International

The Dutch centrist party D66 this week published its vision of Europe’s future, which it goes so far as to describe as ‘radiant’. This seems fine, and idealistic. Yet read it more closely and you will see that the vision continues to be based on outmoded neoliberal ideas. The European Union’s goal is first and foremost to become an economic bloc that can compete with other continents. Humanity and certainly the human scale are to be subordinated to this. For the SP this is to put things upside down: we put people at the centre and listen to all of those Dutch people who say that everything is getting rather difficult, that we must ensure that national democracy is not undermined by Brussels and that we keep government for the most part close to home, without interference from Brussels.

Next week we will vote in the European Parliament on the so-called ‘2-pack’. Some people think this refers to the 1990s rapper, but nothing could be further than the truth. The purpose of the 2-pack is to ensure that in the future member states will have to submit their draft budgets to the European Commission for its opinion before they are presented to their own parliaments. In this way the position of national parliaments will be deliberately eroded to the advantage of the ‘European Economic Government’. For the SP this is an idea which holds little appeal, all the less because the Commission will actually only be empowered to take into consideration the budgetary norms, such as the 3% limit of deficits. A government which exceeds that limit will certainly receive a negative verdict from the Commission, and will be required within two weeks to present a revised version, even if the majority in the national parliament supports the original proposal. The Commission has in this case really gone overboard, but I am afraid that the European Parliament will accept its proposals.

In this the EP stands squarely behind the same kind of view as that supported by D66. The more powers transferred to Brussels the better. According to D66 it’s high time for a United States of Europe. The only most people don’t want any such thing. They would rather see an increasingly solid cooperation, and want the chance to contribute to any decision to transfer more powers to Brussels. They do not want a neoliberal ideology, an ideology which, it should be noted, is responsible for the entire economic crisis. D66 should also reflect on whether it is always so humane to prioritise ‘competitiveness’, even if this means that everywhere you are developing ever wider, ever less human relationships. In the political institutions in Brussels which are now moving further and further away from the people, and in corporations which in order to remain competitive go along with the passion for consolidation and concentration. Such a future may well radiate, but only from the walls of glass of modern office blocks, and certainly not from the faces of ordinary men, women and children. These will be radiant only when those people know that they are at last in charge of their own surroundings. Preserving the human scale - there too D66 should get a little more involved.