Letters to the Editor

EU Treaty – direct democracy should not be sacrificed for foreign interests

Economiesuisse is vehemently in favour of the new EU treaties. Who is Economiesuisse? It is the umbrella organization of the Swiss economy with companies such as Glencore, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Roche, Novartis, Nestlé, Cargill Internat. etc. More than 1/3 of the shares of the largest Swiss companies are in foreign hands. These companies will now be spending a lot of money to promote the EU treaties. It is understandable that Economiesuisse, together with these and other financially strong, partly foreign companies, is in favour of the new EU treaties. However, our direct democracy is being sacrificed in the process. One puts up with it. Switzerland enjoys a reputation as one of the most stable and prosperous economies in the world. Per capita GDP in Switzerland is many times higher than in the EU. With these treaties, Switzerland has to adopt laws from an EU bureaucracy that is known for its regulatory frenzy. Regulations that reduce competitiveness. Last year, EU judges-imposed fines of 440 billion euros for non-compliance with EU laws and regulations. Switzerland has not known or accepted foreign judges since 1291. We Swiss should be grateful for this heritage and not sacrifice our freedom, independence and direct democracy so thoughtless for foreign interests.

Marianne Bürkli, Bronschhofen (CH)

Courage

How to I find my courage? Many thanks for sharing Urs Graf’s article, “War and Peace in Nuclear times”! The classification of people who, when they wage war, no longer even display the level of civilisation of animals, made me very thoughtful! However, we can also save ourselves through humanistic ethics, which has always existed in human activity throughout history and has been practised in all cultures. This is proof and encouragement to step out of our withdrawn and subdued attitude, and almost enough to use our intelligence, our will and our abilities for peaceful purposes.
In this context, I found Urs Graf’s statement that the fundamental problems facing humanity are not technical in nature, but lie in the way we shape our coexistence, to be crucial.
Reflecting on this, committing ourselves with courage and self-sacrifice to the protection of humanity and humaneness, in other words, opposing the pursuit of power, also requires an honest inner examination. Here, too, a hint is given: the insights of depth psychology provide us with a tool for this.

Traudel Anders, Oranienburg (DE)