Europe

Greek Referendum: Euro Crisis Explodes Into Dramatic Climax

June 29, 2015 Jerome Roos, www.roarmag.org Resist! Austerity, Debt, Europe, Greece, Social Change

By Jerome Roos in Roarmag - Tsipras’ spectacular decision late on Friday to fly back to Athens and put the Eurogroup’s final bailout offer to a referendum — with the government advising voters to reject the deal — has stunned friends and foes alike. Now, with depositors lining up at ATMs to withdraw cash, the Eurogroup refusing to extend the current bailout program, the ECB capping its emergency liquidity assistance for Greek banks, and Greece set to miss a €1.5 billion IMF payment on Tuesday, the long-awaited endgame is finally upon us. After five long and exhausting years, the euro crisis has exploded into its dramatic climax. Those who now lambast the Greek government for its supposed “recklessness” in calling the referendum are profoundly mistaken. Yes, as I have argued many times before, Tsipras’ and Varoufakis’ belief that they could somehow extract an “honorable compromise” from the creditors was always extremely naive.

As Pressure Mounts, Europeans Rally In Streets For Greek Dignity

June 24, 2015 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! Debt, Europe, Finance and the Economy, Greece

By Lauren McCauley in Common Dreams - As an emergency summit concluded in Brussels on Monday with no clear resolution for the spiraling Greek debt crisis, a call throughout the streets of Europe for lenders to ease their punishing "reforms" in Greece is reverberating. On Sunday, more than 5,000 protested in Brussels, Belgium—the site of the ongoing negotiations between the Greek government and officials with the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission—while hundreds more marched in Amsterdam. According to reports, protesters carried banners that read slogans such as, "Our lives do not belong to creditors," and "If Greece were a bank it would have been saved."

Athens Protesters Call For Greece To Defy Troika & Leave Euro

June 22, 2015 Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, www.irishtimes.com Resist! Austerity, Europe, Greece, IMF, Syriza

By Ruadhán Mac Cormaic in Irish Times - From the steps of the imposing parliament building, Katherina Sergidou gestures at the swelling crowd that stretches out across Syntagma Square, filling the night sky with defiant chants. “We’re here to show there are a lot of us,” she says proudly. “A big window has opened – a window of change.” On the eve of an emergency EU summit aimed at striking an 11th-hour deal to end the stand-off between Greece and its lenders, thousands took to the streets of Athens last night to keep up the pressure on Greece’s government, led by the left-radical Syriza, and to show defiance in the face of pressure from the EU and the IMF. The protest, organised by left-wing parties and trade unions, was also designed as a response to a right-wing protest held in the city at the weekend.

EU Parliamentarians Call On Congress To Stop Fast Track

June 16, 2015 Mackenzie McDonald, www.flushthetpp.org Resist! Europe, fast track, Free Trade, TPP

By Mackenzie McDonald in Flush The TPP! - After the recent rejection of the Fast Track Package, the White House will insist on a new vote that will be held today. Since the negotiations of bilateral trade agreements (including TTIP) by the European Commission take place under a procedure which is equivalent to the proposed Fast Track, the undersigned members of the European Parliament would like to make clear their experience and position regarding bilateral trade treaties. It is clear that TPP and TTIP are far reaching treaties which would have deep consequences for all countries involved and their citizens, and it is crucial that different interests are taken into account, which can only be done by democratically elected representatives. However, the proposed Fast Track Package would allow the Administration to legislate bypassing the will and opinion of Congress, undermining the principle of separation of powers.

