Ever since Greece hit the skids, we’ve heard a lot about what’s wrong with everything Greek. Some of the accusations are true, some are false — but all of them are beside the point. Yes, there are big failings in Greece’s economy, its politics and no doubt its society. But those failings aren’t what caused the crisis that is tearing Greece apart, and threatens to spread across Europe. No, the origins of thi ...

We live in Europe where currently any alternative suggestion about how to structure our society and economy is met with negative criticism by the media and the vast majority of our society. Any movement or development that questions the “economic orthodoxy” is treated at best as non realistic and at worst as dangerous. At the same time, the rise of nationalism, racism, fascism and Nazism does not seem to ra ...

Solidarity actions are organised across Europe asking the Irish to vote NO for all Europeans in their referendum on the austerity treaty.   Ireland stands as the only country of the 25 signatories to the EU fiscal treaty that will subject the treaty to a referendum. On 31 May, Irish citizens will have the chance to determine their future--to say NO to permanent austerity through a rejection of the treaty. F ...

The threat of a Greek exit The escalating Greek crisis leaves Ireland and Portugal, in particular, ever more vulnerable   THE deep uncertainty over what will happen next in Greece unnerved financial markets. On May 7th the euro touched its lowest value against the dollar since January while in Athens the stockmarket fell by 7% and bank stocks by 13%. Greek bonds also took a hit, with the yield on the t ...

Saturday 5 - Sunday 6 May 2012: Maison des Associations Internationales, Brussels Join us in a two-day conference in Brussels with movements from across Europe to strengthen progressive responses to the EU's crisis. Speakers will include Susan George - Carola Fischbach-Pyttel - Leigh Phillips - Esther Vivas - Mariana Mortágua - Alexis Passadakis - Miren Etxezarreta - Lina Filopoulou - Jakub Patočka - Andy S ...

Privileged access to EU summits helped the banking lobby avoid paying for their own excesses At the Euro Summits in July and October 2011[1], crucial decisions “to save the Euro” and “to save Greece” were made. It was agreed to restructure Greek debts and banks were asked to accept a 'haircut' to their profits to avoid a Greek default and the risk that some banks might default as a result. In Summer 2011, t ...

Translated from www.grenzeloos.org One more episode of the Greek drama is about to be played in the coming 2 months. After repeated bail-outs, hair-cuts and ‘successful’ (according to the European media…) interventions of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF, Greece is about to default. According to many economists, the default will take place on the 20th of March, the day that Greece has to ...

By James G. Neuger and Jurjen van de Pol for Bloomberg   European leaders sparred with Greece over a second rescue program, clouding progress toward a permanent aid fund and tougher budget rules designed to stabilize the euro. Greece faced criticism that its economic makeover is faltering, and it fended off German and Dutch calls for a European overseer to take command of its budget after its deficits ...

By Allan Little BBC News Having to pay for its reunification after the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany broke the budget deficit rules in 2003 - did this set a bad example for the eurozone?   Who is to blame for starting the current crisis in the eurozone? Greece? Italy? The real answer may lie further north. It was not the behaviour of the eurozone's southern members that first plunged the single curr ...

On the last day of 2011, a headline in The Wall Street Journal read: “Spain Misses Deficit Target, Sets Cuts.” The cruel forces of poor economic logic were at work to welcome in the new year. The European Union has become a vicious circle of burgeoning debt leading to radical austerity measures, which in turn further weaken economic conditions and result in calls for still more damaging cuts in government s ...