Wednesday 14 March 2012

Guest Post: New Fiscal Treaty helps you lose social & democratic rights... Guaranteed!



"How can you stand there with a straight face and talk about growth, jobs, and stability – when you are attempting to institutionalise synchronised austerity policies right across Europe with a Fiscal Treaty that will worsen the crisis?" Irish GUE/NGL MEP Paul Murphy asked Commission and Council Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy this morning in the European Parliament debate on the last summit.

"Meeting the targets of Article 3 and Article 4 of the new Fiscal Treaty will mean hundreds of billions in cuts and extra taxes across Europe. Ratification means more unemployment, worse public services, and further attacks on working conditions. In Ireland, the government's argument in the debate on the Austerity Treaty is entirely based on scare-mongering, the centre-piece of which is the treaty's blackmail clause which says that only countries that sign up can access ESM (European Stability Mechanism) funds" he said.

"European leaders and the Greek government have put the Greek people at the centre of a major experiment in cutting wages, pensions, and benefits; reducing spending on hospitals, schools and universities; eliminating collective bargaining, and abolishing labour and social rights" said Greek MEP Nikolaos Chountis.

"Greek people, especially young people, are suffering so that banks can profit. The Fiscal Treaty is the bankruptcy of the idea of ??Europe - the bankruptcy of solidarity, the bankruptcy of democracy. Mr. Van Rompuy and Mr. Barroso, you have built a Europe that denies itself, its history and its democratic traditions. However, the people of Europe are not bankrupt - they will defend their democratic and social rights."

Portuguese MEP Inês Zuber said that behind the technocratic language and the words "fiscal consolidation" hides the reality of condemning families to poverty and despair.

"This treaty constitutes an attack on the sovereignty of countries that will lose their ability to decide on budgetary matters. It thus paves the way for the establishment of colonial relations within the EU under the control of big business and major powers." She emphasised the fight back and said Portuguese workers were set to participate massively in an anti-austerity General Strike on March 22.

"The Troika is pushing Greece to cut wages and social benefits in order to make the country export at cheaper prices" German MEP Jürgen Klute said. "If only they had asked stakeholders before presenting a "one size fits all" formula for recovery, they would have understood that the Greek economy has been depending on internal demand, and not on exports. We finally need to learn that member states affected by the crisis need our firm solidarity and investment, not austerity recipes."


Another Europe is possible
EUROPEAN UNITED LEFT/NORDIC GREEN LEFT
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY GROUP



13-3-12

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