Collettivo Prezzemolo

Conciatori eviction: crackdown on the commons continues

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Posted on ROARmag.org, January 20th, 2012.

permanent link

The eviction of the oldest social center in Florence this morning is yet another instance of a worldwide crackdown on public space and civil liberties.

By Frank O’Connor, Markos Vogiatzoglou and Donagh Davis

This morning, Florence witnessed the most recent instance of the international clampdown on public space and civil liberties. The city’s oldest and historically most important social center, Progetto Conciatori, in the heart of the Santa Croce neighborhood, was forcibly evicted by the Italian police.

The expulsion brought to a close thirty-two years of cultural, social and political activities that had rendered Progetto Conciatori a beacon of autonomous civic organisation and direct democracy, and a fount of cultural innovation. It offered legal services to immigrants, and provided crèche facilities and a variety of courses ranging from multimedia skills to yoga to the local community.

This is a concrete result of the wider rubric that strives to delegitimize the concept of public space and its collective deployment for the common good. This development prioritises the commercial over the civic, and under its aegis, all that is not conceived of in monetary terms of profit and loss is condemned as a historic anomaly inhibiting the inexorable drive to further “progress”.

It has taken an ominously concrete form in the clampdown on the Occupy Movement across the United States — a clampdown that has quashed the dissenting voices emerging from these shared, public, ‘Occupied’ spaces, through intimidation, sometimes brutal violence, and mass arrests.

Here in Europe, things have taken an analogous turn in a slightly more nuanced fashion, combining the deployment of police repression with judicial amendments that criminalize any attempt to defend the concept of public space. In the United Kingdom, the right to protest has been undermined by draconian policing tactics like the practise of “kettling”, as well as by recourse to traditional tools such batoning defenceless demonstrators.

However, Britain’s long and shameful past of police excesses has recently enjoyed ever-increasing judicial backing, as evidenced in the recent High Court ruling that the Occupy London encampment be evicted at the behest of the City of London. The notion of public space was further weakened by the Court’s decision to criminalise squatting, thus prioritizing property rights over the basic right to housing.

This tendency to dismiss the collective good for the purported necessity of facilitating corporate capitalism is clear in the attempt to promote the PIPA and SOPA legislation in the USA. Once again, access to public space, this time a digital one, is at stake, and one should not wonder why thousands of websites went offline on January 18th in protest. The first major “digital strike” is definitely a step forward, yet many things remain to be done in order to reverse this co-ordinated attack the global elites and their local lackeys are orchestrating.

Focusing back to the local level, the events of this morning are a regrettable further step in the realization of Mayor Renzi’s vision of Florence as “la citta delle vetrine, della moda e dello shopping” — the show case city of fashion and shopping in Italy. His fantasy Florence could well become the superficial wonderland of luxury shops and glittering window displays that he envisages, but it is already well on its way to becoming the city where housing rights are denied, where unsightly immigrants and the poor are pushed to the urban periphery, far from the sight of the tourist hordes and from the socio-cultural wasteland of stylised consumption.

The Progetto Conciatori was the last bastion of resistance to this homogenization of culture and the marginalization of dissenting voices in the city center. Although this incident could be dismissed as minor in the scale of the wider political tumult across the globe, it is these small battles that must be fought in order to preserve the spaces where alternative visions of the world can be formulated.

***

The authors are members of the Collettivo Prezzemolo and researchers at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

Right-wing extremism resurgent in Europe

2011-12-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

Politico: Social and Political news

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Francis Pat O'Connor

On last Tuesday, 13 December, two Senegalese street vendors, Samb Modou and Diop Mor, became the most recent victims of fascism on the streets of Europe. They were shot by a right-wing extremist, Gianluca Casseri, at the local market of Piazza Dalmazia in Florence, targeted simply because of the colour of their skin. Three more of their Senegalese compatriots were gravely wounded in a killing spree which continued in the popular tourist market of San Lorenzo close to the Duomo in the city centre. Casseri proceeded to take his own life when he was surrounded by police in an underground car park.
The immense tragedy of Tuesday cannot be dismissed as simply another case of a pathologically unbalanced individual waging his own private struggle against society. The killer was an active participant in the Casa Pound Italia (CPI) movement in the Florence area, a group which proudly describes itself as a ‘third millennium fascists’.
Until recently, the extreme right in Italy remained relatively weak and divided between a somewhat moderate institutionalist tendency and a number of paramilitary style factions. The paramilitarist wing led a campaign of violence from the 1960s to the early 1980s that wreaked bloody havoc across the country. It notoriously culminated in the massive bombing of Bologna’s train station in 1980 which resulted in eight-five fatalities. In 1994, the Italian Social Movement (MSI), the most significant neo-fascist political party, in an effort to win greater electoral credibility, dissolved itself and the National Alliance (AN) was formed from its ashes. The party, led by Gianfranco Fini, subsequently merged with Berlusconi’s People of Liberty (PDL) in 2009 and served as a crucial component in all of Berlusconi’s governments. However, this move to the centre resulted in a fragmented and highly volatile number of breakaway fascist groupings that rejected this parliamentary turn. In recent times the CPI has emerged the largest of these groups and has proved to be the most capable of harnessing the popular discontent of the right-wing margins of society. It now boasts nineteen social centres nationwide, eight regional councillors, thousands of members and a rapidly expanding student group, Il Blocco Studentesco. Much of its support has been obtained by adopting many of the social policies of the Italian left - such as the right to social housing and work related issues. One could ask how a group that openly flouts the Italian Constitution (which prohibits any defence of fascism or organisations that espouse fascist principles), could have gained such widespread political consensus. But the Italian political spectrum in recent years has witnessed a massive shift to the right due to the collapse of the formerly powerful mass parties of the left and the concomitant rise of the populist and often xenophobic PDL and the Northern League. Accordingly, public discourse has become ever more tolerant of an openly racist vocabulary which has resulted in mass hostility toward immigrants and other minorities.
In recent weeks a Northern League MEP, Mario Borghezio, who has prior convictions for setting fire to homeless immigrants’ improvised beds under a bridge in Torino, applauded the actions of the Norwegian Anders Behring Brevik, declaring that he shared many of his ideas. The Northern League mayor of Treviso, Giancarlo Gentlini, has suggested that the Italian Navy should attack the boats of asylum seekers with bazookas.
It is little surprise that such discourse has facilitated the consolidation of a culture of impunity for those who seek to vent their racist and fascist hatred on vulnerable immigrant communities. In January 2010, in Rosarno in the south of the country, an attempt to intimidate immigrant fruit pickers took the form of an “immigrant hunt” and the indiscriminate shooting of a number of immigrants. Last week, a Roma camp in Turin was completely destroyed by a right wing mob determined to avenge what was subsequently confirmed as a totally unfounded accusation of rape by a local sixteen year old girl.
In such an environment fascist movements such as the CPI enjoy massive freedom to engage in their practices of intimidation and propaganda. Their formal and personal links with the so-called respectable face of right-wing politicians in the PDL and the Lega Nord have emboldened them to engage in ever more audacious activities. A prominent member of Blocco Studentesco, Alberto Palladino, was recently imprisoned for leading a vicious street assault on some members of the social-democratic opposition party, the Democratic Party (PD). According to La Repubblica, Palladino has already enjoyed a visit in prison from a current national PDL deputy. The Casa Pound headquarters in Rome enjoys not only the personal endorsement of the PDL mayor Giorgio Alemanno - whose teenage son is an elected delegate of the Blocco Studentesco - but it is also financed by municipal funding.
A brief wander around Florence’s streets will immediately show the extent of the local CPI’s activities. The areas surrounding secondary schools are systematically plastered with its posters, a fact which does not seem to cause any major concern for either the local education authorities or the police. Indeed, even when the house of spokesperson for the Florentine Senegalese community, Pape Diaw, was daubed with intimidatory Casa Pound graffiti a number of weeks ago it failed to elicit any police interest in the group’s activities.
Casseri may have been a man with certain social inadequacies but he cannot be simply depicted as a loner acting entirely in isolation. Notwithstanding the Florentine branch of the CPI’s attempts to distance the organisation from him, he was clearly an integrated part of their political community. He regularly contributed articles to their Virtual Laboratory of Ideas the ‘Ideodromo’. Last year he launched a book that he co-authored in one of their centres and he regularly participated in their community initiatives.
The recent Europe-wide tendency to pathologise and individualise right wing violence as simply cases of mentally disturbed individuals is not only mistaken but also inherently dangerous. It neglects the centrality of a burgeoning political scene that calculatedly nourishes sentiments of racial hatred. In recent times this has led to the July massacre in Norway, the neo-Nazi murder campaign across Germany and these most recent racist murders in Florence. Last Saturday the people of Italy turned out en masse in dozens of demonstrations across the country to express their revulsion at the killings and to offer their solidarity to their local immigrant communities. Such public actions are to be lauded and emulated throughout Europe if we are to pre-empt the rise of right wing intolerance in these economically straihtened times – times which have historically proven to serve as such fecund breeding grounds for fascism.
Francis O Connor is a member of Collettivo Prezzemolo.

2011-12-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

LET'S JOIN THE PROTEST

against the racist murders of SAMB MODOU and DIOP MOR.

***

Racism and fascism kill!

The recent racist attacks in Florence by a member of the Casa Pound fascist social center, resulted in the killing of two persons, and in serious injuries being inflicted upon three others.

Racism is not an exception; it's an everyday experience.

