"Vi vil gjerne ha felles mynt, men prosessen mot
mer union er i fare hvis ikke regjeringene besinner
seg når det gjelder nedskjæringer".
Sosialdemokratiet i sin mest spyttslikkerske ("realisme", må vite)
og pampete utgave. Jeg regner med at akkurat slike ting
ville også "vår" Yngve Hågensen ha sagt etter noen år
med norsk medlemsskap i EU, og noen år for ham med
travel faggglig "wining and dining" med sine "kamerater"
innafor EU.
Trond Andresen
>The Irish Times
>FOREIGN Friday, March 28, 1997
>
>BIRTH OF THE EURO-DEMO A WARNING TO GOVERNMENTS
>
> EUROPEAN DIARY/Patrick Smyth
>
> Some of the big battalions of the European labour movement have been
> flexing their muscles in recent days, and, significantly, finding that
> their broadsides are forcing governments to take note.
>
> Sensitive to wide perceptions that cuts associated in the public mind
> with the single currency are unduly harsh, Italian, German, French and
> Belgian leaders have been bending over backwards to win back popular
> ground.
>
> On Sunday in Rome, in a most impressive display of its might, the
> Italian trade union movement brought some 400,000 workers on to the
> streets. Intended as a shot across the bows of the government ahead of
> its mid-week mini-budget, the march was led by the leader of the
> former communist party (PDS), Mr Massimo D'Alema, whose ministers form
> the major part of the Olive Tree government.
>
> The message was not lost on the government - its package of measures,
> designed to bring down the projected Italian deficit by 0.8 per cent
> to the Maastricht 3 per cent, was largely a combination of accounting
> measures and job stimulation using funds set aside by employers for
> paying workers who leave.
>
> On March 11th, Paris saw the birth of the Euro-demo, when many
> thousands converged from Belgium, Spain, even Slovenia, and France's
> own Renault plants in protest at the firm's planned closures in
> Vilvoorde in Brussels. They carried placards demanding a "social
> Europe instead of a sweatshop Europe".
>
> In Brussels the government made clear its sympathies and promised to
> prosecute Renault for its failure to consult. In Paris President
> Chirac called in the company's boss to upbraid him, and the European
> Commission, in the guise of our own Mr Padraig Flynn, pledged to look
> at tougher rules.
>
> That weekend 70,000 marched through Brussels itself against the
> closure - there were contingents from France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
> the UK, Holland, Greece and Austria. More pan-European marches are
> planned by the trade unions.
>
> In the most remarkable about face, Germany's Chancellor, Dr Helmut
> Kohl, on March 13th retreated on pit subsidies only days after
> announcing cuts of =A32 billion to the industry. Furious miners
> descended on Bonn in their thousands, forcing the Chancellor to
> reschedule the cuts and in the process saving nine pits from closure.
>
> Following the success of the miners, the deputy secretary-general of
> the Federation of German Trade Unions, Ms Ursula Engelen Kefer, this
> week warned that strikes might spread if the government pursued its
> "irresponsible" cuts policy.
>
> The unions are "at breaking point", she said, arguing that the
> government's policy was in fact jeopardising the launch of the single
> currency.
>
> The Finance Minister, Mr Theo Waigel, was "leading Germany into a
> self-built trap of a far-too rigid interpretation of the Maastricht
> criteria and austerity politics on the backs of workers and their
> families".
>
> Stressing that the unions back the timetable for the launch of a
> strong single currency, Ms Engelen Kefer said that "the world will not
> crash if the deficit is 3.1 per cent, and we could have Maastricht
> without pushing more people into unemployment and poverty."
>
> It is a message Europe's governments might do well to heed.
>
> =A9 Copyright: The Irish Times
> Contact: itwired@irish-times.com
>
>