Growing opposition to rejected EU Constitution

“TEAM can show the people in Finland and elsewhere that the opponents of the EU Constitution are neither isolated nor isolationists,” says newly elected TEAM Co-ordinator Jesper Morville, on TEAM’s planned activities in Finland. This follows the Finnish government’s manifest intentions to ratify the EU Constitution before Finland takes over the EU Council Presidency next July.

Delegates from 21 organisations from 19 countries met in Vienna for the TEAM Annual General Meeting on 2 April 2006. This followed the TEAM Conference, held the previous day, also in Vienna.

High on the agenda was the continuation of the ratification process of the EU Constitution by member states, in spite of the rejection by the French and Dutch referenda. This shows complete disregard to the principle of unanimity in the ratification of EU treaties, and elitist contempt towards the democratic will of the people.

TEAM is planning several political activities aimed at exposing this undemocratic action by some governments. One such government is that of Finland, which wants to reactivate the ratification process. Ironically, Finland would ratify a Constitution that reduces Finnish democracy in the very year when they celebrate 100 years of Finnish democracy.

“TEAM plans to visit Finland in connection with the Finnish EU Presdiency and make visible the broad all-european opposition to the EU-constitution. By using the network, TEAM can show to the people in Finland and elsewhere that the opponents of the EU Constitution are neither isolated nor isolationists. And through this cooperation, TEAM’s 57 member-organisations from 23 countries can warn against the manipulations of the governments and EU elites,” said new TEAM Co-ordinator Jesper Morville (Danish People’s Movement Against the EU) after the new TEAM Board was elected.

Topics discussed the previous day at the TEAM Conference at Kolpinghaus, Vienna, included:

• “Cherry picking” the rejected EU Constitution and how to expose and oppose this process (Anthony Coughlan – National Platform, Ireland)

• The European Court of Justice and its role in extending EU powers, together with the development of an EU criminal code (Kevin Ellul-Bonici, EUDemocrats – Alliance for a Europe of Democracies)

• Implications of the free movement of capital and people/labour in the Single European Market (John Boyd – Campaign against Euro-federalism, United Kingdom)

• Alternatives to European Union: possible ways of obtaining a better, democratic European cooperation (Lave Broch – Peoples Movement Against EU, Denmark, and Ronald Pabst – Democracy International, Germany).

TEAM participants also attended an international conference, titled “Europe of Companies and Generals?” organised by the List of EU Opposition, Austria.