A small victory for democracy was recorded at the European Parliament recently when it was announced that a long-awaited debate about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was to be postponed. TTIP is the trade deal being negotiated between the EU and the USA. Its text is secret, known only by the negotiators (including […]
Posts under ‘Europe’
TTIP will be a licence for multinationals to profit at all costs
Jul 3rd, 2015 by Keith Ewing and John Hendy.
The Real Greek Crisis
Jul 2nd, 2015 by Bryan Gould.Most people will feel that they don’t need to look far for an explanation as to what lies behind the Greek crisis. Lazy reporting and racial stereotyping will persuade them that the Greeks – a feckless lot, no doubt – have spent more than they should, got into debt, taken out loans from the hard-working […]
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In Greece, debt means death – they must vote ‘No’
Jul 1st, 2015 by Max Shanly.Yesterday’s Guardian revealed a trio of leaked documents from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Union that revealed the true extent of Greece’s debt crisis. The documents – written by the tripartite collective commonly known in Greece and now much of the world as the troika – revealed that the […]
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The Eurozone should respect Greek sovereignty
Jul 1st, 2015 by Michael Meacher.The bullying by Greece’s creditors continues. The latest ploy is to try, unilaterally, to interfere in Greece’s internal politics by re-defining the terms and purpose of Sunday’s referendum. It is patently clear that Tsipras called the referendum to ask the Greek people whether they accepted the latest bailout terms laid down by the creditors, yet […]
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Wages, profits & investment In Greece
Jun 28th, 2015 by Michael Burke.The IMF has placed a road-block in the way of a deal with the Greek government and it remains unclear whether any agreement can be reached. The prior agreement which the IMF rejected was itself already very onerous. But the IMF wants to shift the burden of paying for the crisis away from taxes on […]
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Tories’ pre-election fantasising comes back to haunt them
Jun 27th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Northern powerhouse deflates into Northern power-cut. It was so hurriedly propagated by Osborne before the election as portraying the government as dynamic innovators of English devolution, but none of the details had been properly worked through, including the required transport infrastructure as we now know. So the election gimmick, if not evaporated, has dimmed at […]
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The politics of Tory pledge-breaking
Jun 26th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Political gravity is starting to assert itself on the Tories’ ridiculous manifesto. You will recall that this gang of scaremongerers, who spent the entire election trading on economic competence, getting the deficit and public sector debt down, and “strong leadership” promised £28bn in unfunded spending commitments – presumably with the view that they’d never get chance […]
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TTIP and the rule of law: a response to Jude Kirton-Darling MEP
Jun 11th, 2015 by Keith Ewing and John Hendy.Thanks to Jude Kirton-Darling MEP for replying to our previous article. No-one could suggest she was capable of doing anything ‘shabby’. We are grateful that it is she, not us, who has to deal with the complex procedures of the European Parliament which she describes. We make several points of substance by way of response. […]
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On the EU: “U-turn if you want to” and Dave does, a lot
Jun 10th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.A month into Dave’s second term at it’s handbags at dawn in the Tory party already. What a shame. Rattled by last week’s announcement of 50 No-Ultras that they exist, Dave did a characteristic volte-face. In an attempt to appear tough and in control – his re-election campaign did, after all, promise “strong leadership” – he declared […]
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How Labour & Social Democrat MEPs are fighting for the millions who oppose ISDS
Jun 9th, 2015 by Jude Kirton-Darling.Jude Kirton-Darling, Labour MEP for the North East of England and European Labour Party spokesperson on TTIP writes in response to Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC In an article published last Friday by the Morning Star and Institute of Employment Rights, Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC accused Labour and Social Democrat MEPs […]
