24 hours to save democracy

A great way to let everyone know what you think... Kudos to Avaaz and their members...

Chers amis,

In 24 hours, our heads of state could approve a terrifying Merkel/Sarkozy plan that would permanently ban vital government spending, just to appease the big banks. But we live in a democracy and should have the right to vote for any permanent change in the way the European Union works. Join the call to save our democratic rights and stop this destructive plan for good:

In 24 hours, our heads of state could endorse a terrifying Merkel/Sarkozy plan that would abolish our right to choose reasonable economic policies. But together, we can stop our leaders from trashing our democracy and our jobs.

Panicked by the big banks, European governments want to change our constitutions and the Maastricht Treaty to permanently ban vital public spending. This is insane: in the 1930s, such spending had enabled Europe and the United States to emerge from the Great Depression. The EU needs to tighten supervision and regulation of banks, and not to hold our governments hostage to please these banks.

We live in a democracy, so European heads of state should not be able to decide on this plan on their own -- they have to find solutions that the citizens or our Parliament approve of. We only have 24 hours to secure our democracies from this attack. -- if we challenge our leaders en masse, we can force them to respect democracy, regulate the banks, reject austerity, and invest in our future. Our demands will be presented to Heads of State and the media on the sidelines of tomorrow's meeting. Click below to sign and send the petition to all your contacts before the meeting:

http://www.avaaz.org/fr/democracy_trumps_austerity_en /?vl

The Merkel/Sarkozy plan prohibits governments from running deficits above 3% of GDP. Virtually all governments have adopted this practice which is necessary to allow for stimulus spending in difficult times. It is true that some countries in the euro zone have gone too far and have incurred far too much expenditure, and Europe must prevent this situation from happening again. But the tough economic decisions the EU needs must be taken by strong, democratic and accountable institutions, and not for imposing a knife to our throats in times of crisis. Even Germany has repeatedly broken its own promises to limit its debt and deficit. Keeping these promises would have only worsened the situation of an economy without room for manoeuvre.

The big banks, which have the power to buy government bonds and calm the markets, have already toppled three European governments -- let's set the limit at that number. If Germany allows it, the European Central Bank can imitate other central banks -- stepping in to underwrite government bonds and hold off the markets. Since Italy is not bankrupt, the bank may even benefit from this operation. If the ECB buys in time, the EU can find a more sensible and democratic way out of the current crisis. Some of Merkel's and Sarkozy's proposals -- including a tax on financial speculation -- point us in that direction. They should build on that and rewrite the plan.

The issue is the survival of the welfare state in Europe, which represents our fundamental values and allows us to stabilize our economies during recessions. If the new constitutions and treaties were decided this week, some governments would face referendums or the vote of MPs, but others would simply implement the changes. This means that most of our governments would have to maintain budget cuts affecting unemployment insurance, pensions and health, which would deepen the recession. It is obvious. For the sake of our democracies, our businesses and our economies, we must say no now, before it's too late. Sign the petition:

http://www.avaaz.org/fr/democracy_trumps_austerity_en/?vl

Reasonable people may disagree on how best to protect us all from overspending and crippling state debt. But imposing austerity measures that we already know will not work and holding our democracy hostage is not the solution. Time and time again, our community has stood up and held our leaders to account every time they tried to ignore us -- now we must stand together and demand our voices be heard once again.

With hope,

Alex, Emma, Ricken, Jamie, Pascal, Giulia, Stephanie, Laura and the entire Avaaz team.

More information :

Merkozy wants to revise the treaties "by forced march" (Le Point)
http://www.lepoint.fr/economie/a-new-deal-to-toughen-up-the-discipline-budget-05-12-2011-1404093_28.php