Beyond Europe – Antiauthoritarian Platform Against Capitalism

Just the beginning…

The slogan “Beyond Europe” is a clear “no” to current imaginations of Europe. Obviously, the dream of a politically-economically united, “more equal” and “just” Europe for everyone under the Euro is breaking apart. At the moment, this “Nation Europe” turns out to be a Europe of austerity and deadly disharmony. The nostalgic wish for a re-strengthening of the state to control the “lawless” market is no lasting alternative which can make life better ; in the best case, this is just the other side of the same coin. Another false alternative is being propagated by several right-wing and reactionary forces across the continent. They argue that the only solution is to “fall back” to a “Europe of nations”, where it’s every national state for itself. We want to go beyond these solutions. We argue for the option beyond state, nation and capital brought about by anti-authoritarian struggle and self-organisation. Six years on from the start of the financial crisis, we finally make a start on the necessary project of a transnational platform for radical exchange, discussion and action. We see “Beyond Europe ! – Antiauthoritarian platform against capitalism” as a small start that has been long overdue. Just one beginning for exchange and understanding between anticapitalist groups, beyond our usual borders and limits.

The Origin of the idea

It is becoming increasingly clear that partial, nationally contained struggles within and against the spheres of production and reproduction are not enough to resist the austerity measures of the Troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund). More and more of those engaged in social struggles are being confronted with the limits of national isolation and the urgent need to refer to common points of analysis and struggle ; the need to work towards building transnational movements which relate to each other within and across national borders and that would be capable of creating new dynamics and of disrupting, at least on the level of ideas, traditional conceptions of what constitutes the political terrain.

At the moment the exchange processes between people struggling in Europe and beyond are still underdeveloped. As movements, we are definitely still lacking the skills and the Know-How needed to coordinate effective long-term organising and resistance at the European scale and beyond. We see very few possibilities for even sharing our own histories or current experiences. If we want to build effective transnational movements we need to start experimenting with physical and virtual spaces where we can come together and develop these plans together. Fortunately, many groups and individuals have realised that there is a need to pass from visiting and consuming “hotspots” of (radical) protest and radical journalism to a more advanced level of activity, solidarity and to build solid connections with comrades throughout these places. This is an experimental process to create the tools and spaces needed to overcome both the boundaries we face now and through our consequent networking.

We had our first experiences in the process of transnational organization when we co-organized M31, the decentralised European action day against capitalism which took place on the 31st March 2012. Many of the activists in Germany had to discover that although mass demonstrations are normal in Greece, it does not mean that people will listen to a call for an anticapitalist action day within a European context. Different situations need different approaches and these approaches can only be decided by those putting them into practice. We also learnt that it is one thing to plan a local event in the context of a one off action day and completely another to start a committed and continuous process of discussion and long term co-ordination between radical groups. Of course we had to find out that many groups don‘t want or can‘t participate in this long exchange process. This is based on both a group‘s perspective – how important a group thinks it is to act transnationally, but also it is a matter of capacities and possibilities – which is influenced by the situation each group finds itself in. We hope to see many of these groups and projects again, either within Beyond Europe, or organising alongside us.

The past years have shown us the current limits of our organising. These are limits we want and need to overcome. In Greece the movements have come to the realisation that struggles that stop at the national level will not bring about real change, because only overthrowing the Greek government would not bring about long-term change within the complex European wide situation. In Germany activists are falling into the trap of “there are no struggles” and many have stopped looking for them. In England antiauthoritarian, anticapitalist groups face problems developing practical interventions and links to wider society. In any case, alone we are weak, only by acting locally but thinking globally can we proceed ; only through co-ordinated international activity can a society beyond state, nation and capital be achieved.

What we want – Discover, Exchange, Discuss, Act

We need to (re)occupy the principle of solidarity and fill it with left-wing, emancipatory and radical content. Solidarity has to be freed from the isolation of single-issue campaigns ; it has to be revived and updated by purging it of both its reactionary and nationalist blinkers. We also have to take it back from its recuperation by capitalism : by solidarity we don’t mean “charity” or “investment”.

