Higgins issues austerity warning

President Michael D Higgins has warned about the dangers posed by austerity.

In another outspoken intervention on the impact of the economic crisis, he used a speech to students in Croatia to urge Europeans to guard against a resurgence in racism and to protect democracy from the pressure of “speculative markets”.

In a speech that again tested the limits of presidential boundaries, Mr Higgins expressed alarm that money markets and economic rating agencies wielded power that should belong to national parliaments.

He warned that a “a dry technocratic order with a very limited moral and intellectual base” in Europe must not be allowed to win out over the ideals of a “human Europe”.

He said stability of the euro was not the end of a journey, but should be used as a platform to construct a fairer future, as he urged leaders across the Continent to consider the social consequences of austerity.

Welcoming that Croatia is to become the 28th member of the EU next month, he told students at Zagreb University that the country which emerged from the bloody wreckage of the former Yugoslavia could learn from Ireland about the need to abandon civil war attitudes as quickly as possible.

Mr Higgins warned against the “blight” of youth unemployment and an increasing feeling of disconnect by people across the EU.

He stressed the need to strengthen Europe’s traditional values of liberty and personal freedom as he called for vigilance against: “a recurrence of racism and an increasing deficit of democratic accountability”.

Mr Higgins has raised eyebrows in recent months with a series of speeches and interviews that have criticised the approach to the economic crisis and the policies of austerity embraced by EU leaders.

The President again warned that battling unemployment must be a priority for the EU if it is to connect with people in member states.

“Too many Europeans are without jobs, too many Europeans feel they are without prospects.

“We need a Europe that shows solidarity with the most vulnerable among us — that throws real energy and determination behind efforts to create real sustainable growth.”

Though pointed, the remarks were not as provocative as when he addressed the European parliament earlier this year and warned that the EU was facing a “crisis of legitimacy” as he lamented the impact of austerity on the lives of ordinary people.