Sonntag, 4. Oktober 2009

Who needs the EU anyway?

So Ireland voted yes on the Lisbon treaty, aimed at changing the way the EU works, trying to come to terms with an EU grown to 27 members in the age of globalization. Now it's the turn of Czech President Vaclav Klaus to sign the treaty. While I don't really understand how a president can refuse to sign a treaty voted yes by his parliament, the saying is that he wants to postpone the process until the British Elections next year. Why? Well, if Klaus hasn't signed until then, the treaty obviously won't be ratified, and the British Conservatives, who are likely to win the elections, can just start the whole process again, and we will be back where we started back in 2001.

There is just one thing that makes me wonder: While there are of course differing opinions about the EU, there was - and still exitsts - something called EFTA. The EFTA is the loose economic treaty of these nations that do not want to be part of the EU (namely Norway and Switzerland). Co-foundend by Britain, Ireland and Denmark, these countries later choose to abondon EFTA and become mebers of the EU.

Here's what Wikipedia says about EFTA:
"The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to, join the then European Economic Community (EEC) (now the European Union (EU)).
The main difference between the early EEC and the EFTA was the absence of a common external customs tariff, and therefore each EFTA member was free to establish individual customs duties against trade with non EFTA countries."

So why - to make it short - did they join the EU, and why don't those that don't want the EU to be what it is, go back to EFTA?
Easy answer? Because some of them could have never been what they are: namely Ireland, who had to vote twice to finally understand what the EU means for them. They went from a poor, backwards country to the second richest country in the EU, always powered by EU subsidaries. These subsidaries helped them to lower their taxes to a legendary 10%. This - and the obvious fact of being an English-speaking country relatively close to the US - helped them to become the European HQ for some of the most prestigious companies around, namely, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo and some others - so, yeah - not some - ALL of them! Would they have accomplished that without EU subsidaries, that turned country roads into highways, airstrips into airports and a catholic, conservative, backwards country into a modern, european powerhouse? No.
So, there you go - Ireland owes to the EU, as does Spain, and many other countries. Finally, they realized it (due to the crisis, of course: with high umemployment and even higher state deficit it is not very likely to bite the hand that fed you). For the Czech Republic the obvious advise would be to leave the EU and try to become another Switzerland. We'll see how it goes.

As for the UK, well, it is obvious that their EU-sceptisim is well founded and implies a lot of well-known British common sense. After all, the Tories still worship their farsighted ex-leader Margaret Thatcher who foresaw with all clarity, the coming of the 4th Reich with German Reunification and in her spare time loved to have her good old friend, General Pinochet of Chile, over for tea.



EN ESPAÑOL

Así que Irlanda al final ha dicho sí al tratado de Lisboa cuyo fin es de mejorar las relaciones institucionales en una Unión Europea de 27 en un mundo nuevo. Ahora toca al presidente de la Republica Checa de ratificar el tratado. Pero prefiere posponerlo hasta que hayan votado en Reino Unido, porque asi les da la oportunidad a los conversadores británicos (si ganan las eleciones) de renegociar todo y volver a dónde empezamos en el 2001.


Pero hay algo que no entiendo. Existia - y todavia existe - la EFTA (o AELC en sus siglos en español). Es un tratado de los estados europeos que no quieren formar parte de la UE (sobre todo, Suiza y Noruega). Fundado por (enter otros) Irlanda, Reino Unido y Dinamarca, esos luego decidieron abandonar EFTA y ingresar en la UE.

Eso es lo que dice la Wikipedia: Fue creado como alternativa a la Comunidad Económica Europea (la entonces UE).
La única diferencia primigenia entra la CEE y la AELC era la tarifa aduanera exterior común, y por tanto cada miembro de esta última quedaba libre de establecer derechos aduaneros frente a terceros paises.


Porque entonces todos los (pocos) paises que no quieren seguir el camino común de la UE, no entran en la EFTA? Facilissima la respuesta: Nunca hubieran sido (y no serían) lo que son. Mejor ejemplo es Irlanda misma. De un pais pobre, retrasado y al margen de Europa ha cambido (en menos de 30 años) a ser el segundo pais mas rico de Europa. Los ayudas economicos europeos han ayudado bajar los impuestos a un - ya legendario - 10%. Esto (y la indiscutible cercania a EEUU y el ser un pais anglófono) les ha ayudado a atraer mucha (que digo - TODO!) de la nueva industria. Tienen - entre otros - sus sedes principales europeos en Irlanda: Microsoft, Apple, Google y Yahoo. Lo hubieran conseguido sin ayudas europeas transformando calles de campo en autopistas, construyendo aeropuertos modernos y transformar una sociedad católica-conservadora en un pais moderno y abierto? No!

Asi que Irlanda debe mucho (si no todo) a la UE, como España y muchos otros paises.
Al final en Irlanda lo han entendido, debido al la crisis, por supuesto: Con el paro y el deficit en alza, ya no es tan fácil morder la mano que te dió a comer. Y en cuanto a la Republica Checa: Que abandonen la UE y intentan sera la nueva Suiza - ya veremos.

Y en cuanto al Reino Unido.....Pues, tanto esceptismo ante la UE - legado de la Gran Dama de los Tories, Margaret Thatcher, esa lider tan clarividente, quien con tanto certeza veía llegar el 4º Reich con la Reunificacion alemana; si, era tan al tanto del dia esa señora que en sus momentos libres le gustaba invitar al té a los viejos amigos de siempre, como el General Pinochet, para mostrar su apoyo público a ese gran hombre....


Gracias a la pagina de Marta Salazar encontré una caricatura (en alemán) de Kostas Koufogiorgos que es muy graciosa sobre la votacion en Irlanda:
http://www.koufogiorgos.de/ (hay que ir a la entrada del 3 de octubre) o directamente asi:
http://www.koufogiorgos.de/031009_irlandfarbe.html

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