Planning Underway for an EU-USA Common Market ....The Transatlantic Policy
Network seeks EU-style integration for the European Union & USA by 2015
a..
The Blog entry has been updated.
Submitted by h.hoffman on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 21:08.
The Transatlantic Policy Network seeks EU-style integration for the European
Union and the USA by 2015.
Planning Underway for an EU-USA Common Market
Bill Hahn JBS
Wednesday February 13, 2008
The Transatlantic Policy Network seeks EU-style integration for the European
Union and the USA by 2015.
Follow this link to the original source: "Creating a Transatlantic Common
Market" or see end
Even with all of the recent attention given to the North American Union
(NAU) and its deep integration of trade markets in Canada, Mexico and the
USA, it seems another effort at trade integration is underway. This time the
plan is for greater integration of the European Union and the United States,
and much like the Security and Prosperity Partnership of the NAU, the
Transatlantic Union (TAU) is being quietly created.
According to an exclusive at TheNewAmerican.com, a little known NGO (non
governmental organization) called the Transatlantic Policy Network, has been
working behind the scenes to advance plans to merge the United States with
Europe. The article states, "Working carefully, if quietly, since the early
1990s, the organization has moved quickly to gain the agreement of leaders
on both sides of the ocean that further integration is necessary and
desirable. Now, the organization is much closer to achieving its goals than
anyone would suspect."
A paper published early last year by the organization entitled, "Completing
the Transatlantic Market," states: "It is time for a complementary, top down
approach to transatlantic cooperation through a joint commitment by the
European Union and the United States to a roadmap for achieving a
Transatlantic Market by 2015 and creation of an overarching framework for
dialogue and action to achieve that goal."
The big difference between the NAU and the TAU is that Congress has already
passed legislation embracing the TAU concept. H. Res. 390 was passed in late
2003 and states that the "United States and the European community are aware
of their shared responsibility, not only to further transatlantic security,
but to address other common interests such as environmental protection,
poverty reduction, combating international crime and promoting human rights,
and to work together to meet those transnational challenges which affect the
well-being of all." To do this, TheNewAmerican.com points out that laws and
regulations would need to be harmonized before any integration could begin.
While Americans were alarmed at this step in the NAU, especially considering
how Mexico would need to be brought up to the US and Canada's standards, we
need to be similarly alarmed at the effort to meld the US into a
transatlantic common market. Remember that the EU started as a common market
that has now morphed into EU citizens not being able to vote on a new
constitution, not having local representation (Parliament is forced to
regularly travel to Brussels to approve or disapprove a mountain of
legislation that they have not seen before) and not having individual
national sovereignty for each of the 27 member countries. Rather, all
countries are lumped together under a centralized EU bureaucracy.
The political union of Europe did not appear over night, but it did evovle
from a European common market. Likewise, the U.S. would not likely undergo a
political merger with Europe in the short term. But the natural progression,
as demonstrated by the experience of Europe since World War II, is for
economic union of the type required for a common market to lead, inexorably,
to political union at some point in the future. This is just the sort of
entangling alliance the Founding Fathers warned us about. They intended the
USA to be independent of Europe. Present day Americans would do well to heed
their wisdom.
=======================
European Union
Creating a Transatlantic Common Market
By: Dennis Behreandt
February 7, 2008
Practically everyone has heard of the efforts made by the Bush
administration to advance the integration of the United States with Canada
and Mexico in what many have called a North American Union. This magazine
has distributed nearly 1 million copies of a special issue on the subject,
CNN's Lou Dobbs frequently discusses the issue on his nightly news program,
and presidential candidate Ron Paul has even discussed the NAU during some
of the Republican debates.
The NAU gets all the press, but for internationalists seeking a more
integrated world, it is not the only game in town. Very quietly, behind the
scenes, a little known NGO has been working to advance plans to merge the
United States with Europe. No one has heard of the work of this group, the
Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN), because it has never been covered by the
mainstream media. That is a particularly interesting fact, given that TPN's
supporters and collaborators include many powerful and well-known
corporations, think tanks and legislators on both sides of the Atlantic.
That they are cooperating in an effort to merge the U.S. and the EU would
seem to be at least marginally newsworthy.
Even though the mainstream media can't be bothered to report on real news in
the midst of its "all celebrity, all the time" coverage, the American people
might be interested to learn that TPN's plans are not just talk. Working
carefully, if quietly, since the early 1990s, the organization has moved
quickly to gain the agreement of leaders on both sides of the ocean that
further integration is necessary and desirable. Now, the organization is
much closer to achieving its goals than anyone would suspect.
