The Other Voices

Monthly Email-Newsletter of the International Coalition for a Different Europe

Issue 1, February 1997

In this first issue of THE OTHER VOICES you will find the latest news about the preparations for the alternative summit in Amsterdam in June, the campaign of the Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe, updates on the marches against unemployment and ot her international news (including reports from Ireland, Spain and Denmark), and much more. Philip Schepelmann, coordinator of Friends of the Earth-Europe's Greening the Treaty-campaign, has written an article on the Inter-Governmental Conference. Schepelm ann concludes that both environmental and social issues are losing out in the negotiations about the treaty revision and that it is time for the environmental movement and those fighting for social rights to join hands.

We hope that this newsletter will grow out to become a platform for debate and information exchange for the groups and individuals who plan to take part in the alternative summit and others who want to be kept updated. Send us your contributions before February 25th!

Address Change!!!

The Dutch Coalition has moved!
Please use the following address:
Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe,
P.O. Box 54
1000 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 4222712
Fax: +31 20 4223171
Email: ander.europa@xs4all.nl
WWW: http://www.snore.org/different-europe (that's were you are now)

Visitors address (please phone first):
Damrak 83,1., Amsterdam (150 metres from Central Station)

News from the Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe

1st of January the Dutch government took over the presidency of the EU. The same date was also the official start of the campaign of the Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe. Around New Year, faxes with the short but appealing message "an new year, a different Europe" were sent to the government, parliament and the media. Later in January, the Dutch coalition presented itself to the media in a press conference in the head quarters of the ASN bank, a bank with a clear policy of only investing i n environment and human-friendly projects. This location was to show the difference with the EU policy of the Dutch government that has chosen the headquarters of the National Bank for the summit in June. The press conference gave the first small wave of media attention for the Dutch coalition. A few days later another wave emerged when the Dutch coalition put an 8 metre high inflatable mountain on the central Dam square to express its support for the Swiss policy of shifting transito-traffic from road to rail. The EU transport ministers were meeting in an hotel on the other side of the square to negotiate how to make the Swiss abandon this environment friendly policy (see also longer article). In January, the Dutch coalition also opened its own office wi th a paid coordinator, Jaqueline Heerkens. From now on we will be reachable from Monday to Friday during office hours.

The following is a shortened version of the leading article in the new campaign newspaper of the Dutch Coalition. You can find the full translation on our WWW-page.

From Maastricht to Amsterdam

What is this single Europe actually good for?

The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe has started a campaign for a social, democratic, green, peaceful and feminist Europe. Climax of the campaign will be the "Eurotop van Onderop" (the eurosummit from below), from 12 to 17th of June, coinc iding with the summit of the government leaders of the EU in Amsterdam. The Dutch Coalition wants to break through the indifference and spark off a debate on what we really want in and with Europe.

Two developments are decisive for the future of Europe. At the EU Summit in Dublin new deals were made about the European Monetary Union (EMU). In January 1999 the EMU will start and in 2002 we pay with one European coin. To be allowed to enter the EMU the Member States carry out a rigid policy of cuts in public expenditure. "Market, market and more market" is the slogan. The Maastricht conditions result in the dismantling of social security and public services all over Europe. The unemployme nt, now already more than 18 million in the EU, is growing further. The sales are on for state companies and public utilities, to make the housekeeping book fit. Those countries who do not manage cannot take part in the coregroup. In this way a Europe of different speeds is threathening to emerge. A Europa which causes deeper divides between people and countries.
Moreover, the 15 member states are negotiating the revision of the
Maastricht Treaty. These negotiations should, according to plan, result in the Treaty of Amsterdam. This is supposed to bring more common action on foreign and security policy, as well as police and juridical cooperation. The process resembles horsetradin g in which different - national - interests are traded off against each other. Both developments will decide the character of the European Union, and therefore the daily lives of European citizens. In a number of countries citizens have been able to expre ss their opinion in a referendum about joining Europe. It is unacceptable that untill today there hasn't been a broad public debate in the Netherlands about the opportunities and risks of European intergration.

The question is not Europe or the Netherlands. The question is: what kind of Europe, for who and by whom?
The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe is a colourful gathering of political parties, womens groups and environmental movements, solidarity groups for refugees and Third World, interest groups, NGOs, antimilitarist and peace groups.
"Our Europe must be a Europe that carries out a strong social and environmental policy, creates jobs, eliminates the democratic deficit, offers equal opportunities to women and men, safeguards the rule of law, is hospitable to refugees, is open to th e East and in solidarity with the South, disarms in order to contribute to peace, and promotes sustainable development both inside and outside Europe", so the Dutch Coalition states.
The Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe will during the EU Summit, often together with others, also from abroad, organise actions and debates and follow the Dutch presidency critically. Giving a multitude of
opinions and proposals a chance to be he ard is a main aim.

