Brief history
Campaign Against Euro-federalism
The Campaign against Euro-federalism was founded in 1991 at a public meeting in Liverpool with the formation of an ad hoc committeee. This committee was briefed to call a conference which took place in Sheffield in 1992 just prior to the General Election. A campaign committee was elected at this conference.
The original Conference Newsletter was renamed The Democrat and remains the paper of the Campaign originally published ten times a year but now published bi-monthly. In addition the Democrat Broadsheet covers single issues and is circulated as an insert with the Democrat and available separately.
The Campaign is oriented to the labour and trade union movement and the people whom these organisations normally represent including democrats, socialists, trade unionists, students and pensioners and their organisations.
Several conferences have been held since the founding conference in 1992 and were convened to discuss and take action on, jobs, racism, the Welfare State, military aspects of the EC/EU and implications of the single currency and other implicatons of Britain's membership of the EEC/EC/EU.
A key conference was held in April 2000 in support of those campaigns: preventing the sale of council housing and residential homes; keeping the Rover plant at Longbridge and associated jobs in the Midlands; jobs for disabled people; and opposition to the privatisation of hospitals.
The implications of the single currency were discussed at a well attended seminar in March 2002. In September 2002 CAEF held a conference in London opposing the privatisation of public services and the use of PPP and PFI as conduits for prifiteers to make large profits and accompanying loss of accountability.
In 2003 CAEF held a conference on Jobs and the EU and the EU implications for the law which included the dangers of the European Arrest Warrant replacing Habeas Corpus with Corpus Juris. Amongst other conferences held around Britain in succeeding years included those on: the Military Implications of the EU ; Racism ; and Services Directive - the Race to the Bottom.
The Campaign is opposed to: Britain's membership of the European Community/Union; the Treaty which established the EU state Constitution; Britain joining the single currency; opposes the Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Army; opposes the introduction of Corpus Juris to replace Habeas Corpus; and harmonisation of taxation. The Campaign also opposes the Private Finance Initiative (PFI): opposed the NATO and EU military action against Yugoslavia; is against exploitation of the Third World through the Lome Convention, GATTS, WTO and other aspects of EU.
CAEF was a founder organisation and part of the Anti Maastricht Alliance in Britain and the international alliance of euro-critical organisations of TEAM originally formed in December 1992 at a 'Counter Summit' in Edinburgh and re-established in 1996. The Campaign also liaises and works with similar labour movement and other organisations at international and national levels. Units of the labour and trade union movement from local to national level, political parties and pensioners organisations are affiliated to the Campaign.
CAEF is totally opposed to the austertiy policies of the ConDem Government which stem directly from Brussels. A current objective of the Campaign is to draw attention to the EU factors and common EU policies behind these austerity policies being imposed in Britain as they are across the EU.
Besides publishing it's own pamphlets and other material, the Campaign's bi-monthly paper, The Democrat, provides an analysis of all aspects and implications of the thrust to European Union and news of local, national and international activity. The paper has included several regular series on `how the EC operates', `roots of our rights', `human set aside' military and economic matters. There are pages for readers letters and discussion. A single issue of the Democrat is available for three 50p postage stamps or £7 for ten issues. These can be obtained by using the order form. Campaign members receive the Democrat free. Much of the hard copy version of the Democrat have been included in this website. More archive material will be added as soon as practical.
The Campaign welcomes offers of help and donations, can provide speakers and is setting up local campaign groups. Membership of the Campaign is £10 (£5 unwaged) and organisations can affiliate for a suggested minimum of £10. A pro-forma is available on this website.
CAEF, PO Box 46295, London W5 2UG