The attack might have been the act of a single person. But this person stands for many more, who think like him.

Racism is an inherent part of Europe nowadays.

Racist and fascist parties are on the rise all over Europe.

Racism is in our parliaments, in our institutions, and in the house next door.

We don´t want a Europe that is ´pure´and ´white´; we want a Europe that represents all human beings.

Solidarity with all those who experience racism every day and deep grief for those men who have been killed and injured in Florence!

WE PROTEST:

SATURDAY 17/12, 15.00 @ PIAZZA DALMAZIA

Collettivo Prezzemolo's intervention during the Indignados roundtable

2011-12-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Collettivo Prezzemolo made a brief intervention during the roundtable on the Indignados movement, which took place in the European University Institute (EUI), on November 22nd, 2011. The following statement was read:

***

I'll read a brief statement on behalf of the Collettivo Prezzemolo, a political collective here at the EUI.

There is a tendency, among analysts of the mainstream media and some academics as well, to consider the “Indignados/ Occupy” movements as an exotic mobilization - in the sense of being "distant", "an other" from our realities.

It is certainly positive that the world is finally paying attention. There is now a strong interest in the current wave of mobilizations all over the globe, from Tahrir in Egypt to Sol in Spain, from the main street to the wall-street, people are occupying the public spaces in the name of liberation, trying to break the chains that bind them to authoritarianism, austerity, unemployment, injustice and inequality.

But what is particularly interesting and perhaps more worrying is that, for years, these and other actors have been expressing the very same grievances in different ways. They weren't silent but they have been silenced, ignored by a relentless news cycle and a dormant academic circle. And now, they have woken up to the global awakening: both the media and the aca-media are struggling to find an explanation for what has –apparently- long-escaped their attention.

Despite the tons of ink spilled to describe and explain those movements though, in our opinion, the analysis remains superficial, maybe due to the lack of analytical tools that could produce a convincing explanatory scheme on why, suddenly, so many people, from many different places and walks of life have been marching for local and global justice.

We know that the recent events do not lend themselves to easy explanations, but we would like to understand why these protests and proposals have been largely ignored, both in newspapers and monographs. From our perspective, any attempt to cage these movements in a holistic analysis should be taken carefully. At the same time, not looking for the shared identities and common links that connect them would be a grave error. We, as a community of researchers and workers at the EUI, are just one micro instance of a macro phenomenon. We too are trying to make sense of this widespread movement of movements that voice their indignation through occupation and liberation. When they reach the European Union grounds, in our opinion, the commonality to be drawn is that the European Indignados' claims are challenging the whole economic and political system, both at the national and transnational level.

The three common grievances we identified to all Europe’s Indignados mobilizations are:

a) deficits in democratic representation

b) social and employment insecurity

c)social and income inequality

The problems the Indignados point out are so widespread, that even in the Ivory Towers of EU's bureaucracy, we cannot claim to have been able to forge a protective bubble.

What we mean by this is that even in our backyard, here in our own Institution, we can find practices that reproduce the concepts of labor precarity, social inequality and insecurity for many of the workers and researchers:

One can find workers earning very different salaries (and having different labor rights) for similar jobs, one can find extreme inequalities between the funds our own researchers receive, and a rather weak institutionalized student representation in the Institute's decision-making processes. There`s also a significant number of "workers on demand", "rented" or sub-contracted employees working under unspecified conditions. Others are signing temporary, "renewable" contracts, with no access to benefits or pension schemes. To cut a long story short: we are witnessing practices that reproduce income inequality and labor precarity.

In our view, all these constitute structural characteristics of the dominant economic paradigm under which our Institute also operates. Αnd –of course- this is happening because these are the "rules of the game". And it is exactly those "rules", and that "game" that the “Indignados/ Occupy” movements are challenging.

Collettivo Prezzemolo,

22/11/11

Collettivo Prezzemolo - Euskera

2011-11-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Collettivo Prezzemolo-ren esku-hartzea

Zuengana jotzen dut gure unibertsitateko kolektibo politikoaren izenean, Collettivo Prezzemolo-ren izenean, hain zuzen. Are gehiago, gaur egun, lan egiteko, bizitzeko eta bizirauteko borrokan diharduten herrialdeekin elkartasunean hitz egingo dut. Herrialde hauek botere politiko eta finantzakoek inposatuta bidegabeko egoeratan biziraun behar dute. Europar Batasuneko herritarrak eta EUI-ko ikasleak -Europa mailako kooperazioa inork baino hobeto bultzatzen duen erakundea- garen heinean, huts egindako oinarrizko balore horiek defendatzea dagozkigu.

Europar Batasuneko Oinarrizko Eskubideen Gutunaren esanetan, Batasuna gizabanakoaren duintasuna, askatasuna, berdintasuna eta elkartasuna bezalako balore banaezin eta unibertsaletan oinarritzen da. Era berean, aipatutako gutuna demokraziaren eta zuzenbide-estatuaren printzipioetan oinarritzen da.

Duela gutxiko gertaerek erakutsi duten bezala, Europako elite politikoak ez zituen eta gaur egun oraindik ez ditu balore hauek kontutan hartzen. Are gehiago esateko, baloreok soiltasun selektibozko eta espedizio politikoaren aldarean jipoituak izan dira.

Zoritxarrez, Europar kontseiluko presidentea Europar Batasunean gero eta nabarmenagoa den demokrazia-urritasunaren adibide da: egotz ezina eta ez hautetsia. Herri-subiranotasunik gabe inposatua izan da, bere kargua hutsaltasun demokratiko hutsa bihurtuz. Tokian tokikoari dagokionez, gaurko gertaerak EBan praktika demokratikoek duten garrantzi eskasa islatzen du. Guk geuk, esaneko herritarren gisara, gor eta geldi egon beharko genuke erronka politiko eta ekonomikoez hitz egiten ari den ordezkariari entzuten. Ez baina Europako herritarren ordezkariari, baizik eta krisi ekonomiko, politiko eta soziala diseinatu duten elite politiko eta finantzakoaren ordezkariari.

Hala ere, Europar Batasuneko krisi demokratikoa presidentearen izendapen hutsa baino askoz kaltegarriagoa da. Demokraziaren gabezia Batasunaren egituran bertan dago, herritarrek argi eta garbi erakutsi duten herri-borondatea ez baita errespetatu. Frantzian, Holandan eta Irlandan birritan gauzatutako erreferendumetan herri-borondatea ez da kontutan hartu. Estandar demokratikoen hondatzea argia da EBan. Izan ere, Greziako gobernuak finantza-arazoei dagokienez herritarren baimena eskatu nahi izan zuenean, EBren haserrea nabarmena izan zen. Hau da, herriaren ahotsa kontutan ez hartzeaz gain, orain badirudi ere debekatuta dagoela herritarrei kontsultaraztea.

EB bere herritarrekin gero eta arduragabeago bihurtzen ari den bitartean, bere oinarrizko baloreetatik ere urruntzen ari da. Ez dago inongo duintasunik Europako pertsona ahulenen pobretzearen aurrean, ez dago askatasunik langileen prekarietateari dagokionez, ez dago berdintasunik finantza-sektorearen diru-sarian Europako herrialde langileenak zigor sozio-ekonomikoak jasotzen baitituzte. Ez da existitzen inongo elkartasunik elite politiko eta finantzakoaren handikeriak Grezia, Irlanda eta Portugal bezalako herrialdeek ordaindu behar dituztenean eta ez pobreziaren erantzuleak direnek.

Bukatzeko, bestelako Europa posible dela uste dugu. Merkatuaren zutabe ahulek eta rating agentziek bultzatutako saihestezintasun faltsuak baztertzen ditugu. Finantza sektorearen morroiek kontinente osoan zehar hedatutako mehatxu apokaliptikoak baztertzen ditugu. Europa bere herritarren herrialdea da eta ez arranditsua, auto-hautetsia eta antidemokratikoa den elite batena. Orain eta gero, gure Europa gizabanakoaren duintasunean, askatasunean, berdintasunean eta elkartasunean oinarrituko da eta beti ere benetako instituzio demokratikoen gainean eraikia eta babestua egongo da berriz ere.

Media reference on Van Rompuy protest

2011-11-14T02:42:00.000-08:00

Collected by the Irish Media Team of CP:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-95-theses-2011-11

http://politico.ie/social-issues/8058-prezzemolo-collective-protest-van-rompuy-eui-speech.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5f-CRlfIdM&feature=feedu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfdGHRBliFk&feature=feedu

http://www.approdonews.it/index.php/component/content/article/34-italia/11134-onore-agli-studenti-dellistituto-universitario-europeo.html

http://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/firenze/notizie/cronaca/2011/11-novembre-2011/van-rompuy-l-italia-faccia-riforme-collettivo-prezzemolo-contesta-1902134235857.shtml

http://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/11/11/news/fiesole_gli_studenti_contestano_l_intervento_di_van_rompuy-24862969/?rss

http://www3.lastampa.it/cronache/sezioni/articolo/lstp/429437/

http://www.libero-news.it/news/866783/Crisi-Indignati-contestano-Van-Rompuy--basta-austerita--.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20111111-709677.html

http://corrierefiorentino.corriere.it/firenze/notizie/politica/2011/11-novembre-2011/wall-street-firenze-indignati-tenda-1902126701273.shtml

http://roarmag.org/2011/11/researchers-occupy-uni-during-lecture-by-eu-president/

http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-83195e40-09f6-46c0-9035-eebf2c9137ef-tgr.html#p=0 from minutes 6.20 to 8.20

Dies Irae - an evening with Van Rompuy

2011-11-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Notre intervention pendant la cérémonie avec Van Rompuy

2011-11-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Je parle en mon nom et au nom du collectif politique de notre université. J’exprime aussi ma solidarité avec les masses de citoyens européens qui sont en train de lutter pour vivre, travailler, et, dans bien des cas, simplement survivre aux exigences inédites, injustes, et extraordinairement inhumaines qui leur sont imposées par les pouvoirs politiques et financiers européens. En tant que citoyens européens et fiers de l’être, mais aussi en tant que chercheurs à l’Institut Universitaire Européen, une institution qui illustre les possibilités sans frontières de la coopération européenne, il est de notre devoir de défendre les valeurs qui ont été trahies par ceux à qui il a été confié de les préserver.

