Democrat Editorial September-October 1998 (Number 32)
Grasp the opportunity now
By Brian Denny
THIS conference season possibly represents the
best chance in a long time to push for a proper, balanced debate on
the effects of the drive for Euro-federalism and economic and monetary
union.
Increasingly it is becoming clearer that EMU and its
convergence criteria, forcing continuing cutbacks, deflation and privatisations,
is hitting hard as manufacturing industries stagnate and the public
sector reels from one funding crisis to another. This deflationary
criteria, known as the stability pact, dreamed up by Brussels, is
forcing EU member states to impose huge cuts in public spending and
are behind Chancellor Gordon Brown's tight fiscal monetary policies.
Such policies will only serve to continue the spiral
of mass unemployment, poverty and the politics of the far right and
racists who feed off growing despair up and down the country. In short,
Britain is suffering from the same policies as the previous Eurofanatic
Tory government with devastating effect, the European Commission wants
us to suffer more of the same medicine. Yet there are signs that people
are prepared to reject this neoliberal headlong drive towards the
creation of the euro whatever the social cost to satisfy a tiny minority
of big businessmen and bankers.
At the TUC the Community and Youth Workers Union,
have put forward a motion* in order to raise the
level of debate and reflect the concerns of millions of ordinary people
who see EMU as undemocratic and dangerous. The motion deserves support
as it proposes a proper debate within the trade union movement, something
that has been blocked by Eurofanatics since 1988 when Jaques Delors
promised the TUC conference jobs, growth and prosperity if it would
only drop opposition to Brussels.
It has been ten, long years since that particular
debacle and what has happened? Delors promises of euro-jam tomorrow
has evaporated as quickly as this country's publicly-owned industries
and it's peoples right to control their own futures. We have seen
the devastating efforts of being in the Exchange Rate Mechanism- the
forerunner of EMU - and ever tighter monetary policies imposed to
suit the interests of the European Central Banks rather than people's
needs.
Despite this stark evidence the TUC general council
amazingly continue to promote monetary union as being in the interests
of working people. The National Union of Mineworkers amendment to
the CYWU motion calls for Britain to withdraw from the European Union.
Some people dismiss this as impractical but it would be more sensible
and desirable to demand democracy on the level of the nation state,
which has a popular mandate, rather than within the EU which has no
support from ordinary people who suffer the consequences of it's very
existence.
Getting these fundamental issues raised within an
increasingly autocratic Labour Party is more problematic. However,
the Labour Euro-Safeguards Committee annual fringe meeting (see opposite
for details) should attract a growing audience from within a labour
movement which is becoming increasingly concerned at the direction
of the Labour Party's eurofanatic leadership.
The global financial crisis is raising question marks
over the economic orthodoxy of Brussels which mirrors that of the
IMF/World Bank, big business interests and other oligarchs and putting
the fight for all aspects of democracy and the national question firmly
on the agenda.
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* Since this editorial was published the 1998 TUC Congress agreed a composite resolution to debate EMU.
CAEF published a pamphlet - EURO Fallout - some copies are still available for £1.36 each order form.