Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-153"
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"en.20051026.17.3-153"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Blair, Mr Barroso, the speech made by Mr Blair in June included at least three indisputable observations: firstly, that a serious crisis of confidence exists between our fellow citizens and the European institutions; secondly, that the idea of Europe’s having led 20 million people into unemployment needs to be changed; and, thirdly, that it would be useful to start a fundamental debate on what the European social model needs to be today. Everything is fine up to that point.
On the last point – the social model – the British Prime Minister even appeared to have a recommendation to make to the whole of Europe, which he himself embodies in his own country. Is it not the case that unemployment in the United Kingdom has been reduced to 5% of the active population? Such a success story deserved to be examined in more depth. What is therefore so special about this Blair model, given that the priorities of the UK Presidency are in perfect harmony with those of the entire Union? What could be more Blair-like, in actual fact, than the action plan of the Lisbon Agenda, revised in 2005?
Yet the fact is that, in the United Kingdom, unlike in other Member States, the majority of these reforms have already been, or are due to be, carried out in full. It therefore seemed a good idea to my group, before the extraordinary meeting at Hampton Court takes place, to discover how this pilot experiment carried out by a 21st century liberal Europe is assessed by those it affects most – the British themselves. We therefore listened for two whole days last week in London to what members of the main trade unions, members of feminist movements, members of Parliament from the Labour Party and employees of British universities had to say. The least that can be said is that what we learned does not lead us to believe that this type of model might enable the Union to overcome the peoples’ disaffection with Europe.
Turning our attention, now, to the matter of employment. Our speakers listed the numerous devices used to bring down unemployment figures. Hence, the United Kingdom has more than two million people classed as suffering from long term illness and others classed as being unable to work. As if by chance, only 2% of people are classed as unable to work in a well-off town in the south of England, while in the poor region of South Wales, the equivalent figure is 32%. Our speakers also told us that there is a enormous lack of job security, particularly for women, three-fifths of whom work part-time in underpaid jobs with no prospects, while the men suffer some of the longest working hours in Europe.
The extent of poverty was another aspect of the situation highlighted by our British friends. In addition to a large number of unemployed and working poor, one female pensioner in four lives in poverty in the United Kingdom. Child poverty has even reached the staggering figure of 54% in inner city London.
On the subject of public services: although no one denied the increase in spending that has taken place over the last three years, we were told – and I quote – that the benefits offered, and methods used, in the public sector have been modelled on those of the private sector, with profitability as a concern. Ten thousand hospital beds have thus been done away with in the last eight years. Summing up the general feeling, one researcher told us that, in our society, citizens are all too often left to their own devices, faced with market forces. Go on, laugh, ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about what the representatives of the social forces in the United Kingdom told us. Go on, laugh.
On the other hand, a wonderful breath of fresh air of humanity came to us from our meeting with the trade unionists who organised an illegal solidarity strike this summer at British Airways involving the 800 male and female immigrant employees of the US sub-contractor Gate Gourmet, all of whom had just been made redundant so that their jobs might be filled by other, less costly, employees. Together they fought back and won, and dignity too prevailed.
Mr President, it is our conviction that the notion of the European social model is too precious to be tarnished. It does not sit well with the cold and detached laws of the market. When people finally sit up and take note of this obvious fact, then, and only then, will Europe fare better."@en1
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