La Charte des Droits Fondamentaux de l’Union Européenne affirme que l’Union est fondée sur les valeurs indivisibles et universelles de la dignité humains, de la liberté, de l’égalité et de la solidarité ; elle est basée sur les principes de la démocratie et de l’état de Droit. Les récents développements ont montré sans ambiguïté que ces valeurs ont été et continuent à être bafouées par l’élite politique européenne, sacrifiées à l’autel de l’austérité et de l’opportunisme politique.
Malheureusement, le poste de Président du Conseil Européen n’est que l’incarnation symbolique du déficit démocratique toujours plus fragrant au cœur de l’Union Européenne. Ce responsable politique, non-élu et irresponsable devant le peuple européen, dont le consentement dans la nomination a été jugé superflu, se trouve dans une situation privée de tout semblant de légitimité démocratique. A son modeste niveau, l’évènement organisé aujourd’hui incarne la faible importance accordée aux pratiques démocratiques dans l’Union Européenne.

Nous devrions nous assoir comme des sujets obéissants et écouter silencieusement et docilement un discours sur les défis économiques et politiques qui attendent l’Europe, prononcé par un des architectes mêmes de la crise politique, économique et sociale qui se déroule en ce moment même : l’élite politique et financière européenne.
Toutefois, la crise de la démocratie dans l’Union Européenne est bien plus insidieuse que la simple nomination d’une figure présidentielle. L’éthos antidémocratique a infiltré les structures mêmes de l’Union, comme le mépris constant pour l’expression de la volonté populaire des citoyens l’a montré à plusieurs reprises. Une volonté populaire ignorée après les référendums français et hollandais, et à deux reprises dans le cas de l’Irlande. La détérioration continue des standards démocratiques a été de nouveau récemment révélée par la réaction outrée de l’UE face à l’effort du gouvernement grec de rechercher l’assentiment populaire face à l’étau financier imposé à son pays. On ne se contente plus d’ignorer les expressions de la volonté populaire. Il devient désormais inadmissible de consulter le corps électoral européen.

Alors que l’UE persiste à fuire ses responsabilités devant les peuples de l’Europe, elle s’éloigne toujours rapidement de ses valeurs fondatrices. Il n’y a pas de dignité dans l’appauvrissement délibéré des citoyens européens les plus vulnérables, il n’y a pas de liberté dans la précarité du travail et dans le démantèlement des systèmes publics de santé, il n’y a pas d’égalité quand on récompense le secteur financier pour son imprudence et dans la punition sociale et économique imposée aux travailleurs européens. Enfin, il n’y a pas de solidarité quand une élite financière et politique européenne se dégage de ses extravagances collectives en punissant les citoyens de la Grèce, de l’Irlande et du Portugal plutôt que les instigateurs de ce vent de pauvreté.

Pour conclure, nous avons la conviction qu’une autre Europe est possible. Nous rejetons le caractère inéluctable des décisions mises en avant par de mystérieux édifices financiers et agences de notations. Nous rejetons les menaces apocalyptiques du secteur financier qui sont lamentablement relayées par leur laquais politiques dans tout le continent. L’Europe est l’Europe des citoyens, elle n’est pas celle d’une élite autodésignée et fondamentalement anti-démocratique. Notre Europe est, et sera, enracinée dans les valeurs fondatrices de la dignité humaine, de la liberté, de l’égalité et de la solidarité, construite et protégée par une des institutions politiques responsables et véritablement démocratiques.

Intervención Collettivo Prezzemolo - español

2011-11-12T07:12:00.001-08:00

Esta intervención será breve. Me dirijo a ustedes en mi nombre y en el del colectivo político con sede en nuestra universidad, Colectivo Prezzemolo. También, hablo en solidaridad con los pueblos europeos que, actualmente, luchan para trabajar, vivir y, en muchos casos, simplemente sobrevivir bajo condiciones extraordinariamente injustas e inhumanas, sin precedentes, impuestas por los poderes políticos y financieros. En el rol de orgullosos ciudadanos y ciudadanas de Europa y académicos y académicas del Instituto Universitario Europeo, una institución que ejemplifica las posibilidades ilimitadas de cooperación europea, nos corresponde defender los valores fundamentales que han sido traicionados por aquellos que debían protegerlos.

La carta de Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión Europea afirma que la Unión se funda bajo los valores indivisibles y universales de la dignidad del ser humano, libertad, igualdad y solidaridad; se basa en los principios de democracia y Estado de derecho.
Los hechos recientes demuestran, de forma inequívoca, que estos valores fueron y continúan siendo ignorados por la élite política europea, y son sacrificados en el altar de la austeridad selectiva y de la expedición política.
Infelizmente, el Presidente del Consejo Europeo es la encarnación simbólica de un déficit democrático cada vez más evidente en el corazón del a Unión Europea: inimputable y no electo, el líder del pueblo europeo es ungido sin soberanía popular que lo legitime, transformando así el cargo en una vacuidad democrática. En el plano local, el evento de hoy refleja la reducida importancia de las prácticas democráticas en la UE. Nos, como súbditos obedientes, deberíamos permanecer mudos y quietos escuchando un sermón sobre los desafíos políticos y económicos de Europa proferido por el representante no de los ciudadanos europeos, pero de aquellos que diseñaron la presente crisis económica, política y social – las élites políticas y financieras europeas.

Sin embargo, la crisis democrática de la Unión Europea es mucho más perniciosa que la simple designación de una figura presidencial. El déficit democrático se encuentra en las propias estructuras de la Unión, hecho evidente por el irrespeto constante de la voluntad popular expresada por su ciudadanía. La voluntad popular ha siendo ignorada en los referéndums realizados en Francia, Holanda y, por dos veces, en Irlanda. El corriente deterioro de los estándares democráticos es evidente en la colérica reacción de la UE ante la tentativa, por parte del gobierno griego, de obtener el consentimiento popular sobre el estrangulamiento financiero al que se somete al país. Ahora, la voluntad popular no es sólo ignorada, sino que se encuentra prohibido consultar a la ciudadanía europea.
A la vez que la UE se vuelve cada vez menos responsable ante el pueblo Europeo, se aleja de sus valores fundamentales. No hay dignidad en el premeditado empobrecimiento de las personas más vulnerables de Europa, no hay libertad en la precariedad laboral y el desmantelamiento de los servicios públicos, no hay equidad en el premio al sector financiero por su irresponsabilidad y el castigo socio-económico colectivo a los pueblos trabajadores de Europa. No existe absolutamente ninguna solidaridad cuando las extravagancias colectivas de una élite financiera y política europea son punitivamente extraídas de los pueblos de Grecia, Irlanda y Portugal y no de los instigadores de esta tormenta de pobreza.

Para concluir, nos creemos que otra Europa es posible. Rechazamos las falsas inevitabilidades promovidas por los ruinosos pilares de los mercados y las agencias de rating. Rechazamos las amenazas apocalípticas del sector financiero que son patéticamente difundidas por sus lacayos políticos a lo largo y ancho del continente. Europa es la Europa de su ciudadanía y no de una pomposa, auto-electa, fundamentalmente antidemocrática élite. Nuestra Europa es y volverá a estar basada en los valores fundamentales de dignidad humana, libertad, igualdad y solidaridad, construida sobre y protegida por instituciones políticas verdaderamente democráticas.

Παρέμβαση της Collettivo Prezzemolo κατά τη διάρκεια του λόγου του Van Rompuy

2011-11-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

Θα σας μιλήσω εκπροσωπώντας τον εαυτό μου αλλά και την πολιτική οργάνωση του Πανεπιστημίου μας. Θα σας μιλήσω όμως και ως αλληλέγγυος με τους λαούς της Ευρώπης, οι οποίοι αγωνίζονται στις μέρες μας να εργαστούν, να ζήσουν, σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις απλά να επιβιώσουν, μέσα στις άνευ προηγουμένου, ακραία απάνθρωπες και άδικες συνθήκες που τους επιβάλλουν οι Ευρωπαϊκές πολιτικές και οικονομικές δυνάμεις. Καθώς είμαστε περήφανοι για την Ευρωπαϊκή μας ταυτότητα αλλά και ακαδημαϊκοί στο Ευρωπαϊκό Πανεπιστημιακό Ινστιτούτο – το ίδρυμα που αποτελεί το καλύτερο παράδειγμα της δυνατότητας για Ευρωπαϊκή συνεργασία – είναι υποχρέωσή μας να υπερασπιστούμε τις βασικές αρχές – τις οποίες διαρκώς προδίδουν αυτοί που τους ανετέθη η προστασία τους.

