European Union (EU)

As Support Plummets, Is EU Moving Closer To Becoming ‘TTIP Free Zone’?

April 22, 2016 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! European Union (EU), TTIP

By Deirdre Fulton for Common Dreams - Intercontinental opposition to the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) continues to grow, with a new poll out Thursday showing that support for the controversial deal has "plummeted" in Germany and the U.S. over the last two years. The survey (pdf), conducted by YouGov for Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation, showed that only 17 percent of Germans believe the corporate-friendly trade agreement is a good thing, down from 55 percent in 2014. Likewise, in the United States, only 18 percent support the deal, compared to 53 percent two years ago...

Mapping The European Left Socialist Parties In The EU

April 16, 2016 Dominic Heilig, www.frosalux-nyc.org Educate! European Union (EU), Party Politics, Socialism

By Dominic Heilig for Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung - The European party system is changing rapidly. As a result of the ongoing neoliberal attack, the middle class is shrinking quickly, and the decades-old party allegiance of large groups of voters has followed suit. The European far right has been able to capitalize on this development; in many countries, populist and radical right-wing parties have experienced an unprecedented boom, as Thilo Janssen’s RLS-study on “Far-right Parties and the European Union” shows.

Opposition Derails EU Bid To Extend Use Of Toxic Herbicide

March 8, 2016 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! European Union (EU), Herbicides

By Lauren McCauley for Common Dreams - A wave of opposition has slammed the brakes on a plan to re-approve the use of Monsanto's toxic glyphosate in the European Union as a number of member states, buoyed by growing public outcry, launched a shock rebellion against the proposal. European Commission leaders met behind closed doors in Brussels on Monday to hold a vote on whether to extend authorization of the use of the weed-killer for 15 years, before its license expires in June.

EU Countries Launch Rebellion Against Glyphosate

March 6, 2016 Staff, www.sustainablepulse.com Resist! European Union (EU), glyphosate, health, Monsanto

By Sustainable Pulse. The Netherlands and Sweden have joined France on Saturday in coming out strongly against the re-licensing of glyphosate-based herbicides in Europe. The remarkable rebellion against the World’s most used herbicide is likely to delay the expected March 8 EU vote by member countries on the re-licensing of the chemical. Public pressure against glyphosate in countries across Europe has been intense, with nearly 1.5 million people petitioning the EU’s health commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, for a ban on the substance, the Guardian reported. After a Dutch parliament vote opposing the renewal of glyphosate’s permit, the Netherlands called for a postponement of the EU-wide decision.

EU Promised ExxonMobil TTIP Would Erase Enviro Obstacles

February 25, 2016 Arthur Neslen, www.theguardian.com Educate! European Union (EU), Exxon, Trade Deal, TTIP

By Arthur Neslen for The Guardian - The European Union’s trade commissioner told the multinational oil company ExxonMobil that a major free trade deal being negotiated with the US would help remove obstacles to fossil fuel development in Africa and South America, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal. At a meeting in Brussels in October 2013, Karel de Gucht told the firm that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could address its concerns about regulations in developing countries that restrict the company’s activities.

EU: Left To Reclaim Democracy From ‘Technocrats’

February 14, 2016 Nadia Prupis, www.commondreams.org Organize! Austerity, Democracy, European Union (EU), Syriza

By Nadia Prupis for Commondreams. Berlin, Germany - Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Tuesday announced the launch of a pan-European progressive movement to "democratize" the continent and promote alternatives to austerity and authoritarianism. Along with pro-democracy allies from across the continent, Varoufakis—known for his candid rejection of European Union austerity politics during Greece's financial crisis—chose to announce the "Democracy in Europe Movement 2025" (Diem25) at the historic Volksbuehne theater, which is known as a landmark in German leftist activism. "We've chosen Berlin precisely because nothing can change in a progressive direction without the full participation of Germany in our European endeavors," he said during a press conference in the theater.

A Proposal For Economic And Political Transformation In Europe

January 22, 2016 Staff, www.transform-network.net Strategize! Capitalism, European Union (EU)

By Staff of Transform - This EuroMemorandum draws on discussions and papers presented at the 21st Workshop on Alternative Economic Policy in Europe, organised by the EuroMemo Group, from 24-26 September 2015 in Roskilde, Denmark. The EuroMemorandum 2016 critically analyses recent economic developments in Europe and emphasises the strong need for an alternative economic policy that is based on the principles of democratic participation, social justice and environmental sustainability.

Spain Says “No”

December 29, 2015 Conn Hallinan, www.counterpunch.org Resist! Banks, European Union (EU), Spain

By Conn Hallinan for Counter Punch - For the third time in a year, the tight-fisted, austerity policies of the European Union (EU) took a beating, as Spanish voters crushed their rightwing government and overturned four decades of two-party reign. Following in the footsteps of Greek and Portuguese voters earlier this year, Spaniards soundly rejected the economic formula of the Troika—the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund—that has impoverished millions of people and driven the jobless rate to almost a quarter of the country.

Finally, The EU Stages An Israel Intervention

December 21, 2015 Resist! European Union (EU), Israel

By Rachel Shabi for Al Jazeera. As the year draws to a close, relations between Israel and the European Union could not sensibly be described as rosy. In fact, they might well be at an all-time low. The simple explanation for this is that, after years of, well, basically dithering, the EU has finally labelled Israeli products that come from settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Finally, because those settlements have been described by the EU (and beyond) as being in breach of international law and an obstacle to peace for decades. Now, Europe's trade agreements have caught up with the law - a bit, anyway. The EU directive is not a ban or a boycott: The labeling very simply means that consumers will know where the products are coming from, and that goods originating from Jewish settlements won't get the preferential treatment that Israeli products receive under trade arrangements with Europe. But Israel has not taken kindly to this development.

