Europe

Gioia Coppola reports on the workers’ assemblies and self-organisation taking place in Italy. There’s very good news from Italy.  Workers in the factories, in the private and public sectors, have launched an independent debate to defend themselves from austerity measures and are looking for alternative political and economic solutions to the crisis. Two different assemblies […] Read more »

Intellectuals, writers and teachers have much to say about an economic crisis as big as the one affecting Spain. ‘On the Street’ talks with the writers Luis Garcia Montero, Ada Colau and Arcadi Oliveres to find out their position on the events that are happening in Spain. Read more »

George Venizelos examines the current economic crisis in Cyprus and looks at its political and economic roots. The Eurogroup’s decision to proceed to a haircut on Cypriot savings accounts has caused mass discontent amongst the people of Cyprus and beyond. The decision of 15th March left the Cypriots shocked, angry, betrayed and swindled, after seeing […] Read more »

Maxime Benatouil reports on the recent planning meeting for this June’s European Alter Summit in Athens. Backed by the TUC as well as unions, campaigns and movements across Europe, the Alter Summit presents an opportunity to build coordinated action and solidarity across Europe. Gathered in Brussels on 15 and 16 March, the members of the […] Read more »

UPDATE: Cyprus and the division in the union  Kevin Ovenden updates his earlier article on the crisis devastating Cyprus.   Since then events have proceeded rapidly and dramatically. They will continue to do so. This introductory update is meant to highlight the political significance of some of those developments in a fast moving crisis. 1) […] Read more »

In the last week of February, after days of protests across the country, the Bulgarian government headed by Boyko Borisov resigned. Mariya Ivancheva looks at how it happened and what comes next.   From the beginning of February, Bulgarians in most big cities have been out in the streets, protesting against the increased electricity and […] Read more »

Ralf Streck works as an independent correspondent for Radio Dreyeckland. Here he looks at a new phenomenon in Portugese political life – the re-emergence of military associations on the side of the people. These associations are demanding the resignation of the conservative government. There are reports of similar developments in both the Greek and Spanish […] Read more »

Mass protest has erupted in Greece as local people fight to prevent environmental catastrophe at the hands of gold companies and the Greek government.  David Haralambidis explains the background to the crisis.  The history of gold in Greece dates back to ancient times.  Indeed, gold in Halkidiki, one of the most beautiful and historically important regions […] Read more »

Last Saturday’s “Que Se Lixe a Troika” (Fuck the Troika) demonstrations represent a qualitative as well as quantitative shift for the anti-austerity movement in Portugal, says socialist activist Mark Bergfeld, who recently attended the Left Bloc Congress. In more than 40 towns and cities across Portugal, 1.5 million people (800,000 in Lisbon) took to the […] Read more »

Tobias Abse reveals the reactionary nature of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement and the tragic fragmentation of the Italian Left The Italian general election of 24-25 February 2013 has been a political earthquake or, to adopt Beppe Grillo’s own vocabulary, a political tsunami. We can all agree that it represented a massive popular rejection of […] Read more »