More on Alliance Against Nice

[Nigel Irritable <nigel_irritable@xxxxxxxxx>]

Below are the details of the first press statement of
the Alliance Against Nice and details of its agreed
platform.

Is mise le meas
Brian Cahill
-------------------------------------------------


Alliance Against Nice
?A Europe for People ? Not Profits / War?
 Vote ?No? to the Nice Treaty

Press Conference, Buswells Hotel, Dublin
 

Press Statement - 19th September 2002

 

 

Major Alliance Launched in Campaign for ?No? Vote.

 

A major coming together of political parties and Left
groups today launches a new ?Alliance Against Nice?.

 

The political parties and groups in the Alliance have
a proven record of campaigning for workers? rights,
against militarism and the armaments industry and in
defence of the environment.

 

The formation of the Alliance demonstrates the
seriousness of the participants about waging a
coherent and authoritative campaign to highlight the
kind of Europe envisaged by the proponents of the Nice
Treaty and to pose a real alternative for ordinary
voters.

 

The Alliance Against Nice is made up of The Green
Party, Sinn Féin, The Socialist Party, The Tipperary
Workers and Unemployed Action Group and Seamus Healy
T.D., Tony Gregory T.D., Finnian McGrath T.D., The
Workers Party, The Socialist Workers Party, The Irish
Socialist Network, The Independent Socialist Forum
Against Nice and Mick O? Reilly (member, ATGWU)

 

While all groups involved will have their own
respective vigorous Referendum Campaigns, the Alliance
has agreed a common political platform and joint
actions.

Alliance Against Nice 
 
?A Europe for People, Not Profits/ War?
 

Political Platform
 

The Alliance Against Nice is an Alliance of parties,
groups and individuals who have proven records as
campaigners for the rights of working class people,
environmental protection and opposition to militarism.
 

 

The Needs of People before Profit
 

The Alliance Against Nice opposes the drive toward
economic ?liberalisation?  which means wholesale
privatisation of public services and state or
semi-state enterprises while also attacking
subsidisation of such services.  The proposed new
Article 133 of the Treaty on European Union
consolidates these policies which are largely dictated
by multinational corporations working through powerful
lobbies such as the European Round Table of
Industrialists.

 

The Alliance defends public ownership with democratic
structures in key areas such as health, education,
energy, telecommunications, postal services, water
provision as well as recycling and refuse services.

 

No to Militarism
 

The Alliance opposes the strategy to create a European
Army and an EU armaments industry.

 

The provision in the Nice Treaty for a political and
security committee with permanent structures located
in Brussels significantly advances the strategy to
militarise the European Union.

 

The Alliance campaigns for the massive resources
obscenely wasted on arms production to be invested
instead in transforming the lives of those afflicted
with hunger, poverty, environmental degradation and
conflict worldwide.

 

The Alliance strenuously opposes any attack by the
Western powers on Iraq and opposes any EU involvement
if such an attack takes place and, in particular,
campaigns that no facilities are made available in
this State for American or other warplanes involved in
such an attack.

 

A Europe for Working People
 

The Alliance campaigns against further attacks on the
democratic rights of ordinary people in the EU as
represented in proposals for the future of the EU
Commission and ?Enhanced Co-Operation?.

 

The Alliance campaigns to protect workers? rights and
living standards including adequate unemployment
benefit and decent pensions.

 

The Alliance campaigns for the civil and economic
rights of immigrant workers and strenuously opposes
racism and xenophobia.

 

The Alliance supports the right of any country to join
the EU who wishes to but rejects the claim that Nice
is necessary for the enlargement of the Union.

 

The Alliance believes the real issue is that the
conditions for enlargement contained in Nice will have
a negative, possibly disastrous effect on workers and
small farmers in many applicant countries.  Nice will
overnight impose neo-liberal policies on new member
countries that will destroy public enterprises, jobs
and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of small
farmers.

 

For Real Democracy
 

The alliance stands for a democratic Europe.  Power
has been progressively transferred from national
parliaments to Europe but there has been no reciprocal
democratisation of the European institutions.  The gap
between citizen and the decision-maker, the governing
and the governed has widened.  The EU is a centralised
and bureaucratic construction largely divorced from
citizens of the EU.  Further integration and
federalism will not address the democratic deficit; it
will simply cause it to increase.

 

The Alliance stands for a Europe where the wealth and
resources are developed under democratic ownership and
control to meet the real needs of the great majority
as opposed to the superprofits of the major
multinational corporations.

 

The Alliance calls for united action by working
people, the ranks of the Trade Union Movement,
environmental groups as well as anti-racist or civil
rights organisations in the struggle for this new
Europe.

 

Alliance Against Nice
 

?A Europe for People, Not Profits/ War?

 

 
Joint Action leading up to the Referendum Vote
 

Each of the parties and groups forming the alliance
against Nice will have a fully fledged campaign,
including in many cases canvassing, mass information
leaflet distribution, public meetings and street
activity. 
 

The Alliance will organise mass rallies Dublin, Cork, 
Limerick Galway and other centers.  Prominent speakers
from the Dáil parties and other groups will address
these meetings.  
 

There will be mass distribution of an Alliance leaflet
and active campaigning on the ground leading up to the
public rallies. 
 

There will be regular press conferences responding to
the major issues raised during the Campaign. 
 

Members of the Alliance would welcome public debates
with proponents of the Nice Treaty 
 


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