Europe

The euro: break or remake? December 2011
Kenneth Haar opens our debate about the future of the euro

Food for thought: food sovereignty in Europe December 2011
Dan Iles hears from food sovereignty activists from across the continent

Achub S4C: ‘We want to show there is a place for Welsh’ December 2011
Amy Hall talks to the activists fighting to save the only Welsh language television channel

One small Greek island’s relentless struggle to get by December 2011
Chris Jones on what Greece's crisis means for daily life on the island of Samos

Time to pay up! October 2011
David Hillman explains why taxing the financial sector has never been so important - and why success may only be a few months away

Left blocked August 2011
An interview with Portugese Left Bloc activist Ricardo Sá Ferreira

Los indignados: the emerging politics of outrage August 2011
Paolo Gerbaudo on the protests that have swept southern Europe

A road made by walking August 2011
Oscar Reyes reports from Spain on an ‘indignant’ movement that continues to spread and diversify

Drug club: Spain’s alternative cannabis economy June 2011
Nick Buxton examines the experience of cannabis social clubs in Spain

Society-wide anger June 2011
Leigh Phillips talked to Debtocracy director Aris Chatzistefanou about the left and the current situation in Greece

Portugal: The EU’s managed democracy April 2011
The bail-out has been the perfect excuse for Europe to bypass Portuguese citizens entirely, says Leigh Phillips

Holyrood hopes April 2011
Ken Ferguson asks how the Scottish left can respond to anger at the Westminster cuts consensus

Don’t let your slightly racist gran be the only one to take on Europe’s silent coup April 2011
In the biggest shift of powers to the EU in 50 years, under Europe’s new system of ‘economic governance’, Brussels gets a veto over all wage, public spending, and taxation decisions

The creaking European austerity machine February 2011
Austerity could spell the end for the euro, argues Leigh Phillips

Getting off our knees? November 2010
As austerity bites across Europe, Leigh Phillips surveys the resistance

Striking for dignity in Spain October 2010
Javier Navascués on the impact of Spain's general strike

Get along, move along, shift… September 2010
The Roma are experiencing a fresh wave of repression across Europe. Leigh Phillips reports

Let our truth stand as their truth too June 2010
Eamonn McCann's statement read outside Guildhall on behalf of the Bloody Sunday families

No one wants a return to violence June 2010
Tony Cook, behind the award-winning documentary Secret History: Bloody Sunday, says while there was no 'Truth and Reconciliation Committee', there is an understanding among the community that the Troubles are behind them

Bloody Sunday: the wait is over June 2010
Brilliant report for Bloody Sunday families: Not a bad result for the British Army either. Eamonn McCann on the Saville Report released 15 June 2010

Europe’s co-op boom June 2010
In some parts of Europe, workers' co-operatives are well-established parts of the economy

‘Sin Patron’ in Dundee? May 2010
The Prisme packaging factory in Dundee was perhaps the first in the country to be occupied and to successfully take production under workers control. David Whyte visits the factory a year after the occupation

Government eats up the Greens March 2010
Former leading Irish Green Party member Bronwen Maher rues her ex-colleagues' continuing support for the centre-right coalition government in Ireland

What’s left in Eastern Europe January 2010
While the Left Party in Germany scored 12 per cent in the recent Bundestag elections, in the rest of eastern Europe the left still languishes in the post-Soviet doldrums. Leigh Phillips spoke to Stefan Zgliczynski and Jane Hardy about its prospects

Europe’s far left narrowly misses a hat-trick October 2009
Leigh Phillips analyses the far left results in the recent German, Portugese and Greek elections

Border stories October 2009
Frances Webber investigates the tabloid fantasies and desperate realities surrounding migrants in Calais

Europe’s far right rises August 2009
The British National Party will be joined in the European parliament by far-right parties from across the continent. But how much support are fascists and racists really picking up? Tom Walker investigates

