Equal-L:Campaign Against the EU Constitution: Launch of No To Lisbon Campaign

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Campaign Against the EU Constitution Launch of No To Lisbon Campaign:

The Campaign Against the EU Constitution will formally launch their campaign against the Lisbon Treaty on Thursday, February 7th at 7.30 pm in the Central Hotel in Exchequer Street, Dublin.The launch meeting will be addressed by speakers from the Campaign and invited speakers including Jimmy Kelly, Regional Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union section of Unite, and Raquel Garrido from the national executive of the French Socialist Party. Unite is one of the largest unions in the EU. The French Socialist Party is the second largest political party in France, and although it formally supported the EU Constitution during the 2005 referendum campaign many of its members worked for a No vote. Raquel, who is one of these, will explain why she and millions of other progressive French citizens rejected the EU Constitution.The CAEUC’s detailed analysis of the Lisbon Treaty will be officially launched at their public meeting on Thursday evening.Unite regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said today:"Our role is to look out for the rights of our members. This government is full of empty promises and sleight of hand when it comes to dealing with the issues that matter to workers. Rejecting the treaty will make it crystal clear that we need to see concrete evidence on workers' rights, not just empty promises". The Campaign Against the EU Constitution, which was formed in 2005, is a broad coalition of progressive and left political parties, organisations, trade unionists and individuals committed to democracy, peace, justice, Irish neutrality and equality. Unlike the government we are not going to engage in a negative campaign but promote information and awareness of the implications of this treaty for Ireland and the wider world.
We are not anti-European – many of us have worked on European issues or in the EU for decades. We are deeply concerned, however, at the EU’s current direction and believe an alternative path is not only possible but also urgently required.As we collectively assess its scope and purpose, the key question for our campaign is: What values do we want to see reflected in Europe in the 21st century?We want health, education and water supplies provided equally to all. We will not watch the deterioration of essential public services along with increasing private provision where those who can, pay for a better quality service and the rest make do.We want a foreign policy that seeks to resolve conflicts without military action or support for despotic regimes. There is no need for increased military spending, to send Irish soldiers into EU battle groups and to be party to US foreign and military policy abroad. The use of Shannon by US troops and torture flights should stop now. We want economic policies geared to full employment, decent wages and sustainable development, here and elsewhere. We do not want a policy of “price stability” prioritised above all else where restrictions on state borrowing or public spending determine everything, even if the outcome is unemployment and cuts in public services.We want an end to an increasingly remote way of law making and acting at a European level. We do not want more decisions affecting our lives to be made in a way over which we have little or no control, by people who are unaccountable, and enshrined in laws we cannot revise. Remember, over 80% of domestic law already comes from EU decisions. The Lisbon Treaty – the same in substance as the previous EU Constitution – will take us in the direction of more privatisation, more right-wing economic policy, more militarisation, less neutrality and less democratic control. This is why French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005 and that’s why we should reject it here in Ireland when the referendum is called.

See http://www.caeuc.org/