Housing the 2004 EU Presidency

international | eu | news report Friday December 05, 2003 20:58 by Fergus

Blueprints for a Blackout

From cutting rent allowance in Ireland to the demolishing of Dutch cultural freezones.
Where is Europe being pushed during the Irish and Dutch Eu Presidencies in 2004 ?

I (am one of reportedly 60,000 people who)recieve rent supplement in Ireland.
Earlier today I called into the local Health Board; the people who deal with rent allowance.
I wanted to find out specific details of the recent cutbacks in rent supplement that had been reported in the news media.
The Health Board staff were friendly but told me, "we know as much about it as you do".
They've recieved no official details about what date the cutbacks are to be introduced.
So until "probably January" new applications for the social welfare entitlement are still available.
They didn't have information on the governments 'official reasons' behind the planned cuts but that if I wanted to complain then the Minister of State & Family Affairs held responsibility.

Focus Ireland Warns Govt. More Social Welfare Cuts in Next Weeks Budget Will Increase Homeless.
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=62401

According to Ms Frances Byrne manager of One Parent Exchange & Network, more than 1000 lone parent families will be made homeless if the govt. goes ahead with cutbacks to rent supplement.

Renting Catch 22
The govt. has said new applicants would have to rent accomodation for at least 6 months before they could recieve the 'supplement'.

Ms Byrne said community welfare officers would not approve anyone for a supplement if they had managed to live without it for 6 months.

Elsewhere in Fortress Europe

Rotterdam Bans the Poor
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2003/12/15817.shtml
1st Dec. the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands announced its new hard line policies to combat immigration and urban decline. The unemployed, the disabled, pensioners other claimants and the low-paid will be banned from moving into the city.
The ultimate logic of all these policies is to stop all new immigration and force existing minorities to leave the country. With this kind of 'creative racism' it is possible to apply so much pressure on the minorities that they will leave the country 'voluntarily'.

Rotterdam Plans to Ban Poor Artists

"If people want to come to Rotterdam they must not be artists. If they are, then we don't them." Mr Sorensen said that the council would demolish cultural freezones and only build "expensive houses" in order to get the right "balance".

http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2003/12/15861.shtml

Rich Con Artists ?
Recently in the Netherlands, capitalists have been honing their sales pitch to flog Business Blueprints in tandem with their Irish Counterparts.

Maurice Pratt of an Irish delegation attended a meeting in which Jacques Schraven, president of Dutch business lobby group, VNO-NCW strut his stuff.

The Roots of Competitiveness; who lobbies the lobbyists ?

"A study by Goldman Sachs predicts that well before 2040 the established western industrialised nations will have been forced to relinquish their status as leaders in the economy to the so called BRIC countries - Brazil, the Russian federation, India & China.

Ladies and Gentlemen. Simply giving up and accepting fate is not a solution.
But if we are to succeed, we must eradicate our weaknesses and further develop our strenghts."

http://www.vno-ncw.nl/web/show/id=96126/dbcode=156/filetype=speeches

Blueprints for a Blackout

http://www.ibec.ie/Sectors/IBB/IBBDoclib3.nsf/vLookupHTML/EU_Presidency?OpenDocument

Joint Presidency Programme

In 2004, Ireland and the Netherlands will sucessively take on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union...

Lobbyists
The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) and the Federation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) have presented a joint position paper to their respective governments. (The Paper was launched on the 17th Sept 03).

Calling on the Irish and Dutch governments to devote top priority during their Presidencies [to the ideologies of] ....competitiveness and peformance.

Rollback

"A reassesment of inflexible and outdated social security legislation (regulations governing recruitment and notice/dismissal, social security, temporary agency, staff consultation and working conditions is now necessary)."

Regarding Trade Policy

"the ongoing WTO negotiations must make progress in all areas during 2004... companies attach great importance to the satisfactory conclusion of talks in the following areas : improved market access, investments, trade facillatation and anti-dumping"

At the upcoming EU Summit on 26th March, business is calling for [legislation] to intensify the pace of reform across Europe.

Hmm, reform...

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Blueprints for a blackout
Like mass murder in a far away town
Can be even worse when its your hometown
But no one will notice when the lights are out

Blueprints for a blackout
Like public opinions that defy the crowd
Demagogues leading a lonely crowd
Waiting for volunteers to drop out.

Blueprints for a knockout
-The Ex

The Dutch band play Corks Half Moon Theatre, tickets 10.50 euro,Sun. 14 Dec.