THERE EU GO

When anyone discusses the EU it tends to bring images of dull men in grey suits and masses of bureacuracy to the front of the mind and there is a tendency to switch off. However, the amount of bureacrats employed by the EU commission [administering all of europe] for example, is considerably less than one of the larger ministries in some of the larger member states. They couldn’t do what they do without the tacit and/or active support of the politicians in the member states. The politicians tend to abuse the EU at home to score points with the electorate and then support when no one is looking.

Now dull they might be, but we live in times where dull unimaginative men in grey suits have a huge influence on how we live. Also, the fact that they are dull does not mean they can’t be callous or brutal – just think about what people thought of Stalin at first. I am not suggesting for a minute that the EU bureaucrats are akin to Stalin but I once heard an academic, who is best described as an unapologetic Stalinist, suggest that based on purely economic indicators Stalin was very succesful. That may well be true but in those terms so was slavery, the early years of Nazism and a million other abominations. A justification for something based solely on economic growth is no justification at all.

Ireland is also the only country where the people will be allowed to vote on the treaty because it is in their constitution that they must be allowed to do so. The rest of Europe had their referendums on the forerunner to the treaty [the EU constitution] cancelled when it became clear that the people were going to go against the wishes of those in power when the French and the Dutch voted ‘Non’/'Neen’.

So the constitution was slightly modified, reworded and redressed as a treaty, which meant that many countries wouldn’t have to give their people the opportunity to say what they thought about it in a referendum.

In case it still isn’t clear to you…yes…this was a massive ‘Fuck you’ from the leaders of the European Nations (not merely the people who work in Brussels) to their own people .

Ireland experienced a massive increase in wealth in the last 30 years, and the EU played a large part in that success. That is not a justification for the endorsement of this treaty.

If the Irish people want to vote purely from self-interest then they they should vote ‘no’ because the kind of EU money that was going to them before the expansion of the EU will be going elsewhere. If the predicted problems in the European economy materialise then Ireland will be locked into the cycle with Europe if it ratifies the treaty. Without it they have more of a chance of pulling themselves out of trouble.

If they want to think more internationally then they should also vote ‘no’ because this treaty is going to cause more problems for people in the poorer parts of the world based as a lot of it based on the (ahem) ‘free’ market principles that have got us into this god-awful mess of environmental degradation and poverty we are in now.

I made a new picture to go with all of this. The original picture is by the artist Louise Bourgeois so I might have to delete it.

Please check my friends take on this at Lonesome Sparrows blog.

There are a few more articles by myself on the subject.

There is also the intriguing possibility that Scotland might have its own referendum even if England is denied the right.

SONG FOR THE DAY – Click the link below to listen (its good).

WELCOME TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Welcome to the European Union
by David Rovics

I landed in Denmark and there was Burger King
And a red and white sign saying “Coke´s the real thing”
The Titanic was sinking at the local cineplex
And the kids were chomping on corn chex
In the city center the stores were closing down
Things just haven´t been the same since the Wal-Mart came to town
In the growing suburbs folks were driving minivans
And it´s all gone according to the best-laid plans

(Chorus)
Welcome to the European Union
It´s evolving every day
Getting more and more like the USA

Well I thumbed a ride to Hamburg, saw the homeless in the street
The mayor had to build more houses to make room for the elite
The cops were rounding up the immigrants, sending them to other places
It was plain to see the desperation on their faces
When I got to Brussels you could feel the scheming in the air
Corporate executives in suits were everywhere
And they were very happy for all the plans they made
And you could hear them chanting, “free trade free trade free trade!”

(Chorus)

And in London men were saying, “We need more fighter planes
And we need more motorways with some exra lanes
We need Washington to teach us how an economy runs
And spend lots more money on cars and bombs and guns
When Euro-Interests are threatened we must be prepared
To invade some backward country if the United States is scared
Africa may shake and the peaceniks will glower
But what the world plainly needs is another superpower”

(Chorus)

Once we were so proud of social democracy
Welfare for all and long vacations by the sea
But now we have seen the errors of our ways
There is no alternative, no way back to the old days
If you want a living wage, we´ll tell you where to go
As we welcome China into the WTO
Yes if you want an honest job your prospects might not look sunny
But there´s never been a better time if you´ve got lots of money

(Chorus)

Yes in the halls of power from Athens to Par-ee
You can hear the rulers shouting “no more subsidy
So fuck off all you workers, farmers, greens and all
It´s time to turn the world into a giant shopping mall”
From Rasmussen to Shroeder, Blair to Berlusconi
It´s all the same old show, same old dog and pony
If you need me to spell it out, what´s the matter with them
It´s called C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-M

(Chorus)