Download Labour party (new Labour) are Euro-positive. This refers to people

Labour party (new Labour) are Euro-positive. This refers to people who are in
favour of the European integration and they still see Britain at the centre of
Europe however, they do not want to support further transfer of function to the
union. For example, it believes that tax, social welfare and law and order policies
should remain under the control of the national government. In contrast, the
Conservatives are Euro-sceptics. This means that they are doubtful of any further
political integration but realise the economic advantages. They want to see
European decision making kept at an intergovernmental level.
Intergovernmental refers to decisions that are made in the interests of the
individual countries. However recently, Labour and Conservatives policy regarding
the EU have become increasingly similar.
One way in which the parties’ views have become similar is that both parties do
not want the European Union to become a federal state. A federal sate is where
power is dispersed between federal and state authorities. For example, the USA
is a federal state. The two leading parties oppose a federal state because it
threatens national sovereignty. This refers to the ultimate power and the source
of political power within a state. A European Union federal state would mean the
UK would have to give up further national sovereignty. This in return would give
European Union considerable power to make decisions at supranational level
rather than intergovernmental. Supranational means the national interests are
set aside and are replaced by the interests of the European Union as a whole. For
example the Common Agricultural Policy as supranational. Supranational
decisions are perceived to be negative because although it can benefit countries,
it does so at the expense of the other the other countries. . An example of this
was when Ireland in the mid 2000’s began to grow at a vast rate, however this
lead to high rate inflation in Ireland. Inflation is when there is too much money
chasing too few good, so in order to lower inflation Ireland requested the
European Central Bank (ECB) to increase interest rate so that people would
spend less and save more. However because Ireland is a part of the Euro zone
and lowering interest rates in Ireland would mean lowering interest rates in other
countries, countries like France and Germany were in disagreement as their
economy was sluggish and they needed interest rates to stay down. Because of
the supranational style of decision making interest rates stayed low, so when the
credit crunch happened Ireland’s economy crashed leaving Ireland bankrupt.
This is the kind of situation both labour and Conservative fear hence the
opposition to a federal state as it would mean that the decision making process
is taken further away form the people, resulting in decisions being made for at
more of a supranational level.
In relation both parties have similar views in the sense that they are both in
favour of enlargement, as this would discourage a federal state of Europe.
Enlargement refers to making something bigger, for example when Labour joined
the EU the membership of the EU rose significantly form fifteen to twenty
seven countries. Cameron in a recent speech has said he is very much in favour
of an enlarged EU. Both parties are in favour of this enlargement is because they
are both in favour of an anti-federal Europe and enlargement will make
federalism harder to happen as not all countries will agree to it. Also
Conservatives believe that if EU membership is widened this would stop further
integration, and they are against this because further integration means giving
up more sovereignty. Another reason why parties are in favour of enlargement is
because they can recognise the economic benefit of the expansion. For example
the European single market which would increase the free trade exchange, and
customers between the countries.
Another way in which the parties’ views have become increasingly similar is that
both Labour and conservatives want reform of the common fisheries (CFP) policy
and the Common Agricultural policy (CAP). The CFP gives countries a quota of
how much fish they can catch. The CAP is aimed at agricultural farmers providing
a plentiful and stable food supply and the maintenance of food productivity in the
countryside. In particular, the CAP has proved to be the most unpopular aspect of
the European Union’s budget, because countries that do not have large
agricultural sectors, the UK being the key example, tend to suffer as a result. For
example roughly 45% to 50% of the European Union’s budget goes to the CAP. In
2007, the proportion of CAP expenditure in France was 20%, with the UK and 9%
and others lower. This shows that France and Germany benefit most out of the
CAP because a larger agricultural sector, but countries which have larger
manufacturing and service sector, do not receive as much support. The CAP is
most expensive because the farmers are the ones who produce goods for us.
Another reason why the CAP is unpopular id the fact that farmers get a large
amount of support, which provides few incentives for them to make themselves
more efficient thus, creating no competition between farmers.
Another way in which both parties are similar is that both parties are prepared
to pool or give up sovereignty if they believe it is beneficial to the UK, therefore
both party’s approach towards Europe is ‘pragmatic’, William Hague the current
foreign secretary has called himself and David Cameron ‘pragmatic.’ This means
that neither party have any long term views on how Europe should be developed
nor what they believe will be good for Britain. They react according to what they
feel is in the best interest of the country at that moment in time, therefore
neither of them have a long term strategy on how the country should be run in
relation to the EU. The Single European Act for example signed in 1986 by
Margaret Thatcher and she signed because of the economic benefits she did not
particularly have any long term impact of this.
However although some of Labour and Conservatives policies have become very
similar there are still some great differences in their policies concerning the
European Union. For example, they still have differing stances on Europe, the
majority of the Conservative party are Euro-sceptics and that think the European
Union is a threat to the British way of life and to their national sovereignty. They
want to gain back some sovereignty and discourage further political integration.
In contrast the Labour party are Euro-positive and find Britain is ‘at the heart of
Europe’, in other words they believe that Britain would be a key play in Europe
and thus, they still have differing policies to the conservatives on the European
Union.
Another way in which the parties’ views on the European Union are different is
their opinion in relation to The Lisbon Treaty 2007. This treaty increased the use
of quality majority voting of the council of ministers, increased the involvement
of the European Parliament, and created a European Council President and
Foreign Minister. Labour Described the Lisbon Treaty as just clarifying what
powers the European institutions have. In contrast, the Conservatives never
signed the treaty because they never approved of some of the regulations it
involved. For example within the treaty there was to be a fundamental charter of
human rights to be applicable to all member states. The conservatives thought
this was unfair as countries should be left to decide their own human rights
according to the culture of the country. It also meant that they would have to
give up further national sovereignty, which they already oppose.
Although there are fundamental differences between the two parties in regards
to the EU, the similarities seem to out weigh the differences. Both parties agree
on points that have the potential to change the complete structure of the UK,
like the idea of a federal Europe. It is essential that both parties are able to agree
on these larger and more vital points as an united front is likely to be a lot more
effective on an EU level and is perhaps likely to have a greater impact when it
comes to making the decisions. Also both parties agree with working with the
country’s best interest in mind which is an essential element in a democracy, due
to the fact that the government is directly accountable to the public therefore the
decisions they make should reflect public’s opinion.
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