"This NON is a setback for neo-liberal politics throughout the EU"

national | eu | feature

Wednesday June 01, 2005 10:02

by Brendan Young - Campaign Against EU Constitution

euconstitution at eircom dot net

French NON is first step to Europe of social and environmental priorities

Campaign Against the EU Constitution Press Statement

The decisive NON to the EU Constitution in the French referendum is the first step towards a new direction for Europe. The ordinary people of France have voted NON to the privatisation of public services, to the profit motive of the market dominating all aspects of life, and to further centralisation of decision-making in the hands of the EU elite. They have rejected a European Constitution that enshrines competition above solidarity - a Constitution that makes people in work compete for their jobs and wages against the unemployed and makes the poor compete against the very poor for scarce resources.

The French NON is a demand for a different Europe to the free-market politics of the EU Constitution - which would set in stone the same neo-liberal policies being imposed by the French government, and supported by many other European governments and the European Commission. This NON is a setback for neo-liberal politics throughout the EU. It is the first step towards an alternative direction for Europe, where the needs of ordinary people come first.

The leaders of other European countries and the European Commission must accept the French vote. There must be no campaign for a re-run of the French referendum and no anti-democratic back-room deals. The EU Constitution cannot now come into force and must be abandoned.

There should now begin a Europe-wide discussion on an alternative direction for Europe, with the NON campaign in France as its starting point. It should be public, open and inclusive - involving all parts of society and not based only upon the views of 'experts' or elected representatives.

The NON campaign in France has brought together a wide range of people - including public sector workers, the French radical Left, environmentalists, and those who seek an alternative to the global rule of the market - in a united movement against the politics of the EU Constitution. The movement in France is mirrored in other European countries, including Ireland. We look forward to the French movement continuing to campaign against neo-liberalism and militarism - and likewise the movement in other countries. For it is this movement that can begin to provide an alternative to the failed politics of the right and to the failed leaders of the traditional social-democratic parties.