Η Χάρτα των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης επιβεβαιώνει ότι η Ένωση στηρίζεται στις αδιάσπαστες, παγκόσμιες αξίες της ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας, ελευθερίας, ισότητας και αλληλεγγύης. Βασίζεται στις αρχές της Δημοκρατίας και στην ισχύ του Δικαίου. Οι πρόσφατες εξελίξεις καταδεικνύουν πέραν πάσης αμφιβολίας ότι αυτές οι αρχές καταπατήθηκαν και συνεχίζουν να καταπατώνται από τις πολιτικές ελίτ της Ευρώπης, ότι θυσιάστηκαν στον βωμό της επιλεκτικής λιτότητας και της πολιτικής αναγκαιότητας. Δυστυχώς, το αξίωμα του Προέδρου του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου είναι η συμβολική ενσάρκωση του ολοένα και πιο εμφανούς δημοκρατικού ελλείμματος στην καρδιά της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Ένας μη-εκλεγμένος, μη-ελεγχόμενος επικεφαλής του Ευρωπαϊκού λαού - η συναίνεση του οποίου στην ανάθεση του αξιώματος θεωρείται ήσσονος σημασίας: Ιδού πώς στήθηκε ένα αξίωμα κενό από κάθε μορφής δημοκρατική νομιμοποίηση. Στο μικρο-επίπεδο της καθημερινότητας, η παρουσία του Βαν Ρομπάυ εδώ επικυρώνει την ελάχιστη σημασία των δημοκρατικών πρακτικών για την Ε.Ε.. Εμείς, ως υπάκουα αντικείμενα θα έπρεπε να καθήσουμε ήσυχα και να ακούσουμε μια διάλεξη για τις οικονομικές και πολιτικές προκλήσεις που αντιμετωπίζει η Ευρώπη - από τον εκπρόσωπο όχι των Ευρωπαίων πολιτών, αλλά των αρχιτεκτόνων της συνεχιζόμενης οικονομικής, πολιτικής και κοινωνικής κρίσης.

Μολαταύτα, η δημοκρατική κρίση στην Ε.Ε. είναι πολύ ευρύτερη απ' το ζήτημα της ανάθεσης ενός αξιώματος σε μια προεδρικού τύπου μαριονέτα. Το αντι-δημοκρατικό ήθος έχει διεισδύσει στο σύνολο των δομών της Ένωσης και είναι εμφανές στη συνεχιζόμενη αδιαφορία για την εκπεφρασμένη βούληση των πολιτών της. Η λαϊκή βούληση αγνοήθηκε στα δημοψηφίσματα, της Γαλλίας, της Ολλανδίας και, εις διπλούν, στην περίπτωση της Ιρλανδίας. Και ακόμα πιο πρόσφατα, στην οργισμένη αντίδραση της Ε.Ε. ενώπιον του ενδεχομένου να τεθεί σε δημοψήφισμα ο οικονομικός στραγγαλισμός της Ελλάδας. Πλέον, όχι μόνο αγνοείται η εκπεφρασμένη βούληση των πολιτών, αλλά θεωρείται και ανεπίτρεπτη η προσφυγή στην λαϊκή ετυμηγορία.

Έτσι, καθώς η Ε.Ε. καθίσταται όλο και λιγότερο ελεγχόμενη απ' τους λαούς της Ευρώπης, επιταχύνει την απομάκρυνσή της από τις θεμελιώδεις αρχές της. Διότι δεν υπάρχει καμία αξιοπρέπεια στην προγραμματισμένη πτώχυνση των πλέον ευάλωτων Ευρωπαίων πολιτών. Δεν υπάρχει καμία ελευθερία στην εργασιακή επισφάλεια και στη διάλυση των δημοσίων συστημάτων υγείας. Δεν υπάρχει καμία ισότητα στην επιβράβευση του χρηματο-οικονομικού τομέα για τις επικίνδυνες πρακτικές του, ούτε στη συλλογική τιμωρία των Ευρωπαίων εργαζομένων. Και δεν υπάρχει καμία απολύτως αλληλεγγύη όταν οι συλλογικές σπατάλες των Ευρωπαϊκών οικονομικών και πολιτικών ελίτ ξεπληρώνονται, με τιμωρητικό τρόπο, από τους λαούς της Ελλάδας, της Ιρλανδίας και της Πορτογαλίας, και όχι από τους εμπνευστές αυτής της καταιγίδας φτώχιας.

Κλείνοντας, πρέπει να σημειώσουμε ότι εμείς είμαστε πεπεισμένοι για το ότι μια άλλη Ευρώπη είναι εφικτή. Απορρίπτουμε τα ψευδή αδιέξοδα που επιβάλλουν οι σκοτεινοί θεσμοί των αγορών και των οίκων αξιολόγησης. Απορρίπτουμε τις, αποκαλυπτικού τύπου, απειλές του χρηματο-οικονομικού τομέα, που με θλιβερό τρόπο διαδίδουν σε όλην την ήπειρο οι πολιτικοί του υπηρέτες. Η Ευρώπη είναι η Ευρώπη των πολιτών της, και όχι μια πομπώδης, αυτο-διοριζόμενη, θεμελιωδώς αντι-δημοκρατική ελίτ. Η Ευρώπη μας στηρίζεται και θα στηρίζεται πάντοτε στις θεμελιώδες αρχές της ανθρώπινης αξιοπρέπειας, της ελευθερίας, της ισότητας και της αλληλεγγύης. Θα φτιαχτεί και θα προστατεύεται μέσα από ελεγχόμενους και πραγματικά δημοκρατικούς πολιτικούς θεσμούς.

Collettivo Prezzemolo Statement (in German)

2011-11-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ich spreche in meinem Namen und im Namen unseres an der Universität angesiedelten Kollektivs. Ich spreche aber auch in Solidarität mit den vielen EuropäerInnen, die in diesem Moment damit kämpfen, unter jenen unmenschlichen und ungerechten Bedingungen, die ihnen von den politischen und finanziellen Machthabern Europas aufgezwungen werden, zu leben und zu arbeiten – ja in vielen Fällen schlichtweg zu überleben.

Als stolze EuropäerInnen und AkademikerInnen am Europäischen Hochschulinstitut – einer Institution die wie keine andere für die grenzenlosen Möglichkeiten europäischer Kooperation steht – ist es unsere Pflicht, die Werte hochzuhalten und zu verteidigen, die von jenen, die zu ihrer Wahrung bestellt sind, verraten wurden.

Die Grundrechtecharta der Europäischen Union schreibt fest, dass die Union auf den unteilbaren, universalen Werten von Würde, Freiheit, Gleichheit und Solidarität begründet ist. Sie basiert auf den Prinzipien von Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit.
Die Ereignisse der letzten Zeit haben unzweifelhaft gezeigt, dass diese Werte von den politischen Eliten Europas missachtet und den zweifelhaften Idealen von selektiver Austerität und politischer Opportunität geopfert werden.

Das Amt des Präsidenten des Europäischen Rates wurde so – bedauerlicherweise – zum Sinnbild des immer offenkundigeren Mangels an Demokratie im Herzen der Europäischen Union. Der Präsident ist das ungewählte und damit unverantwortliche Haupt eines europäischen Volkes, dessen Zustimmung zu dieser Einsetzung als überflüssig erachtet wurde. Damit wird diesem Amt nicht einmal der Anschein demokratischer Legitimität zuteil.

In gewisser Weise steht auch die heutige Veranstaltung für die schwindende Bedeutung demokratischer Praxis in der EU. Als folgsame Subjekte sollen wir ruhig dasitzen und einem Vortrag über die ökonomischen und politischen Herausforderungen Europas folgen – gehalten nicht etwa von einem Repräsentanten oder einer Repräsentantin der Europäischen BürgerInnen sondern von eben jenen Architekten der momentanen ökonomischen, politischen und sozialen Krise: den Finanz- und Politikeliten Europas.
Die Krise der Demokratie in der Europäischen Union geht aber viel tiefer als dies in der Einsetzung des Ratspräsidenten sichtbar wurde. Eine undemokratische Grundhaltung hat die Strukturen der Union selbst infiltriert. Nicht zuletzt aus der fortwährenden Missachtung von Volksentscheiden geht dies klar hervor.

In Frankreich, in den Niederlanden und zweifach bereits in Irland wurden Volksabstimmungen ignoriert. Auf eklatante Weise sichtbar wurde der Verfall der demokratischen Standards schließlich aber in den entrüsteten Reaktionen auf den Versuch der griechischen Regierung, einen Volkentscheid über den dem Land auferlegten finanziellen Würgegriff herbeizuführen. Nicht länger wird die Zustimmung des Volkes bloß ignoriert – es ist heute bereits unmöglich geworden, die europäische BürgerInnenschaft überhaupt erst zu befragen.
Indem die EU immer unverantwortlicher dem europäischen Volk gegenüber wird, kehrt sie sich auch von ihren Grundwerten ab: Wir sehen keine Würde in der bewusst in Kauf genommenen Verarmung von Europas schwächsten BürgerInnen. Keine Freiheit in prekären Arbeitsverhältnissen und dem Abbau des öffentlichen Gesundheitsystems. Keine Gleichheit in der Belohnung des Finanzsektors für seine Rücksichtslosigkeit und der Bestrafung der Gesamtheit der arbeitenden Völker Europas.
Und wir sehen absolut keine Solidarität in dem Faktum, dass die Folgen der Zügellosigkeiten der europäischen Finanz- und Politikeliten auf Kosten des griechischen, irischen und portugiesischen Volkes beglichen werden – und nicht von den Verursachern der nun hereinbrechenden Welle der Armut.

