EU must change, Blair warns
EU needs reality check
Matthew Tempest and James Sturcke
Thursday June 23, 2005

"In a 30-minute speech ahead of the UK taking over the presidency on July 1, the prime minister rejected criticism from the continent that Britain was 'in the grip of some extreme Anglo-Saxon market philosophy that tramples on the poor and disadvantaged.' ... Before three hours of debate from a packed chamber of the parliament's 732 MEPs, some of whom criticised Mr Blair to his face, the prime minister insisted a social Europe and an economic Europe, far from being incompatible, should 'sustain each other'." www.guardian.co.uk/Politics/eu
Full text: Blair's speech

Blair vows to break up CAP for Africa's sake
European farm subsidies 'must end by 2010'
Heather Stewart and Nick Mathiason
Sunday June 19, 2005

Tony Blair will warn his European partners in the final two weeks before the crucial Gleneagles G8 summit that unless they dismantle the £30 billion Common Agricultural Policy, Africa will never free itself from poverty.
The acrimonious stand-off in Brussels last week over the cost of the CAP was a signal of Britain's determination to push farm subsidy reform to the top of the agenda.
Smashing trade barriers is the third part of the government's year-long campaign to offer a multi-billion-dollar 'Marshall plan' to the world's poorest continent. After G8 finance ministers promised £30 billion worth of debt relief to Africa last weekend, and European countries agreed to double overseas aid, Britain now hopes to persuade rich countries to open their markets to Africa's farmers. ... observer.guardian.co.uk/business/

France: No to Neo Liberalism
Ramzy Baroud
Thursday June 11, 2005
France's unyielding repudiation of the proposed European Union constitution is a resounding reminder that the populace still possesses the power to defy political elitism with all of its economic dogmas; neo-liberalism being one of them. http://www.zmag.org/EuropeWatch/EuropeWatch.cfm

The EU Constitution; savaging national sovereignty
Mike Whitney
Tuesday May 30, 2005

The EU constitution is a Trojan horse slapped together by corporate and banking elites with the clear purpose of undermining national sovereignty and accelerating globalization. Thank God the French had the common sense to read the document and vote it down. Unlike their American counterparts, who have been the victims of a barrage of free trade agreements (NAFTA, CAFTA, FTAA) which have sacrificed the environment, eviscerated national sovereignty, and savaged the middle-class, the French thumbed their noses at a plan that was designed to torpedo their economic system. If the constitution had passed, its neoliberal policies would inevitably put Frenchmen in direct competition with the lowest paid workers in Canton Province.

No thanks; that� a model that only works for the corporate oligarchy and their friends in the �free press�. www.zmag.org

Sweden vs England
January 11, 2005
Sweden proves the neoliberals wrong about how to slash poverty
"Does not already the response to the massive tidal wave in south east Asia," Gordon Brown asked on Thursday, "show just how closely and irrevocably bound together ... are the fortunes of the richest persons in the richest country to the fate of the poorest persons in the poorest country?" The answer is no, writes George Monbiot ... www.zmag.org

Europe at risk
Monday December 1, 2003
Economic dispatch: The collapse of the stability and growth pact has cast doubt on whether the EU can work harmoniously, writes Mark Milner
"It is not just that a key part of the single currency zone's financial architecture has been undermined. That alone might be considered something of a result, despite the divisive method of its achievement. The system was simply too inflexible - once it was put under serious stress it failed.
"The idea that Germany in particular should put its nascent economic recovery at risk to save the pact was patently absurd. But the political fallout, not to say falling out, from Tuesday's decision will reverberate throughout the European Union and beyond." www.guardian.co.uk/economicdispatch

Blair euro poll hopes dashed by Swedes
56% say no as sympathy vote fails to materialise
Monday September 15, 2003
Ian Black in Stockholm and Patrick Wintour
"Tony Blair's lingering hopes of staging a euro referendum in this parliament were finally shattered last night when the Swedes resoundingly rejected joining the euro. The vote by 56% to 42% in yesterday's referendum failed to produce a predicted last-minute surge to the yes camp out of sympathy for the murdered foreign minister, Anna Lindh.
"The scale of the defeat for the pro-euro camp will leave already demoralised British pro-euro supporters convinced that they will be unable to mount a credible political campaign before the next election. ... " www.guardian.co.uk/euro

also...
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