Since the decline of the Cold War, the world is going through a transition where new alliances are being formed and supra national bodies examined. Most nation states (even the USA) are beginning to realise that they cannot go it alone when so many of our pressing problems of climate change, migration, trade, resource scarcity, poverty and pollution crosses national boundaries. But what is strange in the UK about this is the context in which this debate is taking place and that context is often and largely about Europe. Many MPs argue that the European Union is bureaucratic and takes decision making away from the UK Parliament. They are right in many respects and the EU does need reform. At the same time many of these MPs realise we need supra national bodies and international partnerships and favour the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is being thrashed out between EU and US officials. And there is the irony. Whilst criticising the EU they are willing to accept that in order to trade under the TTIP, the UK could be forced to accept rules from other countries – whilst at the same time complaining about the UK having too many laws from Brussels. So under the TTIP for example the UK could be sued for risking company profits and could be forced to adopt other countries rules. Unions could be weakened our environmental standards undermined, our food and water regulations watered down and much more And people who are unaccountable are thrashing out this deal in secret. One MEP has commented: Even my colleagues who sit on the European Parliaments Trade Committee dont get a proper look at the negotiating document, and most MEPs dont get any say on the deal until were presented it as a fait accompli. Those criticising the EU whilst accepting the TTIP really need to think about their positions on this. Are they just beating the drum against Europe because they don’t like it or are they championing democracy? If it is the latter then they should be much more critical of the TTIP but there seems to be little consistency in their positions on this. One thing is clear we do need supra national organisations but we have not had anywhere near sufficient debate about what these should be and how they can be formed without turning the world into rival camps? How do we combine global decision making with local democracy is one of the most pressing debates of our age. That debate is an important one – even a vital one – and should be very much in the public square.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 06:38:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015