Brussels, 10/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Various nationalist organisations continue to voice opposition to any idea of a Constitution or federal project. This is very much the case for TEAM (The European Alliance of EU-critical Movements) which affirms that a Constitution would only result in the phenomenon of further erosion of democracy. The organisation mainly affirms that there cannot be a Constitution as there is no population that could identify with a future European State. It reproaches the European Convention for being a means of circumventing national parliaments and the European Commission for its "thirst for power", which is a threat to democracy.
"The Campaign for an Independent Britain" is in favour of free trade and cooperation between the nations of Europe but is opposed to the creation of a federal or united European State. The British organisation believes imposing an artificial federation on a varied and wide range of nations cannot work, as it did not work in the Soviet Union or in Yugoslavia. It urges for agricultural and fishing policies to be re-nationalised and for all thought of creating a common army, a single foreign policy, a common legal, judicial and police system and a single economic policy to be abandoned.
British Conservative Daniel Hannan, MEP, proposes to create a European Commonwealth by reducing the list of areas coming under Community competence to trade policy, competition, aspects relating to pollution of the environment and certain questions concerning aeronautics, telecommunications and the audiovisual sector. He above all recommends that the Commission's right of own initiative should be withdrawn, that direct elections should be abolished and that the European Parliament should be replaced by a parliamentary assembly composed of representatives of national parliaments.
In a report drafted for SOS Democracy, French national Georges Berthu, elected European sovereignist, also hopes to give power back to national parliaments. Above all, he proposes to: (1) give each national parliament the possibility to oppose European legislation; (2) grant national parliaments the right of final control over subsidiarity; (3) create, in parallel, at the different Council formations, assemblies of national parliamentarians responsible for the same issues; (4) develop the networking of national parliaments; and (5) make national parliaments take part in intergovernmental conferences.
VIVANT: supports European Social Treaty and the establishment of an unconditional basic income for all
The political party, VIVANT ("Vie indépendante vers l'avenir de notre terre") proposes to establish an unconditional basic income for all Europeans, including this in the Charter of Fundamental Rights (under Article 34 on social security and social assistance), and availing itself of the political and financial means to achieve this. As far as social Europe is concerned, VIVANT expresses its support for a European Social Treaty, safeguard of the pay-as-you-go system for retirement pensions through a tax on consumption, the replacement of the poverty level by an unconditional basic income for all, a minimum guaranteed purchasing power, effective and well-managed public services, participative democracy, the establishment of a basic income in the Third World and the relaunch of local markets, the application of the principle of equal work/equal pay for all, and assistance for students and culture.