Europe
Podemos enters government talks with Spain’s social democrats, conservatives
By Alejandro López and Alex Lantier, 18 March 2016
The broaching of alliances between Podemos and openly right-wing parties is a warning sign that the ruling class is preparing deep new attacks against the workers.
Living standards fall and discontent rises in Russia
By Vladimir Volkov, 18 March 2016
In a sign of the population’s intense economic distress, retail trade levels in Russia have fallen to their lowest level in 40 years.
Germany: Siemens cuts another 2,500 jobs
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 18 March 2016
Siemens management announced the cutting of a further 2,500 jobs on March 9, with motor plants in Bavaria being hit hardest.
French government, trade unions rework reactionary labor reform
By Anthony Torres, 17 March 2016
The unions and the Socialist Party want to channel workers’ opposition to the most unpopular government since World War II behind minor changes to its hated reform.
Constitutional crisis in Poland continues
By Clara Weiss, 17 March 2016
The move to the right by the Polish government has exacerbated the crisis in the EU and led to growing tensions with Germany.
Glasgow City Council workers strike against cuts and poverty wages
By Steve James and Minnie Watson, 17 March 2016
Another round of spending cuts imposed by the Scottish National Party government on behalf of the Conservative central government is likely to cost as many as 15,000 job losses.
Shadow Chancellor McDonnell pledges UK Labour Party to austerity
By Robert Stevens, 15 March 2016
McDonnell said ensuring Labour’s credibility on the economy to big business was “the struggle of a generation.”
English National Opera chorus to strike
By Margot Miller, 15 March 2016
The action was announced on the steps of the headquarters of Arts Council England.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn deletes criticisms of EU from his web site
By Robert Stevens, 14 March 2016
There is nothing that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn once proclaimed as an issue of political principle that he will not jettison.
Workers, students march against French labor law reform
By Alex Lantier, 14 March 2016
The brutal police crackdown in Lyon underscores that, under cover of the state of emergency, the Socialist Party aims to illegalize constitutionally protected protests.
What do the electoral gains of the right-wing Alternative for Germany signify?
By Marianne Arens and Ulrich Rippert, 11 March 2016
The AfD, which achieved 13.2 percent of the vote in its first outing in the Hesse municipal elections, is a party created from above, not a movement from below.
The refugee crisis and the polarization of Europe
By Peter Schwarz, 11 March 2016
Large sections of the population look on the brutal conditions of refugees with horror and disgust, but the official political debate takes place within a narrow spectrum ranging from the right to the ultra-right.
Striking cashiers and dockers interrogated under French state of emergency
By Anthony Torres, 10 March 2016
The unprecedented attack on the right to strike is yet another warning of the anti-working class character of the state of emergency imposed by the Socialist Party.
Mass layoffs at Bombardier hit Germany
By Dietmar Henning, 10 March 2016
In Germany, the works council and IG Metall trade union are working hand-in-glove with management to implement job cuts.
UK energy firms rake in profits as “fuel poverty” escalates
By Emily Wilson and Robert Stevens, 9 March 2016
In recent years, the annual profits of British Gas averaged £584 million.
Campaign for UK exit from the EU dominated by nationalism and big business interests
By Robert Stevens, 8 March 2016
The “Leave” campaign speaks for a layer of the British ruling elite that regards the EU as a constraint on the pursuit of Britain’s national interests.
Attempt to form PSOE-Citizens government coalition in Spain collapses
By Paul Mitchell, 7 March 2016
The social-democrats had appealed for “progressive” forces to support their alliance with the right-wing Citizens party.
European Union threatens summary mass deportations of refugees
By Alex Lantier, 4 March 2016
As growing numbers of refugees flee imperialist wars in the Middle East, the EU is preparing draconian attacks on democratic rights to prevent them from coming to Europe.
UN Security Council imposes harsh US-sponsored sanctions on North Korea
By Peter Symonds, 4 March 2016
The punitive new measures will intensify North Korea’s economic and social crisis and greatly heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the region.
