Articles

The banking lobby in the European Union is waging a successful battle against regulation that will undercut international Basel rules. They’re succeeding in putting competition and the right to risky bets before concerns for financial stability.

Stepping Stones Christina Laskaridis (researcher at CorporateWatch) "Environment is a solution to the crisis" Tomas Tomilinas (Campaigner from Lithuania) Face aux politiques d'austérités, inventer une alternative juste et soutenable Maxime Combes (member of Attac France and Aitec) “The EU crisis is a governance issue” Virg

It was a great experience to observe the extraordinary level of preparation for 'EU in Crisis' conference in Brussels provided by CEO and TNI - with all draft final papers, speakers memos and other important info put in the participant folders and web. As a trade union member, and an activists for social rights and environment from Lithuania and thus Eastern Europe I got broad perspective about general EU social movement situation, networks and corporate lobbing monitoring think tanks and what direction the main players in this area suggest all of us to move.

Activists, campaigners, trade unionists and individuals joined together to call for a halt to the EU's Austerity Treaty at the two-day EU in Crisis conference, organised by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and the Transnational Institute to mark CEO's 15th anniversary. Activist and writer, Susan George emphasised the anti-democratic nature of the austerity agenda, which has been imposed without debate or electoral support.

During the crisis in Greece, there has been a tendency to look inwards within national boundaries, despite the need to move beyond them. This tendency has ebbed and flowed. Often it has felt like the “6 pack” governance rules or the fiscal compact that have brought permanent disastrous changes to the EU’s institutional landscape, are one step removed from the immediate concerns of rapid social and economic disintegration.

Statement from the conference organised by Corporate Europe Observatory and Transnational Institute on the 5-6th of May. The Austerity Treaty – or the so called Fiscal Compact - if implemented, would pose a direct threat to the welfare state across Europe and be a major obstacle to redistributive, progressive and socially just economic policies in the future. It also represents the latest attempt to turn economic policy into a technocratic endeavour outside of democratic control, with unelected bureaucrats in a powerful, decision making role.

Where does resistance to austerity in Europe stand, four years into the crisis? Journalist Leigh Phillips, until recently based in Brussels, where he reported for the EUobserver and the Guardian, assesses the situation and identifies four priorities for a progressive anti-austerity movement in Europe.

Today groups have written to the European Parliament in anticipation of the vote on 10 May in plenary session on the EFSA 2010 budget. A letter signed by Corporate Europe Observatory, Earth Open Source, Testbiotech and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) introduces a new briefing, focusing on the problematic links between EFSA panel members and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), an industry lobby group.