The rise of European Bobo politics August 2009
Cohn-Bendit's Europe Ecologie victory in France emboldens the Green right across Europe but does it also mean the death of traditional green principles asks Leigh Philips

Reality check for the left June 2009
If the collapse of capitalism can't improve the left's chances, what will? {Red Pepper's} Europe correspondent, Leigh Phillips, surveys the political landscape after the European elections

Can the Green Left rescue Iceland? June 2009
The collapse of the Icelandic banks and economy has created the first left victory of the current economic crisis, says Derek Wall

What a waste! June 2009
Politicians across Europe are hailing the European Investment Bank's (EIB) stimulus packages. But is the bank squandering billions bailing out unviable and environmentally-damaging industries? Tom Greenwood reports

Apathy of the discontented May 2009
Almost 500 million people were entitled to vote in this year's European elections. Yet between the lobbyists and the bureaucrats, it's hard to claim the EU is a continental-scale democracy. Leigh Phillips asks who pulls the strings in Europe, and what we can do about it

Breaking Europe’s left-right ‘grand coalition’ May 2009
Carl Schlyter, a Green MEP from Sweden, has battled in the European Parliament over nanotechnology, internet freedoms and unfair trade agreements with developing countries. Unlike many Greens, however, he is a firm opponent of the Lisbon Treaty and backer of EU democratic reform

Far right prospects in the European elections May 2009
Graeme Atkinson on the far right parties and candidates standing in the upcoming European Parliament elections

Almost revolutionary February 2009
John Mullen looks at the new hopes on France's radical left, where two new left parties and a looser federation are being founded

A cowardly failure to act February 2009
Luisa Morgantini, MEP for the European United Left and vice president of the European Parliament, condemns Europe and the international community for its inaction over Israel and the Palestinians, and calls for tough action

The revenge of life February 2009
As protesters continue to fill the squares of Athens, the two ministers targeted by the demonstrators have gone - but the young people who took to the streets after the police had killed one of them had a lot more in mind than a cabinet reshuffle. Two participant observers, Ilias Ziogas and Akis Gavrilidis, sent us interim interpretations of the intense resistance that is shaking Greek political institutions

France’s new anti-capitalist party January 2009
There's been surprisingly little discussion in the UK on the launch of the 'new anti-capitalist party' in France. Jim Jepps spoke to John Mullen, the editor of Socialisme International, to find out more

Is England up for it? October 2008
The slow but steady break-up of the United Kingdom signals a new progressive nationalism in Wales as well as Scotland, argues Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly member Leanne Wood. It could also open up new possibilities in England - but is the English left ready for them?

Grown up and independent October 2008
Actress and comedian Elaine C Smith, convenor of the Convention for Scottish Independence, took a long time to cross what she describes as the 'mythical bridge' to a belief in independence. She argues now that there is no going back, and that independence will release the radicalism generated by the Scottish Enlightenment but held back by 300 years of being tied to the United Kingdom

Which part of No don’t they understand? August 2008
When the EU constitution was rejected in 2005, European leaders resolved that the people of Europe would not get a vote on its replacement. But Ireland's constitution forced one exception, and the Irish promptly rejected the Lisbon treaty. Westby Swift looks at why the Irish voted No, what the EU plans to do about it and how the left should respond

Legalising barbarism July 2008
From Bolivia to Bangladesh, the new EU return directive - which allows for the imprisonment of 'illegal' migrants for up to 18 months prior to their expulsion - has met with global condemnation. But it forms only one strand of a broader 'Fortress Europe' approach to control all migrants, writes Ben Hayes

Underdog politics June 2008
Support for parties of the populist right has been growing across Europe. Faced with 37 per cent support for the far-right Progress Party, according to polls in his home country Norway, political writer Magnus Marsdal travelled across Europe to find out why

The crisis of Italy’s political institutions: a view from inside government April 2008
Paolo Ferrero was Minister of Social Solidarity in the Prodi Government. He describes here the difficulties of achieving radical reform in the face of a weak coalition, social conservatism and the crisis besetting Italy's weak political institutions

