LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Autumn 2007

by Aurélie Trouvé

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Sir,

Roman Herzog and Lüder Gerken claim that ordinary Europeans increasingly reject Europe because they feel power is becoming too concentrated at the centre. How did they work that out? The French “No” vote certainly did not support their views. The whole campaign showed French citizens wanted to see “another Europe” rather than “less Europe”. Hundreds of national and local debates took place ahead of the referendum; it was a wonderful opportunity for people to learn more about the EU. Surveys after the poll identified two major reasons for “No” votes: first, the economic and social situation in France and, second, concern that the constitution would have promoted an excessively neo-liberal economic system. So what did the French campaign tell us that our citizens want from the EU? They want it to protect their jobs, fight inequality and prevent social insecurity.

Herzog and Gerken cannot dismiss these demands as peculiarly French. Sixteen Attac organisations from different European countries have recently signed up to the “Ten Principles for a Democratic Treaty”. These call on the EU to protect and support democratic gains, fundamental rights, social security, gender justice, environmental sustainability, peace-building and solidarity. They also want EU treaties to provide real improvement in social and fiscal policies at the European level, rather than imposing one specific economic model.

All this illustrates that the real problem Europeans have with the EU stems from its determination to create an “open market economy with free and undistorted competition“. This goal was stipulated 27 times in the constitutional treaty, as well as in earlier treaties. It amounts to a race to the bottom in vital areas like taxation, social policies and the dismantling of public services. The new project of European treaty proposed during the European council in June does not give any answer to it.

Rather than facing these disturbing facts, Roman Herzog and Lüder Gerken focus on some supposed lack of national sovereignty within the EU. Their oversight is unsurprising given that Mr. Herzog is a well-known German conservative and Mr. Gerken is president of the Friedrich-August-von-Hayek Foundation. Hayek was after all the sworn enemy of any state intervention in the socio-economic system. Their advocacy of reduced central powers for the EU would, conveniently, also reinforce two conservative trends in Europe: the continued opening of commercial and financial markets, plus the progressive reduction in opportunities for EU-wide safeguards on social, environmental and fiscal legislation.

Such neo-liberalism tendencies have only been able to grip Europe because its citizens have been kept away from European decision-making. Hence the question of EU democracy is crucial to resolving the current crisis of confidence. Here, one can agree with Messrs. Herzog and Gerken that any future EU treaty must clearly elaborate the limits of EU sovereignty. However, their simultaneous call for decentralisation fails to provide any guarantee of a more democratic EU. A future treaty should ensure greater democracy by ending the Commission’s monopoly on proposing legislation, reinforcing powers of the European and national parliaments, imposing democratic control over the European Central Bank, limiting corporate influence and demanding transparency on lobbying. Such a treaty should be drafted by an Assembly directly elected for that purpose, with the effective participation of national parliaments, and be legitimised by referenda in all member states.

As far as we are concerned, that is how to restore citizens’ confidence in Europe.