Um zum Schluss zu kommen: Wir sind der Ansicht, dass ein anderes Europa möglich ist. Wir weisen die von Märkten und Ratingagenturen gepredigten unausweichlichen Notwendigkeiten zurück. Wir weisen die apokalyptischen Drohungen des Finanzsektors zurück, die jetzt auf pathetische Weise von dessen politischen Lakaien quer über den Kontinent verbreitet werden.
Europa ist das Europa seiner BürgerInnen und nicht das einer selbsternannten und fundamental anti-demokratischen Elite. Unser Europa wird wieder auf den Grundwerten von Menschenwürde, Freiheit, Gleichheit und Solidarität begründet sein – verteidigt von gewählten, rechenschaftspflichtigen und wahrhaft demokratischen politischen Institutionen.

Intervenção do Collettivo Prezzemolo

2011-11-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

Esta intervenção será breve. Dirijo-me a vós em meu nome e do colectivo político com sede na nossa universidade. Porém, falo também em solidariedade com os povos europeus que, actualmente, lutam para trabalhar, viver e, em muitos casos, simplesmente sobreviver sob condições extraordinariamente injustas e desumanas, sem precedentes, impostas pelos poderes políticos e financeiros. No papel de orgulhosos cidadãos da Europa e académicos do Instituto Universitário Europeu, uma instituição que exemplifica as possibilidades ilimitadas da cooperação europeia, cabe-nos defender os valores basilares traídos por aqueles a quem foi confiado preservá-los.
A Carta dos Direitos Fundamentais da União Europeia afirma que a União se baseia nos valores indivisíveis e universais da dignidade do ser humano, da liberdade, da igualdade e da solidariedade; assenta nos princípios da democracia e do Estado de direito.
Os recentes desenvolvimentos demonstram, de forma inequívoca, que estes valores foram e continuam a ser ignorados pela elite política europeia, sacrificados no altar da austeridade selectiva e do expediente político.

Infelizmente, o Presidente do Conselho Europeu é a encarnação simbólica de um défice democrático cada vez mais evidente no coração da União Europeia: inimputável e não eleito, o líder do povo europeu é ungido sem a soberana legitimidade popular, transformando o cargo numa vacuidade democrática. No plano local, o evento de hoje encerra a reduzida importância das práticas democráticas na UE. Nós, como súbditos obedientes, deveríamos permanecer mudos e quedos ouvindo um sermão sobre os desafios políticos e económicos da Europa proferido pelo representante, não dos cidadãos europeus, mas daqueles que arquitectaram a presente crise económica, política e social – as elites políticas e financeiras europeias.

Contudo, a crise democrática na União Europeia é muito mais perniciosa do que a simples designação de uma figura presidencial. O ethos não democrático infiltrou-se nas próprias estruturas da União, facto evidenciado pelo desrespeito constante pela vontade popular expressa pelos seus cidadãos. Uma vontade popular ignorada nos referendos realizados em França, na Holanda e, por duas vezes, na Irlanda. A contínua deterioração dos padrões democráticos foi recentemente demonstrada na reacção colérica da UE à tentativa, por parte do governo grego, de obtenção de consentimento popular perante o estrangulamento financeiro imposto ao país. Não só a expressão do consentimento popular é ignorada, como agora é proibido consultar os cidadãos da Europa.

O afastamento entre a UE e os seus cidadão cavou um fosso democrático e precipitou o desvio dos valores fundadores fundamentais. Não há dignidade no empobrecimento, friamente calculado, dos cidadãos mais vulneráveis da Europa; não há liberdade na precariedade laboral e no desmantelamento dos sistemas públicos de saúde; não há igualdade quando se recompensa o sector financeiro pela sua negligência e se pune colectivamente os trabalhadores da Europa. E não existe qualquer vestígio de solidariedade quando as extravagâncias e prebendas de uma elite política e financeira são punitivamente extraídas dos povos da Grécia, Irlanda e Portugal e não dos instigadores desta tempestade de pobreza.

Em suma, nós acreditamos que uma outra Europa é possível. Rejeitamos as falsas inevitabilidades alicerçadas nos ruinosos pilares dos mercados e das agências de notação. Rejeitamos as ameaças apocalípticas do sector financeiro patetitcamente reproduzidas pelos seus caudatários políticos em todo o continente. Europa é a Europa dos cidadãos e não uma elite pomposa, auto-indigitada e fundamentalmente anti-democrática. A nossa Europa voltará a estar ancorada nos valores fundadores da dignidade do ser humano, da liberdade, da igualdade e da solidariedade, erigidos e protegidos por verdadeiras instituições democráticas.

Intervento del Collettivo Prezzemolo (Italiano)

2011-11-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Vi parlo a nome del nostro collettivo, Collettivo Prezzemolo, con sede all’Istituto Universitario Europeo di Firenze. Siamo un gruppo transnazionale e multidisciplinare di ricercatori dell’IUE.

Il nostro intervento vuole essere solidale con le popolazioni europee che stanno al momento lottando per vivere, lavorare e in molti casi semplicemente sopravvivere ai colpi disumani e ingiusti senza precedenti imposti dai poteri finanziari e politici dell’Unione Europea.
In quanto fieramente filo Europeisti e ricercatori dell’Istituto Universitario Europeo (IUE), l’istituzione che meglio incarna le sconfinate possibilità della cooperazione europea; è nostro dovere difendere i valori fondamentali dell’Europa che sono stati traditi da coloro i quali erano preposti a tutelarli.

La Carta dei Diritti fondamentali dell’Unione Europea stabilisce che l’Unione si fonda sui valori indivisibili e universali della dignità umana, della libertà, eguaglianza e solidarietà; l’Unione è basata sui principi della democrazia e dello stato di diritto.
I recenti sviluppi hanno chiaramente dimostrato che questi valori sono stati e continuano ad essere ignorati dall’Elite politica Europea, sacrificati sull’altare di una austerità selettiva e dell’efficienza politica.

Sfortunatamente, l’Ufficio del Presidente del Consiglio Europeo è l’incarnazione simbolica del sempre più palese deficit democratico che si annida al cuore dell’Unione Europea. Il vertice, non eletto e non politicamente responsabile nei confronti di un popolo europeo, la cui nomina è stata decisa senza alcun consenso popolare, si trova in una posizione priva di qualunque sembianza di legittimità democratica.
Tuttavia la crisi dell’Unione Europea va aldilà della semplice modalità di nomina del suo vertice. Un ethos anti-democratico ha pervaso le strutture stesse dell’Unione il che si palesa nel suo costante disinteresse per le opinioni e le volontà espresse dai suoi cittadini. Una volontà popolare ignorata nei referenda francese e olandese e in due occasioni in Irlanda. Il continuo deterioramento degli standard democratici è stato evidenziato recentemente dalla reazione furiosa dell’UE nei confronti degli sforzi del governo greco di ricercare consenso popolare sulle draconiane misure finanziarie imposte al paese. Le espressioni di consenso popolare non sono più semplicemente ignorate, ma oggi non è addirittura più permesso consultare il corpo elettorale europeo.

Man mano che l’UE si deresponsabilizza nei confronti del suo popolo, essa si allontana sempre di più dai suoi valori fondanti. Non c’è dignità nell’impoverimento calcolato dei cittadini più vulnerabili dell’Europa. Non c’è libertà nella precarietà del lavoro e nello smantellamento dei sistemi sanitari pubblici. Non c’è eguaglianza nel premiare il settore finanziario per la sua spregiudicatezza e nelle punizioni socio-economiche inflitte ai lavoratori europei. Non c’è assolutamente alcuna solidarietà quando le stravaganze collettive delle elite finanziarie e politiche europee sono severamente ripagate dai popoli della Grecia, dell’Irlanda, del Portogallo e dell’Italia e non dagli artefici di questa tempesta di povertà.

Per concludere, siamo dell’idea che un’altra Europa è possibile. Rifiutiamo il falso fatalismo sbandierato dagli ambigui palazzi del mercato e delle agenzie di rating. Rifiutiamo le minacce apocalittiche lanciate dal settore finanziario pateticamente diffuse dai loro lacchè politici attraverso il continente.

L’Europa è l’Europa dei suoi cittadini e non di una elite pomposa, ipocrita e fondamentalmente anti-democratica. La nostra Europa può essere e sarà nuovamente radicata nei suoi valori fondamentali della dignità umana, della libertà, dell’eguaglianza e della solidarietà. La nostra Europa sarà costruita e protetta da istituzioni politiche responsabili e veramente democratiche.

Collettivo Prezzemolo, EUI , Florence
11th-November-2011

Some photos from the Van Rompuy intervention

2011-11-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge.

A video from the intervention

2011-11-11T11:20:00.001-08:00

Our intervention in the ceremony with Van Rompuy

2011-11-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

I speak on behalf of our university based political collective. However, we act in solidarity with the masses of Europeans who are currently struggling to live, work and in many cases, simply survive under the unprecedented and extraordinarily inhumane and unjust conditions imposed upon them by the European political and financial powers. As both proud Europeans and academics at the EUI, an institution that best exemplifies the boundless possibilities of European cooperation, it is incumbent upon us to defend the core values that have been betrayed by those entrusted to uphold them.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union affirms that the Union is founded on the indivisible, universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity; it is based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Developments in recent times have unambiguously shown that these values have been and continue to be, disregarded by the European political elite, sacrificed at the altar of selective austerity and political expediency.

