The European Union is not a union of people's, but a union in serve of capitalism. In 1992, the European Community decided to create a political and economic union. Out of these talks came the European Union or EU. The treaty of Maastricht led to the birth of the EU, it also led to the creation of the euro currency. One of the obligations of the treaty for the members was to keep sound fiscal policies, with debt limited to 60% of GDP and annual deficits no greater than 3% of GDP. Only France, Denmark and Ireland held referendums on Maastricht ratification. The Danish people reject it with 51%, so Denmark was not obliged to participate in the third phase of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, meaning they did not changed their national currency to the euro in 2002!
The goals of the new union was to create a common market economy in Europe. By removing national laws on trade, the European Union became a free trade zone in which capitalists could easy transfer money, people and products. Although the EU created this common market and free trade between European nations, nothing was done to change income inequality. Workers from Southern Europe were still paid less then workers from Northern Europe. Right-wing political parties say that national governments must enforce austerity politics, in order to lure capitalist enterprises to their nations. But after Poland and Eastern Europe joined the EU, many capitalists moved their production work out of Western Europe. Workers in Poland earn an average wage of 681 euro's a month, in Romania and Bulgaria workers earn even lesser. Average wage in Romania is only 395 euro's a month. Bulgarian workers earn 330 euro's a month on average. This is why capitalists moved their production work to these cheap labour nations. A worker in the Netherlands, France and Scandinavia costs about five times the wage of a Bulgarian worker!
On the political level the European Union is not a pure democracy. Although it has a parliament, the true decision makers are concentrated into the European Commission. This commission is not elected by the European Parliament. Leader of the European Commission since 22 November 2002 is José Manuel Barroso, a former Maoist revolutionary now turned Christian conservative. Barroso acts as the face of the European Union. He is the man who enforces right-wing austerity plans on Greece and other European nations, who are in deep problems because of economic mismanagement by their ruling class and political leaders!
Revolutionary socialists reject the EU because it was created as a capitalist economic union. The European Union is portrayed as something for Europeans, but in reality it only serves businesses. Most European nations still have their own social security system which is superior in Northern Europe and almost none-existing in Eastern Europe. Workers are very good protected in Scandinavian nations, but left to the mercy of their employers in Eastern Europe. Workers in France are paid on average 2.100 euro's after taxes. Compare this to nations like Croatia were workers are paid 700 euro's. Romania and Bulgaria are the nations with the lowest average wage. Workers rights are often violated in these nations, because those governments are very pro-capitalist. After 40 years of living under Stalinist rule, many East European workers still have difficulties working under market demands. Because of low wages and poverty, many young workers choose to leave Eastern Europe to find their luck in Western European nations. East European workers face discriminated and racial hatred by West Europeans, who are mislead into thinking that East Europeans would steal their jobs!
Capitalists in Western Europe profit from Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian workers. After arriving in Western European nations, these foreign workers are then put to work under bad conditions. But the capitalist bosses do not care, they make millions of euro's while their workers are forced to work long hours for wages common in their homeland. In the Netherlands the minimum wage for 40 hours of work is 1.400 euro's a month before taxes. But many capitalists pay their foreign ''guest'' workers much less. Because many capitalist bosses use intimidation tactics and because many need money for their families, few dare to fight against the exploitation of their labour. This is classic capitalist exploitation, hiring foreign workers and paying them below the national minimum wage line, in order to increase profits!
Joe Higgins, a revolutionary socialist from Ireland fought against the capitalist bosses of GAMA Endustri. This enterprise used Turkish workers and paid them below the Irish minimum wage. He and others claimed that many Irish companies were exploiting foreign workers and in some cases, not paying overtime rates. In March 2005, Higgins and a delegation of Turkish ex-employees of GAMA Endustri, travelled to Amsterdam where they discovered that GAMA had been secreting up to 30 million euro's in unpaid wages!
This is what the European Union is allowing. Therefore we revolutionary socialists reject the European Union. We want another Europe, a socialist Europe united by workers not by capitalists. On 22 May, Irish workers must re-elected Paul Murphy for the Socialist Party in Ireland. British workers must vote on the No2EU coalition to protect workers in Britain against EU austerity. In other European nations, workers should vote on socialist/communist political parties that reject the EU. Unfortunate many right-wing nationalists are able to profit from the fact that many nations lack genuine workers parties. Social democratic and old labour parties are offering no alternatives, as they fully support the EU and José Manuel Barroso!
The far-right in France, the Netherlands and Hungary is growing. Front National ( France ), the Party for Freedom ( Netherlands ) and Jobbink ( Hungary ) benefit from the massive anger against EU enforced austerity. Because the political left-wing is not offering socialist alternative, many workers turn towards charismatic right-wing leaders like Geert Wilders ( PVV ), Marine Le Pen ( Front National ) and Gábor Vona ( Jobbik ). In the Netherlands, Islamic Moroccans are hated by the nationalists of the PVV. Wilders called recently for ''Less Moroccans'' in the Netherlands. Marine Le Pen still fights the battles of her father; Jean Marrie Le Pen, for a white dominated France. Right-wing nationalism in Hungary has grown since the collapse of the Stalinist; People's Republic of Hungary. Ethnic minorities are blamed for high crime rates and poverty, caused by capitalist exploitation of Hungarians. Jobbik supporters have shown their hatred of Jews as well, Gábor Vona called them a ''danger to national security''!
Revolutionary socialists for a socialist Europe. A Europe under control of workers councils. Some socialist political parties believe that they can build a more human and social society in their own nations, win out Europe. These parties are still mislead by the Stalinist concept of socialism in one nation. Capitalism however is internationalist and therefore socialism must be internationalist. The problem is that many socialist and communist parties are still trapped in this Stalinist believe, that you can build a fair society inside your own borders. Workers of Europe must unite under the banner of a genuine democratic; European Socialist Federation. A voluntary federation supported by a majority of all European workers. Because the current EU is not voluntary created, there were never referendums in all European nations in 1992, only France, Denmark and Ireland held referendums on the ratification of the Maastricht treaty!
On 22 May we call for a leftist socialist vote against the European Union, for a socialist Europe under the control of ordinary people not bankers and unelected commissioners. Far-right forces are gathering strength, because the left-wing is lacking socialist ideals. Ireland shows us that a genuine Socialist Party can elect its people into parliaments. Therefore Paul Murphy must be re-elected into the European parliament as a fighter for workers and young people, against capitalism and European austerity!
REJECT THESE RIGHT-WING LEADERS!