Inspiration

Amsterdam has presented itself to Europe as "Capital of Inspiration". From Wim Kok, Hans van Mierlo or the Patijn Brothers (*) we shouldn't expect any inspiration. For these regents ANY treaty seems better than no treaty. They act as ambassadors of the Maastricht-style integration that seems most of all "inspired by capital". It is now up to us, citizens of The Netherlands and Europe, to show the real inspiration: with the Eurotop van Onderop (the alternative summit).

(*) Kok is Prime Minister, van Mierlo is Minister of Foreign Affairs, Schelto Patijn is Dutch chief negotiator in the IGC, and his brother is the mayor of Amsterdam.

Inflatable Alp on Dam Square!

An unusual sight on Amsterdam's central Dam Square Friday January 31st: a 10 metre high inflatable mountain! In a joint action with the Swiss Alpen-Initiative, the Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe protested against the transport policy of the Europe an Union.

The EU transport ministers, who were meeting for a two-day informal transport council in an hotel on the same square, are putting tremendous pressure on the Swiss government to abandon its environment friendly policy towards freight transit. From 2004 onwards, Switzerland wants all freight transits to go by rail. To achieve this goal the Swiss government wants to put environmental levies on freight trucks crossing the country. This policy results from a referendum which was held in 1994. The EU also de mands heavier trucks to be allowed to cross the Swiss Alps. Currently the maximum weight allowance is 28 tonnes. Denys Roulin from the Alpen-Initiative gave Dutch transport minister Annemarie Jorritsma a wooden toy-train in the colours of Zwitserland and the EU, as well as a petition co-signed by a number of Dutch environmental organisations.

The Dutch government is playing a central role in the pressuring of the Swiss government. The methods being used verge on blackmail: if the Swiss don't give in on the EU wishes, they risk EU refusal to sign six other agreements between the EU and Switz erland which are currently also being negotiated. Dutch transport minister Jorritsma has even gone so far as to threaten to withhold extra landing rights for Swiss Air in the Netherlands if Switzerland doesn't meet the EU demands concerning freight transi t.

After the first day af the Transport Council, Minister Jorritsma announced that the EU ministers had unanimously rejected the Swiss proposals. The environment working group of the Dutch Coalition and Alpen-Initiative have decided to continue a joint ca mpaign to save the Swiss transito-policy, which should become an example for Europe as a whole to follow. Support from other countries is crucial if we are to influence the decision making. Get in touch with the secretariate of the Dutch Coalition (Olivie r Hoedeman) if you want to get involved! There is much more background information on this issue to be found on our WWW-pages.

Questions About A European Nuclear Detterent

Will the Europe being planned in Amsterdam be a peaceful and constructive Europe? Or is it simply going to be a fortress Europe, armed to the teeth and in the lasts instance prepared to back up its security policies with nuclear arms? The casual observer of the Dublin summit and the negotiations on a common foreign and security policy would be hard put to find any evidence of such plans.
But there is an obvious question which should be put to all those who regard such speculation as a load of hogwash. Namely this: what is going to happen to the French And British nuclear forces if a European security policy is put together? Will they vani sh into thin air?
A number of independent lobbyists and researchers, working together in the Project on European Nuclear Non-Proliferation (PENN), think not. We believe there are enough indications of a future 'Eurobomb', the status symbol par excellence for the modern sta te, to justify some very critical questions. For instance, about the legality of creating a new nuclear entity after all the member states of the EU have signed the Non-Proliferation treaty. Or why the nuclear option is not being rejected outright. In the coming months we will be asking politicians, researchers, journalists and decision-makers answers to these and other questions. During the summit PENN will organise a seminar where this issue will be fully debated.

For information contact:
Karel Koster, Working Group Eurobomb Esdoornstraat 14, 3551 AJ Utrecht Holland.
Email: K.koster@inter.nl.net, tel: 31-30-2722594/31-30-2442122, fax: 31-30-2441783

International Updates

The Dublin Alternative Summit

The coalition of Irish NGOs organised a two days alternative summit in Dublin, December 1996 under the title "The Other Europe". The Dutch Platform Naar een Ander Europa sent two representatives to the "Other Europe" event, because we deem it very important to create continuity between alternative EU- summits like those of Madrid (Dec 1995), Florence (June 1996), Dublin (Dec 1996) and the upcoming "Summit from Below" in Am- sterdam next June.