Merger Ahead
In February 2007, TPN published its white paper entitled, Completing the
Transatlantic Market. In that paper, the organization summarized its goals.
The executive summary states:
It is time for a complementary, top down approach to transatlantic
cooperation through a joint commitment by the European Union and the United
States to a roadmap for achieving a Transatlantic Market by 2015 and
creation of an overarching framework for dialogue and action to achieve that
goal.
The emphasis placed on "top down" is not insignificant. As typically used by
NGOs, that terminology usually implies that executive level leaders will
impose their desires on the citizens of a nation, not the other way around
as envisioned, for instance, by America's Founders.
That aside, is the plan, as described by the TPN white paper, really
anything to worry about? After all, isn't a common "Transatlantic Market"
just a matter of economics and trade policy that will have little or no
effect on the sovereignty and independence of nations?
The experience of Europe over the last 60 years demonstrates that the
creation of a common market is only a first step toward more thorough
integration. The European Union itself started life as the European Coal and
Steel Community (ECSC), an intergovernmental organization formed in the
aftermath of World War II ostensibly to give a boost to the coal and steel
industries in European nations ravaged by war.
But the ECSC was only meant to be a first step to further economic
integration. In 1957 it was superseded by the European Economic Community
(EEC) that was created by the Treaty of Rome. The EEC was the immediate
predecessor of today's European Union.
The progression from common market to political union as it occurred in
Europe should not be mistaken for a singular and unusual event. It is, in
fact, the process through which other international political mergers are
expected to occur. The process was explained by University of Nevada
professor of economics Glen Atkinson. In a paper published in the Social
Science Journal entitled "Regional Integration in the Emerging Global
Economy," Professor Atkinson explained:
The lowest level of integration is a free trade area that involves only the
removal of tariffs and quotas among the parties. If a common external tariff
is added, then a customs union has been created. The next level, or a common
market, requires free movement of people and capital as well as goods and
services. It is this stage where institutional development becomes critical.
The stage of economic union requires a high degree of coordination or even
unification of policies. This sets the foundation for political union.
If TPN succeeds in catalyzing the existence of a transatlantic common market
by 2015 as planned, that will be only one short step removed from actual
political integration.
Integration Milestones
On its Website, TPN proudly lists some of its "achievements" in building the
framework for a common market. "In a short space of time," the organization
says, it has "built a credible 'network of networks' linking the political,
business and academic communities. It confirmed its value to members by
helping to shape key developments in the EU-US partnership during the
1990s."
According to the organization, some of its achievements include:
Creating the "New Transatlantic Agenda" in December 1995, described by TPN
as "a blueprint for joint action by the US and the European Union across all
of the most important political, economic, security and social aspects their
relationship."
Launching the "Transatlantic Business Dialogue" also in 1995 "with a
specific objective to remove the trade and investment obstacles to the
creation of a real transatlantic marketplace.
Creating the "Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP)" at the London EU-US
Summit in May 1998. According to the organization, "TEP identified a series
of elements for an initiative to intensify and extend multilateral and
bilateral cooperation and common actions in the field of trade and
investment, including formal trade negotiations and trust enhancing
measures."
These efforts have garnered significant transoceanic support, both from
political and business leaders, for TPN's plan. In 2004 and again in 2005,
the EU parliament passed resolutions "in which the concept of completing the
transatlantic market by 2015 is supported." TPN notes with apparent
satisfaction that the U.S. Congress has done likewise and points out that
the "House of Representatives has also passed a resolution endorsing the
concept of a 'Transatlantic Partnership Agreement' between the EU and the
US."
For those keeping track of Congressional malfeasance, this legislation, H.
Res. 390, was introduced in the House by Nebraska Republican Doug Bereuter
on October 2, 2003. It passed the House little more than a month later on
November 5. The resolution found that the "United States and the European
community are aware of their shared responsibility, not only to further
transatlantic security, but to address other common interests such as
environmental protection, poverty reduction, combatting international crime
and promoting human rights, and to work together to meet those transnational
challenges which affect the well-being of all."
Moreover, it found that because of the "threats posed by global terrorism,
terrorist states, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the
nexus of the three, the partnership should be expanded progressively from a
transatlantic community of values to an effective transatlantic community of
action by developing a collaborative strategy and action plan for dealing
with those challenges of mutual interest and concern." (emphasis added.)
Support Network
The passage of the Bereuter resolution in the House in 2003 is a strong
indication that the TPN plan has the widespread support of influential
members of Congress. It is not necessary to look far to find just how many
influential legislators have backed the transatlantic integration plan.
