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		No to the Euro! The Bosses' Gain Is Our Pain…
		"We should defend the gains of the working class under capitalism ... EMU will try to undermine all of these" n any debate or argument socialists need to look beyond the headlines to see what's really at stake. Nowhere is this clearer than in the argument over replacing the Pound with the Euro; what is being offered is a recipe for even more cuts and privatisation. The European Union is a major capitalist institution and it is trying to compete as a trading bloc with the US and Asia. European Monetary Union and the Euro is part of a long term strategy to strengthen capitalism in Europe, and to give businesses in Europe the edge over their competitors in the US or Asia.  How will this be achieved? It is clear that the flip side of the Euro coin is a massive attack on working class living standards:- A wave of rationalisations and job cuts; as predicted by multinational giant Unilever It is estimated that business will save over $60 billion in currency exchange charges The strict rules on borrowing and spending demanded by the European Central Bank (ECB) will lead to huge cuts in welfare spending - particularly in pensions and social security Capital will become even more mobile The austerity demanded of governments by the ECB in the run up to the introduction of EMU (the convergence criteria) was waived in order to get the Euro up and running - we can soon expect the pressure on working class living standards to re-double. The political impact of the Euro will be to end the Western European social democratic consensus on the welfare state. The case for socialists against the Euro is at it will be an attempt to advance the neo-liberal agenda of de-regulation and
					privatisation across Europe. That is why the majority of big business in Britain is backing the Euro; the bosses' gain will be our pain. Socialists should oppose what is at heart an anti-working class measure, just as we oppose the World Trade Organisation's attempts to introduce TRIPS or the International Monetary Fund's Structural Adjustment Plans. Just to say "they're all capitalism" is to miss the point; we should defend the gains of the working class under capitalism, ie the NHS, pensions, job security, the welfare state. EMU will try to undermine all of these. I think those socialists who argue that we should either support the Euro or should abstain on the question have failed to look behind the headlines to see why big business is so keen on the Euro, and the cuts and austerity that are a necessary part of EMU. To argue that the EU is qualitatively different from the WTO or from the IMF is false; they are all capitalist institutions. The argument that the European Central Bank will somehow undermine nationalism and will help to build a European wide working class movement is completely ridiculous! No Euro and No Mindless Nationalism The accusation that to oppose the Euro will condemn us to being on the coat-tails of a "No" campaign dominated by patriotism is a counsel of despair. There are other Left and working class forces that will oppose the Euro with a basically class position, for example the biggest union in Britain, Unison. Since the protests at Seattle in 1999 we have witnessed the birth of an anti-capitalist movement that has given new energy and vibrancy to the left. The last year has seen the start of real working class opposition to Blair. Left groups across Europe opposed EMU as they understood the drive for cuts and privatisation that accompanied it. (Continued on page 5)
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