European Union

Articles

Which part of No don’t they understand? by Westby Swift (August 2008)

When the EU constitution was rejected in 2005, European leaders resolved that the people of Europe would not get a vote on its replacement. But Ireland’s constitution forced one exception, and the Irish promptly rejected the Lisbon treaty. Westby Swift looks at why the Irish voted No, what the EU plans to do about it and how the left should respond

Legalising barbarism by Ben Hayes (July 2008)

From Bolivia to Bangladesh, the new EU return directive – which allows for the imprisonment of ‘illegal’ migrants for up to 18 months prior to their expulsion – has met with global condemnation. But it forms only one strand of a broader ‘Fortress Europe’ approach to control all migrants, writes Ben Hayes

Wrong man, wrong Europe by Susan George (April 2008)

Referendums killed off the EU Constitution, a ‘blackmail’ that Europe’s elites will now avoid by forcing through the Lisbon Treaty without debate, writes Susan George. And Tony Blair is just the man some of them want to lead the way in this new Europe

Energy cowboys and green mountebanks by  (January 2008)

The failed strategy of energy liberalisation that brought rolling blackouts and the financial high jinks of Enron to the United States is now being tried by the European Union, writes Westby Swift

Privatisation in Europe by Paolo Andruccioli (November 2007)

The privatisation of public services is proceeding apace across Europe. Paolo Andruccioli examines what it means for consumers, workers, citizens – and democracy

The struggle for Europe’s soul by Oscar Reyes (March 2007)

The European Union (EU) marks its 50th birthday this month with no solution in sight to revive the stalled constitutional treaty. But with a raft of new proposals to further liberalise markets, it is too soon for the left to celebrate, argues Oscar Reyes.

Why French and Dutch citizens are saying NO by Red Pepper (June 2006)

The French referendum on the EU constitution takes place on 29 May, followed by a similar referendum in The Netherlands on 1 June. Opinions polls show the ’no’ side edging ahead, but in both countries it’s still too close to call. The following virtual interview is based on presentations given at the Transnational Institute (TNI) Fellows’ Meeting in Amsterdam on 21 May.

Ceuta and Melilla: Europe’s wall of shame by Gemma Galdon Clavell (November 2005)

In the last week of September 2005, the true image of Fortress Europe entered our living rooms: black people hanging from barbed wire, laying down with broken arms an legs, bleeding and desperately asking for help. Since 27 September, when it is said that al least 1,000 tried to cross the 3 to 6-meter fence that separates Morocco from Melilla – a Spanish territory in the North African coast - similar images, if not worse, have been exposing the consequences of EU immigration policies.

The UK/US Presidency of the EU by Hilary Wainwright (July 2005)

The Bluffer’s Guide to… the Bolkestein directive on services by Graham Copp (April 2005)

Preying on your apathy and sunny personalities, free-market lunatics embedded in Brussels are trying to sneak through reforms of the services sector that would effectively steamroller national regulatory systems out of existence. By Graham Copp

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