International

This week the German magazine Der Spiegel revealed that Angela Merkel has big plans for the European Union and in particular for the Eurozone. To begin with she wants ‘contracts’ between the European Commission and the member states under which the Commission will completely take over the direction of social- and financial-economic policy. She also now appears to be in favour of a European budget for member states to which they would have access in return for good behaviour and which they would be able to make no claim on should they not do what Brussels says. This is all precisely what the SP does not want to see, but there is one ray of hope. Merkel wants amendments to the Lisbon Treaty to make her ideas possible. That will give us the chance to change some things ourselves, for example abolishing economic governance and limiting the power of the European Commission. Those would be great subjects for a referendum.

It’s the same old story. Before national elections there’s no debate at all on transferring further powers to Brussels, in order that afterward they can get down to work on just that. The president of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, and the chairman of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, had already proposed ‘contracts’ between the member states and the Commission. So at first Merkel expressed no support, because first she had a general election to win.

In these contracts must be stipulated what the member state in question intends to do in order to strengthen its competitiveness: this might include measures such as breaking up public services, reductions in wages and pensions, and undermining the right to collective bargaining between workers and employers, such things as you can now see in those Eurozone countries under receivership. The contracts are not without reciprocal obligations. Signed and then adhered to, they will win the member state additional EU money to finance plans. Fail to do so, and you won’t get a penny. One small detail is that this will be ‘new’ money, over and above the existing budget. The Commission is keen to be able to deploy this money in order to direct investments itself, again to promote Europe’s competitiveness. Of course that will mean also having a European finance minister, because otherwise it would amount to nothing.

source: wikicommons

Now, after the elections, Merkel appears, possibly in part due to pressure from her new coalition partners, the German social democrats, no longer to feel any brake on the coming of a European government: it will arrive and arrive quickly. And with it, moreover, supported by the social democrats, will come the neoliberal character of the European super-state, written in stone, because all of this is about ‘competitiveness’. Next May’s European elections therefore concern principally this: will we as Dutch citizens simply let this happen or will we demand a referendum, should an attempt be made to realise this kind of plan via treaty amendment?

I’m looking forward to turbulent times. If things go well, a possible future referendum would concern not only the right’s agenda, because a referendum only makes sense if there is a real choice. So it’s not enough to put Merkel’s proposal before the people, but also counter-propositions which would likely have to come principally from the SP. In that case the question becomes one of whether you would like to see a European ‘Super-Commissioner’ still more powerful than Ollie Rehn is now? Or do you want to see power given back to the people’s representatives, in particular to the Dutch Parliament? And do you want then perhaps to reject the proposal from these European Commissioners with their relentless pressure for ever more European regulation and interference? Such a referendum would be terrific, because I’m convinced that the majority, just as was the case in the referendum in 2005 on the European Constitution, would choose national democracy. So Merkel’s worthless ideas could lead straight to something good. I hope so, and wish her much success!