Our "No" is European, ecologist, altermondialist and in solidarity

We are ecologists, we are European, we are for a European Constitution and we will vote "NO" on May 29th.

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE) has been very widely criticised by the French Green Party for its orientation toward unbridled productivity and liberalism. Nevertheless, the majority of the Greens decided to campaign in favour of it.

This is why we, French ecologists in favour of a "No", are circulating this call within Europe.

The Treaty incorporates principles which have always been opposed by ecologists. It gives legitimacy to a policy of productivism through liberalism and stands opposed to ecological transformation and all economic alternatives. We cannot, in conscience, remain silent.

• The dogma of growth for its own sake is set out as an unshakeable objective of the EU. This is in contradiction with our anti-productivist orientation and our questioning of development as a priority. Concretely, this dogma effectively silences declarations in favour of the fight against climatic change; it is diametrically opposed to our fight against waste and for the limitation of energy consumption.

• The drive to increase agricultural productivity is a policy for the slow death for the rural world.

• Goods enjoyed in common such as basic services, water, land, education, health and culture, are reduced to the quality of merchandise. The unbridled market, as supported in the Treaty's Title III, cannot meet these fundamental needs satisfactorily.

• For the ecologists and peace activists that we are, the reaffirmed bond with NATO, the declared objective of developing the arms industry, and the commitment of member states to steadily improve their military capacities, are incompatible with our policy of disarmament and non-violent conflict prevention.

• A Constitutional Treaty elaborated in a closed circle cannot be the foundation of the Federation of European citizens that we fervently hope for, nor of the participative democracy which ecologists extol.

We are fighting to save the planet and change the world, and we will not deviate from these ideals. We do not renounce the great dream of Europe, but we cannot accept a policy of unbridled productivity and liberal economics which contribute to destroying the world.

The current debate on a Constitution for Europe is a fundamental event in European political development and, therefore, in the building of our future. We feel it is our responsibility to bring this debate to the heart of European civil society.

For us, to say No is to refuse fatalism and resignation.

It is not true that there are no alternatives to this project for a Constitution. We must seriously consider political integration towards a European Federation, with a European parliament and government ^[1]. Europe exists. To affirm that there will be no Constitution for Europe if this treaty is refused democratically, is to deny the formation of a European public opinion, the political existence of Europe and its historical necessity.

For all these reasons, and because our society deserves a real debate, the ecologist "NO" needs to be heard. Our "NO" is an ecologist and European one, a "NO" of hope for a true European Constitution, for a political Europe, a federal Europe, a Europe of all its citizens. This is the idea of Europe we have always defended.

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[1]: See the original proposals of Joshka Fischer in his founding speech of the Humboldt University of Berlin on May 12, 2000.