We must avoid being absorbed by the State April 2008
Paolo Cacciari, a former Rifondazione MP, argues that the left should avoid being 'absorbed' by state institutions, and explains how citizens' associations can work to bring about a new left culture

Movements and left parties should keep a respectful distance April 2008
Alessandra Mecozzi, International Secretary of FIOM, the Italian metalworkers union, reflects on the weakened state of the movements, including the trade union movement, and draws some harsh lessons

Against Veltrusconi: the challenges facing Italy’s ‘territorial’ social movements April 2008
Italy has seen a recent wave of 'territorial' social movements, brought together by a crisis of political representation. In the face of an increasingly insecure society, and the appeal of more authoritarian demands, these movements still need to develop a mass base, argues Tommaso Fattori

A new coalition may be the best hope for a weak left April 2008
With the centre-left taking a rightward turn, and a fractious left increasingly losing its social base, the prospects for the Italian election look bleak, argues Luciana Castellina

The Italian left should appeal to the urban middle class April 2008
Italy is a right-wing country, where the Vatican retains a strong influence and a majority of the population belong to the urban middle class. The left needs a new appeal to these sectors if it is to challenge Berlusconi, argues Paul Ginsborg

Walter Veltroni: projecting Italy as the ‘hub’ of neoliberal Europe April 2008
Walter Veltroni is the main centre-left challenger to Berlusconi in Italy's general election. As leader of the Democratic Party, he rejects local and social movement campaigns in territorial autonomy and favours making Italy a military and industrial 'hub', writes Enzo Mangini

Balance sheet of the Prodi Government April 2008
The Prodi government failed in its promises to rewrite Berlusconi's controversial labour laws, remunicipalise water and reverse Italy's militaristic international policies. The result is disillusionment with the left, writes Vittorio Longhi

A red guide to Italian politics April 2008
Italians have often led the way in creating a European left but now they face a crisis in the return of Silvio Berlusconi. Hilary Wainwright talked to a range of left activists as they prepared for the elections

Wrong man, wrong Europe April 2008
Referendums killed off the EU Constitution, a 'blackmail' that Europe's elites will now avoid by forcing through the Lisbon Treaty without debate, writes Susan George. And Tony Blair is just the man some of them want to lead the way in this new Europe

Energy cowboys and green mountebanks January 2008
The failed strategy of energy liberalisation that brought rolling blackouts and the financial high jinks of Enron to the United States is now being tried by the European Union, writes Westby Swift

European unions of the people December 2007
Giulio Marcon and Duccio Zola survey the resistance to privatisation across Europe, highlighting the role of pan-European trade union initiatives and a growing alliance between social movements and the unions

The left has only itself to blame December 2007
The right-wing election victory in France should never have happened, writes Philippe Marlière.

Privatisation in Europe November 2007
The privatisation of public services is proceeding apace across Europe. Paolo Andruccioli examines what it means for consumers, workers, citizens - and democracy

Terror laws hit German left September 2007
The past few months have seen a wave of repression unleashed in Germany. Houses, offices, social centres and bookshops have been raided by police and several people accused of 'membership of a terrorist organisation' - sometimes for as little as having written academic texts about 'gentrification'. Frank Meyer reports from Hamburg

Flunking the written August 2007
The newly formed Die Linke (Left) party is breaking the rules of German politics to create a strongly rooted party to the left of the Social Democratic Party across Germany's historic divide. Die Linke organiser Christophe Spehr reports

The struggle for Europe’s soul March 2007
The European Union (EU) marks its 50th birthday this month with no solution in sight to revive the stalled constitutional treaty. But with a raft of new proposals to further liberalise markets, it is too soon for the left to celebrate, argues Oscar Reyes.