German Left Party strives for coalition with Social Democrats and Greens in Berlin
By Johannes Stern, 3 March 2016
Having shared power in coalition with the SPD in Berlin between 2001 and 2011 and overseen a social catastrophe, the Left Party is now preparing to carry out similar policies in a new coalition with the SPD and Greens.
Left and anti-austerity sentiment produces political earthquake in Ireland
By Dermot Quinn, 3 March 2016
The most significant development was the increase in the popular vote for parties that have painted themselves as “left” alternatives to the two main parties of the Irish bourgeoisie.
Bombardier adds to Northern Ireland manufacturing jobs massacre
By Harvey Thompson, 1 March 2016
The corporation announced that 1,080 jobs would go at its plant in Belfast, Ireland, which makes the wings for its new C-Series plane.
Strike at 200 Further Education colleges in England
By Margot Miller, 27 February 2016
Some Further Education staff have suffered a reduction in pay by as much as 17 percent after years on lower than inflation pay rises.
Germany’s Deutsche Bank in crisis
By Gustav Kemper, 23 February 2016
Fears of collapse and panic sell-offs on the stock market have halved Deutsche Bank’s value over the course of a year to €20 billion.
Right-wing “Remain” and “Leave” campaigns begin for UK referendum on EU membership
By Chris Marsden and Robert Stevens, 22 February 2016
What is on offer in the June 23rd referendum is a choice between supporting one of two reactionary camps that articulate opposed strategies for the British bourgeoisie.
German defence ministry spent billions on wars abroad
By Johannes Stern, 22 February 2016
The German armed forces has spent at least €17.2 billion on foreign deployments since 1992, Spiegel Online reported.
Hundreds demonstrate in Berlin against harsher asylum law
By our correspondents, 22 February 2016
Many young people and refugees joined a demonstration in Berlin last Tuesday to protest against the tightening up of asylum laws.
Germany: Trial opens against SS guard at Auschwitz
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 22 February 2016
Reinhold Hanning, former SS guard at the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, is accused of 170,000 counts of accessory to murder.
French labor law reform sets stage for historic attack on workers’ rights
By Francis Dubois, 22 February 2016
The impact of this reform is being compared to that of epoch-making attacks like the Hartz IV reforms in Germany or the breaking of the PATCO union in the US.
Portuguese government prepares second austerity package
By Paul Mitchell, 22 February 2016
The Eurogroup welcomed the commitment of the Socialist Party/Left Bloc/Communist Party coalition to comply with the EU’s austerity demands.
European Steel unions demand trade war in Brussels
By Dietmar Henning, 20 February 2016
The European trade unions, led by Germany’s IG Metall, demonstrated last Monday in Brussels for trade war measures against Russia and China.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 February 2016
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Closure of Balkan refugee route deepens rifts in the EU
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 16 February 2016
Diplomatic tensions between the EU member states are intensifying in the run-up to the meeting of heads of state and governments this week.
In wake of VW scandal European Parliament relaxes emissions regulations
By Jan Peters and Dietmar Henning, 16 February 2016
Last autumn, it was revealed that Volkswagen manipulated the emissions readings in 11 million diesel vehicles and hundreds of thousands of petrol models.
Popular Unity Candidacy votes ensure passage of Catalan austerity budget
By Alejandro López, 16 February 2016
The vote exposes the CUP’s reactionary role and that of all the parties in Spain and internationally that have promoted its false “anti-capitalist” pretensions.
What is behind Varoufakis’s “Democracy Movement to Rescue Europe?”
By Ulrich Rippert, 15 February 2016
Behind Varoufakis’s defence of the European Union is the defence of the sinecures and privileges of the well-off layers for whom Varoufakis speaks.
Government to impose contract on junior doctors after second England-wide strike
By Robert Stevens, 12 February 2016
The government’s unprecedented and authoritarian move signifies a new stage in the efforts of the ruling elite to dismantle the National Health Service.
British junior doctors speak from the picket lines
By our reporters, 12 February 2016
Striking junior doctors and their supporters say that the government’s attacks on them are part of a broader assault on the National Health Service.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 February 2016
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Tens of thousands of steel, energy, retail, government jobs cut in the UK
By Harvey Thompson, 11 February 2016
Jobs are being destroyed in every sector, amid growing global economic turmoil.