One such backer was the late Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, the powerful
and influential former chairman of both the House Judiciary and
International Relations Committees.
In its "Partnership Report" of June 2004, TPN notes that Hyde spoke in favor
of creating an EU-US common market during a speech in Rome on June 29, 2003.
According to the TPN report, Hyde "stressed the need for a 'Transatlantic
Economic Framework with the free movement of goods, services and
investments…." That, as economist Glen Atkinson pointed out, is the very
definition of a common market.
But Hyde wasn't finished. He returned to this in a speech given in Chicago
in September of 2003. In that speech, TPN points out, Hyde argued that
America's "economic relationship with Europe receives too little attention"
and that the U.S. should be looking more closely at "the benefits to be
obtained from closer cooperation across the Atlantic." Accordingly, TPN
notes, "Hyde called for the establishment of 'a true Atlantic Marketplace'
and urged the EU and the US to 'convene a high-level meeting of our
respective regulatory policy-makers and regulatory bodies to try to
establish common objectives in regulation and devise a process of
formulating complementary regulations." To put this in proper perspective,
it should be noted that harmonization of law and regulation is a necessary
prerequisite that must be accomplished before any economic or political
integration of nations can occur. Finally, in 2004, Hyde, along with
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis and Minister of the European Parliament (MEP) Jim
Nicholson, who was serving as Chairman of the European Parliamentary
Delegation to the US, signed a joint statement "calling for a barrier-free
transatlantic market by 2015," thereby officially endorsing the plan
preferred by TPN.
There are many other important legislators on both sides of the Atlantic
that continue to back the integration plan, and some of them actually serve
as leaders within TPN itself. The most prominent of these is Republican
Senator Robert Bennett of Utah. Bennett is chairman of the TPN Management
Committee, one of the top leadership positions at TPN, according to the
organization's Website. The Honorary U.S. President of TPN is Robert S.
Strauss, a key Carter administration official and former ambassador to the
Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. Joining Strauss and Bennett in TPN
leadership positions are:
Former Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) — now Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the
German Marshall Fund of the US, another group promoting U.S.-EU integration;
Democratic Congressman Ron Kind of Wisconsin who has been an active
supporter in Congress of regional free trade agreements;
Former Congressman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio), infamous co-author of the notorious
Sarbanes-Oxley Act that, as described by Congressman Ron Paul,
unconstitutionally gave "the federal government authority to regulate the
accounting standards of private corporations" in the wake of the Enron and
other financial scandals of the early part of the decade.
In addition to these U.S. legislators serving in leadership positions with
TPN, there are many others who are members of TPN's "U.S. Congressional
Group." These include six Senators — the aforementioned Senator Bennett of
Utah, Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska), Barbara
Mikulski (D-Maryland), Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) – and
49 Representatives. Some of the noteworthy members of the latter cohort
include former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee F. James
Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), current Chairman of the House Foreign Relations
Committee Tom Lantos (D-California), Chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee John Dingell (D-Michigan), and current House Minority
Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). It seems that selling out U.S. sovereignty is
a very popular and bi-partisan pastime.
The Usual Suspects
Among businesses and think tanks one finds the usual crowd of
internationalists heading up the lists of those supporting the TPN program
of transatlantic integration. European and American business members include
such influential companies as Boeing, BASF, Microsoft, Coca Cola, IBM, Time
Warner, Walt Disney, Walmart, Xerox, Merck, Nestle, UPS and a host of
others. The inclusion of media titans Time Warner (owner of CNN) and Disney
(owner of ABC News) perhaps explains in part the media blackout on the
coverage of TPN's activities.
Among think tanks, the TPN membership list is a who's who of
internationalism-promoting groups. Included on the list is the granddaddy of
them all, the Council on Foreign Relations. Joining the CFR is the Atlantic
Council of the United States which seeks a "healthy transatlantic
relationship" as "an essential prerequisite for a stronger international
system." Other organizations serving as TPN members include:
The Brookings Institution
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Chamber of Commerce of the United States
The German Marshall Fund of the U.S.
The Centre for European Policy Studies
The European Roundtable of Industrialists
Institut Francais des Relations Internationales
All of these and several other groups have lent their support to the TPN
goal of creating a Transatlantic Market by 2015. As umbrella organization
TPN points out, this market is to be created by executive decree from the
top down, and that is exactly what has been happening. Meanwhile, the
citizens who are being herded into this arrangement have no say in the
matter. In fact, they are being kept in the dark.
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