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Housing, social progress & defeating fascism. Local communities for another Europe

Call for an European Antifascist and Antiracist Front

We participants to the REALPE Annual meeting , local representatives and MEPs declare:

The recent rise of right wing nationalist and extreme-right parties across Europe is a preoccupying situation for our continent.

During the crisis the recent years, the policies applied by the European Union through the neoliberal and conservative governments especially from the EPP guidance has been pushing dangerous voices to arrive to the European political scene and as a phenomenon we can see today all over the EU an increased outreach of extreme-right and fascist forces.

Our forces will stand:

-next to the refugees and migrants in solidarity with them,

-with peace

-next to women’s rights

-next to all oppressed communities such as LGBTQI and Roma.

-next and together to all social movements, political organizations, and associations that fight for the abolition of social and economic inequalities in our municipalities

We, participants of the REALPE Annual Meeting, declare our intention to create a European Antifascist and Antiracist Front starting from our municipalities and regions to be at the forefront of our struggles the forthcoming period.

Brussels, 8 February 2019

Declaration for a real right to housing across Europe

Housing is undergoing an unprecedented offensive by neoliberal and capitalist policies aimed at regulating everything by the law of the market. While having a roof should be considered as a fundamental right, there are currently millions of people who are in a situation of social exclusion. Women, large or single-parent families and migrants are even more vulnerable to this situation. While in rural areas city centers are experiencing desertification, in large cities tens of thousands of people are waiting to be able to benefit from social housing. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of homes are currently vacant and speculation is becoming the norm. Expulsions are multiplying as mortgage funds and giants such as Airbnb want to make housing a speculative value free from taxation.

Because we are witnessing a new crisis today, we, participants to REALPE Annual Meeting, local elected representatives and MEPs declare:

– That access to housing must be considered as a fundamental and inalienable right

– That for this reason housing must be removed from the market and speculation of the ultra-liberal system by a rents control framework, a requisition of vacant housing and an end to the eviction of the most modest homes.

– That the development of public housing and a social housing status in Europe must be a priority and that national and European public funds should be invested in the construction and rehabilitation of buildings in social housing.

– That binding legislation against financial speculation and tax evasion including mortgage funds and multinationals such as Airbnb must be put in place

– That the fight against gentrification on the one hand and against the desertification of rural areas on the other hand must be led by the construction of a true social diversity and the rehabilitation of buildings on the other hand.

Because access to housing is a fundamental condition of human dignity, we are committed to making it a struggle everywhere in Europe

 

REALPE Annual Conference:

Thursday 7 February

13.30 entrance of participants

14.30: Introduction of the conference by Gabi Zimmer, president of GUE-NGL

15.00: First panel: social housing and speculation

Introduction by MEP Martina Michels: Die Linke, Germany

15.00-15.10: introduction

15.10-16.30 : Speakers (5 to 7 minutes each)

– Françoise Desmedt, Brussels MP PTB, Belgique

– Nasos Iliopoulos, Athens candidate mayor, Vice-Minister of Employment, Greece

– Ms Katalin Gennburg, Member of the Berlin parliament, Group’s spokesperson on urban development, smart city and tourism; DIE LINKE, Germany

– José Moury, municipal councillor at Bobigny and responsible for the housing group of ANECR (Association Nationale des Elus Communistes et Republicain), PCF France

– Emma-Lina Johansson, city councillor of Malmö, Sweden,

– Mark Ward, Mayor of South Dublin City Council, Sinn Féin Ireland

– María Chao, municipal councillor of As Pontes, Galicia

– Mercedes Revuelta, Activist of the Platform of Mortgages Affected Peoples and the platform Against Vulture Funds, Spain

16.30-17.00: coffee break

17.00-18.00: debate moderate by MEP Malin Björk: Left Party, Sweden

18.00-18.30: conclusions of the panel by MEP Lynn Boylan: Sinn Féin, Ireland

18.30-19.30: Cocktail in JAN 3Q Brasserie

Friday 8 February

8.30-8.45: entrance of visitors

9.00-12.30 Second Panel: Facing inequalities and raising up of fascism across Europe, which progressist vision for our cities and local communities

9.00-9.15: Introduction by Vice President of EP Dimitris Papadimoulis: Syriza, Greece

9.15-10.30 speakers (5 to 7 minutes each)

– Giusto Catania, Municipal councillor in Palermo, former GUE/NGL MEP, Italy

– Katerina Notopoulou, Thessaloniki candidate mayor, Vice-Minister of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece,

