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Reforming the European Union is an impossible dream
Jeremy Corbyn laid into the EU’s support for austerity and neoliberalism in Lisbon last Friday

JEREMY CORBYN told some uncomfortable truths to Europe’s social-democratic parties in Lisbon last Friday. 

He urged the congress of the Party of European Socialists to “work together to help build a real social Europe, a people’s Europe, a Europe that will strengthen solidarity across borders, resist the race to the bottom in rights and protections and work together to extend them for all workers, consumers and our environment.”
 
So far, so good. Even the “free market” fanatics of the European Commission might happily pay lip service to that. 

But the Labour leader continued:
“We have to recognise that European Union support for austerity and failed neoliberal economics have caused serious hardship for working people across Europe. In my own country there’s been effectively a wage freeze for 10 years. It’s damaged the credibility of the European social model and social-democratic parties and played a significant role in the vote for Brexit in Britain.”

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