Warning that treaty could destroy public funding

EU: The draft EU constitution will further neo-liberal policies that could destroy publicly funded education, health and cultural services, opponents have claimed.

Anti-treaty activists say it could lead to the "Coca-Cola-isation" of education, the shutting down of public broadcasting such as Raidió na Gaeltachta and the sale of galleries, museums and cultural artefacts.

Democratically elected governments will be powerless to change decisions in these areas in the future, according to the Democracy and Public Services in Europe (DAPSE) group.

"It is clear that the neo-liberal economic agenda is now firmly enshrined within the draft constitution. The thrust of its commercial policy is clearly to optimise profit-making opportunities for business, at the expense of public welfare and the public good," the Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, told a press conference organised by DAPSE yesterday.

The group says the constitution signals the abandonment of the "welfare state" model of the EU in favour of globalisation. The EU Commission will in future be able to negotiate trade in all public services, including the commercialisation of these services, in world trade talks.

The removal of the existing power of veto enjoyed by member-states on the commercialisation of health, education and cultural services will facilitate this move towards liberalisation, according to Mr Franz-Josef Stummann, deputy general secretary of the Assembly of the European Regions.

He said the Italian government had recently decided to permit the sale of galleries and museums to private individuals, except where they were of national character. The draft constitution would permit a further push towards liberalisation that could, for example, see the Hill of Tara sold to a US company.

The treaty would also allow the private sector argue that state funding of public broadcasting was illegal, he said.

Mr Pat Cahill, president of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, said the constitution was "clearing the decks" for the entrepreneurial class to take over public services traditionally offered by governments.

The private sector was already "embedded" in Irish education, he said. "But once you allow the language of business into education, then education in the proper sense goes out the window." This was the sort of culture that produced the greed which led to the tribunals, he warned.

The Socialist Party TD, Mr Joe Higgins, said EU and government policies were leading to a "huge shift" of wealth from working people to the corporate sector within Europe.

The constitution must be ratified by all EU member-states by the end of December 2005.