Frank, as in honest November 2006
The leaking of a secret speech by the Hungarian prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, has led to mass protests and political crisis in Budapest. In the speech, Gyurcsany said that his party had lied to the electorate to win the April election. Laszlo Bihari reports on the political fallout from the truth about Hungary's honest liar

Bridges to peace July 2006
Fabio Alberti from the Italian 'Bridges to Baghdad' argues that the peace movement will have to keep Prodi to his commitment to withdraw from Iraq and calls for the government to initiate an international peace conference.

We are the European people June 2006
An innovative survey of activists across Europe casts light on the successes and failures of the continent’s social movements and the problems and challenges that they face

Why French and Dutch citizens are saying NO June 2006
The French referendum on the EU constitution takes place on 29 May, followed by a similar referendum in The Netherlands on 1 June. Opinions polls show the 'no' side edging ahead, but in both countries it's still too close to call. The following virtual interview is based on presentations given at the Transnational Institute (TNI) Fellows' Meeting in Amsterdam on 21 May.

Europe: bridging the emotional gap November 2005
In search of a fresh argument for the left in Britain to become more European in its thinking and organising, I picked an extraordinary book off my bookshelf: 'Europe in Love; Love in Europe' by Louisa Passerini from the European University Institute in Florence.

Ceuta and Melilla: Europe’s wall of shame November 2005
In the last week of September 2005, the true image of Fortress Europe entered our living rooms: black people hanging from barbed wire, laying down with broken arms an legs, bleeding and desperately asking for help. Since 27 September, when it is said that al least 1,000 tried to cross the 3 to 6-meter fence that separates Morocco from Melilla - a Spanish territory in the North African coast - similar images, if not worse, have been exposing the consequences of EU immigration policies.

Paris is burning November 2005
In 1991, after violent riots between youths and police scarred the suburbs of Lyon, French sociologist Alain Tourraine predicted that 'it will only be a few years before we face the kind of massive urban explosion of the American experience'. The 12 nights of consecutive violence following the deaths of two young Muslim men of African descent in a Paris suburb indicate that Tourraine's dark vision of a ghettoised, post-colonial France is now upon us.

The remaking of the left September 2005
More than a decade after the fall of the Berlin wall, communist successor parties are winning support as they struggle to reinvent themselves

Who really bombed Paris? September 2005
The French response to 'Islamic terrorism' after the 1995 Paris metro bombing is often held up as a model. But there is strong evidence that the attacks were part of the Algerian government's 'dirty war' on its opponents.

The UK/US Presidency of the EU July 2005
You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out the meaning of the UK Presidency of the EU. Just read the Wall Street Journal of 16 October 2003, where Gordon Brown explains New Labour’s agenda for Europe: ‘economic reform should be embraced with even greater speed. The right response to global competitive pressure is [...]

Hungary’s first ‘eco-president’ July 2005
Recently the words 'Another Politics is Possible' took on a new meaning in Hungary when Dr László Sólyom, Hungary's first 'civil candidate', was elected President of the Hungarian Republic in an unexpected success for grassroots politics

The people’s President? July 2005
Activism and party politics in a polarised Hungary

Non de gauche: the French Left after the referendum July 2005
The French No vote in the 29 May referendum on the European constitution had immediate consequences, both for the fate of the treaty and for domestic politics. But this was no mere mid-term protest against an unpopular government, nor further evidence of France's famed 'ungovernability', the fact that no government in the last thirty years has lasted more than one term in office. It actually marks an important staging post in the making of a new Left on the terrain of capitalist globalisation.

French Hijab ban: one year on May 2005
Naima Bouteldja on why French Muslim school children are not celebrating the first anniversary of the 'headscarf ban'.

The Left and Power – the Italian way May 2005
From the dramatic events surrounding the killing of an Italian secret agent to a sweeping electoral victory against Berlusconi, Hilary Wainwright provides a snapshot of a dramatic time in Italian politics. But as Rifondazione Comunista extends its influence in regional government, she asks: can the left transform the state by sharing power?

