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In
2005, my family and I visited Lublin in Poland, once a centre of
Jewish culture. In an act of memoriam, we walked the 5 miles from the
Jewish Orphanage to Majdanek Concentration Camp, where the children
and their carers were shot in the name of Nationalism. The total
number of dead is unknown; ashes of 250,000 people from all over
Europe lie in the mausoleum at the camp centre. Seeing the horrors of
old Europe helps us to understand why the Allies created the EEC/EU,
from the ashes of the most horrific war known in history.
The
defeat of the belligerent Fascist states did not represent the end of
tyranny; dictatorships continued to thrive in Spain, Portugal and
Greece. The Iron Curtain fell, imprisoning the people of Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Czech & Slovak Republics, Hungary,
Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. All these nations have now
liberated themselves; and their first act was to join the EU to
underpin their fledgling democracies and hard-won freedoms.
In
contrast to the past there is a new motorway linking Warsaw to
Lublin, which continues to the Ukraine. A vital investment by the EU
into Poland's shattered economy, which will reap great rewards for
Europe in the future. Infrastructure leads to economic growth and
trade. Trade means jobs, prosperity and stability. Stability results
in social interchange and co-operation.
And
it Works! 2007 was the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, and
the birth of the EU. It represents the longest period of continuous
peace and prosperity in Europe for two millennia.
The
EU is unique amongst International Organisations in having an
Executive accountable to a directly elected Parliament. It has
enabled us to work, live and retire anywhere within the boundaries of
the EU – once a life of leisure in the Algarve was a privilege of
the rich.
Environmental
protection is a key European programme. Pollution does not know about
borders. Filth spilt into the Vistula or Danube will pass through
many countries before it reaches the sea. Are British fish loyal? Do
they know that they must not swim to another country, as UKIP seem to
think? We must act collectively to preserve our environment and
natural resources.
The
EU has advanced the agenda on equality, individual rights and
consumer protection.
I
have moved from opposition to one of critical support. The EU is now
far more than a free trade area, and has the makings of becoming a
truly democratic force for good. Its' political structures need
reform and modernisation, and decision-making is remote. I would like
to see a Europe of Citizens not States, with more transparency,
better accountability, and decisions taken from the bottom-up not
top-down. The Lisbon Treaty delivers much of this agenda.