European Left Debates A ‘Plan B’ Against Austerity

October 18, 2015 Liam Flenady, www.greenleft.org Resist! Austerity, Europe, European Union (EU)

By Liam Flenady for Green Left - Five key figures of the European left have launched a new initiative “for a Plan B in Europe”. A statement was jointly published on September 11 by former Die Linke (Left Party) leader Oskar Lafontaine from Germany; Italian deputy and economist Stefano Fassina, leader of France's Left Party Jean-Luc Melenchon, and former deputy and parliamentary speaker Zoe Kostantopoulou and ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis from Greece — both former members of SYRIZA who resigned after the left-wing party accepted harsh austerity measures in July. The statement calls for a summit to be held by the end of the year to develop a new common plan for the left in Europe. The signatories say the European left's “Plan A” is to build the fight in each country and across Europe to renegotiate the founding European treaties. These lock the European Union into a neoliberal paradigm. The aim is to open the path to a socially just European model of development. But the statement says this plan, while needed, is insufficient. Europe's left needs a Plan B at its disposal, which will allow any future left government in Europe to face down the blackmail from the European establishment — including threats of expulsion from the eurozone.

Berlin: Hundreds Of Thousands Protest TTIP

October 11, 2015 Chris Johnston, www.theguardian.com Resist! European Union (EU), Neoliberalism, Obama, Trade, TTIP

By Chris Johnston for The Guardian. Berlin, Germany - Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Berlin on Saturday to oppose a planned free trade deal between the European Union and the United States that is claimed to be anti-democratic and to threaten food safety and environmental standards. The environmental groups, charities and opposition parties that organised the protest claimed 250,000 people took part, while a police spokesman said 100,000 attended. Smaller protests were also held in other cities, including Amsterdam, with a rally due to be held in London on Saturday night at which shadow chancellor John McDonnell is scheduled to speak.

Newsletter: Rigged Trade Negotiations Struggle

October 4, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Canada, Climate Change, Democracy, Environment, European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture, Healthcare, Jobs, Privatization, TTIP, TTP

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. For those concerned about corporate power vs. democracy; jobs, the environment, healthcare, food, water, energy, regulation of banks and more – all eyes were on Atlanta this week where 12 nations were negotiating the massive trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Atlanta meetings come after more than five years of secret negotiations, secret to the public, media and elected representatives but not to transnational corporations. No matter how Atlanta turns out, we are winning and can finish the job. Our goal: end corporate rigged trade and force governments to re-make trade with a goal of putting people and planet first and doing so by negotiating agreements with transparency so the people can participate.

Amid Protests Greece Passes Austerity Bailout

July 15, 2015 Helena Smith and Emma Graham-Harrison in Athens, Ben Quinn, Heather Stewart and Graeme Wearden Resist! Austerity, Bankers, European Union (EU), Finance and the Economy, Greece

By Helena Smith and Emma Graham-Harrison in Athens, Ben Quinn, Heather Stewart and Graeme Wearden for the Guardian - Five years into the worst crisis to hit their country in decades, Greek MPs voted by a large majority in the early hours of Thursday morning to accept draconian austerity as the price of further bailout funds but at great personal cost to prime minister Alexis Tsipras. In a vote that saw tensions soar in and outside parliament, the embattled leader’s radical leftist Syriza party suffered huge losses as 40 MPs revolted against the measures. A total of 229 lawmakers voted in favour of the internationally mandated measures, 64 against and six abstained.

Greece’s Capitulation Reveals Deep Conflicts Within Eurozone

July 13, 2015 Jerome Roos, www.roarmag.org Educate! Austerity, European Union (EU), Finland, France, Germany, Greece

By Jerome Roos for ROAR - For the past two weeks, day-to-day life in Greece has been suspended on a political pendulum swinging violently from one extreme to the other. Between bank runs and mass mobilizations, heroic victories and inglorious defeats, financial blackmail and popular defiance, the future of this small country — and of the entire currency union of which it is a part — still hangs in the balance. It has been an emotional roller coaster throughout, with the collective heartbeat in Athens oscillating wildly between hope and desperation; between the tears of joy at Syntagma on the night of the referendum victory and the cries of agony resounding from the same square just days later, as prime minister Tsipras and his Syriza-led government prepared to capitulate. In the end, the overwhelming sensation is one of confusion and disbelief. What just happened? Was that real? The European Monetary Union is a mortally wounded animal preying blindly on its own tail. The Greek debt saga is merely the signal crisis of its eventual demise; even if it is eventually “resolved”, more intense conflicts are undoubtedly to come.

Those Who Lead Greece To Surrender Should Be Opposed

July 12, 2015 Stathis Kouvelakis, www.jacobinmag.com Educate! Austerity, European Union (EU), Finance and Economy, Greece

By Stathis Kouvelakis for Jacobin - A simple conclusion emerges from all this: with the moves it has made in the last week, the government has achieved nothing other than a full return to previous entrapment, from a much more unfavorable position, under the pressure of even more relentless economic asphyxiation. It has managed to squander the powerful injection of political capital from the referendum in record time, following at all points the line of those who had opposed it and who have every reason to feel vindicated, despite being trounced at the ballot box. But the referendum happened. It wasn’t a hallucination from which everyone has now recovered. Yesterday, late in the evening, it sent to all members of parliament (MPs) a hastily written, twelve-page text, written in English by experts sent by the French government and based on Tsakalotos’ request for a €50 billion loan to the ESM. This is nothing but a new austerity package — actually, a “copy and paste” of the Juncker plan rejected by the electorate a few days ago. Its core is all too familiar: primary surpluses, cuts in pensions, increase in the VAT and other taxes, and a handful of measures to give it a slight flavor of “social justice” (e.g., an increase in the corporate tax rate by two points).

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