On the offensive for the Charter of Fundamental Rights
3000 trade unionists will today gather around the European institutions in Brussels in support of the Charter of Fundamental Rights being included in any new European constitutional treaty. A minority of governments are trying to reduce its significance or to keep the unsatisfactory ‘status quo’ whereby it is binding only on European institutions. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) wants it to become binding on member states as well.
ETUC General Secretary, John Monks, and other leading European trade unionists, will warn President Barroso that if the new text of a Treaty does not include the Charter of Fundamental Rights in a form binding on member states, then the ETUC will campaign against that new Treaty both at European and national levels. In particular the ETUC will demand that the European Parliament should not endorse any new text which is unsatisfactory regarding the Charter.
John Monks said: “The Charter of Fundamental Rights is important to the working people of Europe. It indicates standards which should be observed by governments and employers; standards which are currently threatened by the rising power of the new, financial capitalism. We are mobilising to take the offensive in favour of the Charter and warning member states not to retreat from what they have already agreed - to make the Charter binding on all EU countries.”
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