Unfortunately, the office of President of the European Council is the symbolic incarnation of the ever more blatant, democratic deficit at the heart of the European Union. The unelected and unaccountable head of a European people whose popular consent in the appointment was deemed superfluous, thus rendering the position void of any semblance of democratic legitimacy.

However, the crisis of democracy in the European Union is much more insidious than the simple appointment of a presidential figure head. The undemocratic ethos has infiltrated the very structures of the Union, evident in its consistent disregard for the expressed popular will of its citizens. A popular will ignored in the French and Dutch referenda and on two occasions in the case of Ireland. The ongoing deterioration in the standards of democracy has been most recently evidenced in the EU’s furious reaction to the Greek government’s effort to seek popular consent over the financial stranglehold imposed on the country. No longer are expressions of popular consent simply ignored, it is now even impermissible to consult Europe’s citizen body.

As the EU becomes ever less accountable to the people of Europe, it has hastened its drift away from its core founding values. There is no dignity in the calculated impoverishment of Europe’s most vulnerable citizens, there is no freedom in labour precarity and the dismantlement of public health systems, there is no equality in the rewarding of the financial sector for its recklessness and the collective socio-economic punishment of the working peoples of Europe. And there is absolutely no solidarity when the collective extravagances of a European financial and political elite are punitively extracted from the peoples of Greece, Ireland and Portugal and not from the instigators of this storm of poverty.

To conclude, we are of the view that another Europe is possible. We reject the false inevitabilities put forward by the shadowy edifices of the markets and rating agencies. We reject the apocalyptic menaces of the financial sector that are pathetically diffused by their political lackeys across the continent. Europe is the Europe of its citizens and not of a pompous self – appointed, fundamentally anti-democratic elite. Our Europe can and will once again be rooted in its founding values of human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity, constructed upon and protected by accountable and truly democratic political institutions.

95 theses on the ills of Europe

2011-11-11T07:33:00.001-08:00

1. No to austerity!
2. Forgive the debt!
3. Strengthen the welfare state!
4. Redistribute wealth – tax the rich!
5. Defend social rights!
6. End labor market precarity!
7. Combat wage stagnation!
8. Establish a minimum income scheme!
9. Invest in free, high-quality public health!
10. This is not a clash of generations – defend pension rights!
11. End the privatization of public goods and state assets!
12. No to bankocracy – too big to fail is too big to exist!
13. People before profits – bail out the people not the banks!
14. No to the rule of the rating agency oligopoly!
15. End the ECB’s obsession with inflation control!
16. Troika out of Greece!
17. IMF and ECB out of Italy, Ireland and Portugal!
18. Institute a common European debt!
19. Institute capital controls!
20. Institute a financial transaction tax!
21. Regulate the financial sector!
22. Outlaw over-the-counter commodity speculation!
23. Nationalize failing banks and restructure them into cooperatives!
24. Break up investment and retail banks!
25. Crack down on offshore tax havens!
26. If corporations are legal persons, why aren’t they paying taxes?
27. Curtail corporate lobbying in Brussels!
28. No common currency without a common democracy!
29. You can’t balance the budget with a democratic deficit!
30. Elect the President!
31. Allow us to remove the President!
32. Elect the Commission!
33. Allow us to dismiss the Commission!
34. Empower and downscale the European Parliament!
35. Bring EU bureaucrat pay back in line with common standards (and tax it)!
36. What about the Irish referendums?
37. What about the Dutch referendum?
38. What about the French referendum?
39. Why were we so afraid of a Greek referendum?
40. Stop coddling up to corrupt national elites at the expense of the people!
41. Don’t play us apart – defend cross-national solidarity!
42. Don’t blame the lack of a public sphere – the peoples of Europe exist!
43. Define our borders inclusively, not exclusively!
44. End the illegal war on terror!
45. Stop coddling up to dictators!
46. Prosecute all war criminals!
47. End the EU-condoned oppression of the Palestinian people!
48. Ban arms sales to Greece and authoritarian regimes outside of Europe!
49. Stop cracking down on pro-democracy protests at home while encouraging them abroad!
50. Develop our own democracy, don’t just export this flawed system as if it were perfect!
51. Don’t produce elitist expat multiculturalism – aim for a multicultural society on all levels!
52. No to Fortress Europe! No to FRONTEX!
53. End the internment and criminalization of immigrants on Europe’s margins!
54. Free and high-quality public education for all!
55. Promote socially-relevant research!
56. Stop the hypocrisy of the Lisbon Agenda!
57. Expand the Erasmus program – it is the only European policy that actually works!
58. Live up to article 2 of the TEU – respect human dignity, freedom, democracy and equality!
59. Defend immigrants’ rights at home!
60. End institutionalized xenophobia – stop the crackdown on immigration!
61. No more detention centers!
62. Enact visa reciprocity for non-EU countries!
63. The Polish plumber is not taking away our jobs!
64. Europe has gone cold turkey!
65. Crack down on human and sex slavery!
66. Asylum is a basic human right!
67. Stop the racism of Italian and Hungarian parliaments!
68. End the oppression and criminalization of Roma citizens and all other minorities!
69. End the reproduction of homophobia through state institutions!
70. Promote gender equality in politics and the working place!
71. Create free public kindergartens across the EU!
72. Abolish the EU Carbon Trading Scheme!
73. Institute an EU-wide carbon tax!
74. Pursue massive public investments in renewable energy!
75. End our continued dependence on nuclear energy!
76. Invest in high-quality and sustainable public transport!
77. End our overdependence on air travel – create a continental public transport system!
78. Stop promoting unrestrained and mindless consumption!
79. Subsidize small organic farms – not large industrial conglomerates!
80. Promote food sovereignty – not WTO principles!
81. Stop plundering fish stocks off the Western Saharan coast!
82. Protect oceanic ecosystems – ban bottom trawling!
83. Institute a pan-European ban on GMOs!
84. Defend Europe’s most beautiful regions from the destructive forces of mass tourism!
85. More internal welfare transfers to end regional disparities!
86. It takes a couple of Zimbabwean welfare states to build a Scandinavian one!
87. Live up to our Millennium Promises – raise the Official Development Assistance budget!
88. End the obsession with free trade – promote fair trade practices!
89. No to intellectual property rights!
90. Defend the right to peaceful protest!
91. End police militarization!
92. Long live the occupations!
93. Power to the people’s assemblies!
94. The revolution will not be privatized!
95. For more theses, consult the peoples of Europe.

REAL DEMOCRACY NOW!

Istituto Universitario Europeo: contestato Van Rompuy

2011-11-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

La mobilitazione internazionale degli indignati arriva anche sulle colline di Fiesole. Una pacifica ma determinata contestazione da parte di un gruppo di ricercatori e lavoratori dell'Istituto Univesitario Europeo ha accolto il presidente del Consiglio europeo Van Rompuy, in visita oggi alla Badia Fiesolana per l'inaugurazione dell'anno accademico.
Appena Van Rompuy ha iniziato a parlare, i ragazzi si sono alzati in piedi sollevando dei cartelli che componevano la scritta: "Democracy?".
I ricercatori sono rimasti in silenzio durante tutto il discorso di Van Rompuy e hanno poi chiesto di intervenire. "Da giorni chiedevamo che ci potesse essere un confronto, invece di questo monologo. - raccontano - E oggi, quando abbiamo chiesto di intervenire, ci hanno spento il microfono, ma siamo riusciti comunque a parlare, senza amplificazione, davanti a tutti i presenti".
All'uscita dalla cerimonia il presidente del Consiglio europeo è stato accolto da uno striscione che recitava "No to austerity" e dall'affissione delle "95 tesi sui mali d'Europa". Contemporaneamente, un altro striscione con scritto "Real democracy now" veniva calato da una finestra sulla facciata dell'Istituto, mentre l'interno del complesso era disseminato di volantini con le "95 tesi sui mali d'Europa".
"Il nostro obiettivo è porre l'attenzione su quello che sta succedendo in tutto il continente - spiegano gli attivisti del Collettivo Prezzemolo - L'Unione europea sta agendo su mandato dell'élite finanziaria, invece che per gli interessi dei popoli d'Europa. Tramite le politiche di austerity, la crisi della banche viene scaricata tutti i giorni sui cittadini, in particolare sui giovani. La democrazia è completamente svuotata, le decisioni vengono calate dall'alto a seconda dell'andamento dei mercati, come le crisi di governo di questi giorni in Italia e Grecia mostrano in maniera lampante. Siamo gli indignati di Madrid e gli occupanti di Wall Street. Siamo dappertutto, siamo il 99% e non abbiamo più intenzione di stare zitti".

"Oltre la crisi - Spazio di contaminazione" - Some photos from the event

2011-06-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

a bicycle outside Progetto Conciattori building

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the analytical panel

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from left to right: Massimiliano Andretta (moderator), Donatella della Porta,
Maria Grazia Pazienza, Roberto Schiattarella, Stefano Lepri

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the activist panel

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from left to right: Gian Luca Pittavino, Beppe Allegri, Alice Mattoni (moderator),
Claudio Riccio, Alberto Mazzoni

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the aperitivo

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members of the "cleaning team" take a break in via conciattori. above them,
the slogan says "are you alive, or just surviving?"

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last but not least: Vittorio, Dani, Massi, Luca, Pietro - TUTTI LIBERI!

