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EMU Comment

The European Movement looks at the Eurozone's Economic Outlook

The European Movement has rebutted suggestions by Eurosceptics that the EU's economy lags behind the United States of America.

In a recent weekly email update it cited the Independent's article, "European economy growing twice as fast as US", of 9th March 2001.

It says that the EU is now growing twice as fast the US economy, which has been affected by a slowdown and a slight devaluation in the value of the US dollar.The European Movement claims this "is a firm rebuttal to those 'anti-Europeans' who have tried to portray [the euro] as a failure."

As part of its evidence that the European Union is economically streaking ahead of the United States, the European Movement quotes the EU's official end of the year 2000 and International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics.

In the email Chris Bradley, campaign director of the European Movement, claims that "The economy of the EU expanded by 0.7 percent in the final quarter of last year compared to a growth rate of US GDP of just 0.3 percent."

He stresses that the EU's strong economic performance "was put down to strong gains in investment and exports." As a result of this eurozone unemployment has fallen dramatically, according the European Movement, from 11.5 percent to 8.8 percent in November 2000.

Chris Bradley argues that this has created "No fewer than six million jobs. He cites IMF predictions, to add weight to his claims, that "US growth this year will only be 1.7 percent, while growth in the EU is expected to be 2.8 percent."

The EU's economic performance as detailed by these figures is also, he claims, allowing the core eurozone countries to reduce their taxes. Taxes are being cut by France, Germany and Italy who provide 70 percent of the eurozone's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The email ends: "The anti-Europeans should start telling the truth about the success of the European economy and stop pretending that it is a failure."

In the past few weeks the European Movement has also produced comment on:

- The Daily Telegraph's article of 23rd February 2001, "Blair calls for closer EU ties with Nafta." (23/02/01)

- The BBC's programme called "Referendum Street" that carried out a mock referendum on whether the British electorate could be persuaded to abolish the pound for the euro. (16/02/01)

- The Daily Mail's article of , 9th February 2001, 'Now Guthrie is going, he attacks the Euro army.'

Steven Coventry's response to comments made by Sir Charles Guthrie, the former UK Chief of the Defence Staff, who claimed "that unless Europe bears its share of the cost of defence, America is likely to pull back its forces." (09/02/01)

- The Guardian's article "Steel yourselves" of 2nd February 2001, following mass redundancies made by the Anglo-Dutch consortium Corus Steel, formerly British Steel. The European Movement blames the loss of 6,000 jobs on the strength of sterling, and Britain's self-exclusion from the eurozone. (02/02/01)

- The Times's article of 19th January 2001, 'Europol prepares to enter a wider arena' The Times (19/01/01).

- The Evening Standard's article of 11th January 2001, "EU fast-track rules boost UK service sector." (12/01/01)

- The Daily Mirror's article of 5th January 2001, 'Vote for euro "more likely." An excerpt of the email newsletter by Chris Bradley:

"The anti-Europeans are in disarray. They have been forced to cut back because they overspent their budget and consequently had a row with one of their two co-treasurers."

"The result is a small group of people operating to an emergency plan, casting around for spurious economic arguments in an attempt to down-play the rise of the euro, cutting back on campaigning and forced to admit that public hostility towards the euro is soft."(05/01/01)

For more information email Chris Bradley.

The Democracy Movement
on "Referendum Street"

Eurosceptics picked up the pieces after the pro-euro camp won a mock euro referendum on the BBC's Panorama programme entitled "Referendum Street," broadcast on 18th February 2001. The experiment was declared 'unscientific' from the outset with respect to its approach and analysis.

The Democracy Movement's Stuart Coster had "a walk on part" in support of the eurosceptics arguments against the abolition of sterling. Mr. Coster wrote an email the following day giving his response:

"I think we have much to learn from the experience. It is right to say that we don't really know how the BBC selected the people who took part or whether the pro-pound group got to see all the undecideds/wavering pro-pounders."

He added: "But to fuss over these questions is to duck the real problem - the pro-pound message." He put the eurosceptics defeat down to a matter of targeting the type of people that took part in the programme.

He said the Referendum Street residents are "people we don't normally come into contact with, because they don't engage with us or anything political."

Yet, he continued, they "make up the majority of people out there. People not normally bothered enough about the issue to come to meetings or talk to someone at a stall in the street. Maybe not even enough to read a leaflet which comes through their door."

He believes that the Referendum Street's residents characterise an electorate that may have an opinion on whether to keep the pound, or join the euro. Yet they can be swayed either way because "they haven't heard all the arguments."

The eurosceptics on the programme were highly disppointed that their points concerning the loss of British democracy, if Britain signed up to the euro, did not much concern most of the programmes participants. The majority didn't also buy their economic arguments.

Stuart Coster analysed the reason behind the lack of interest in the democratic and constitutional issues shown by the majority of the Street's "electorate." He said : "In their view they have no control now, nothing changes now whatever way they vote."

He elaborted by saying, "sure they kicked the Tories out in '97 but look what they got. They're all the same so what's the difference in having the EU run things?"

Eurosceptics have been soul-searching since the programme was broadcast. They are having work on a new strategy to make sure that their arguments to keep the pound actually mean something to the type of people who participated in the "It's a Knockout" styled documentary.

Mr. Coster concluded: "We should be talking about the JOBS that investment creates/safeguards. We should be talking about the PRICE RISES that will mean. And we don't talk nearly enough about the threats to PUBLIC SPENDING. We need
to boil our arguments right down to "Keep the Pound to Keep Your Job."

Democracy Movement comment from the past few weeks:

- "European army and political union were planned by Nazis." An article by the Daily Telegraph's Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent, which appeared on 15th February 2001. (15/02/01)

- "Goldsmith's widow targets Europhiles." This Democracy Movement e-newsletter was sent to DM activists in response to her interview with the BBC. She is planning a "£500,000 campaign against pro-European candidates at the general election in memory of her late husband [Sir James Goldmsith]." (15/01/01)

- "Goldsmith widow carries on fight," By Rachel Sylvester of the Daily Telegraph. An 'e-bulletin' of the Democracy Movement that was sent out on 13th January 2001. In the the bulletin she refutes any suggestion that her family is anti-European.

She said: "We just want people to know the truth," Lady Annabel says. "I'm not anti-European - my husband was half European and my children are a quarter French."

The article also reveals that 120 "target" constituencies will receive a Democracy Movement newspaper to reveal "the Euro-skeletons in their candidate's closet."

A new Web site is planned too. The Democracy Movement says this will show the voting records of all sitting MPs.(15/01/01)

For more information email Stuart Coster.