Thurs­day, 9. März 2017, 18.00 Uhr, C3-Cen­trum für Inter­na­tio­na­le Ent­wick­lung, Sen­sen­gas­se 3

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

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

Pro­gram­me:

18.00 – 18.10:             Wel­co­me Address

18.10 – 18.20:             Pre­sen­ta­ti­on of the Euro­Me­mo­ran­dum 2017

(Wer­ner Raza, Euro­Me­mo Group)

18.20 – 19.15:             Round­ta­ble Discussion

“The cri­sis of demo­cra­cy in the EU: impli­ca­ti­ons and pos­si­ble reme­di­es”, with:

Mari­ca Franga­kis, Euro­Me­mo Group and Nicos Pou­lant­z­as Insti­tu­te, Athens

Achim Tru­ger, Euro­Me­mo Group and Ber­lin School of Economics

Joa­chim Becker, Euro­Me­mo Group and Vien­na Univ. of Eco­no­mics & Business

Hele­ne Schu­berth, Öko­no­min

Mode­ra­ti­on: Simon Theurl (BEIGEWUM)

19.15 – 20.00:             Gene­ral Discussion

20.00:                          Wine Reception

Down­load of Euro­Me­mo­ran­dum 2017