Justified resistance or necessary reforms?

The eurozone crisis is hitting the so-called ‘PIIGS’. Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain are in big trouble. To get out of this crisis governments have been imposing austerity measures, which is giving rise to a growing resistance movement. Will cuts in pensions, salaries, and social benefits help us out of the crisis? What reforms are being proposed exactly? And who will benefit from these reforms? 

Day: Thurs– 15 Sept 2011
Time: 19.30
Location: De Kargadoor, Oudegracht 36, Utrecht
Entrance: Free
 – Join the event on Facebook (and invite your amigos)! – 

Speakers:
Erik Wesselius – Corporate Europe Observatory
Maria Karayanni –  (media) activist from Athens, Greece
Sol Trumbo – Spanish economist and activist
Alexandre Estévez Gil – activist from Spain

According to the European Parliament, the solution is to strengthen the Commission, which allegedly possesses the solution to the crisis: austerity. However, many people think that cutting pensions, salaries, and social benefits is not exactly a step towards social justice. The protest movement against austerity measures and other reforms has been especially strong in Greece and Spain. But all over Europe people have been expressing their anger in demonstrations, marches, rallies, and by putting up camps that occupied many city squares for weeks. Why are people resisting reforms? What do they hope to achieve? Aren’t the reforms necessary to get us out of the crisis? In this Basta! debate speakers from Spain, Greece and the Netherlands will give their point of view and debate the topics with the audience.

____________________________

Background links:

.

EU

• Corporate_EUtopia – How new economic governance measures challenge democracy (.pdf)  (Corporate Europe Observatory, 19/1/2011)
• The visible whip of the EU – (ksu, 16/4/2011)

• 1/9/2011 – Press release of occupied universities in Greece
• An interview by Nieuwsuur with Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis (11 mei, 2011):
  Het is schandalig wat men met ‘t Nederlandse belastinggeld doet. Het gaat naar de Griekse staat niet om te zorgen dat die de economie een impuls geeft, maar om leningen af te lossen aan Europese banken. Griekse, Duitse en Franse banken. Banken die zelf al op het randje van bankroet staan. […] Daarom moet Nederland heel boos zijn op Europa. Meer leningen zijn geen oplossing. Want het geld gaat niet naar Griekenland. Het geld verdwijnt in het zwarte gat van het bijna failliete Europese bankwezen
  
• 48-uurs staking in Griekenland – (ksu, 28/6/2011)
• David Harvey on The Real News –  “Greece should default” (3/7/2011):

• How is the Spanish revolution doing in Holland? – (ksu, 8/8/2011)
• Nieuwe beweging in Spanje: Echte democratie NU! (ksu, 18/5/2011)