WALKERS marched through the streets of Lancashire in the British leg of a mass campaign involving 17 European countries. The march called in at Blackburn, Accrington, Padiham and Burnley after setting off from the 1842 monument in Preston on Saturday morning.

A total of 30 marches from all over Europe will converge on Amsterdam on June 14 to oppose sections of the Maastricht Treaty. Protesters concerned about the treaty's impact on jobs and welfare will stage a mass demonstration coinciding with the Amsterdam Inter-Governmental Conference.

Arrangements for the Lancashire protest were made by the Association of Lancashire Trades Union Councils and local TUCs. Rallies were held outside town halls in Blackburn and Padiham, with walkers being greeted by civic dignitaries in Burnley and Accrington. Blackburn and District Trades Council Secretary, Ian Gallagher, said: "These campaigners are reflecting the concerns about the Maastricht Treaty, the Single Currency and the Single Market which we have been raising since the European Union began the process of institutionalising an extreme form of monetarism.

"We are not Euro-sceptics. We simply want Governments to pursue policies in support of full employment and welfare, rather than to attack them in the name of the convergence criteria."

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