– Ignacio Iglesias Villar, city concellor of Teo, Galicia

– Nazanin Armanian, analyst of international conflicts and the Islamic world

– Stavros Yerolatsites, AKEL, Cyprus

– Enrique Oubiña, municipal councillor of Ribadumia, Galicia

– A representative from Naples City, Italy (tbc)

10.30-11.00: coffee break

11.00-12.00: debate moderate by MEP Marie-Christine Vergiat (tbc): Front de Gauche, France

12.00-12.15: conclusions of the debate by MEPAngela Vallina (tbc)IU, Spain

12.15-12.45:

General Conclusions of the initiative by MEP Lidia Senra (tbc):Galicia

For more information please contact:charlotte.balavoine@europarl.europa.eu

Charlotte Balavoine

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Meeting of European local elected representatives in the European Parliament on the 7th and 8th of February 2019

“Commitment towards a progressive policy across Europe: the role of local authorities in housing, social progress and the fight against the extreme right. “

in BRUSSELS

Thursday 7 and Friday 8 February 2019

GUE / NGL Partnership (Group Confederal Group of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left) and REALPE (Network of elected and progressive local authorities in Europe)

Objectives: these meetings are an opportunity to discuss the policies of the European Union which have an impact on local authorities and share local experiences with elected officials from different EU countries.

PROGRAM

Thursday 7th February morning (10am – 12.30pm) (only for French participants)

The challenges of the 2019 European elections

In a context of Brexit and widespread mistrust of the European Union, understanding the situation today for the upcoming elections.

With Marie-Pierre VIEU, MEP.

 

12h30-14h: Lunch

 

Thursday, February 7 afternoon (2 pm – 6 pm)

European meetings begin with the interventions of local elected officials from France, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Greece …

Social housing and real estate speculation in Europe

Martina Michels, MEP  member of the Regional Development Committee, Die Linke

Françoise Desmedt, Brussels MP PTB, Belgium

Nasos Iliopoulos, candidate mayor of Athens, Deputy Minister of Employment, Greece Syriza

Katalin Gennburg, Member of Parliament Berlin, spokesperson for the group on urban development, smart cities and tourism; DIE LINKE, Germany

José Moury, councilor in Bobigny and head of housing group of ANECR (National Association of elected Communists and Republicans), PCF France

Clara Lindblom, mayor of the opposition in Stockholm, Sweden (to be confirmed)

Mícheál Mac Donncha, Dublin City Councilor, Sinn Féin Ireland

 

Friday, February 8 morning (8:30 am – 12:30 pm)

 

Coping with inequalities and the rise of the far right across Europe, a progressive vision for our cities and local communities

MEPs:   Dimitris Papadimoulis GUE-NGL MP, Vice-President of Parliament, Syriza;

Angela Vallina MEP GUE-NGL, Izquierda Unida;

Marie-Christine Vergiat (TBC)

Giusto Catania, Palermo City Councilor, former GUE / NGL MEP, Italy

Katerina Notopoulou, Thessaloniki Mayor, Deputy Minister of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece, Syriza

Ignacio Iglesias Villar, Inequalities in rural areas as a factor in the rise of the far right, Galician

Nazanin Armanian, writer and teacher for a gender perspective in the fight against the far right; Spain

 

Speakers TBC:

 

Anne-Sophie Dupont, representative of the Brussels Gathering for the Right to Habitat, Speaker of Luxembourg

Stavros Yerolatsites, Cyprus

Nikos Sakoutis, Popular unity Cyprus

 

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REALPE MEETINGS 2019

Note the dates!

 

Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8th of February 2019

European Parliament in Bruxelles.

We will debate and exchange upon the following subjects:

  • Social housing and the real-estate speculation in Europe
  • the interactions between the European instances and the local power.

Report of the opening session

13 people spoke during the opening session.

It was noted that this 2nd Forum of Progressive, Ecological and European Left Forces, taking place in Bilbao, represents a step forward in comparison with the 1st Forum, which we held last year in Marseille: both in terms of participation and content. We consider ourselves not to be just a meeting for reflection, but also for action, so that the participation of trade unionists and social movements in the debates that we will be holding in the coming days is very important.

