letter to the editor from Richard Corbett MEP |
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29th February 2008 |
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Tribune |
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Dear Editor, Jon Trickett (8 th February) is spot on in pointing to the political battle that needs to be fought at European level to ensure that our single European market is not a free-for-all for multi-national companies but is a rules-based, socially just economic system that protects the weak and vulnerable from the full harshness of unrestrained market forces. That indeed is the battle that Labour MEPs are engaged in week in and week out in the European Parliament in adopting, rejecting or amending European legislation. The common rules that we have laid down for the common market on consumer protection, environmental standards, work place rights, health and safety legislation and such like is fundamental to this. We do not win every battle – and some, such as on the Temporary Agency Workers Directive, are ongoing – but with our colleagues in the Socialist Group in the European Parliament we can, and do, make a real difference. It is essential that we can continue to do so. Without the new Treaty of Lisbon, there is a danger that the EU comes to a grinding halt, leaving the ground clear for the unrestrained and unregulated free trade that the Conservatives dream of. We would also lose specific provisions in the Lisbon Treaty that protect public services from neo-liberal dogma. Fighting for fairness and justice at European level will be an ongoing political battle – but without the new Treaty we will be fighting it with one hand tied behind our back. Richard Corbett Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
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