The annual Members Meeting of our network took place from 18 to 19 September in the transform! europe headquarters in Vienna. During two full working days, representatives of our member organizations conveyed around the political agenda of 2018 and the prospects of transform! europe’s projects for the upcoming year.
Two months ago, on 25 July, the Greek government borrowed 3 billion Euros in the bond market at the very high rate of 4.625%. There was a big debate in the media, the Parliament and generally the Greek public space on whether this “exploratory” exit to the markets was a success of the Tsipras government.
A jauntier Juncker than usual held the stage in the Strasbourg auditorium with a highly optimistic speech on the state of the Union. He wanted to go way beyond the appraisals contained in the latest ECB bulletin.
The proposed amendments in the Bulgarian Election code will not address the real problems. A majority voting electoral system cannot eliminate the problem with distrust in political parties, low turnout, unrepresentative, corrupted and dysfunctional public institutions.
Attila Vajnai, Chairman of the Hungarian Workers’ Party 2006/ Munkáspárt 2006, has been brutally tackled by the Hungarian police. There was a man in Budapest selling Hitler souvenirs and Attila called the police to prosecute the seller. Instead of acting against the seller, they tackled Attila: torn his clothes, broke his glasses and injured him.
It’s not that the class question could ever be pushed aside totally. It preserved a shadowy Marxist existence. Sometimes, however, it surfaced surprisingly in the feature pages of newspapers, only then swiftly to disappear again. At this point, hardly anyone denies it: we are living in a class society (again).
There was a great sense of relief and much jubilation over the electoral victory of Alexander Van der Bellen, the Green candidate who was supported by a voters’ coalition that ranged from the centre to the Communist Party, and who defeated Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the right-wing radical political party.
When we observe the current political scene in Europe, we get the impression that something has gone very wrong. We can see that we – the left – have made many serious mistakes and that our weakness has given new opportunities to right-wing movements and parties.
This year’s Summer University, organised by the Party of the European Left and transform! was held in Budapest in the traditional working class area of Ujpest at the outskirts of the Hungarian capital.
Ever since the meeting of Alexis Tsipras and Walter Baier with Pope Francis in September 2014, the contents of this proposal have been clearly focused on war and peace, poverty and social justice, ways out of the ecological crisis, and a humanistic approach to the immigration crisis.
On 5 December 2016, transform! europe, the Brussels office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and MEP Cornelia Ernst (GUE/NGL) held a European conference dedicated to the notion of a socially just energy transition.
Approximately 11% of the population in the European Union suffers from energy poverty or is acutely threatened by it. – A Workshop on energy poverty was organized by the delegation DIE LINKE. in the European Parliament, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Brussels and transform! europe.
The EuroMemo Group has successfully launched its Discussion Paper Series with the first issue in July 2017. Scientists are invited to make critical contributions to the discussions on the ongoing developments within the European project. The series is being financially supported by transform! europe.
The results of the general elections in Albania came as a surprise to almost everyone: A landslide victory for the ruling Socialist Party, a political disaster for the Democratic Party and historically strong abstentionism.
On the left, the results of June’s local elections show that independent civic lists, in which more radical proposals are put forwards, can have gratifying outcomes. More generally, the results highlight an opportunity to fill a space left by both the decline of the PD and a lack of attraction towards the Five Star Movement.
The sixth Transform!Danmark Conference, focusing on the development of left economic and ecological alternatives, took place in Copenhagen on 18 March. Once again, it focused on sustainable and fair transformation, as well as a changing society in Europe and around the world.
A new cultural and memory project on migration was launched on 20 June. The platform was designed to collect and exhibit paintings and illustrations – or “stories” – of refugee and migrant children who are now living in different countries of Europe.