Euro marches head for Amsterdam
Labour Left Briefing, General Election Edition 19971990sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
The working class across Europe has responded to the convergence criteria of the Maastricht Treaty with general strikes and mass actions. There have been general strikes in France, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Italy. There have been the victories of the French lorry drivers and unemployed workers, and strikes by Greek seamen and farmers. The German miners have challenged Kohl, and Belgian and French Renault workers are defending their jobs against closures.
In Britain, meeting the criteria will cut billions from public spending. Whoever wins the election, this will be the biggest single issue facing the new government. This will be the case whether they opt for the first or second round of EMU, and the 3% of GDP limit is not just a qualification for EMU, it is a permanent feature of it. Cuts in public spending will be an ongoing situation once EMU is in place.
In June, the Intergovernmental Conference of the EMU (IGC) meets to put these measures in place and plan the next stage of the process.
A unique initiative has been organised to co-ordinate a response to the IGC. Marches from every country of the EU, and some beyond, will converge in a mass demonstration in Amsterdam on 14th June to protest against the social effects of the convergence criteria.
Marches throughout Britain will reach London on 7th June and go on to Amsterdam. They will demand full employment, the defence of the welfare state, and scrapping of the Job Seekers' Allowance. The victimised Liverpool dockers fully support the European marches for jobs and welfare and will have a delegation on the British marches right through to Amsterdam.
In Britain, the European debate has been dominated by the Tory right. The marches will start to redress this by inserting the working class dimension into the argument and posing opposition to the effects of European integration, not from a nationalist or Little England perspective, but from the defence of jobs and welfare.
There will be marches from 16 countries taking part in the protest, some with multiple marches — three are planned in Britain, six in France, two in Belgium, three in Holland and in Germany. They have broad-based support right across Europe from unemployed and anti-racist organisations and from major trade unions such as IG Metal in Germany, the CGT in France and the CGT in Spain. In Britain, the marches are supported by the Campaign Group of MPs, numerous individual Labour MPs and MEPs, plus over 200 trade union and political organisations and campaigns.
As well as a mass demonstration through Amsterdam on 14th June, there will be a four day counter summit which will include sessions on anti-racism (Schengen), unemployment, homelessness, welfare, the environment, social and cultural marginalisation, and much more.
A wide range of campaigns and NGOs who will be in Amsterdam protesting the various social effects of European integration will be supporting the Amsterdam demonstration and the counter summit. Anti-racism and the effects of Schengen and "fortress Europe" will be a major feature of both the marches and the counter summit.
There will be a major demonstration in Schengen itself when the marches pass through and there will be a conference against Schengen organised by the anti-racist organisations in Holland on 13th June. Anti-racist organisations and those defending asylum seekers from across Europe are invited to take part.
The organisers of the marches, principally the French unemployed organisations, do not see them as a one-off event. As the attacks on the working class become even more co-ordinated internationally, an international response has to be developed. Out of these marches can come a new alliance which can carry forward the fight after this particular IGC is over.
The campaign for the marches in Britain already has the support of three national trade unions, 12 union regional bodies, 100 TU branches, 40 trades councils, 11 trades council county associations, 12 unemployed centres, the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and nine Labour MEPs.
• Support is needed in the form of sponsorship, marches and money. For more information contact: European Marches '97, C/O Glen Vorris, St. Helens TUC Resource Centre, 21 - 31 Barrow St, St. Helens, WA10 1RX. Tel: 01744-755 889.