The big challenge that we, the forces gathered here, have to confront is helping to prevent only two projects from being put forward to society: Macron’s ultraliberal right-wing project and the authoritarian, far-right project of Salvini and Le Pen. To this end, we must build a project for a new Europe: a Europe of social, civil and labour rights, a fully democratic Europe with the capacity to guarantee all human rights for all human beings.

A Europe which breaks with the false idea that we can only choose between the dichotomy of a return to the nation-state or the development of an ultraliberal European Union with significant democratic limitations.

A new Europe built on new rules on how it operates, which allows safeguard clauses for states with maximum respect for popular sovereignty.

We are faced with the reality that the large coalition of right-wingers and social-democrats on which the European Union has been and is being built may be replaced by a new neoliberal/reactionary coalition – an issue which further reaffirms the need for us to construct our own proposition to confront the previous two.

In order to build our own societal project, we must analyse the profound changes that have taken place in an economy that globalises production while putting all power structures at the service of capital.

Inequality has increased, a large number of people have found themselves penalised by the neoliberal order, people who have been marginalised by globalisation. Military spending is increasing, while poverty and loss of quality of life grows.

The reality is that we are in a time of great confusion for millions of human beings, who feel insecure in their surroundings and, in particular, about their futures, and so the question of security in its broadest sense is at the heart of the ideological debate.

Fear and insecurity generate distrust, delegitimize institutions and are a breeding ground for the growth of the far right, which manages to present itself as an anti-establishment alternative: as happened in the US elections and has now happened again in Brazil. This is why we need to combine the building of an alternative to predatory capitalism with the construction of a retaining wall to hold back the far right in the same strategy – this is the basis of a call to promote a great anti-fascist alliance in defence of life, democracy, social justice, and equality.

We need to show that insecurity is not created by the immigrant, nor by the politics of progress; rather, it is brought about by those who create the conditions that force millions of people to leave their places of origin, it is brought about by those who conduct wars that destroy peoples or who approve laws that make work and living conditions precarious.

Our project for a New Europe has to confront neoliberal models and provide certainties: for those who are suffering from problems in their lives, that the economy will be used for the purposes of improving the living conditions of the people; for those who see the deterioration of the environment, that sustainability will be recovered, because if we don’t protect the environment, there is no life. And we have to be able to incorporate feminism into the heart of social and political action, because it represents a challenge to an unjust model of society which limits the complete development of the human being and of a particular form, women. Change, the alternative will either be feminist or they will not be at all.

From this basis, from this Forum, we want to radiate hope, because we are aware that it is not enough just to have good arguments; we also have to convey feelings and values, when confronted with the demagogy that is trying to turn people into fanatics.

We must offer an alternative proposition that awakens enthusiasm and hope and works from the foundations up, in the neighbourhoods, in the workplaces, wherever people live, work and struggle, because without struggle, without confrontation, without mobilisation, we will not achieve transformation.

That is why the combat of ideas and of the design of strategies to confront shared battles and build one’s own political agenda – so as not to be carried away by the agendas imposed by the most extreme right – is so important. It must be a project for life and for the values of hospitality, cooperation between peoples and solidarity.

We have to come up with proposals for concrete action that allow us to challenge the far right for hegemony.

A far right that is not preparing to make gains electorally, but that is preparing to take power and build an authoritarian, patriarchal society, which consolidates structures of domination and does away with any kind of democracy: a far right that may lead us to the destruction of Europe.

Based on these ideas, it is important to think about how we can continue working after this Forum has finished, taking the ideas and proposals that we are going to address throughout the whole of Europe.

We value the importance of continuing with pluralistic and diverse meeting spaces, and this is why it is very important to reaffirm the commitment to hold the 3rd Forum in 2019; the work of the Progressive Caucus, as a meeting group between MEPs of the Green, Socialist and United Left groups, has also been very positively received.

We consider that diversity is wealth, if it is attached to what unites us, and we banish personalities and divisions, because in this way, we become stronger and we advance what we have in common to a greater extent.

As important as preparing for the 3rd Forum is providing continuity throughout the year for the work referred to here. It is therefore proposed to set up coordinated working groups for the various tasks, so that we can make progress in our cooperation and coordination, in our collective work.

In short, as the title of the opening session of the Forum put it, what is at issue is continuing to build the Forum Together, men and women.

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FINAL DECLARATION

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Calling every European citizen!

EUROPE MUST BE ON ALERT AND CALLED UP!