TTIP Chaos In Strasbourg

June 14, 2015 Khinezar Tint, www.globaljustice.org.uk Resist! Europe, European Parliament, European Union (EU), TTIP

By Khinezar Tint for Global Justice Now. On the evening of the 9th of June the EU Parliament decided to postpone a crucial plenary vote on the TTIP resolution a day before the vote was to occur. I was in Strasbourg representing Students Against TTIP in the Europe-wide campaign against the toxic trade deal when this snap decision occurred. Myself and other activists from across Europe had already begun planning our action for the morning of the vote when we heard the surprising news: that once again another spanner had been thrown in the works of the great whirring machine that is TTIP. The plenary vote that was supposed to take place was to be on a series of amendments to the TTIP resolution that was voted on in late May this year. Hundreds of amendments were submitted. The fact that so many amendments had been submitted for the resolution showed just how devisive the issue of TTIP had become in European Parliament, something that would have not occurred if it weren’t for the dedicated effort of European activists and campaigners who have brought TTIP, a trade deal that could have easily passed by in obscurity, to light—as made evident by a recent petition against TTIP that has already received two million signatures (and still counting)!

20,000+ Police Deployed Against G7 Protests In Germany

June 7, 2015 ByJon Queally, www.commondreams.org Resist! Austerity, Climate Change, Democracy, Europe, Free Trade Agreements, G-7, Inequality, Wars and Militarism

By Jon Queally for Common Dreams. Though outnumbered by police by approximately two-to-one, thousands of people took to the streets of the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany on Saturday to express their opposition to the hegemonic and neoliberal policies of the G7 nations as they gathered in a nearby luxury hotel ahead their annual summit which begins Sunday. Speaking out against the destructive policies of the world's leading industrialized nations—which includes the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Japan, Italy, and Germany—organized groups and individuals who participated in the protest carried signs and banners decrying inaction on climate change, the pending TransAtlantic Trade in Partnership (TTIP) agreement, ongoing wars and militarization, and the overarching assault on global democracy that has seen the power of corporations rise alongside nearly unprecedented levels of economic inequality.

Tens Of Thousands March Against Global Elites Ahead Of G7

June 5, 2015 Sarah Lazare, www.commondreams.org Resist! Empire, Europe, Germany, Neo-Liberalism

By Sarah Lazare in Common Dreams - As representatives of some of the most powerful countries in the world prepare to gather for their annual Group of Seven (G7) meeting, this time at a castle in the German town of Elmau, tens of thousands marched through nearby Munich on Thursday to protest the summit's politics of "neo-liberal economic policies, war and militarization, exploitation, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, and the closing-off towards refugees." Over 34,000 people reportedly turned out for Thursday's march, with one demonstrator identified as Julia by Euronews declaring "we must not lose hope that one day the world really will be equal, and we will all have the same values." The massive protest is just one of many mobilizations, including alternative summits and direct actions, in the lead-up to the gathering of global elites, which will take place June 7 and 8.

EU Dropped Pesticide Laws Due To US Pressure Over TTIP

May 24, 2015 Arthur Neslen, www.theguardian.com Educate! Europe, Free Trade, health, TTIP

EU moves to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility were shelved following pressure from US trade officials over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal, newly released documents show. Draft EU criteria could have banned 31 pesticides containing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). But these were dumped amid fears of a trade backlash stoked by an aggressive US lobby push, access to information documents obtained by Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Europe show. On 26 June 2013, a high-level delegation from the American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham) visited EU trade officials to insist that the bloc drop its planned criteria for identifying EDCs in favour of a new impact study. Minutes of the meeting show commission officials pleading that “although they want the TTIP to be successful, they would not like to be seen as lowering the EU standards”.

Greek Anti-Austerity Protesters Occupy Siemens Office In Athens

May 13, 2015 Angeliki Koutantou, www.news.yahoo.com Resist! Austerity, Europe, Greece

A small group of demonstrators occupied the Athens headquarters of German industrial group Siemens on Monday, police and company officials said, in a protest against the austerity policies imposed on Greece by its lenders. About 30 people entered the building in a northern Athens suburb, occupying the Siemens offices and hanging a banner outside the main entrance ahead of a scheduled rally to the German embassy planned for later this month. "We are not negotiating with domestic and foreign capitalists," read the banner. The protesters also threw flyers saying: "We won't become a colony of Germany or any other Imperialist power". Many Greeks blame Germany for the harsh austerity policies that the country's international lenders have demanded in exchange for 240 billion euros ($268 billion) of bailout funds since 2010.