The Other Europe was a two-day event. On Thursday December 12 a tribunal on subjects like the right to a safe and clean healthy environment, the impact of European policy on the developing world and the future of human rights in the European Union. On Friday the Other Europe Declaration was being discussed during a one day NGO Forum. The declaration lists concerns about the current European model of development and puts forward concrete proposals for inclusion in a new Treaty of the European Union.

To obtain the final version of the Declaration contact:
The Other Europe, c/o The Irish Refugee Council, 35-36 Arran Quay, Dublin 7, tel/fax +353-1-8724424 (contact person: Jacqueline Healy), e- mail: ailish@indigo.ie

The Other Europe events were concluded with a lively public debate amongst Eurosceptics and strong defenders of the European Union.

Erik Wesselius

European Marches Against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Social Exclusion

In less than 3 months time, the marches against unemployment will kick off. As it looks now, there will be marches starting from Ireland, UK, Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Smaller, symbolic, marches will start from Warzaw, Sara jevo and Tanger. You can read all about it in the newsletter of the Marches (in french): "a Amsterdam...", which can be requested at the international secretariat: Marche europeenne, c/o AC!, 42 rue d'Avron, 75020 Paris, France.

22nd and 23rd of February, a large forum will take place in Brussels as preparation for the marches. It is meant for exchange of ideas and debates on questions concerning employment and the unemployed and the socially excluded in Europe. There will be special workshops on the alternative summit in Amsterdam.

For more information, contact the secretariate of the marches in your country or:
Marches europennes, 34 rue de la Tulipe, 1050 Brussels, tel: +32 2 511 47 33; fax: +32 2 513 02 55.

Spanish Movement Against Europe of Maastricht

Since the last national assembly in September 1996, the Spanish Movement against the Europe of Maastricht and economic globalization has expanded a lot, with new platforms in almost every region, reaching out to many different groups, such as social and e nvironmental organisations, trade unions, squatters and autonomous groups, political parties, grassroot church-based groups, etc. In October the Political Statement was approved and distributed widely. It was published in several Spanish magazines as well as in Le Monde Diplomatique. We would like to ask from here for further distribution. The main activity of the movement is still awareness raising and info spreading. On December 15th there were organised decentralised but coordinated demonstrations all over the country to protest against the social cuts and privatizations imposed by the State's General Budget. Activities planed for the coming months:

For more information and for copies of the Political Staement, contact:
Ramon Duran and Lucia Qiurones, AEDENAT, Campomanes 13-II, 28013 Madrid, Spain.

Danish Coalition

A short report on the Danish preparations for the alternative summit in Amsterdam. There have been preparatory meetings in Copenhagen and Aarhus the last month. 6 or 7 organisations have signed the manifesto "Towards a Different Europe".
The aim of the initiative is:

More information:
Kenneth Haar, International secretary Enhedslisten (Red Green Alliance) Tlf. +45 - 33 37 50 69, Fax. +45 - 33 37 50 70, e-mail: elkeha@ft.dk

Opinions

"Maastricht is Nothing More Than an Answer to Globalisation"

by Phillip Schepelmann, Friends of the Earth Europe/Germany

For an environmentalist a parliamentary debate in the German Bundestag can be quite interesting. A debate took place on December 9 just a few days before the European Council in Dublin which showed how unimportant environment is in the context of Europ ean politics.

At least German Chancellor Kohl himself mentioned the environment in his speech as an example for "further central issues" of the Intergovernmental Conference. The debate in the German Bundestag showed what is important for European politicia ns. In this respect German MP's are probably not so much different from their colleagues in other European Member States.

Theo Waigel the German minister for finances could not have expressed it much better: "Maastricht is nothing more than an answer to globalisation". The scary shrinking of the European discourse to a debate on economic and monetary questions h as led to an alienation of the European people from the European idea. If national referenda on EU membership would be held today they would probably all be lost.

Actually there could not be much said against a European answer to globalisation. Europe needs to have an answer to globalisation. But this answer should reflect the humanistic tradition of Europe and the global principle of sustainability. What do mem bers of the governing parties in Germany mean by a European answer to globalisation?

According to the liberal MP Haussmann the people should be warned of a "step backwards into the green idyll". The export of German social and environmental standards into the world economy would lead to "mass unemployment and social riot s". A remarkably stupid assumption that is not even worth to be proven wrong.