Let’s recover our future

For a permanent collaboration and a convergent action between leftist, green and progressive forces in Europe

Millions of Europeans and Europeans have suffered and still suffer the attacks of a predatory capital which is promoting labour, social, economic and institutional changes whose aim is to demolish historical achievements of the working class and the popular strata in order to impose an authoritarian, precarious, deregulated society, without labour, social and citizen’s rights.

In this sense, those of us who gathered in Bilbao on November 9, 10 and 11 of 2018, in the second European Forum of Forces of the Left, Greens and progressive forces, calls upon the popular groups from all over Europe to be on alert and mobilized.

We are on alert against the social harms and inequalities that increasingly tear our societies apart and that are aggravated every day by policies that promote austerity, protection of benefits and competition among workers.

We are on alert against the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, when insecurity and poverty grow throughout Europe.

We stand up for climate, aware of the threat of a catastrophic climate change and of air pollution and the risks on biodiversity, because the planet is warming up and runs the risk of becoming uninhabitable if nothing is done to change urgently the course of our economic and industrial models, as once again is requested in the alarming report published by the IPCC.

We fight against the attacks to the democratic liberties and to the rights of the women. Alert to face the shameful treatment to migrants.

We are on alert on the risk to peace, which the renewed militarization of international relations, as well as the military expenditure, required, among others, by NATO, implies.

We fight against the rise of far-right and reactionary forces that are once again awakening hatred, racism and tension throughout the continent.

We are on alert against spreading of racism and xenophobia, powered by several governments and political forces; against the building of a fortress-Europe, closed for migrants escaping from wars and poverty.

Our main message is the need to be alert and mobilized to confront the policies that are crushing the peoples of Europe, which are ignored by the rich and powerful, the financial agents and the markets in their search for neoliberal policies.

We say that the time has come for the peoples of Europe to take control of their future and our common destiny.

It is time to combine our forces to open the door to a new era, a path towards a new economic, social and ecological model, new responses to emancipation and democratic progress to face the big challenges of mankind.

It is time to work and act together to make our energies combine in the long term, because we know that the citizens of Europe face historical challenges without precedent and that none of our forces can face this challenge alone.

Many different forces are working together to create another kind of future and a form of development that moves away from this brutal and decadent capitalism.

In a moment in which we are facing a Brexit full of unknowns for British citizens and for non-British people living and working in Britain, as well as having elections to the European Union Parliament that will likely change the balance of forces and balances of power within the European Union.

It is vital that these forces work together more actively to make citizens of Europe say clear and loud that another way is possible: the one of social progress, inclusion, democracy, peace, respect for equality between men and women, and in general among all people, sustainable development from the environmental point of view and inclusive economic growth. We want to make these popular forces combine their energies.

Based on these common challenges, and in line with the call of the first European Forum of Left, Green and Progressive Forces held in Marseille in November 2017, we have decided that this Forum must continue our work on creating a permanent convergence space at European level.

Our forces are diverse, either they are rooted in the history of the struggles of the workers’ movement, either anti-fascist, internationalist, green, emancipatory, or emerged from the mobilization within the society, we are aware that we have a lot in common and we also have our differences.

We do not deny these differences and each of our forces is and remains fully sovereign in its decisions. The objective is making these differences do not interfere in the pursuit of the common objective of this forum, providing a framework that offers political, social, union and civic forces the opportunity to contribute their ideas, examine them, derive common axes of political action, encourage the people to mobilize at national and European level, and to promote the political cooperation between leftist, green and progressive forces everywhere, as well as in the Parliament of the European Union.

We propose to prepare the third forum that will be organised as a part of the combined actions that we agree to develop in 2019. There are many potential fronts of action. This year, we propose to join forces and focus on four basic axes:

1.- The reordering of the immense wealth created in Europe towards a new model of social and ecological development.

Inequality and poverty continue rising in Europe, while banks, the financial sector, multinationals cram themselves at a time where social and economic progress is urgently needed.

In the European Union, the GDP of Europe is of 17 Billion Euros. Undoubtedly, inequality and poverty is increasing. Since 2009, the ECB has injected almost 5 Billion Euros into the economy of this area, while the tax evasion in the same territory amounts to almost one Billion Euros. This money should be redirected in order to satisfy the social necessities, financing public services and the environment, as well as alleviate the unsustainability of the sovereign debt.

In this way, as progressive and leftist movements, we defend the right to a decent job for all with full employment, with quality working conditions, sufficient salaries, security, social protection, without discrimination, with equality between men and women.