French Patriot Act For Invasive Surveillance

May 6, 2015 Angelique Chrisafis, www.theguardian.com Educate! Europe, France, Privacy, Surveillance

The French parliament has overwhelmingly approved sweeping new surveillance powers in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January that killed 17 people at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery in Paris. The new bill, which allows intelligence agencies to tap phones and emails without seeking permission from a judge, sparked protests from rights groups who claimed it would legalise highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy. Protesters for civil liberties groups launched a last-ditch campaign against the bill under the banner “24 hours before 1984” in reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel about life under an all-knowing dictatorship. Groups including Amnesty International warned of “extremely large and intrusive powers” without judicial controls.

Greece’s Tsipras Threatens Referendum On EU If No Deal Reached

May 5, 2015 Dick Nichols, www.greenleft.org.au Resist! Austerity, Europe, Greece

In a three-hour appearance on private TV channel Star TV on April 27, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke extensively about the challenges confronting the anti-austerity government led by the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). The program began with a grilling of Tsipras by interviewer Niko Katsinikolao and ended with questions from a 50-strong audience. A lot of questions reflected growing concern that talks with the country’s creditors — mainly the “Troika” of the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) — were stalled. A recent Greek poll showed 45.5% agreed with the government's negotiating strategy (down from 72% in February), but 39.5% say the strategy is wrong (up from 28% in February). Tsipras’s appearance came after an April 24 meeting of eurozone finance ministers (the “Eurogroup”) in the Latvian capital Riga. The talks failed to make headway in negotiating an agreement over terms for releasing some of the €7.2 billion earmarked for Greece under the second Troika “bail-out” package.

Tens Of Thousands Protest Rigged Corporate Trade

April 19, 2015 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Europe, Free Trade Agreements, TTIP

Thousands of people marched in Berlin, Munich and other German cities on Saturday in protest against a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that they fear will erode food, labor and environmental standards. Opposition to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is particularly high in Germany, in part due to rising anti-American sentiment linked to revelations of U.S. spying and fears of digital domination by firms like Google. A recent YouGov poll showed that 43 percent of Germans believe TTIP would be bad for the country, compared to 26 percent who see it as positive. The level of resistance has taken Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and German industry by surprise, and they are now scrambling to reverse the tide.

European Bank President Glitter Bombed

April 16, 2015 Agencies, www.telegraph.co.uk Resist! Europe, European Central Bank, Politics

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, has been attacked by a protester during his regular press conference. A woman jumped on the table where Mr Draghi was sat at the start of his interest rate press conference on Wednesday, yelling: "End ECB dictatorship". A similar phrase was written on the woman's t-shirt. The woman - who is thought to be named Josephine Witt, a political activist - dropped a shower of confetti and papers over the ECB president, who was taken by surprise. The woman has been arrested, though no-one was hurt and Mr Draghi, who was escorted from the room for a brief period, was seen smiling after the incident occurred. Mr Draghi even extended the hour-long press conference by ten minutes. "What I suggest is that we make up for the time we lost, so we can stay 10 minutes more," he told reporters.

10,000 Blockupy European Bank, 350 Arrested

March 19, 2015 DW, www.dw.de Resist! Banking, Europe, European Central Bank, Protest

Several police cars have been set on fire, with windows being smashed and demonstrators throwing stones at police ahead of the massive demonstration on Wednesday. Authorities say at least one officer has been injured by a stone hurled by an activist, near the city's opera house. Up to 350 people were detained by police. Organizers have accused the police of sparking the violence, saying they set up a "civil war type scenario" to provoke demonstrators. "This is not what Blockupy planned," spokesman Hendrik Wester said. Video footage has shown riot police running through the city, with at least one protester being dragged away.

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