We have to discover the links between capitalist processes within Europe and beyond. Information must be gathered about state-institutions and companies that act transnationally : what are their functions and how are they involved in organising the flows of capital and power which produce the current management of the crisis and austerity ? Furthermore we have to understand the local situation in each different country. How are austerity politics influencing and changing daily life ? How are people getting organised against wage cuts and rising unemployment ? Are classical defensive struggles transforming into offensive ones ? And, how do they do this ? It is also clear that during these social attacks social relations change. As the reproduction of our lives enters into crisis, existing patriarchal structures which are central to contemporary capitalism are exacerbated. Against the background of strengthening fascist organisations, particularly in Greece and Hungary, and growing racism and nationalism in the so called Western countries, we have to coordinate also on the issue of reactionary answers to the crisis. For example : in England a new rise of antifascist initiatives are emerging to intervene against right-populist and fascist propaganda. This experience will be familiar to Greek comrades who had to face new threats to refugees, homosexuals and themselves since the sudden growth of the fascist Golden Dawn. German activists have had similar experiences during the racist pogroms in the 90s. We want to share successes, mistakes and analysis with our comrades in different countries so that they can act effectively when facing similar issues.

Together we have to develop the weapon of critique whilst simultaneously engaging, slowly and carefully, in a discussion about where we are heading. Can we exchange our theoretical and practical expertise in ways which comrades elsewhere can understand and make use of ? For example, on how to criticise the nation and the formations of national unity ? And most importantly we need to collectively discuss topics that concern us all : for example what is the nature of contemporary Europe ? (How) do we want to overcome it ? What do we want to do next ? And of course we need to start taking further steps and move slowly into discussion with comrades in other continents.

We do not want to remain a theoretical circle only. Our interaction has to find its expression in practical issues, since no relevant change was ever carried through by writing texts alone. We can‘t develop our collective political power sitting in our bedrooms. We can keep our standard solidarity recipe, of course : that is, when something happens in one place, in other places we go out with banners, or light our usual flares, and take several photos which we spread through our channels. This is better than nothing and still one way to refer to each other. But we have to go beyond. The European General Strike N14 was another experiment in making the idea of solidarity broader and more concrete. Whilst there are problems with big international action days which can happen, if done in the right way these can have positive and long-term effects. Other continuous practices could be through strengthening self-organised projects and providing practical support including distributing their goods and products on a bigger level (for example VIO.ME, the self-organised factory in Greece). It is important that we also exchange our knowledge about projects of commoning and socialisation in their different forms and continue developing direct democratic processes. Ultimately, there are many ways to expand practical solidarity that we have yet to find.

So, there are many things on many different levels that we want and that need to be done in common.

Horizons

The horizons for this platform are not, and hopefully will not ever be, completely determined. We do not want to limit our imagination – we envision beginning modestly, exchanging discussion papers and hopefully moving on to coordinated activity and beyond. Everything is open. The way this project develops is for us to decide – alongside the dynamics of movements and struggles that will emerge around us of course ! This project starts small – with four groups in three countries. It is clearly not representative, or even inclusive of all the of the great projects we see taking place, and we hope that more groups that share a similar perspective to us join this networking process. If you would like to find out more about getting involved, please contact us.

It is clear that if we do not try to get organized in this way, if we do not intensify our exchange processes and develop a shared analysis of the international functioning of this system, we won‘t be able to develop our own agenda. We keep working on the basis that the doctrine “There is no alternative” is only the ideology of those who do not want to see real change. In these times of austerity and popular revolt, we have to bring our forms of organization and action to the next level. We say that we have to understand the situation and to act – to take our radical critiques of state, nation and capital, and our promotion of self-organisation and the building of counter-power out of our political milieus, into our neighbourhoods and far beyond.

Beyond Europe, November 2013

http://beyondeurope.net/

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Za evropsko pomlad

Naša demokracija proti njihovemu varčevanju! Poziv k akciji proti spomladanskemu vrhu EU.

“Za evropsko pomlad” je poziv k akcijam, stavkam in demonstracijam po celi Evropi 13. marca in k vseevropskim demonstracijam in ustvarjalnim akcijam v Bruslju 14. marca 2013. Usmerjen je proti evropskemu vrhu EU, kjer se bodo 14. in 15. marca zbrali voditelji s celega kontinenta, da bi ojačali odziv Evropske komisije na krizo.

Trenutni odziv gospodarskih in političnih elit Evropske unije se omejuje na težak napad na socialno državo, socialne pravice in demokracijo. To dosegajo s spodkopavanjem demokracije, ki ga predstavljajo ukrepi EU, ki vključujejo prisilno varčevanje, zahteve po globokih rezih v socialni porabi, poskuse oslabitve zakonov za zaščito dela in odvzemanje težko pridobljenih delavskih pravic.