We propose that the wealth and power of the countries, serve to favour the development of a dignified life without discrimination of gender, expression and sexual or affective identity.

Our call: 

We propose to establish new criteria on how to spend money in Europe in favour of a transformation of the productive structures and for a new social and ecological development model based on a Framework Convention that proposes a New Economic and Productive Model. Which is why we put forward the intent to open a debate on the creation of a European financial, fiscal and budgetary COP similar to the COP on climate change.

2. To defend and promote gender equality.

Women’s rights must be defended. One of the pillars on which the hegemony of liberalism is based is patriarchy, which is based on ideological values that relegates women to a secondary role in society, normalizing the wage gap, or does not involve the eradication of sexist violence from the root, such as trafficking with women and minors for sexual exploitation, because these and other situations of inequality and discrimination maintain and sustain this system that subordinates and subjects women. Moreover, we have to put an end to discriminations against LGBTIQ people.

The lack of solidarity, equality and equity only generates greater inequality, discrimination and violence that will affect to a greater extent those who have already been victims of an economic, fiscal and political crisis, among others, people with disabilities and functional diversity.

We are convinced that there will be no real democracy while women do not live free, without violence, and in equality of rights that men. For this reason, the fight against patriarchy is fundamental for the construction of a new project of society that puts the value of people’s lives above the benefit of the markets.

The equitable distribution of productive and reproductive work is fundamental for the recognition of social and labour rights that prevent all types of exploitation of women.

Our call :

Based on these premises from this Forum of Leftist, Progressive and Ecologist forces we set out to elaborate a protocol for gender equality that assumes the full incorporation of women into the world of work, and of men into care work, and which aims at overcoming inequalities and ensuring gender equality in all spheres of life.

3. Peace and collective security.

The relaunch of military spending and the arms race in line with the NATO’s objectives represents a serious risk to peace. The principles of collective security, as are defined in the Charter of the United Nations, are threatened. Donald Trump’s policies are also putting pressure on all Europe. The question of relations between all European nations and neighbouring regions must be reconsidered on the basis of these principles.

Our call :

We propose to organize citizen debates throughout Europe to promote the idea of a pan-European conference for peace and collective security. It will allow to bring together people across the continent to reject the course towards war in favour of a peaceful and secure world!

It should permit binding agreements with a single standard on asylum and protection of international law by means of a migration policy based on solidarity and responsibility, guaranteeing secure rescue paths for the Mediterranean. We have to build answers based on solidarity, such as the reform of the Dublin system. Hospitality policies are not only a matter of mercy but remain a fundamental part of any redistributive action.

4. Democracy and respect for popular sovereignty

A democratic society is one that responds to and protects the needs of its citizens having the capacity to listen and act for a collective benefit.

Which is why we consider that the main rationale defining the European Union is the weakness of democracy in its functioning. The neoliberal orientation of its treaties is imposed without the consent of the people, and sometimes against their will. For instance, the ECB works without any democratic control. This is combined with the asymmetrical intergovernmentalism, policies led by conservative majorities, and the criteria of some of the European institutions, which are also an attack against democracy.

What dominates in Europe is not cooperation, both – what pertains as well as what doesn’t pertain to the European Union, is not cooperation but rather competition and authoritarianism.

Today, there are even countries who are calling for the “ill-liberalism”, in other words, liberalism without democracy. Reactionary and far-right forces must be fought tirelessly and without any compromise, as pluralism and democracy are essential pillars for European peoples and nations.

Our call :

In order for Europe to have a different future, the challenge is to combine respect for popular sovereignty, cooperation between peoples and nations and pool resources to achieve shared social and environmental objectives. Our goal is to fight for a Europe that is a fully cooperative, solidary, equal and socially advanced democracy. We call for empowering popular sovereignty by launching a new charter for sovereign democracy in Europe.

