Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

We are against the fiscal treaty for the economic reasons outlined already in this debate by some of my ULA colleagues, but also on the grounds of the attack that it represents on democracy. Quite a fundamental shift is taking place. It is really a fundamental attack on the basic democratic right to elect a Government and have that Government decide on budgetary and economic strategy.

Of course, we are not naive enough to think that democracy is wholesome in our economy. We live in a society which is not very democratic at all and which is run, as the Occupy protesters correctly pointed out, for the 1%, not the 99%, and the power of the 1% flows from their ownership of the key resources in the economy.

We have a system of so-called parliamentary democracy where people can elect Members once every five years and put them under a certain amount of pressure. At European level, there is not even this level of parliamentary democracy because we have a system where real power lies with the unelected European Commission and the European Council.

Limited and all as it is, the process that is unfolding with the fiscal treaty makes it even worse, and it is part of a process. The six pack economic governance shifted important powers away from elected governments to the unelected European Commission, made changes in how voting rights were carried out etc. This treaty takes that a step further and is a significant attack on basis democratic rights. I will explain those points with reference to a couple of the articles in the treaty.

First, there is the balanced budget rule, which effectively ties the hands of future Governments to the same economic policies as this one. In essence, we are being wedded to neoliberalism and austerity. It rules out Governments having the ability to run structural deficits, which could be used for investment in vital public works to engage in necessary public spending to reinvigorate the economy. We must ask ourselves whether surely one of the most basic requirements of a democracy is that people would be free to vote for a Government and free to vote for different economic policies. In essence, what we are getting here is the old Ford phrase - you can have any colour as long as it is black. Now, you can have any government you like as long as it is neoliberal.

It is true that this treaty is not unique in that regard. It is part of a process where economic policy is being handed over to technocrats. What we see is a conscious attempt to use the crisis that is unfolding to move economic policy out of the sphere of democratic discussion and turn it into a so-called technical question. What we are being told is that neoliberalism should not be a policy choice as it is really about responsible behaviour. That is the excuse we got to justify the removal of elected governments in Italy and Greece and to have them replaced by bankers, which is an absolutely retrograde step.

The second key proposal which diminishes democracy is the mechanism for countries to be effectively placed into administration. This comes under Article 5 of the treaty, which states that countries in an excessive deficit procedure have to put in place a budgetary and economic partnership programme, including a detailed description of the structural reforms which must be put in place and implemented to ensure an effective and durable correction of their excessive deficits. These programmes will have to be endorsed and monitored by the European Commission and Council and, in essence, it is a surrender of budgetary powers to the Commission and to the Council.

While we do not have the time today to develop the points, similarly, Article 7 in essence creates a bloc for austerity within the EU. It creates, if one likes, a sort of caucus of the austerity club where people are required to come together in advance and sign up to the idea of austerity. It is an extension of the new form of voting which was introduced under the six pack, reverse majority voting, which means the Council-----

See this speech in context