To dogajanje je nevarno, globoko nepravično in mora biti obrnjeno v drugo smer. Medtem ko so te politike namenjene reševanju bank in velikih poslovnih družb, smo mi, velika večina, prisiljeni v plačevanje ekscesov privilegiranih.

Po celi Evropi se dogajajo stavke proti tem nepravičnim politikam. Ti boji so naši boji in zato zavračamo nasilne poskuse evropskih držav, da bi jih zatrle. Zdaj je čas za solidarnost onkraj meja in onkraj sektorjev, zato da bomo sila, ki bo ustvarila pravo demokracijo in socialno pravičnost.  Želimo zgraditi družbo, kjer bodo lahko vsi predlagali in se pogovarjali o rešitvah, ki se zelo razlikujejo od tistih, ki jih zagovarjajo in vsiljujejo elite EU.

13. marca pozivamo k akcijam, stavkam in demonstracijam po celi Evropi kot delu evropskega upora, z množično mobilizacijo 14. marca v Bruslju, ki bo usmerjena proti spomladanskemu vrhu EU. Oblastnikom bomo pokazali, da bo naše gibanje, ki nenehno raste, slej ali prej dovolj veliko, da spremeni tok dogajanja v Evropi za dobro vseh nas.

-Ukinite varčevalne pogodbe in zakone EU!

– Za ekološko tranzicijo!

– Razorožite finančne trge!

– Dolg: Ne dolgujemo, ne bomo plačali!

– Odpustite Trojko, ne ljudi!

 

Motivacijski video

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FOR A EUROPEAN SPRING

Our Democracy against their austerity! – a call for action against the EU Spring Summit

‘For a European Spring’ is a call for actions, strikes and demonstrations all over Europe on the 13th of March, and for a pan-European demonstration and creative actions in the city of Brussels on the 14th of March. It is targeted at the EU Spring Summit, where leaders from across the continent will assemble on the 14th and 15 to strengthen the European Council’s response to the crisis.

The response to date from economic and political elites in the European Union amounts to a massive attack on welfare, social rights and democracy. This has been achieved by undermining democracy, reflected in EU policies including the imposition of austerity, demands for deep cuts in social spending, attempts to weaken labour laws and the roll back of hard earned labour rights.

This course of action is dangerous, profoundly unjust, and must be reversed. While these policies are designed to rescue big banks and big business, we, the vast majority, are made to pay for the excesses of the privileged.

All over Europe struggles and strikes are happening against these unjust policies. These struggles are our struggles, and we reject the violent attempts of European states to suppress them. Now is the time for solidarity across borders and sectors, to be the force to create real democracy and social justice. We are seeking to build a society where solutions, very different to those defended by the elites and imposed by the EU, can be proposed and discussed by everybody.

We call for actions, strikes and demonstrations on the 13th March across Europe as part of a week of European resistance, with a mass mobilisation on the 14th in Brussels targeting the EU Spring Summit. We will show those in power that our growing movement will, sooner or later, be strong enough to change the course of Europe in the interest of us all.

– Abolish all EU-austerity treaties and legislation!

– For an ecological Transition!

– Disarm Financial Markets!

– Debt: Don’t owe, don’t pay!

– Fire the Troika, not the people!

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POR UNA PRIMAVERA EUROPEA

 Nuestra democracia contra su austeridad! – una llamada a la acción contra la Cumbre de primavera de la UE

“Por una Primavera Europea” es una convocatoria a acciones, huelgas y manifestaciones en toda Europa el 13 de marzo y a una manifestación paneuropea en Bruselas el 14 de marzo. El objetivo de esta llamada es la protesta contra la Cumbre de Primavera de la UE en la que los líderes de todo el continente se reunirán el 14 y 15 de marzo para reforzar la respuesta del Consejo Europeo ante la crisis.

Las decisiones tomadas hasta la fecha por las élites económicas y políticas en la Unión Europea han resultado en un ataque devastador al estado de bienestar, a los derechos sociales y a la democracia, reflejado en las políticas de la UE que imponen la austeridad, demandan profundos recortes en el gasto social, intentan debilitar las leyes laborales y hacen retroceder los duramente ganados derechos laborales.

El curso de estas acciones es peligroso, profundamente injusto, y debe ser revertido. Mientras estas políticas están diseñadas para rescatar a los bancos y grandes empresas, nosotros, la gran mayoría, pagamos por los excesos de los privilegiados.

