Europe...?

Whoosh..... Meeaw! Coo, coo coo.

That would be the cat landing amongst the pigeons. : )

Now you all know that I’m pro a united world and consequently I see a united Europe as a first and very important step in the right direction. The world is quite literally falling apart in front of our eyes and despite great strides in standard of living and education, we still fall short on a shocking large amount of social responsibilities.

In a world that is defined by putting yourself first and blow the rest, treaties such the European Constitution are an essential part to our survival. It is simply no longer appropriate for a country to act in isolation or to pursue policies that serve only its’own interests.

To this end, I think the European Constitution is an amazing piece of work. It is not about building a super-state or reducing national governments to cogs in a bigger wheel. It is not about taking power from individual nations or undermining their traditional cultures and way of life.

It is a framework to promote greater co-operation and dialogue between the 25 member states, so that where it is appropriate for common policies to be set, they are.

For me, I think a united europe will make better decisions and help raise the standard of life for all - through trade, people's rights, environment and peace.

Far too often, the best financial deals involve the exploitation of either people or resources. China is damming the Mekhong river without regard to the millions of people (in other countries) who depend on it further downstream. And without regard to the environmental impact either. This sort of thing should never be allowed in Europe.

Below I have listed the objectives as stated in the European Constitution: -

· an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers
· an internal market where competition is free and undistorted
· sustainable development, based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment
· the promotion of scientific and technological advance
· the combating of social exclusion and discrimination, and the promotion of social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection of the rights of the child; the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among Member States

Do I have a problem with those objectives? I think not.

The next list of objectives relates to the common foreign and security policy, and the provisions of the EC Treaty for development cooperation:

· peace
· security
· sustainable development of the Earth·solidarity and mutual respect among peoples
· free and fair trade
· eradication of poverty
· protection of human rights (in particular the rights of the child)
· development of international law (respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter).

Quite happy with those objectives too.

We have always been European, but in truth that has traditionally meant very little. This treaty essentially defines what it means to be European and to be a citizen of Europe. It is not replacing your nationality but adding to it. Being European doesn’t surmount being English, Welsh, Danish or German, anymore than being male or female surmounts your individuality.

On a Government level, it does not remove power to a centralized, remote organization. It gives the EU control to set some common polices, based on the agreement of representatives from all member countries.

For other subjects, common policy can be suggested but not necessarily implemented due to lack of agreement, alternatively some member states may adopt a common policy and others not. Britain actually introduced the idea of “emergency brake” so that a country would not have to adopt a ruling they felt ran contrary to national interest.

I have put together this short document, not in the hope that you will instantly go “yes, European Constitution is a great way to go”, but in the hope that you will give it the serious consideration it deserves. This document only touches briefly on the impact of the Constitution as I can’t explain it better than the fact sheets already available.

A link to the official key website is below and it has a variety of different documents, factsheets, Q & A which you might find interesting. The website is available in all languages.
http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm

A simple Q & A document is:-
http://europa.eu.int/constitution/download/faq_02_en.pdf

Why a European Constitution?
http://europa.eu.int/constitution/why_en.htm

Response to Anti-EU constitution claims in the UK: -http://www.britainineurope.org.uk/theissues/publications/vote-no-family-rebuttal

In fact, if you look up the constitution on the web, there is masses of information, pro/anti/middle – anything you want! As I’m not in Europe, I don’t know how much coverage you have had already in your respective countries. I can guess that the press in the UK is running a fairly strong anti-campaign and that information might be biased to the sensational side. I know that by what’s happening in France, anti-campaigners are using other aspects of EU policy, not related to the constitution, as reasons to vote against it.

Don’t wait to be force-fed info. Look it up for yourself and make an informed decision.

"United in diversity”,
Kathryn

PS. I've spent the last 2 days reading about the European Constitution.
PPS. I know not all of you are living in your respective countries at the moment, but YOU CAN STILL VOTE!