[autom.vertaling] "Euro-mist" over Estland (en)
Today we have to stay alert continually and resist the national occupation called the European Union. In the eyes of many Estonians the EU is nothing less than a disguised Soviet Union. The goal of each of them was and still is to force its power upon Europe in the name of a form of federal socialism.
The mechanisms involved are similar: the federal superpower of yesterday and tomorrow takes charge of the domestic and foreign policy of new and old member states and the economic gains deriving from the effect of huge size in an enlarged market. The newly created European Convention is just a smoke screen for achieving this goal.
Today's leaders of European States are debating the future of the European Union. German foreign minister Joschka Fischer proposed for us Europe as centralized Federal State - a United States of Europe, led by strong Brussels-based government. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has argued in favour of a German-style Federal State with a bicameral parliament and relatively independent regions. French leaders Lionel Jospin and Jacques Chirac have proposed a Federation of Nation States. Britain's Tony Blair sees the future of Europe as a superpower but not a superstate.
Difficult to find realistic models
In principle today's leaders participate on the eve of the final stage of the European Monetary Union in a new round of discussion over old federalist ideas. On the other hand, it is difficult to name a prominent European politician or social scientist who proposes a realistic intergovernmental model for a more democratic and credible cooperation in Europe, which will also solve the current problems in Europe.
Advocates of national independence and sovereignty are against a super project of European Union that is downright harmful to the harmonious development of small European countries such as Ireland, Finland, Estonia and many others. That there is an opportunity for small nations to stand up for their own interests and goals in a European federal super-state which ignores independent and sovereign national states, is a pretty illusion and misconception.
Westwards enlargement collapsed
Firstly, attempts have been made to unite Europe for centuries - no matter whether it has been the Roman Empire, the Napoleonic and Hitler empires or the Soviet Union. It is remarkable that the giant project of contemporary unification of Europe initiated by Russia on the basis of communism, together with "westwards enlargement," collapsed.
Although the Soviet Union has disappeared, the continuation of the same grandiose project is still in progress with the same objectives, but it is now characterized as an "eastward enlargement" by the European Union.
Scheduled to unite with Russia
I believe that the political purpose of enlargement towards the east is to increase the well-being and power of the present EU Big Member States at the expense of small member states and candidate states. Even a casual analysis shows that Big State Russia together with the former Soviet Union territories, are scheduled to unite in 15-20 years with an emerging European federal super-state.
At present the East European countries, including Estonia, are being scared to join the European Union primarily out of fear of political threats coming from Russia. Such scare-tactics worked well, particularly in the case of Finland's accession to the European Union, but since the events of September 11 this scaremongering as regards Russia works much less.
Hegemony of the Big States
Secondly, there is another problem. For example the people of little Ireland do not want to ratify the Treaty of Nice. Why? Because the Treaty of Nice makes the European Union less democratic and brings it more under the hegemony of the Big States. If the interests of small nations were duly respected in the European Union, then we wouldn't be talking about a second Nice referendum in Ireland. Although Ireland with its non-ratification of the Treaty of Nice has juridically blocked EU's internal reforms, we may seriously forecast that a giant project like an up-to-date Soviet Union will not be stalled, notwithstanding the outcome of the upcoming referendum in Ireland or of next year's possible referendums in the candidate countries.
Enlargement and the Nice Treaty
Thirdly, in the Treaty of Nice there is very little about a possible enlargement of the EU, although that is what is constantly maintained. The EU's enlargement does not depend on the decision of Ireland's people, but on the preparedness of the EU executive organs, languishing in their weak democracy, to solve the emerging controversies within the EU - in particular the tension between internal reforms and eastward enlargement and the closing of the pre-enlargement negotiation chapters and the balancing of debits and credits.
Fourthly, there are problems not so much with the EU's expenditure chapters - the financing of agriculture and regional policies - or discussion of the chapters on institutions, but with the common management and EU's income chapters - the question of taxation and the financing of the EU budget and new super project. Concern for financial issues in the negotiations has exceeded all boundaries and left the framework of economic cooperation far behind.
Equal treatment for old and new member states
Fifthly, equal treatment for old and new member states has never been on the agenda of EU. This was admitted asserted by the Commission President Romano Prodi on his visit to Estonia. Nor is there a problem in the timetable of achieving possible equal treatment or in the bearing of inequality, but the EU is principally against the notion of treating the nouveaux pauvres equally.
Sixththly is the wish to kill two birds with one stone, to close the accession negotiations on agriculture and regional policies speedily and by this means to create the precondition for a successful reform of the EU's own management and the common agriculture policy (CAP), thus fooling the nouveaux pauvres candidate countries quite fundamentally. Otherwise, should the EU allow direct subsidies before 2006 and after, in which case nothing would come out of solving the long ago derailed CAP policy reforms or the management crisis. Only a ten-year transition period up to 2013 could save the advantages of the old member states in an enlarged market.
Seventhly, it is a fact that Euro-propaganda and the EU's hypocritical policies have thus emerged into bright daylight. A longer accession period would give Estonia and other candidate countries at least some breathing-space to correct the mistakes of their present and past governments and protect better their domestic interests.
European development at a critical stage
To sum up, the European Future Convention as a narrow pressure group is seemingly attempting peacefully to achieve, not just economic control but control of political power in Europe, something that no one has succeeded in doing for centuries, or in two bloody world wars. At present Europe's development has reached a critical stage and without the joint resistance of all of us, its continuation may bring with it an economic, social and political catastrophe for our continent. The cooperation between small states and big states needs much more serious debate and common understanding. Only then do we have something to hand down to generations to come.
Respecting the interests of all small states in Europe
In reality Europe is relatively small by territory and is becoming smaller as a share in the world population and economy. What can we do today and henceforth? We have to stay alert and stand up with all means against such a worthless destruction of Europe. Now only cooperation with other parts of the world gives us Europeans opportunity for successful further developments. The honour and responsibility of all of us is to protect democratic values and deliver a Europe free of occupation by superpowers to the coming generations.
And should anyone ask what is the alternative to the present and the future federal European Union, my answer is simple: Europe's future can only be a comprehensive cooperation respecting the interests of all small states in Europe. That requires adherence to the principles of independence and sovereignty of nations. Should the EU develop into a Soviet Union look-alike, it will not be long-lived.
DR. UNO SILBERG - chairs the Movement No to EU, Estonia