Italy hit by banking crisis
By Marianne Arens, 9 February 2016
Stock markets across the world experienced a sharp downturn at the beginning of 2016, with the stock exchange in Milan affected particularly severely.
Human Rights Watch report exposes French state of emergency
By Stéphane Hugues, 9 February 2016
The report points to systematic, arbitrary denials of basic democratic rights by police and the targeting of people of Muslim descent.
Italian steel work faces closure or sell-off
By Marianne Arens, 8 February 2016
On January 11, 500 steel workers occupied the city hall in Genoa to protest the likely loss of their jobs.
Support for Poroshenko regime collapses in Ukraine
By Jason Melanovski, 8 February 2016
The decline in popularity for Poroshenko explodes the myth that the right-wing Maidan “revolution” was a democratic transformation.
Portugal’s Socialist Party agrees to impose further austerity
By Paul Mitchell, 8 February 2016
The Left Bloc, Communist Party and Greens have enabled the Socialist Party government to impose one pro-capitalist measure after another in the short time it has been in power.
Slavoj Žižek: From pseudo-left to new right
By Peter Schwarz, 8 February 2016
In an article published in Der Spiegel, Slovenian academic Slavoj Žižek gives free rein to his hatred of the oppressed.
UK: Junior doctors demonstrate in run-up to Wednesday strike
By Thomas Scripps and Ajanta Silva, 8 February 2016
The British Medical Association used the event to bolster their ongoing fruitless negotiations with Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
UK and Swedish governments continue their persecution of Julian Assange
By Robert Stevens, 6 February 2016
London and Stockholm have rejected the UN’s verdict that Assange has been arbitrarily detained.
Left Party founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon covers for French government’s authoritarian policies
By Anthony Torres, 6 February 2016
There are no fundamental differences between Mélenchon and the Socialist Party government, which is building a police state in France.
Reject the Rail Maritime and Transport Union’s call to accept latest London Underground sell-out contract!
By Michael Barnes, 6 February 2016
Rail workers have seen the trade unions sabotage every struggle against the Conservative government since 2010.
Mass one-day strike hits Syriza’s austerity measures in Greece
By Robert Stevens, 5 February 2016
Just over one year after it came to power, Syriza, the party that was hailed by pseudo-left groups internationally, is an object of hatred and contempt.
UN panel condemns detention of WikiLeaks founder
Stop the persecution of Julian Assange!
By Bill Van Auken, 5 February 2016
Despite a ruling that Assange has been subjected to “arbitrary detention,” both the UK and Sweden vow to continue his persecution.
UK Prime Minister Cameron signals early referendum on EU membership
By Chris Marsden, 4 February 2016
The proposed agreement between Cameron and European Council President Donald Tusk is a refutation of those who depict the EU as the guardian of a more progressive agenda.
German government steps up attacks on refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 4 February 2016
Germany’s grand coalition government is adopting ever more drastic measures against refugees and paving the way for far-right forces in the process.
German economics minister seeks to smooth relations with Poland
By Clara Weiss, 4 February 2016
The Nord Stream pipeline, which supplies gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea, is one of the most important issues of dispute between Berlin and Warsaw.
Pentagon budget directed toward war with Russia and China
By Bill Van Auken, 3 February 2016
The thrust of US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s speech before the Economic Club on Tuesday was that US imperialism is preparing for a new world war.
Austrian municipalities impose ban on refugees using swimming pools
By Markus Salzmann, 2 February 2016
The ban on refugees in two Austrian cities, unless they are accompanied by an “escort,” recalls the darkest chapters in Austrian history.
Former British Prime Minister Blair joins call for a European army
By Jordan Shilton, 2 February 2016
In calling for the creation of a European military force, Blair wrote that the European powers had to be capable of projecting their interests on the global stage.
Divisions mount in German government over refugee policy
By Ulrich Rippert, 1 February 2016
The swing to the right by the entire German political establishment has unleashed violent tensions within the government.
US Congress quietly enables funding for Ukrainian neo-Nazi-led Azov Regiment
By David Levine, 1 February 2016
A proposed ban on US funding of Ukrainian neo-Nazis that had attracted substantial media attention last June when it was introduced never actually became law.