The Bluffer’s Guide to… the Bolkestein directive on services April 2005
Preying on your apathy and sunny personalities, free-market lunatics embedded in Brussels are trying to sneak through reforms of the services sector that would effectively steamroller national regulatory systems out of existence. By Graham Copp

Trade Unions Protest in Romania April 2005
Amongst the slew of changes in Romania recently, the only one to unite the trade unions in opposition is the proposed change to the Work Code.

A tale of two treaties March 2005
French magazine Politis asked two leading French progressive figures, Alain Lipietz (Green Party) and Jean-Luc Melenchon (Socialist Party) to debate their respective support for and opposition to the proposed EU constitution.

European Parliament stands up for asylum seekers December 2004
The European Parliament and Commission are set on a collision course with the Council of Europe, the organisation of Member States, over asylum policy after the Parliament adopted a report that condemned draconian practices by European countries.

Internationale Rescue September 2004
The year is 1996, and 21-year-old Ilya Ponomarev, typical of Russia's new breed of young entrepreneurs, is making the most of the market opportunities opened up by perestroika. At 15 he had set up his own computer-programming company, achieving a $10m turnover in two years. At 24 he became the youngest ever vice-president of the giant Russian oil company Yukos.

Local Democracy Italian style August 2004
Hilary Wainwright savours the political and cultural dolce vita in the Adriatic town of Grottammare.

The End of ‘Rhineland Capitalism’: Germany at the Crossroads January 2004
In the decades following the Second World War, Federal Germany established a social-welfare state which brought a measure of social security to the broad mass of the population unprecedented in German history. The German model also ranked highly in international terms.

Whatever happened to the German Greens? August 2003
Back in the early 1980s the West German Greens were a bastion of radicalism, challenging US imperialism, advocating pacifism and describing their own position as one of 'ecological socialism'. By the late 1990s the party seemed to have changed beyond all recognition: as a member of Gerhard Schroeder's 'third way' coalition, the Greens were defending radically neoliberal policies and staunchly supporting military interventions for humanitarian purposes.

NGO launches bid to force EC to open up GATS negotiations August 2003
Friends of the Earth has lodged a complaint with the European Commission's Ombudsman in a bid to force the Commission to release documents detailing the European Union's stance in international trade negotiations.

The Socialist Workers Party and the euro July 2003
We want a Europe that meets the needs of workers and the poor, not a Europe of capital and war.

The Scottish Socialist Party, the European Anti-Capitalist Left and the euro July 2003
In the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), the debate is not about whether or not to have the euro - the party is markedly against (and so follows the fear of ending up in bed with the reactionary and xenophobic Sun and Daily Mail campaigns, or subconsciously adopting the little Englander mentality). Sure, you'll see campaigning against the euro in the SSP - it's the official party line. You'll even find the odd pro-euro platform - perhaps a knee-jerk reaction to the anti-European right-wing rhetoric, or more likely in the hope that it will unite workers across Europe, act as a rival to the US, and be open enough to expose corruption.

Labour Left Briefing – Britain’s Integration into Europe July 2003
From a specifically British perspective European integration has much to offer - a levelling up of living standards, trade union laws and human rights. Indeed large sectors of the labour movement have looked across the channel and noticed that Britain is the sweatshop of Europe - we work the longest hours, have fewer rights than most other EU countries and we have fewer holidays.

The Green Party and the euro July 2003
While the Green Party now accepts that the UK should stay within the European Union, it sees the EU as over-centralized and driven by a neo-liberal agenda.

Charter88 – Five Democratic Tests for Europe July 2003
Charter88, the democracy campaigning group, recently launched a pamphlet listing five democratic tests for EU institutions to mirror Gordon Brown's five economic tests for the euro.

Atlanticism July 1997
Atlanticism is the Achilles' heel of European security, self-identity and collective will, argues John Williams