Our hosts: Progetto Conciatori, an important project in the centre of Florence

2011-05-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map

This is where the Progetto Conciatori building is.

The Progetto Conciatori is one of the oldest social centres of Florence. For 30 years now, it is hosting various movement groups, varying from political organizations and immigrant support groups, to ecology and trade union movements.

Despite the Progetto's immense contribution to Florentine, and especially St.Croce neighbourhood's social life, the municipality has decided to close it down. They sold the building to an technical company at a ridiculous price, and the Progetto is now facing imminent evacuation.

The Progetto people kindly host our "Oltre la crisi" event on the 28th of May, 2011.

And us, the Collettivo Prezzemolo, would like to express our thankfulness, support and determination to prevent the historical social centre from being closed down.

You can read more about the Progetto Conciatori here (in Italian).

Projections' program

2011-05-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

The projections' program for tomorrow's event is now online.

[click picture to enlarge]

Messaggio di solidarieta' agli studenti e ricercatori arrestati

2011-05-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

I ricercatori dell'Istituto Universitario Europeo riuniti nel  Collettivo Prezzemolo vogliono esprimere il loro stupore e indignazione  per i provvedimenti giudiziari presi nei confronti di studenti e lavoratori precari lo scorso 4 Maggio.  

Le fumose, confuse accuse che hanno dato vita alla spettacolare operazione della polizia di Firenze indicano una evidente insofferenza  nei confronti dei diritti di opinione e associazione. Le autorità sembrano voler marchiare ogni azione di dissenso come eversione, ogni  forma di protesta come delinquenza.   

Siamo convinti che la criminalizzazione di forme di protesta pacifiche e partecipate, e la demonizzazione delle manifestazioni di diversità di  pensiero, non facciano altro che accrescere il livello di tensione e insicurezza nella città.

Il risultato di operazioni così cieche ed eclatanti, di una repressione  sfacciatamente indiscriminata, sarà solo di favorire quelle derive  violente e aggressive contro le quali noi per primi ci dobbiamo confrontare nella quotidianità delle nostre lotte.

Chiediamo dunque l'immediata sospensione delle misure preventive e cautelari di detenzione e controllo per gli attivisti coinvolti nell'inchiesta e la dismissione dell'accusa di 'associazione a delinquere' per cui sono imputati.

Collettivo Prezzemolo
26/05/2011

The poster for "Oltre la crisi" has been published

2011-05-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

The poster of "Oltre la crisi - Spazio di contaminazione n.1" has been published and will be posted all over Florence in the forthcoming days.

(Click to enlarge)

Programme of "Oltre la crisi - Spazio di Contaminazione n.1"

2011-05-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 28 May 2011 @ Via de' Conciatori 2, Florence

14:00-16:00 // Room 1
Panel 1: Rethinking the (economic) crisis in Europe: an interdisciplinary perspective
Chair:
Massimiliano Andretta, Researcher of Political Sciences, University of Pisa
Participants:
Maria Grazia Pazienza, Professor of Economics, University of Firenze
Roberto Schiattarella, Professor of Economics, University of Camerino, Sbilanciamoci
Donatella Della Porta, Professor of Sociology, European University Institute
Stefano Lepri, Journalist of La Stampa, Professor of economic journalism at La Sapienza, Rome
Franco Berardi (Bifo), SCEPSI, European School of Social Imagination, San Marino

16:00-18:00 // Room 1
Panel 2: Reacting to and organizing against the (economic) crisis in Europe: Italy between the local and transnational space of struggle.
Chair:
Alice Mattoni, Researcher of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh, Saperi Precari
Participants:
Giorgio Airaudo, FIOM.
Giuseppe Allegri, Basic Income Network.
Claudio Riccio, Link: coordinamento nazionale universitario.
Gian Luca Pittavino, EduFactory, Knowledge Liberation Front
Cristina Morini and Alberto Mazzoni, Quaderni di San Precario

18:00-20:30 // Room 1 and 3
Aperitivo Collettivo Prezzemolo

21:00 // Room 1
Theatre Performance:
“Non vengo dalla luna. Soggettiva attorno al 14 Dicembre” by Carla Vitantonio e Francesco Papaleo

14:00 – 22:00 // Room 2
Series of Projections:
“The causes of the economic crisis”
The Shock Doctrine (2009), Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross
“The impact of the economic crisis in Europe”
Debtocracy (2011), Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou
Raining Stones (1993), Ken Loach
Mondays in the Sun/Los Lunes al sol (2002), Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Le Silence de Lorna (2008), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
“Utopia: perspectives from the crisis”
Les sentiers de l’Utopie/Paths Trough Utopia (2011), John Jordan

Serie di Proiezioni a "Oltre la crisi: Spazio di contaminazione n.1", 28/05/2011, Firenze

2011-05-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

28/05/2011 - ORE 14:00 – 22:00 // Sala 2

Serie di Proiezioni:

“Le cause della crisi”
The Shock Doctrine (2009) di Michael Winterbottom e Mat Whitecross

“L’impatto della crisi finanziaria in Europa”
Debtocracy (2011) di Katerina Kitidi e Aris Hatzistefanou
Raining Stones/ Piovono Pietre (1993) di Ken Loach
Mondays in the Sun/Los Lunes al sol (2002) di Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Le Silence de Lorna/Il Matrimonio di Lorna (2008) di Jean-Pierre e Luc Dardenne

“Utopia: prospettive da un continente in crisi”
Les sentiers de l’Utopie/Paths Trough Utopia (2011) di John Jordan

Il breve ciclo di proiezioni sulla crisi nasce dalla convinzione che il cinema e l’audiovisivo siano strumenti fondamentali nella costruzione di spazi di contaminazione multidimensionali. In particolare, l’idea di questo progetto è quella di utilizzare il cinema come luogo di dialogo: lo spettatore diventa “attivo” nel momento in cui può condividere con il pubblico le storie e opinioni che l’esperienza audiovisiva ha suscitato in lui. In questo senso, il film non può considerarsi prodotto finito, ma piuttosto come opera in costruzione, che in quanto tale necessita del contributo “inquinante” del pubblico. Lo sguardo del pubblico, e le contaminazioni interpersonali della sala, si rivelano dunque fondamentali per elaborare e rinnovare i signigicati del film.

In questa prospettiva, i film che saranno proiettati nel corso dell’iniziativa del 28 Maggio sono stati scelti con l’obiettivo di promuovere il dialogo e il confronto tra i partecipanti, in modo tale che una diversa e complementare forma di discussione sulle politiche anti-crisi in Europa possa generarsi dall’esperienza audiovisiva. Le proiezioni saranno divise in tre spazi tematici, dalle politiche di deregolamentazione ultra-liberiste che hanno portato all’esplodere della crisi, agli effetti e conseguenze della stessa nel contesto europeo, per concludere con l’immaginazione o l’utopia di possibili vie d’uscita dal ciclo delle crisi.

Non vengo dalla luna! - 28 Maggio 2011 a Firenze

2011-05-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

28/05/2011 // ORE 21:00 // Sala 1

Performance teatrale:
Non vengo dalla luna. Soggettiva attorno al 14 Dicembre di e con Carla Vitantonio e Francesco Papaleo

“Ci siamo detti buonanotte, e nessuno è andato a dormire”

Nelle ore successive alla manifestazione del 14 dicembre 2010 abbiamo assistito a un fenomeno straordinario: di fronte a un racconto dell’evento nel quale non si riconoscevano, decine e decine di persone hanno sentito che la loro storia aveva diritto a esistere, che la loro esperienza privata di donne e uomini, funamboli nell’era della precarietà, andava raccontata. Così nel giro di pochi giorni la rete si è riempita di storie, di narrazioni che intrecciavano l’esistenza privata e la lotta politica, storie che rispondevano all’esigenza di allacciare gli eventi attraverso racconti nuovi, che non fossero quelli proposti dalla stampa e dai media ufficiali. Noi, che pure eravamo a Roma come in molte delle manifestazioni che hanno preceduto quella giornata, abbiamo deciso di raccogliere alcune di quelle storie e di farle diventare uno spettacolo teatrale. Non abbiamo intenzione di mitizzare la giornata del 14 dicembre né di produrre ulteriori documenti politici. Semplicemente crediamo che il materiale sgorgato da quell’esperienza vada testimoniato e raccontato anche a chi non c’era. Ovviamente si tratta di una narrazione parziale e non obiettiva. Ma, è la nostra versione, la nostra storia, e -come abbiamo imparato lo scorso autunno- la nostra storia ha diritto ad avere voce.

Crediti
Carla Vitantonio e Francesco Papaleo si conoscono durante una manifestazione in autostrada. Entrambi migrati dal sud, entrambi precari dello spettacolo. Dopo essere miracolosamente usciti incolumi da Piazza del Popolo, decidono sull’autobus del ritorno di costruire una narrazione teatrale che li rappresenti. Eccola.