Thousands of jobs threatened in North Sea oil and gas industry
By Stephen Alexander, 1 February 2016
As many as 200,000 oil-related jobs could be lost in the UK.
Sweden announces plans to deport up to 80,000 refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 29 January 2016
Sweden’s announcement came the same day as Human Rights Watch published a scathing indictment of the curtailment of democratic rights in Europe in response to the refugee crisis.
Google’s UK tax deal leaves major corporations with nothing to fear
By Simon Whelan, 29 January 2016
Technology giant Google’s pathetically small British tax payment confirms once again that major corporations operate virtually unhindered by national governments.
Ten thousand jobs in danger at Volkswagen
By Dietmar Henning, 29 January 2016
VW has signaled through the corporate press that it is planning mass layoffs, wage cuts and a drastic worsening of working conditions.
European governments step up offensive against refugees
By Marianne Arens, 28 January 2016
Proposals made at the EU meeting amount to the transformation of Greece into a giant concentration camp for refugees.
Over a thousand jobs to go at Welsh steel plants
By Danny Richardson, 28 January 2016
There is no suggestion of opposition from either the trade unions or the Labour Party.
Prominent German journalist beats the drum for nationalism and war
By Christoph Dreier, 27 January 2016
German media outlets are seeking to outdo each other in stirring up hatred against refugees, calling for a strong state and for more military missions.
UK government inquiry purports to link Putin to Litvinenko assassination
By Tom Carter, 27 January 2016
The report of the inquiry, based in part on the testimony of key “expert” witness Robert Service, has been loudly advertised in the media over the past week, despite the absence of any evidence to support its findings.
Prime Minister Valls pledges permanent state of emergency in France
By Stéphane Hugues and Alex Lantier, 26 January 2016
As if in a slow-motion military coup, the ruling elite is moving to transform political life in France, creating an authoritarian political regime.
Austria closes its borders to refugees
By Marianne Arens, 26 January 2016
As Europe is firmly in the grip of winter, one government after another is closing its borders.
Berlin town hall meeting protests discrimination against refugees
By Verena Nees, 26 January 2016
Many of those attending the mass meeting were appalled at the treatment of refugees, confined in airport hangars and other mass accommodation.
Victorian-era diseases making a comeback in the UK
By Alice Summers, 26 January 2016
Hospital admissions for cholera have quadrupled over the last four years
Dozens of refugees drown near Greek island of Farmakonisi
By Thomas Gaist, 23 January 2016
The deaths come amid escalating state repression and military operations by the European powers targeting refugees.
Spain: Podemos ready to form government with Socialist Party
By Alejandro López, 23 January 2016
All of the parties willing to form or back a “left government” have a historical record and programme of supporting austerity and war.
Mass protests against pension cuts in Greece
By Christoph Dreier, 23 January 2016
In Greece, an increasing number of professional groups are protesting against the planned pension cuts of the Syriza government.
What is behind the growing criticism of German Chancellor Angela Merkel?
By Ulrich Rippert, 21 January 2016
The chancellor, whose position seemed unassailable a few months ago, could now prematurely lose office as she comes under attack from sections of the political establishment.
Calls for “primary of the left” offer political cover to French ruling party
By Francis Dubois, 21 January 2016
A part of the bourgeoisie fears that the appeals to the far right from the ruling Socialist Party could discredit its policies of austerity and war.
Danish and Swedish governments step up attacks on refugees
By Jordan Shilton, 20 January 2016
Measures once associated with fascist regimes are again being employed against refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.
RISE: “Scottish Syriza” seeks alliance with Scottish National Party
By Steve James, 20 January 2016
Under conditions where the SNP government is enforcing austerity policies, RISE seeks to ensure that disaffection with the SNP is channelled along nationalist and separatist lines.
Berlin police raid: A civil war exercise
By Gustav Kemper, 19 January 2016
The illegal raid involving hundreds of police officers was intended to intimidate an entire neighbourhood.
