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Transform! Europe Navigating the Left’s Strategies vis-à-vis Europe in Times of Multiple Crises

Transform! Europe Navigating the Left’s Strategies vis-à-vis Europe in Times of Multiple Crises Vienna Transforming the European Union: The treaties & the institutions 17 October 2017 10:50-12:20. Changing the Treaties to Democratize Economic Governance John Weeks

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Transform! Europe Navigating the Left’s Strategies vis-à-vis Europe in Times of Multiple Crises

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  1. Transform! Europe Navigating the Left’s Strategies vis-à-vis Europe in Times of Multiple Crises Vienna Transforming the European Union: The treaties & the institutions 17 October 2017 10:50-12:20

  2. Changing the Treaties to Democratize Economic Governance John Weeks Progressive Economists Group London

  3. What are we trying to save?

  4. A European Union in which economic policies are determined democratically so national governments & the European Union can implement policies in the interests of the vast majorityof citizens.

  5. What do we have?

  6. A European Union in which neoliberal economic polices are treaty-embedded & implemented through non-democratic procedures.

  7. Authors: Jeremy Smith & John Weeks

  8. March 2017 with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation For their advice and contributions we thank Antonella Stirati and Engelbert Stockhammer.

  9. Ideological bias in treaties Our study provides article-by-article changes Unsound design of economic rules Rules for the wrong reasons Undemocratic application & enforcement Existing rules technically wrong Examples: Public debt & fiscal deficit De facto flexibility vs Different Rules Major points

  10. 1. EU purpose, amend TEU, Article 3.3 2. Requirement to join euro zone 3. Governance & mission of ECB 4. “State aid” & industrial policy 5. “Maastricht rules” debt, deficit, inflation 6. Internal trade imbalances 7. Capital mobiliy 8. “4th Freedom”, open bidding on state services 9. Tax harmonization Problems of Economic Governance

  11. Wrong measure (gross, net, net of publicly held debt) Wrong analysis (public debt simultaneously private asset) Wrong problem (danger is private debt) Public debt: treaty flaws

  12. General government gross & net debt,20 EU member countries 2015, % of GDP

  13. General government gross, net & net non-government debt 9 EU countries 2015, % of GDP

  14. Wrong measure (primary not overall) Wrong analysis fiscal deficit is not a problem, it is solution to sound economic management Fiscal Balance: Treaty flaws

  15. Overall & primary fiscal balances for20 EU member countries 2015, % of GDP

  16. Problem not the rules/treaties Everyone breaks them/“work around” argument Changing treaties too difficult to be practical Problem is the rules/treaties Country size – the powerful & weak Problem of asymmetry Current rules do not address real problems of economic political integration “Hostages to fortune” De facto flexibility vs Different Rules

  17. To reform the European Union Re-write the treaties

  18. Policy proposals for a social democratic Britain https://peg.primeeconomics.org/

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