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PROGRAM OF THE BILBAO EUROPEAN FORUM

 Friday, 9 November 13h Opening of the registration desk 14h – 16h Assembly (Youth) ROOM B3

Presentation by the different political families

1) The rise of the far right as a rejection of the political system for young people

2) Social and workers’ rights – Flexible forms of employment and uncontrolled competition

3) Environmental transition- How is the youth affected by the climate change and lessons to be learnt Moderation: Eleftheria Angeli (Youth WG of the European Left) and Roxane Lundy (Génération.s)

Rapporteur: Kathi Gebel (linksjugend [’solid]) 16h-17h30 Opening session: Build the Forum together *

ROOM A3

● Welcome by Amaia Arenal (Councilor of Bilbao)

● General introduction: Jose Luis Centella (President of the Communist Party of Spain) ●

Speeches by: Walter Baier (Political Coordinator of transform! Europe, Austria)

Ione Belarra (MP Podemos, Spain)

Nico Cue (General Secretary of MWB-FGTB, Belgium)

Lindbergh Farias (Senator of Partido dos Trabalhadores, Brasil)

Alberto Garzón (Coordinator of Izquierda Unida, Spain)

Benoît Hamon (founder of Génération.s, France)

Pierre Laurent (Vice-President of the Party of the European Left, France)

Maite Mola (Vice-President of the Party of the European Left, Spain)

Dimitrios Papadimoulis (MEP, GUE/NGL, Greece)

Ricardo Patiño (Ex-Minister of the Ecuadorian Government)

Ernest Urtasun (MEP Greens/EFA, Spain)

Julie Ward (MEP, Labour Party, United Kingdom)

Marilisa Xenogiannakopoulou (Minister of the Administrative Reconstruction, Greece)

Gabi Zimmer (MEP, President of the GUE/NGL, Germany)

Moderation: Anne Sabourin (French Communist Party, France)

Jesus Hernandez (Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, Spain)

Pınar Yüksek (Freedom and Solidarity Party, Turkey)

Rapporteurs: Jose Luis Centella (President of the Communist Party of Spain), TBC 17h30-20h

Plenary 1: A new Europe for a new World (migration, peace, international trade) *

ROOM A3

● With speeches by (among others):

David Adler (DIEM 25, Greece)

Costas Douzinas (President of the Nikos Poulantzas Institute, Greece)

Ethan Earle (Co-chair of the international committee of DSA, USA)

Kate Hudson (Left Unity, United Kingdom)

Solly Mapaila (First Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party)

Georgi Pirinski (MEP, S&D, Bulgaria)

Luc Triangle (General Secretary of IndustriALL, Belgium)

Madres y Padres, Altsasu Gurasoak, (Spain)

Transform (TBC) Video from the “Mare Jonio” Boat on the Mediterranean sea (TBC)

Moderation: Marga Ferré (transform!europe, Spain), Julia Boada (Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, Spain), TBC.

Rapporteur: Charlotte Balavoine (GUE/NGL, France)

Felicity Dowling (Left Unity, United Kingdom)

20h30-23h30 tribute to Nelson Mandela and Dinner ESPLANADE BILBAO MARITIME MUSEUM

Speaker: Solly Mapaila (First Deputy General Secretary of the South African Communist Party)

Introduction: Gregor Gysi (President of the Party of the European Left)

Moderator : Pierre Barbancey (Journalist at l’Humanité)

 

Saturday, 10 November 9h-11h :

Workshops:

GUE/NGL WORKSHOP: ROOM A2

“Reclaim the Manifesto of Ventotene: What Europe in 2034?” In 1941, Altiero Spinelli and his fellow prisoners wrote the Ventotene Manifesto. They wrote it in a fascist prison cell in the darkest hour of Europe. 16 years later six European states signed the Treaty of Rome. It was the beginning of European integration after the 2nd World War. Today’s Europe is much different from that in 1941. However, we are confronted with a dangerous political crisis again. This represents a huge challenge for the diverse and colorful left in Europe. Having in mind the Ventotene Manifesto, its democratic and socialist ideas for a united Europe: What should Europe look like from a left-wing perspective 16 years from now, in 2034?

Gabi Zimmer, President of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament, DIE LINKE, Germany

Florentyna Gust, Member of the National Board of Razem,

Poland Arianna Petrosino, Student activist

Rete della Conoscenza, Italy

Dimitris Christopoulos, President of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), Greece

Josu Juaristi Abaunz, EH Bildu, former MEP, Basque Country

Frieder Otto Wolf, Professor of Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin, Germany

FOUNDATION WORKSHOP: ROOM A4

The resistible ascension of the far-right in Europe: a critical assessment of the progressive counterstrategies Since the last European election, the far-right and populist right-wing parties are electorally rising everywhere in Europe. Simultaneously, the xenophobic and islamophobic stances promoted by the far right parties have been gaining in audience and are more and more impregnating the rhetoric of the Conservatives and even some segments of social democracy. The coming reconfiguration of the far-right and right forces on the occasion of the European election and the growing diffusion of their ideas and schemes constitute a major and multifaceted challenge for the left and its counter-strategies.

