In 1975, the
last time we had a referendum on membership of the EU (or the Common Market, as
it was called then) I was very much on the losing side, spending a lot of time
leafletting and campaigning against membership.
Plaid’s slogan at the time was “Europe Yes, EEC no”, as I recall. It was an attempt to put a pro-European case
against the EU as an institution, but it failed miserably. Part of the reason was that the nationalist
case for a different type of Europe was drowned out by the Little Englander
case against ‘Europe’ in general, but it was also because it was difficult to
separate ‘Europe’ from the ‘EEC’; a difficulty facing campaigners still.
There were a
number of reasons for supporting the ‘out’ campaign at that time. Some of those are still valid today, which I
suspect is one of the reasons why some supporters of ‘remain’ are having
difficulty making their case as positively as they might wish. The Treaty of Rome, which was the basis of
the organisation back then, was seen as being a basis for a ‘capitalist club’;
an organisation which would work in the interests of capital rather than
working people. Some of us saw the whole
concept of ‘free movement of capital’ as being a dangerous one for the
interests of working people. And of
course, for those seeking Welsh independence, the idea of committing to an even
bigger union, with an even more distant centre, turning Wales into a periphery
of the periphery, was deeply unattractive.
There are
echoes of all of those arguments still being heard today, but there are a
number of crucial changes which have led me, over the years, to change my
opinion.
Firstly, and most importantly, there
is the question of the alternative. Back
in 1975, the rather looser organisation known as EFTA seemed to offer a
credible alternative. It seemed rather
more likely to many of us that an independent Wales would be able to join that
organisation than to become a full member of the EEC from within. But that alternative no longer exists. EFTA has, effectively, been swallowed up by
the EU, and the alternative to membership of the EU now is to be part of an
offshore island state. It’s not a
position from which independence is likely to look attractive.
Secondly, the
EU has itself changed. From a group of
six states it has become a continent-wide organisation, including many more
nationalities and minorities.
Multilingualism is the norm, along with respect for difference. It looks and feels like a much more natural
home for Wales to be able to express itself as a nation than does a monolingual
offshore state.
Thirdly, the
tensions between ‘state’ and ‘nation’ are not limited to the UK. From the insular perspective of the early
1970s, the Welsh and Scottish battles for independence looked and felt like a
part of UK politics; apart and separate from what was happening ‘over there’ on
the continent. Today, the fight for an
increasing degree of national autonomy looks and feels like part of a much
wider European movement; the concerns and aspirations of nationalists in Wales
are shared in a number of other places within the EU.
There are other
points that I could make; and none of the above means that I’m happy with all
aspects of the EU as it stands. In
particular, I’d like to see more ‘regionalism’ in action, and a clear path
towards ‘internal enlargement’ rather than an apparent determination to protect
and defend the state boundaries and structures which currently happen to
exist. But overall, I’ve become
convinced that Wales’ future as a nation will be better served by working
towards formal direct membership of the EU than by abandoning the whole concept
and returning to the island state for which so many of the ‘Leavers’
yearn. For me, the EU is, at its
simplest, a better ‘context’ for Welsh independence than a stand-alone UK.
It is, in
essence, a nationalist perspective on the issue; starting from a consideration
of which of the only two alternatives on the table seems to offer the best
chance of Wales joining the world. But
it’s a perspective which is, sadly, hardly being mentioned in the campaign.
Posts
2 comments:
I think Plaid is as confused on this issue as it was in 1975.
Plaid – The Party of (not for) Wales is once again fighting to ensure the success of Englandandwales in the EU, but if you are a nationalist your main aim is to become a full member, with all the rights and privileges that brings, there are no real privileges being a member of any club if you are barred from the top table.
I do not believe the left should beat themselves up on their change of heart, Mr Elis Thomas stating he was wrong (what`s new!) is the latest, as they were right on a fundamental, in that at the heart of this monster is a very powerful banking financial interests that truly call the shots.
The EU is like a five-star hotel; what everybody sees when they stay is what is called the front-of-house (foh) management, they decide how to spend the budget, the colour of the wall paper, napkins and what goodies they give away. The real power is the back-of-house (boh)management usually hidden away on the second floor and they decide the financial parameters the marketing strategy and rules of discipline and enforcement.
The EU have sold the foh aspect and I believe the left have bought into this image, what they should ask themselves is, do they now accept the whole package? which only appears when dealing with the real issues like Greece and what will become the Italian, Spanish and Austrian banking crisis. These financial interests, the banks and their association with the IMF and the Bank of International Settlements will be in control no matter what the foh looks like and the Commission will continue to act as a conduit between the two.
Of course all we will be asked on the ballot paper is do we want to remain a member of the EU or not? We wont be asked if we want a 'peoples europe' or a 'bankers europe' (though many of us - like Spirit of BME above - have strong views on this). But what does seem clear is that welsh economy stands to suffer considerably if the UK leaves the EU - the figures for the numbers of welsh jobs reliant on eu membership and welsh businesses reliant on tariff free trade with the eu single market are clear testament to this.
And anyone who thinks the new hard right government led by Boris Johnson that will emerge at westminister will compensate wales for these grievous losses is frankly living in cloud cuckoo land. So it goes without saying that voting to Remain should be a straightforward choice for any plaid member or supporter.
And widening things slightly it would be nice to think the people of wales as a whole will reject the ugly racially charged British chauvinism which has marked the leave campaign.Indeed if wales joins scotland in voting to remain - but voters in england take us out - it could be very significant in terms of future political developments.
Post a Comment