International

A group of leading academics writing in the prestigious national daily NRC this weekend demanded a referendum on the question of whether the Netherlands should become part of the European political union advocated by people such as Herman van Rompuy and Jose Barroso, presidents respectively of the European Council and the European Commission. Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans writes the idea off, describing it as ‘hackneyed’. At the same time a whole discussion has exploded into life on the social media, in which Europhiles are arguing that it’s not a referendum that we need, but political leadership. For the SP, however, the matter is clear. We have been for many years in favour of a referendum, because by means of so-called ‘economic governance’ a great deal of power has already been handed to Brussels without the people having been given any chance to have their say.

It was all over Dutch television this weekend: more and more people are demanding a social agenda for Europe. Clearly a social agenda is needed, as is demonstrated by figures published this week by the European Commission which show that within the EU one in every four young people is unemployed, while one in four people is at best in danger of falling into poverty, or is already living in poverty. This can’t continue. But Eurocrats would not be Eurocrats if they didn’t immediately deduce from this that Brussels must have more power. One of the TV discussions centred on contracts between the member states and the European Commission regarding social reforms, in exchange for which countries would receive more money. If that’s Europe’s social agenda, we’d better be on our guard. A social agenda could also, however, consist of less austerity fetishism and more giving priority to social rights. That seems to me a much better way out of the crisis and out of the catastrophe that is hitting more and more ordinary people in Europe.

Predictions fill the air. According to some, the economic crisis has hit bottom. Others say there’s more heavy weather on the way. Some argue that the European Council summit this month showed that we don’t need to fear still more interference from Brussels in our national socio- economic policies. Others reckon we may have another think coming. Myself, I try to be realistic: optimistic economic predictions are for the most part aimed at renewing confidence, so that we start spending again. So I don’t believe them. And one European Council that could ‘only’ reach agreement on a banking union doesn’t mean that Van Rompuy and his officials aren’t continuing to work towards a federal Europe. So my slogan for 2013 is that the SP must stay alert and not allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep.

This week a report was issued by the European Commission, under its president Jose Barroso, on the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union. The timing is in no sense coincidental, because the European Council, the direct representative of the member state governments, will also be publishing a report during this month, a statement which in the first instance will be presented by its president, Herman van Rompuy, whose proposals have already been published in an interim report, of which this will be a revised version. The fight between these two gentlemen has now begun in earnest.