The Euro­pean Uni­on: The Thre­at of Dis­in­te­gra­ti­on. Pre­sen­ta­ti­on of the Euro­Me­mo­ran­dum 2017

Donnerstag, 9. März 2017, 18:00 – 20:00, C3 – Cen­trum für Inter­na­tio­na­le Ent­wick­lung, Sen­sen­gas­se 3, 1090 Wien

In Cooperation with ÖFSE and WiPol. Please register at: i.pumpler@oefse.at

The crisis of the European Union (EU) is multifaceted and has visibly deepened during the last year. The British referendum on EU membership and the vote in favour of Brexit have only been the most explicit symptom of the disintegrative tendencies. The core-periphery rift in the euro area has continued. The arrival of a large number of refugees from the war-torn areas of the Middle East has resulted in acrimonious conflicts in the EU on the question who should take care of them. The way in which the pro-free trade forces pushed through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada showed utter disregard for the objections of democratically elected bodies (e.g. the Belgian regions of Wallonia and Brussels). Strategies to cope with the disintegration tendencies range from “muddling-through” approaches, visions of a “Core Europe” to “Europe of Nations” concepts on the far right of the political spectrum. Approaches on the political left range from calls for a democratic European federalism to a “Plan B” that accepts eventual monetary disintegration. In this sense, a discussion of alternative proposals of how to respond to the virulent disintegration tendencies from a progressive standpoint is urgently needed. The EuroMemorandum 2017 critically analyses recent economic developments in Europe and emphasises the strong need for an alternative economic policy that is based on the principles of democratic participation, social justice and environmental sustainability.