En toda Europa se llevan a cabo luchas y huelgas en contra de esas políticas injustas. Estas luchas son nuestras luchas, y rechazamos los violentos intentos de los estados europeos para suprimirlas. Es la hora de ser solidarios más allá de las fronteras y sectores, de ser la fuerza que crea democracia real y justicia social. Queremos construir una sociedad donde las soluciones, a diferencia de aquellas defendidas por las élites e impuestas por la UE, pueden ser propuestas y discutidas por todos.

Llamamos a acciones, huelgas y manifestaciones el 13 de marzo en toda Europa como parte de la semana de la resistencia Europea, con una movilización masiva el 14 de marzo en Bruselas dirigida a la Cumbre de primavera de la UE. Mostraremos a los que ostentan el poder que nuestro movimiento está creciendo y que será, tarde o temprano, lo suficientemente fuerte como para cambiar el curso de Europa en beneficio de todos nosotros.

– Abolición de todos los tratados de la UE que imponen austeridad!

– Por una transición ecológica!

– Desarma los mercados financieros!

– Deuda: No debemos, no pagamos!

– Despide a la Troika, no a la gente!

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#NoTroika #2M #Portugal: Screw the Troika! Power to the People! #qslt2M #Queselixeatroika

Screw the Troika! Power to the People!

In September, October and November we filled the streets of Portugal showing clearly that the people are against the austerity and destructive policies imposed by the government and its allies, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank – the troika. Once we defeated amendments to Sole Social Taxe, new measures soon appeared and even more serious. The Budget for 2013 and the new proposals of the IMF, prepared with the government, unerringly fire against labor rights, against public services, against the public school system and the National Health Service, against culture, against all that is ours by and hit right in the heart of each and every one of us. Everywhere, growing unemployment and precariousness, emigration, wild privatizations, selling the balance of public enterprises, while reducing labor costs.

We can not take more theft and aggression.

We stand indignant with the theft of the retirement pensions, with the threat of firings and lay offs, with each job destroyed. We stand indignant with the closure of the grocery stores, the restaurants, the shops and cafes of our neighborhoods. We stand indignant with the town government that disappears, with the health center that closes, with the closing of maternitiy hospitals, with schools increasingly more poor and degraded. We stand indignant with the appearance of new taxes disguised as fees, tolls, etc. We stand indignant with those who managed poorly what is ours and then decide to privatize what belongs to all- water, oceans, beaches, territory – everything that we built over the years – the electricity network, airports, hospitals, post offices. We stand indignant with the daily degradation of our quality of life. We stand indignant with increases of bread and milk, water, electricity and gas, public transport. We are revolted to know of another friend who is forced to leave Portugal, of another family who lost their home, of another hungry child. We rebel against increased discrimination and racism. We are revolted to know that another citizen gave up on life.

All this is the troika: an unelected government that decides on our present conditioning our future. The troika condemns dreams to death, the future to fear, life to survival. Its aims are clear: to increase our debt, impoverishing the majority and enriching a minority, to annihilate the economy, to reduce wages and rights, to destroy the social state and Portuguese sovereignty. The success of its objectives depends on our misery. If the destruction of the welfare state ensures the troika’s debt financing and therefore their profits, with the destruction of the economy ensures a continuously dependent and indebted country.

On February 25, the leaders of the troika, in cahoots with the government, will begin a new evaluation period of our country. For this they need our cooperation and that is what we are not going to give them. Because we do not believe in the false argument that if we “just bear it” markets will be generous. We refuse to collaborate with the troika, the IMF, with a government that serves only the interests of those who came to pay less for labor, with banks and bankers, with the dictatorship of the financial markets. And resist. We resist because this is the only way to preserve dignity and life. We resist because we know that there are alternatives and because we know what we have as inevitable is in fact unworkable and therefore unacceptable. We resist because we believe in building a more just society.

To this wave that destroys everything we oppose the tidal wave of our indignation and on March 2nd we will fill the streets again. We demand the resignation of the government and that the people to be called to decide their lives.

United like never before, we shall say enough.

To all citizens, with and without a political party, with and without employment, and without hope, we urge you to join us. All political and military organizations, civic movements, trade unions, political parties, institutions, informal groups, we urge you to join us. From north to south, the islands, abroad, take to the streets!

SCREW THE TROIKA! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

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