Euro

Focus

    A Europe built on solidarity is possible!
  • European Integration is currently undergoing its most difficult phase since the Treaties of Rome entered into force. The European Union (EU) has shown itself incapable of dealing with the structural flaws inherent to the Maastricht Economic and Monetary Union.
    Return to drachma is no solution
  • The Greek government has just barely been able to avert the Grexit, i.e. having to leave the euro, by agreeing to enter into negotiations on a third bailout with other euro countries at the Euro Summit on the night of 13 July.
    Coming Together to Refound the European Union?
  • Within the left wing of the Left, there is much debate about Europe and the euro. Should we exit from the euro? Should we secede from the European Union? Many claim that any action within the Union is doomed to failure.
    Euro-Exit to the Left?
  • It is a well-known fact that the German right is divided over its attitude to the Euro. In the parliamentary elections of September 2013, a party of so-called ‘Euro-sceptics’ almost reached the 5 % threshold for entering parliament.
    Sortir de l’euro, mais comment ?
  • Beaucoup, notamment à gauche, continuent de croire qu’on va changer l’euro. Qu’on va passer de l’euro austéritaire présent à un euro enfin rénové, progressiste et social. Cela n’arrivera pas. Il suffirait d’évoquer l’absence de tout levier politique en l’état d’incrustation institutionnelle de...
    What to do about the Debt and the Euro? A Manifesto
  • Europe is sinking into crisis and social regression under the pressure of austerity, recession and the strategy of “structural reforms”. This pressure is tightly coordinated at the European level, under the leadership of the German Government, the ECB and the European Commission.
    The Political Euro. A Common Currency Without a Community has no Future
  • The Euro Crisis now marks its fifth anniversary and affects one country after the other. The common currency is (ab)used as a medium of wild speculation by freely operating players on the financial markets; what remains are investment ruins defacing beautiful landscapes and a population pushed into...
    This is About the Europeans Not the Euro
  • During the 1990s left-wing economists highlighted the difficulties of implementing a single currency without ensuring it was first grounded in unified fiscal, economic and social policies. It was clear that bringing in the euro meant strengthening the strong, and weakening the weak. If currency...
    No Exit – Wrong Oppositions in the Euro Debate
  • In response to the on-going euro crisis, the German left is now discussing the option of a “controlled withdrawal” by individual countries, particularly Greece, and the return to national currencies as a possible solution, both for the benefit of the societies most affected by the crisis, but also...
    The Power of the Weak
  • In Germany, the Left has finally started an open discussion concerning alternatives to the crisis of European integration. The reason for raising this question is whether the exit of countries from the monetary union is making sense or not. 
    A Left Government to Conquer the Debt
  • 1. The Portuguese problem is democratic. This problem is the democratic answer to the blackmail of debt and the austerity that results from it, with social effects that destroy Portugal. This is the problem of problems. 2. If the debt is not overcome, Portugal will live through a period of social...
    A Modest Proposal for Resolving the Eurozone Crisis, Version 3.0
  • 1. Prologue For two years now, caught up in a Crisis of its own making, Europe is fragmenting. A euro in a Greek bank has a lower expected value than a euro in a Spanish bank, which, in turn, trails the value of a euro in a German bank account. There can be no better sign of the common currency’s...
    We need to restore the European Monetary System
  • Chancellor Angela Merkel’s European policy is increasingly under pressure. Not only European Commission President Manuel Barroso, but also Enrico Letta, recently mandated by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to form the new government, have criticized her austerity policies, which have been...
    Europe Between Disintegration and Revolt
  • On 7-8 June the Alter Summit of the European Peoples takes place at the Velodrome in Athens. An alliance of more than 150 organisations – including trade unions, social movements, NGOs and political actors from all parts of Europe will publicly present a manifesto for the struggle for a democratic...

Blog

    More Money – Less Solidarity: Competition of the Subsidies
  • Covid-19 has led to a dramatic economic crisis. The EU has modified the strict State aid rules to such a degree that States can now help their national economies virtually at their own discretion. What at first sounds sensible comes with a catch, however, since it results in the strong becoming even stronger and leaving poorer economies behind.
    Does the EU Need ‘Coronabonds’?
  • In times of the coronavirus – just as in the 2008 financial crisis – the national state is again a central actor in Europe. Financial policy remains tied to the economic pecking order, with Germany at the very top. ‘Eurobonds’ are the key area of contention.
    Stop The Reform Of European Stability Mechanism
  • In Italy, a discussion developed, first in the media and then in the parliamentary halls, about the proposed reform of the European Stability Mechanism treaty, which should be approved by Eurozone leaders at the Euro summit on December 13th. The leader of the Northern League sovereign party, Matteo...
    Return to drachma is no solution
  • The Greek government has just barely been able to avert the Grexit, i.e. having to leave the euro, by agreeing to enter into negotiations on a third bailout with other euro countries at the Euro Summit on the night of 13 July.