Something else is remarkable. A letter from the German Chancellor Kohl of December 9. to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland: "Furthermore we think it is important that the IGC recognises that the democratic character of our societies an d their common commitment to human rights should no longer have as a consequence that the right of political asylum between Member States will be effectively taken." We already know that the letter of the German Chancellor was obviously a success. Th e Council reached agreement that no political asylum should be granted among Member States.

These quotations show that not only the environmental movement but the whole civil society should be alarmed and should look very carefully whether the protection of human rights and the environment remain the same in their countries after the new Trea ty of the European Union.

The Brussels based environmental organisations are watching the IGC process very carefully. They are campaigning for "Greening the Treaty" in eleven different Member States. From all the sectors of society the environmental citizens organisat ions (ECOs) were probably one of the best prepared pressure groups by presenting their amendment to the Treaty already 18 month before the actual negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference began. The results of the European Council in Dublin showed that in spite of the resistance of some Member States the ECO's managed at least to keep environment and sustainability on the IGC agenda. Nevertheless we already have to realise that substantial progress cannot be expected from this intergovernmental con ference. In the years of globalisation we first of all have to fight the social and environmental "roll back". There are a few good reasons why the social and the environmental movement should make a common social and environmental impact assess ment of the revised Treaty and the Union it will result in.

At the Dublin meeting the Irish "Greening the Treaty" Campaigner was invited to the Tribunal of the Coalition for Another Europe to share Friends of the Earth's views on the IGC. There should be further common action for a sustainable develop ment in a democratic Union in Amsterdam.

For information on Greening the Treaty II please contact: Philipp Schepelmann, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), Im Rheingarten 7, 53225 Bonn, Tel: +49 228 40097 74, Fax: +49 228 40097 40, e-mail: ph.schepelmann@oln.comlink.apc.org

Short News and Announcements

SPECTRE

SPECTRE is the name of a new three-time-a-year English language magazine which aims to give a voice to a left whose ideas have been marginalised by the free-market consensus. The first issue will contain a piece on American foreign policy, British playwri ght Harold Pinter, an interview with Dutch Socialist MP Jan Marijnissen and a total of 32 pages of well-written, jargon-free comment on the developing situation in and beyond Europe. We're against: the EU, EMU, WTO, GATT, NAFTA and lots of other things wh ich glib initials. We're for: socialism, hope, humour, education, health and people.
If you're one of the latter, why not send us BF 80 (UKstlg 1,80, Istlg 1,90, Dutch guilders 4,50, DM 4,00, FF 15) at SPECTRE, BP5, BXL 46, rue Belliard 79-113, 1047 Bruxelles, Belgique. Our launch date is May 1, and you'll receive your copy around then.

Steve McGiffen

Appeal for Full Employment

Ken Coates, member of the European Parliament for Labour, is receiving increasingly strong support for his Appeal for Full Employment. The appeal was launched in July 1996 and has been signed by over 650 national and European parliamentarians already. Rec ently, also many trade unions and church organisations have expressed their support. You can order a copy of the appeal as well as copies of the European Unemployment Appeal Information Bulletin:
Ken Coates MEP, 8 Regent street, mansfield, NG18 1SS, England. May 20-23, there will be an Assembly in Brussels on the initiative.

European Left Alternatives to Neo-Liberalism

5-8 of February, ELAN (European Left Alternatives to Neoliberalism) will organise a seminar (with the same name) on the University of Amsterdam. The organisers have also put together an interesting "Appeal to the Parties and Movements of the Left in Europe", an appeal "which is critical of the current neo-liberal construction of Europe and of those parts of the established Left which support it, pleads for a new activist policy and a new social vision of the Left on a coordinated European s cale".

A copy of the appeal can be ordered at ELAN, email: a.b.mitzman@let.uva.nl

Agenda of Upcoming Events

The Next Issue of the Other Voices

CONTRIBUTIONS BEFORE FEBRUARY 25th!

What we would like from you:

Your contributions should preferably be short and condensed, with contact address where people can receive more information. Send your contributions (preferably by email) before the 25th of February 1997 to:

Dutch Coalition for a Different Europe
The Other Voices
P.O. Box 54
1000 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Fax: +31 20 4223171
Email: ander.europa@xs4all.nl

Also financial contributions to the Dutch Coalition For a Different Europe are extremely welcome: Postbank NL 7609478, att. Platform Naar een Ander Europa, Amsterdam

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