Hundreds of Neo-Nazis riot in Leipzig, Germany
By Christoph Dreier, 13 January 2016
Monday’s right-wing riot in Leipzig took place amid a racist anti-Muslim campaign promoted by German political parties and the media.
New Year’s message for refugees in Berlin: It will get worse!
By Verena Nees, 13 January 2016
The onset of winter has worsened conditions for the approximately 40,000 refugees in Berlin.
Divisions within UK Tory party deepen over EU membership
By Simon Whelan, 13 January 2016
It is estimated that up to two-thirds of Conservative MPs support a “Brexit.”
German politicians and media agitate against Poland
By Clara Weiss, 12 January 2016
Representatives of German imperialism and its servants in the media have absolutely no right to lecture any country about “democracy” and “tolerance.”
New Catalan premier installed on pro-austerity platform of secession from Spain
By Alejandro López, 12 January 2016
The regional parliament has elected Carles Puigdemont as regional premier for the Together for Yes coalition, with the support of the pseudo-left CUP.
Spain: CUP supports a pro-austerity, separatist Catalan government
By Alejandro López, 12 January 2016
The Popular Unity Candidacy and the pro-austerity separatist parties of the Together for Yes coalition have joined to elect a new Catalan premier.
German media and politicians demand increased state powers in response to Cologne assaults
By Dietmar Henning, 11 January 2016
Alleged sexual assaults by refugees in Cologne are being used as a pretense for pumping out racist agitation and cracking down on refugees.
The refugee tragedy and the European Union: The balance sheet for 2015
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 11 January 2016
The mistreatment of refugees fleeing to Europe has assumed proportions that would have been unthinkable twelve months ago.
Podemos considers forming government with Spanish social democrats
By James Lerner and Alejandro López, 11 January 2016
The purpose of such a government, like Syriza in Greece, would be to enforce more unpopular austerity measures on working people and the entire population.
Thousands of student nurses, midwives and junior doctors demonstrate in London
By Ajanta Silva, 11 January 2016
The Conservative government has announced plans to scrap bursaries and introduce student fees.
One year after Charlie Hebdo attack
Police gun down youth in poor Paris neighborhood
By Stéphane Hugues, 8 January 2016
Witnesses speaking to the media flatly contradicted official accounts of the shooting and said that police gunned down an unarmed man without warning.
French government considers deprivation of nationality as possible sentence to all citizens
By Alex Lantier, 6 January 2016
The Socialist Party is increasingly taking up positions associated with the extreme right and the traditions of 20th century European fascism.
Spain: Elections anticipated after CUP refuses to back Catalan government
By Alejandro López, 6 January 2016
The petty-bourgeois Candidatures of Popular Unity have refused to invest Catalan President Artur Mas, whose party they have backed in parliament.
Student accommodation costs rocket in UK
By Thomas Scripps, 6 January 2016
Investors are responding to the profits available due to the increased enrolment of foreign students in British universities and the expansion of privately rented halls.
Germany: Poverty of welfare recipients increases
By Dietmar Henning, 6 January 2016
The real value of already low welfare payments under Germany’s Hartz IV welfare benefits system has continued to fall.
German Luftwaffe joins the Syrian war
By Johannes Stern, 6 January 2016
The entry of the Luftwaffe into the Syrian war, backed by some 1,200 German soldiers and a frigate, opens a new and ominous chapter in the resurgence of German militarism.
UK Tories step up attacks on school education
By Tom Pearce, 5 January 2016
The cuts in education are part of the government’s austerity agenda aimed at saving more than £20 billion in public finances.
2016 will be a year of escalating class struggle
By Jerry White, 4 January 2016
Class conflict will become an ever-more dominant feature of life in 2016 as the ruling classes in the US and around the world demand that workers pay for the global economic crisis.
Right-wing Polish government takes control of public media
By Dorota Niemitz and Clara Weiss, 4 January 2016
In another step towards establishing authoritarian rule, the Law and Justice government has adopted a bill to subordinate public broadcast services to its right-wing agenda.
UK floods bring further destruction to thousands
By Barry Mason, 30 December 2015
The storms are estimated to have dropped an average month’s rainfall within a 24-hour period.
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