Pablo Livigni, Researcher, Espaces Marx (France)

Walter Baier, Political Coordinator, transform! (Austria)

Aurélie Maréchal, Director, Green European Foundation (Belgium)

Cornelia Hildebrandt, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Berlin (Germany)

11h-14h Plenary 2: For a Europe of equality: stop the patriarchy + Assembly (Women) * ROOM A3

From 11am to 12pm- Workshop on experiences sharing. Different forms of feminist struggles. Towards the 8M European feminist strike.

From 12am to 2pm – Feminist Assembly Sharing the experiences:

Olga Carrasco Heras (Movimiento Democrático de Mujeres, Spain) A

gustina Guglielmetti (Communist Party of Asturias, Spain)

Esti Hernandez (Comisiones Obreras Euskadi, Spain)

Pepi Lupiañez (Comisiones Obreras, Spain)

Núria Parlon Gil (Socialist Party of Catalunya, Spain)

Isabel Salud (MP of Unidos Podemos, Spain)

Lucia Santos Felix Dominique Tripet (French Communist Party, France)

Angeliki Visviki (SYRIZA, Greece) Tren de la libertad (TBC)

Video by Despina Kostopoulou (SYRIZA, Greece)

Proposal for a call to the 8M European feminist strike Cristina Simo (Communist Party of Spain)

Moderation: Ana Mata (Movimiento Democrático de Mujeres, Spain)

Heidemarie Ambrosch (transform!europe, Austria)

and Florentyna Gust (RAZEM, Poland)

Rapporteur: Angeliki Visviki (SYRIZA, Greece), Brigitte Berthouzoz (Labour Party of Switzerland)

14h-15h lunch 15h-17h30 Plenary 3: A new solidary economic model to invest in work and social rights * ROOM A3

Keywords: social-ecological transformation, solidarity-based economy, social rights, economic democracy

● With speeches by (among others):

Heinz Bierbaum (Die Linke, Germany)

Frédéric Boccara (French Communist Party, France)

Nico Cue (MWB-FGTB, Belgium)

Enrique Daniel Carmona (Trade Unionists Network Europe)

Aurélie Maréchal (Green European Foundation)

Mehdi Ouraoui (Génération.s, France)

Dimitrios Papadimoulis (MEP GUE/NGL, Greece)

Gabi Zimmer (MEP GUE/NGL, Germany)

Moderation : Jean-Christophe Paris (Génération.s, France), Mina Kostopoulou (Progressive Caucus) and Iñigo Martinez (Izquierda Unida, Spain)

Rapporteur : Oskar Arenas (International Department Comisiones Obreras, Spain), Waltraud Fritz-Klackl (Communist Party of Austria)

17h30-18h Break 18h-20h30 Plenary 4: Europe in Ecological Transition * ROOM A3

● With speeches by (among others):

Lluis Camprubí (Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, Spain)

Joan Herrera (General Director at Ministry for the Ecological Transition, Spain)

Roland Kulke (transform!europe, Germany)

Julie Maenaut (Workers’ Party of Belgium)

Rosa Martínez (MP Equo, Spain)

Mikel Otero (Eh Bildhu, Spain)

Tiina Sandberg (Communist Party of Finland)

Moderation : Albert Klein (Génération.s, France), Olga Athaniti (Syriza, Greece), Alba Gutiérrez (European Left, Spain)

Rapporteurs: Teo Comet (Federation of Young European Greens), Maite Mola (European Left)

21h30-1h Concerts ESPLANADE BILBAO MARITIME MUSEUM

 

Sunday, 11 November 9h30-11h30 Assembly (Trade-Union) ROOM A4

Topic: The fight against precarious work.

Introduction : Heinz Bierbaum (Party of the European Left)

Rapporteur : Enrique Carmona (Trade Unionists Network Europe)

11h30-14h Conclusion of the Plenaries/Assemblies and future of the Forum * ROOM A3

1) Report of the Assemblies + Report of the Plenaries

2) Special word of personalities representing the different European families on the future of the Forum and next steps

3) Reading of the Final Declaration Lluís Camprubí (Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds) Roxane Lundy (Génération.s) Uta Wegner (Party of the European Left)

Moderation: Margarita Mileva (Bulgarian Left, Bulgaria), Natasa Theodorakopoulou (SYRIZA, Greece), TBC *

Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, Spanish, German and Basque