign supreme over national constitutions on all human and civil rights matters. This represents a massive extension of EU powers and trade unions could end up with even fewer rights. A charter for big business If the right to withdraw labour isn’t guaranteed, the right of capital roam free is set in stone. Article 3 establishes “an internal market within which competition is free and unhindered” without any distinction between private and public sector. The Commission will also gain new powers to negotiate agreements in the name of the EU on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) that will submit education, health and social services to enforced “liberali- sation”, all under the watchful eye of the newly unelected EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson. Mandelson recently claimed that “Europe will continue to benefit from globalisation as long as trade and investment are further liberalised.” He also declared that the failure to implement the EU’s “Lisbon agenda” for so-called ‘labour market reform’ was to blame for the eurozone’s dreadful economic performance. The constitution will give EU officials massive new powers to impose neoliberal policies regardless of what elected governments say. Furthermore, it states “The currency of the Union shall be the euro”, indicating that countries outside the struggling eurozone, like Britain, shall be forced to adopt the currency. Even right–wing free-traders have stated that this top down imposition of neo-liberal policies constitutes a Pinochet-style coup in slow motion which will only serve to increase hostility to policies of mass privatisation. No to EU militarism The constitution also includes the drive to militarise the EU. It envisages the creation of an EU army capable of acting globally. It expects member states to contribute to a huge increase in the development of military hardware. There will be a European foreign minister who will direct a single EU foreign and military policy that must be "loyally" supported by member states. This has been portrayed as war machine that could act as a counter-weight to aggressive US imperialism. However, leaving aside inherent problems in binding 25 separate countries with very different outlooks and interests, it should not be assumed with EU enlargement that an anti-US majority exists in Brussels as many east European entrants backed the illegal war in Iraq. EU forces have already taken part in military RMT news – The EU constitution An undemocratic privateers’ charter RMT recently decided at its AGM to campaign against the proposed EU Constitution which hands the power to privatise and other policies from elected governments to unelected eurocrats in Brussels NO to the EU constitution 18 adventures in tandem with the US and has forces in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Congo. Moreover, how will a single foreign policy sit with ‘neutral’ nations such as Finland, Austria, Ireland and Sweden? Taking liberties The constitution proposes to harmonise legal systems, with standard sentences and Europe-wide rules for basic legal procedures which do not include the right to trial by jury. It also envisages an EU public prosecutor and an extension of Europol’s structures and operations, covering the collection of information relating to European citizens and ‘investigative and operational action’. Human rights organisations such as Statewatch have expressed concerns at the prospect of Europol, whose officers’ are immune from prosecution, being granted greater powers. Brussels will be able ‘limit’ human rights if deemed to be in the ‘general interest’ of the EU. On top of controversial EU policies concerning refugees, new Italian European Commissioner for Justice and internal affairs Rocco Buttiglione has backed a German plan to build ‘processing centres’ in North Africa to hold asylum seekers trying to reach Europe. A similar plan was blocked last year by Sweden, but under the EU consti- tution, individual member states can be outvoted on asylum issues. Popular opposition Honest Europhiles like the Belgian prime minister describe the 900 page long treatise as the “the capstone of a European federal state” since it centralises massive powers to Brussels and expatriates none to member states. However, many of those in favour of the constitution deny many aspects of the proposals and dismiss any criticism as right-wing scaremongering. The truth, of course, is that millions of trade unionists and Labour voters have deep reservations over the ratification of such a far-reaching document. RMT has tabled a motion to the TUC Congress in Brighton to highlight these concerns and calls on the TUC to investigate the impact of the proposals and campaign to defend national democratic rights. There is growing opposition within the Labour Party with many MPs pledging support for the Labour Against a Superstate group, set up by Labour MPs Ian Davidson and John Cryer. Left and democratic opposition to the constitution is also growing in other member states. As former Labour MP Tony Benn pointed out in RMT news last year, “this consti- tution will be a tool for the euro-imperi- alists to remove democracy at home and punch above their military weight abroad”. G RMT’s full submission to the TUC is available on the RMT website in the research area under ‘consultation exercises’. RMT news – EU EU constitution at a glance I Article 1-14 says that EU can impose ‘broad guidelines’ telling member states how to run their economies. This could have huge implications for spending on public services. I Article I-15 states: “Member states shall actively and unreservedly support the Union's common foreign and security policy in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity”. I Article 1-25 confirms the sole right of the unelected European Commission to draw up new laws and removes national veto rights in over 30 new areas. I Article II 28 states the "limits for the exercise of collective action, including strike action, come under national laws and practices" I Article II -52 allows the EU to ‘limit’ basic human rights if deemed to be in the ‘general interest’ of the EU (www.statewatch.org) I Article III-32 (1) states: ‘A European framework law shall establish the measures in order to achieve the liberali- sation of a specific service,’ giving the EU the power to impose privatisation in a particular area. I Article III -175 provides for the creation of an EU public prosecutor. Article III -177 gives the EU the right to extend the ‘structure, operation, field of action and tasks’ of its police force, whose agents, like other EU officials, enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution. TAKING LIBERTIES: Riot police fire teargas and attack protesters at the EU summit in Thessaloniki, Greece and European trade unions protest against the EU’s drive to pri- vatise and its involvement in negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). pictures Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk 19