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2.0 out of 5 stars
Over-enthusiastic survey of the European Union's Constitution, February 6, 2008
This review is from: Understanding the European Constitution: An Introduction to the EU Constitutional Treaty (Paperback)
The authors, Clive Church, Emeritus Jean Monnet Professor of European Studies at Kent University, and David Phinnemore, Senior Lecturer in European Integration at Queen's University Belfast, present the basic features of the EU's Constitutional Treaty.
They print its Part 1, on the new Union's structure and principles, and outline its other three parts, Part 2 the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Part 3 defining the EU's policies and functioning, and Part 4 giving its general and final provisions. Then follow its Protocols and Declarations. The authors detail the EU's nature, values, powers, policies, laws, instruments, institutions, democratic dimensions, finances and external roles.
The Constitution installs a new, more powerful, semi-permanent President and a Foreign Minister, posts that no other international organisation has. Now Blair says he'll be President if we give him more powers, especially over defence.
The Constitution guarantees the free movement of persons, capital, goods and services, plus the 'freedom of establishment'. This new freedom appears to mean giving the Establishment whatever it wants. Under this 'freedom', the European Court of Justice has ruled that Finnish ferry operator Viking Line can ignore its collective agreements with Finnish unions, re-flag its vessels to Estonia and hire local crews on lower pay. The RMT warns that employers will use the ruling to cut wages across the EU because every industrial action 'restricts the right of freedom of establishment'.
The Constitution spells out the EU's new goals of lowering customs and other barriers and of ending all controls over foreign direct investment. This would leave us defenceless against foreign takeovers and Chinese and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.
The Constitution says that EU law will overrule national law. It extends EU rule to justice and home affairs. It gives the EU the right to decide the common commercial policy, and policies over customs, fisheries, money (for eurozone members) and competition. The authors admit, 'No other international organisation has such a structure.' The EU may not be a 'superstate', but its Constitution is a huge step towards a new state.
In 2005 the three main parties here pledged to hold a referendum on the Constitution, so whoever won we should have had the referendum. We must have this promised referendum, otherwise, where is the democracy?
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