EU & US Sovereignty Issues

Say No to a U.S.-EU Merger

As negotiations continue toward immersing the United States in another sovereignty-compromising trade pact, it's hardly surprising to know that proper warnings were issued about such an agreement in The New American magazine five years ago. TNA's May 12, 2008 feature article entitled "Transatlantic Two-Step" reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso met with President George W. Bush in the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations that would tie our country with the European Union. In his statement at the close of the meeting, Mr. Bush didn't hesitate to summarize what the three had discussed. He bluntly stated that the goal was "trans-Atlantic integration."

The TNA article also noted that a group called the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) had been working "carefully, if quietly" toward economic union "since the early 1990s." The TPN happens to be a non-governmental organization (NGO) provided legitimacy by the United Nations. Its work, according to University of Nevada economics professor Glen Atkinson, will set "the foundation for a political union." Of course, this is no surprise because economic unions are followed by political unions just as night follows day. The steps that led to the formation of the EU prove this point. Merger of the U.S. with the EU is the ultimate goal and that would mean an end to our nation's independence.

As progress toward the "integration" continued, Nebraska Republican Douglas Bereuter (a member of the CFR) led the U.S. House in passage of a resolution stating that the U.S. and the EU had "common interests." He named environmental protection, poverty reduction, combating international crime, promoting human rights, threats posed by terrorism, terrorist states, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." The resolution was adopted by the House as far back as 2003.

Among the TPN's "Congressional Group" formed a full decade ago could be found six senators and 49 House members. These legislators obviously placed little importance on their oath to the U.S. Constitution and the independence of our nation. This "group" included then-Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), also a CFR member, who last year was named by Barack Obama as our nation's secretary of defense. It's hardly unreasonable to wonder what he intends to defend. Congressional support for this dangerous entanglement remains.

The 2008 TNA article mentioned that support for the merger of the U.S. and the EU could be found among the usual internationalist-minded corporations such as Boeing, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, General Electric, IBM, Walt Disney, Wal-Mart, Nestle, UPS, and more. Think tanks and foundations backing the proposal include the CFR, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the European Roundtable of Industrialists. The TPN's time schedule calls for the launching of the "transatlantic common Market" by 2015.

With all this backing, why hasn't the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) been presented to Congress for passage? The answer is that there is resistance to such a pact and both the current and past president know this, as do a sufficient number of members of Congress. Congratulations are in order for all who have helped spread word about the dangers of such an agreement that its promoters are cleverly and deceitfully labeling a "partnership."

Nonetheless the first round of a new series of TTIP negotiations was conducted during the week of July 8-12 in Washington, D.C. According to an article appearing in the July 5 Wall Street Journal, the revelations about electronic spying conducted by our nation's National Security Agency have upset some Europeans. But it won't deter work toward hammering out the TTIP. This article did say that some European officials expect "the talks could take a couple of years or longer." A vote by Congress on a completed TTIP agreement is expected in 2015.

While that comment that we have a couple years before a congressional vote amounts to good news, we recommend that messages be sent to your own senators and representative now denouncing the plan for this huge, new trade agreement. All that's needed is a firm statement asking that the TTIP negotiations cease. Your message could state something along the lines of "Political union results from economic union. Look what happened to the independence of dozens of nations that were lured into the European Union. Our nation must remain independent."

Send an email to your senators and representative in opposition to the TTIP agreement.

 Source: The John Birch Society, The John Birch Society <alerts@jbs.org>

Comments:

Sovereignty involves who gets stuck with the tab.  It invites politicians to engage in more fiscal irresponsibility. More US exposure to overspending by other governments is suicidal.  Our own debts render us bankrupt.  Countries must retain their sovereignty to force them to act responsibly.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader