“Is the new European Constitution better than what we have now? The answer is a straight ‘yes’,” says John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. Meeting in Brussels, the ETUC Steering Committee (13/07/2004) gave its firm backing to the final draft treaty agreed by EU leaders in June.

“The Constitution is not as good as what the ETUC proposed, nor as good as the draft drawn up by the European Convention,” John Monks told a conference of trade unionists and decision-makers from across Europe who met on Monday to scrutinise the details of the new text. Former Convention Vice-Chair Jean-Luc Dehaene and European Commissioner Antonio Vitorino were among the participants. “Nonetheless, it will bring real benefits for working people and citizens across the EU.”

The conference preceded an extraordinary meeting of the ETUC Executive Committee, called to take a view on the European Constitution. At the current time, a number of European governments are backtracking on the principles of Social Europe, and it is in this difficult context that the European Constitution must be assessed.

Will the Constitution improve on the existing social provisions in the Treaty of Nice? The answer is yes, because the social dimension is enshrined in the text. But it must be seen as a springboard for launching further progress towards Social Europe, which must not remain just an ideal, or a text in a Constitution, but should develop more strongly out of this treaty. In this context, the Constitution must represent a base from which to promote the construction of more Social Europe.

The ETUC welcomed a number of important advances in the Constitutional treaty. These include:
• A strong commitment to European social dialogue;
• Gender equality and the rights of minorities identified as shared EU values;
• Formal recognition of the annual Tripartite Social Summit and the role of the social partners;
• Incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights as Part II of the Constitution, which - despite the UK government’s objections - gives it legal status in the European courts.
• ‘Full employment’ as an EU objective.

These and other provisions are a big improvement on the existing Nice Treaty clauses. “Support is the only pragmatic and realistic approach for trade unions,” declared the ETUC.

Nonetheless, the ETUC did not achieve all the objectives it sought in the framework of the Convention, especially in Part III. The European trade union movement will continue to pursue its demands on a number of important issues.

The 25 EU Member States still have to ratify the Constitution before it can come into force, and several of them will be holding referenda. John Monks warned voters who might be tempted to hold out for an improved version that they could be in for a ‘long, long wait’.
“If this Constitution is not approved, it will take a long time to gather the political will to have another go. This would be a victory for the nationalists and enemies of Europe who want to see the EU fall flat on its face. Failure to adopt the Constitution would only serve to destroy the main instrument at our disposal for advancing towards a more Social Europe.”

He recognised the harsh economic climate surrounding the debate, with working conditions, public services and social spending all under widespread attack. A strong social Europe with an effective trade union movement is the best way to influence the path of globalisation, and if the EU gets bogged down in constitutional squabbles, working people throughout the world will be the losers, he added. “Social Europe is the European workers’ best friend.”

European Constitution