EU

[media at ezaic.de]

http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/co/14609/1.html

EUthanasia and the New Iron Curtain
John Horvath   16.04.2003 
Has Hungary forsaken a golden opportunity for progressive change? 

Hungary has voted to join the European Union (EU). In a referendum on the question of the EU membership, nearly 85 percent voted in favour of membership, with a little over 15 percent against. However, with an overall voter turnout of only 45 percent, the referendum isn't being considered a total success. 

[...]

As with NATO, the EU of the 21st century is not the same as first envisioned. The times have changed; so too has the nature of politics and international relations, not to mention economics. The EU of today is more of a creature of globalisation, much like that of NAFTA in North America. This raises a fundamental question: to what is Hungary, and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, really joining? 

Without doubt, what the EU represents is a large free trade zone. Although Eurocrats in Brussels talk about the pillars of EU society being built upon the "free movement of goods, services, and people", only the first two are of importance to Brussels. This is plainly obvious when anti-globalisation protests take place somewhere in Europe; European states have suspended the Shengen accords which allows for the free movement of people within EU, effectively re-fortifying the borders which separate states, at least until the moment passes. 

But there is more. While the centers of power within the EU reserve the right at any time to deny citizens the right to move about freely, an immovable economic framework has been established to deregulate foreign investment and grant "national rights" to foreign investors. Meanwhile performance requirements are non-existent, ones which would force foreign investors to enhance local economies and support workers. 

In essence, the EU is based on a model of "trade" in where member states are locked into various social and economic mechanisms that force governments to abandon domestic industry in favour of corporate, multinational interests. This includes converting the best agricultural land for export crop production. Support to local farmers is restricted as part of a wider package of spending cuts and the abandonment of various social programs. 

Subsequently, all countries are expected to dismantle their public infrastructures. This has been very apparent in the new member states, many of whom had to go through this process of liberalisation first even before being considered for membership; meanwhile, many existing members held back from privatising their own sectors. 

The "liberalisation" of services, which lies at the very heart of neo-liberal thinking, is the cornerstone upon which the new EU has now been built. All countries are expected to deregulate their electricity, transportation, energy, and natural resources sectors, removing regulatory impediments to foreign investment in these areas. Likewise, health and education systems have been "reformed" to allow corporations to sell health and education "products" to "consumers" who could afford them. Some basic services have been retained, but only because these are so inadequate and unprofitable that corporations are not interested in them.