by Ingeborg Beugel on September 11, 2012   Dutch and German politicians like to blame Greece for refusing to stick to the agreements — but, in truth, the Greeks are doing more than they should.   Everyone who talks about Greece these days — even well-intentioned liberals — seems to assume a priori that Greece is somehow “opposing the reforms” and “refusing to stick to the agreements”. With Dutch P ...

Its neighbors may be suffering, but the euro crisis has created conditions that actually benefit the German economy. Not only is the government enjoying the windfall of negative interest rates on bonds, but unemployment is down and exports are booming. By Stefan Schultz   It's every debtor's dream. When asked for a loan, the bank not only agrees, but actually pays the borrower for their patronage. It s ...

 Roemer's Presence in a Coalition Could Tip Balance of the Netherlands' Approach to the Euro-Zone Crisis By MATTHEW DALTON BOXMEER, the Netherlands—Emile Roemer is the smiling face of an electoral force that is upending Dutch politics and threatening to challenge Europe's German-led austerity strategy for solving the euro-zone crisis. Mr. Roemer, a former elementary-school teacher, is head of the Dutch Soci ...

Sign the petition. The Concerned VU Group (Verontruste VU’ers) seeks national and international solidarity to stop its Executive Board from the imminent implementation of a Strategic Plan based on a strict business model that has been rejected by the VU University’s Works Council and the Trade Unions. The VU University Amsterdam is no exception to the current European trend of commercializing public educati ...

Het overleg tussen Abvakabo FNV, de overige werknemersorganisaties en het College van Bestuur van de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) over een sociaal plan is stukgelopen. De VU wil niet tegemoetkomen aan de belangrijkste eisen van medewerkers: geen gedwongen ontslag en een salarisgarantie voor herplaatste werknemers. ...

De werknemers van Turkish Airlines (THY) strijden al zes weken tegen de ontslagen en het stakingsverbod in de luchtvaart. Het bestuur van THY, gesteund door de AKP-regering, wil niets weten van de rechtvaardige eisen van duizenden werknemers. Sterker nog, de bazen worden steeds agressiever tegen de arbeiders die opkomen voor hun rechten. Bliksemsnel stakingsverbod De maanden durende cao-onderhandelingen tus ...

Saturday June 16th Solidarity rally 15:00 Beursplein, Amsterdam From Athens to Amsterdam: NO to the cutbacks! Solidarity with the Greek resistance against European austerity The developments in Greece concern all of us. The long-lasting implementation of harsh austerity measures has led the country into a deep social crisis. The EU and the IMF demand the continuation of these disastrous policies in Greece a ...

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 ...

A protest camp set up by refugees facing deportation to countries such as Iraq and Somalia has swelled to more than 300 members. Immigration minister Gerd Leers has warned that the situation in Ter Apel cannot be sustained long-term. The camp outside the detention centre in Ter Apel, in the northern province of Groningen, is mainly populated by Iraqis who have been ordered to return to their homeland becaus ...

One year ago in Spain, resignation was transformed into indignation and we took to the streets when nobody expected it. The message was clear, "We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers". The unprecedented success of a democratic demonstration without any support from political parties, unions and the media inspired a group of brave people to sit at a square in the center of Madrid to decide ...