Programma di "Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione n°1"

2011-05-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sabato 28 Maggio 2011, via de’ Conciatori 2, Firenze

ORE 14:00-16:00 // Sala 1
Tavola Rotonda: Ripensare la crisi (economica) in Europa: percorsi interdisciplinari
Modera:
Massimiliano Andretta, Ricercatore in Scienze Politiche, Università di Pisa
Interverranno:
Maria Grazia Pazienza, Professore in Scienza delle Finanze, Università di Firenze
Roberto Schiattarella, Professore in Economia, Università di Camerino, collabora con Sbilanciamoci
Donatella Della Porta, Professore in Sociologia, Istituto Universitario Europeo
Stefano Lepri, Editorialista de La Stampa, insegna giornalismo economico presso La Sapienza
Franco Berardi (Bifo), SCEPSI, European School of Social Imagination, San Marino

ORE 16:00-18:00 // Sala 1
Tavola Rotonda: Reagire alla crisi: attori ed esperienze locali per una prospettiva transnazionale
Modera:
Alice Mattoni, Ricercatrice precaria, Dipartimento di Sociologia, Università di Pittsburgh / Saperi Precari, www.saperiprecari.noblogs.org
Interverranno:
Giorgio Airaudo, Segreteria Nazionale FIOM.
Giuseppe Allegri, Basic Income Network.
Claudio Riccio, Portavoce nazionale di Link: coordinamento nazionale universitario.
Gian Luca Pittavino, Knowledge Liberation Front, EduFactory
Cristina Morini e Alberto Mazzoni, Quaderni di San Precario

ORE 18:00-20:30 // Sala 1 e 3
Aperitivo di autofinanziamento Collettivo Prezzemolo

ORE 21:00 // Sala 1
Performance teatrale:
“Non vengo dalla luna. Soggettiva attorno al 14 Dicembre” di e con Carla Vitantonio e Francesco Papaleo

ORE 14:00 – 22:00 // Sala 2
Serie di Proiezioni:
“Le cause della crisi”
The Shock Doctrine (2009) di Michael Winterbottom e Mat Whitecross
“L’impatto della crisi finanziaria in Europa”
Debtocracy (2011) di Katerina Kitidi e Aris Hatzistefanou
Raining Stones/ Piovono Pietre (1993) di Ken Loach
Mondays in the Sun/Los Lunes al sol (2002) di Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Le Silence de Lorna/Il Matrimonio di Lorna (2008) di Jean-Pierre e Luc Dardenne
“Utopia: prospettive da un continente in crisi”
Les sentiers de l’Utopie/Paths Trough Utopia (2011) di John Jordan

Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione no. 1 [.en]

2011-05-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 28, 2011 – @ Progetto Conciatori – Via de’ Conciatori 2 – Florence.

Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione no. 1 is an event that aims to construct a network of transnational communication and information about the crisis and the different forms of resistance against neoliberal policies in Europe. The event is built upon the initiative of Collettivo Prezzemolo, and of different people and organizations sharing the idea that bridging the divides between movements' experiences across Europe can provide with the means, contacts and knowledge necessary to successfully oppose the neo-liberal policies of the recovery plans. Collettivo Prezzemolo is a group of international students and researchers from an array of different countries, bearing a variety of experiences and understandings of the unfolding crisis. What unites us is the awareness that while our governments cooperate in responding to the economic crisis in an antidemocratic and reactionary fashion, the movements opposed to these reforms remain in a state of fragmented isolation.

The objective of Collettivo Prezzemolo is to create a network of contacts, experiences and knowledge, by which the anti-crisis movements can coordinate their strategies towards a project of transnational resistance.

Rather than triggering a discussion over the economic and financial system responsible for the current juncture, the 2008 crisis is leading to even greater cooperation between governments, which is based on the same principles and ideology that generated the crisis itself. European governments (not just in the PIIGS countries) learn from each other, and justify with each other’s experiences the impressive body of policies threatening social cohesion and presenting blatantly anti-democratic characteristics.

Whilst "to combat the crisis" has assumed a formally cooperative character for national governments, the same is hardly happening for those who oppose the absurd recovery policies that accompany it. We strongly believe that a successful response must be based on the exchange and contamination between the various movements that are developing throughout Europe. Whilst the crisis challenges and disrupts the society as a whole, putting at risk its modes of production, maintenance and organization, it holds in itself the potential to generate great changes in public opinion, to reveal the inadequacy and fragility of a system based exclusively on individualism, and consequently, to enable important and extensive forms of collective mobilization

Collettivo Prezzemolo's contribution to this project is to launch a first appointment for the construction of a network of communication and information that will cross the boundaries of nation-states.

As a starting point for a series of events, Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione no. 1 will focus on the Italian experience within a broader international and comparative perspective, highlighting and analyzing the impacts of the crisis, institutional responses, and movements' counter-responses.

The event will take place in the Progetto Conciatori (via de’Conciatori, Firenze) on May 28, 2011, and will include two panels comprised of researchers and activists. The first one will analytically and comparatively address the crisis and the way in which governments are reacting towards it, whilst the second will focus on movements' and civil society responses and perspectives. Each panel will be composed of 4-5 speakers and a moderator. Each speaker will make a 10-15 minute presentation of a specific subject or project he/she is participating in, followed by discussions to exchange ideas and opinions. The panels will be accompanied by a theater performance and documentary projections from the PIIGS countries.

The idea behind this type of event is that of constructing a multi-dimensional space of contamination, where stories, opinions and experiences of resistance are shared in a variety of ways and through different forms of interpersonal contact.

Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione n.°1 [.it]

2011-05-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sabato 28 Maggio 2011 – Progetto Conciatori – Via de’ Conciatori 2 – Firenze.

Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione n.°1 e' un evento che ambisce alla costruzione di una rete di comunicazione e informazione transnazionale sulla crisi e sulle diverse forme di resistenza alle politiche neoliberiste in Europa. L'evento nasce da una iniziativa del Collettivo Prezzemolo, e dal contributo di diversi individui e organizzazioni accomunati dall'idea che la contaminazione tra le esperienze dei movimenti europei possa fornire gli strumenti, le conoscenze e i saperi necessari per opporsi alle politiche con cui i nostri governi vogliono rispondere alla crisi.

Il Collettivo Prezzemolo ha origine dall’idea di un gruppo di studenti e ricercatori che si aggirano per l’Europa e che provengono da una moltitudine di paesi e di esperienze diversi. Quello che ci accomuna è la consapevolezza che mentre i nostri governi collaborano per combattere la crisi economica con politiche antidemocratiche e reazionarie, i movimenti che si oppongono a queste riforme si ritrovano in uno stato di quasi totale isolamento.

L’obbiettivo del Collettivo è di costruire una fitta rete di contatti, di esperienze e di saperi, attraverso la quale i movimenti contro la crisi finanziaria possano imparare l’uno dall’altro e costruire insieme un progetto di resistenza transnazionale.

E' evidente che, anziché mettere in discussione il sistema di rapporti economici e finanziari responsabile della congiuntura attuale, la crisi del 2008 sta conducendo ad una ancora maggiore collaborazione tra governi, una collaborazione che si alimenta degli stessi principi e della stessa ideologia che ha generato la crisi. I governi Europei, nei PIIGS e non solo, imparano l’uno dall’altro, e giustificano l’uno con l’altro, l’impressionante mole di politiche che mettono a rischio la coesione sociale dei loro paesi, nonché il carattere sfacciatamente anti-democratico di molte di queste manovre di risanamento.

Mentre il “combattere la crisi” ha assunto connotati di cooperazione e di solidarietà tra governi, lo stesso fa fatica ad emergere tra coloro che vorrebbero opporsi alle assurde politiche di risanamento che la crisi ha comportato. Siamo fermamente convinti, invece, che la risposta e la lotta contro questa medicina neoliberista debba basarsi sulla contaminazione e la condivisione di esperienze tra i vari movimenti che si stanno sviluppando in Europa.

La crisi travolge e stravolge le società nel loro complesso, mettendone a rischio i modi di produzione, di sostentamento e di organizzazione, e conserva dunque in sé il potenziale di generare grandi cambiamenti d’opinione, di svelare l’inadeguatezza e la fragilità di un sistema basato esclusivamente sull’individualismo, e di attivare importanti ed estese forme di mobilitazione collettiva.

In questa prospettiva, il Collettivo Prezzemolo vuole lanciare una prima iniziativa per la costruzione di una rete che sia strumento attraverso il quale ogni realtà di opposizione contro la crisi possa imparare dalle altre esperienze sparse per il continente e contribuire ad un comune progetto di resistenza.

Oltre la crisi: spazio di contaminazione no. 1 vuole essere il primo di una serie di appuntamenti. Come primo incontro, vuole mettere l’accento sull’esperienza italiana, senza per questo trascurare uno sguardo internazionale e comparativo, evidenziando ed analizzando gli impatti della crisi, le risposte istituzionali, e le contro-risposte della società e dei movimenti.

L'evento, che avrà luogo il 28 Maggio 2011 negli spazi del Progetto Conciatori (via de’ Conciatori, Firenze) sara' composto da due tavole rotonde che vedranno la partecipazione di 4-5 attivisti e ricercatori e di un moderatore. La prima tavola rotonda sara' dedicata ad una analisi comparativa delle politiche anti-crisi dei governi europei, mentre la seconda affrontera' le risposte e le prospettive dei movimenti e della societa' civile. Gli ospiti avranno 10-15 minuti per presentare le loro posizioni su un tema specifico o su un progetto al quale stanno partecipando o hanno partecipato, ed ogni sessione sara' conclusa lasciando spazio per la discussione e per lo scambio di idee ed opinioni con i partecipanti all'evento. Le sessioni saranno seguite da uno spettacolo teatrale e dalla proiezione di documentari provenienti dai vari paesi PIIGS.

L'iniziativa e' stata pensata con l'intenzione di costruire uno spazio multi-dimensionale di contaminazione, dove storie, opinioni ed esperienze di resistenza possano essere condivise in molteplici modi e attraverso forme diverse di contatto e di interazione.