THE EU CONSTITUTION HASN’T GONE AWAY

Parliamentary column www.rmt.org.uk :: june 2006 :: RMTnews T he private sector must no longer be allowed to stand in the way of a fair rail fares policy, RMT declared after MPs published a damning report on the shambolic state of the industry’s complex pricing structures. The House of Commons Transport Select Committee concluded that the drive for profit had been put before passengers and called on the government to force rail operators to operate a single, affordable fares structure. The report was widely seen as an indictment of the private sector’s inability to operate the railways as a public service. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that the private train operators operated pricing policies aimed simply at maximising revenues and profits. “As long as the private-sector monopolies remain unchecked, the government will be unable to meet its manifesto commitments on integrated transport or the environment. “Rail fares policy ought to be harnessed to encourage a shift from car to train and that means making them affordable,” Bob said. RMT’s submission to the committee also showed how privatisation had left standard fares and travelcards vastly more expensive than elsewhere in Europe, and that at holiday times it is all-but impossible for families to get a cheap fare deal. The union pointed out that bringing rail operations back into the public sector would end the siphoning of billions of tax-payers’ pounds into shareholders’ pockets and urged the government to honour its manifesto commitment to introduce a National Rail Card. Despite the defeat of the proposed European Union constitution in France and the Netherlands in 2005, the political elites in Europe are desperately trying to find a way to impose it anyway. Rather than accepting that the peoples of Europe are unwilling to engage in ‘ever closer union’, elites are trying to find ever more ingenious ways of forcing the people to have what they believe is good for them. Former French president and constitution architect Gisgard D’Estaing has called for the French to continue voting until they get the right result, a bit like examination re- sits. Meanwhile, the Austrian chancellor, and current holder of the EU Presidency, Wolfgang Schuessel has ruled out making “substantial” changes to the rejected EU Constitution and has called for a Europe- wide referendum. This would mean that individual countries could be outvoted and dragged into a European superstate without their consent. Other EU leaders have called for parts of the constitution to be ‘cherry picked’ and to proceed with those parts regardless of the Dutch and French results. On the other hand, Dutch Europe Minister Atzo Nicolaï has said that for the Netherlands ‘no’ is still ‘no’. Despite this, The Independent has reported that the UK government is planning to drop a commitment to hold a referendum over the EU Constitution, if any new proposal contains “less significant” changes to the already rejected Constitution. It is widely expected that if a referendum were held, the British would still vote no so MPs from all sides have reacted angrily to the suggestion. Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who helped draw up the constitution, has warned that holding a referendum “is the only way that a government can secure the consent of the people in this matter”. The next big row in Britain will come on the European budget, which will have to be approved by Parliament within the next six months. But how can this be when there has been no meaningful reduction in agricultural spending and little reduction in the fraud and corruption that riddles the budget. There has been no clear increase in efficiency or accountability so surely British MPs should vote to reject it and force the European Union and the Commission to accept that the EU should seek to do less, better. Ian Davidson MP, Glasgow South West THE EU CONSTITUTION HASN’T GONE AWAY DAMNING RAIL FARES REPORT HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR ACTION VICTORY: Young French people celebrate the rejection of the EU Constitution on May 29 2005 but EU elites have chosen to ignore the results and carry on regardless.