The European Union: Threat of Disintegration

The European Union: The Threat of Disintegration

“The crisis of the EU is multifaceted and has visibly deepened during the last year. The British referendum on EU membership and the vote in favour of Brexit have only been the most explicit symptom of the disintegrative tendencies. The core-periphery rift in the euro area has continued. The arrival of a large number of refugees from the war-torn areas of the Middle East has resulted in acrimonious conflicts in the EU on the question who should take care of them. The way in which the pro-free trade forces pushed through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada showed utter disregard for the objections of democratically elected bodies (e.g. the Belgian regions of Wallonia and Brussels). Macroeconomically the euro area is still far from a sustained recovery, and with the general weakening of the world economy and the uncertainties caused by the Brexit vote, the fragility of the recovery has recently increased considerably. The European Central Bank continued and even reinforced its policy of very easy credit. However, there are signs that this policy may be reaching its limits.”

The EuroMemorandum 2017 critically analyses recent economic developments in Europe and emphasises the strong need for an alternative economic policy that is based on the principles of democratic participation, social justice and environmental sustainability.

The EuroMemorandum 2017 can be downloaded here. More than 270 economists and social scientists from all over Europe and beyond have declared their support for the new EuroMemorandum (click here for the list of signatories).

The full text of the EuroMemorandum 2017 is available in

English: The European Union: The Threat of Disintegration
French: L’Union Européenne: La menace de la désintégration
German: Die Europäische Union: Gefahr der Desintegration
Greek: Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση: Η απειλή της διάλυσης
Italian: Unione Europea: la minaccia della disintegrazione
Portuguese: A União Europeia: A Ameaça de Desintegração

The summary of the EuroMemorandum 2017 is available in several European languages

English: The European Union: The Threat of Disintegration
German: Die Europäische Union: Gefahr der Desintegration
Greek: Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ενωση: Η απειλή της διάλυσης
Italian: Unione Europea: la minaccia della disintegrazione
Portuguese: A União Europeia: A Ameaça de Desintegração
Slovenian: EVROPSKA UNIJA – GROŽNJA RAZPADA
Swedish: Den Europeiska unionen: Hotet om upplösning

As in previous years, more languages of the summary and the full document will follow soon.

Booklets of the EuroMemorandum 2017 are available in English, German and Greek. Please contact transform! europe for the English booklet, visit Zeitschrift Sozialismus for the German printed version and contact the Nicos Poulantzas Institute for the Greek edition.

If you wish to support the EuroMemorandum 2017, please fill in the declaration of support below and send it to [email protected].

The EuroMemorandum 2017 draws on discussions and papers presented at the 22nd Workshop on Alternative Economic Policy in Europe, organised by the EuroMemo Group in cooperation with the Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, from 15-17 September 2016 in Coimbra, Portugal.

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Original article

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