Saying ‘Yes’ to a Social Europe What is Social Europe and how will voting ‘Yes’ make a difference? Social Europe is a vision for Europe that goes back to post-WII reconstruction. All the main European countries, including the UK, looked for a framework through which to heal the conflicts between nations that have characterised the history of Europe. The central…read more →
Saying ‘Yes’ to a Social Europe Recent tragic events in Paris along with confirmation that seven terror plots have been foiled in the UK in recent months underline how important it is that we maintain and enhance our capacity to defend ourselves. To counter these threats our police and security forces need to be able to act quickly and across…read more →
Saying ‘Yes’ to a Social Europe The Leave campaign claims that Brexit will be a short formality and that talk of economic uncertainty and risk is the use of ‘Project Fear’, a tactic by the Remain camp to sway the British public. However, a leave vote will trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union and a withdrawal…read more →
Saying ‘Yes’ to a Social Europe The UK has ceded sovereignty to a variety of external powers including many foreign-owned multinationals who determine levels of investment and national institutions like our utilities that have been privatised and sold to the highest bidder. Our energy security is becoming dependent on the Chinese Government; Indian entrepreneurs preside over the demise of our…read more →
Europe is still one of biggest issues in national politics and the Government referendum on Europe in late 2016 will be a once in a lifetime national debate that will determine our daily lives for many years to come. As usual, the main actors in the debate: politicians, business and a mainly Eurosceptic media will play a critical role in…read more →
The full version of Yanis Varoufakis, Greek Finance Minister’s, response to the Eurogroup. Posted on June 18, 2015: Greece’s Proposals to End the Crisis: My intervention at today’s Eurogroup The only antidote to propaganda and malicious ‘leaks’ is transparency. After so much disinformation on my presentation at the Eurogroup of the Greek government’s position, the only response is to post the…read more →
At the May ERIS meeting, Rob Martin, GMB and ERIS Board member, led a discussion on What the 2015 General Election Result Means for Labour, the Unions and Europe. The election result surprised voters, the parties, pollsters and the media, yet clearly the polls themselves and how they were reported by the media influenced the result hugely by concentrating voters’ minds…read more →
At the April 2015 meeting, ERIS discussed the question: The Greek Election – What Does it Mean For the Future of Europe? The economic problems in Greece are a touchstone for a much wider situation in Europe and highlight long standing issues: around the democratic deficit at the heart of the European Union; the democratic will of the Greek people…read more →
ERIS Meeting Notes: Saturday 21 March, 2015 In March 2015, ERIS invited Georges Dassis, Greek trade unionist, committee member of the ETUC, ITUC, ILO and President of the Workers Group on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to discuss: Trade Unions and Democratic Reform in the European Union – the Role of European Economic and Social Committee Background: The…read more →
ERIS Meeting Notes: Saturday 14 February, 2015 In February 2015, Stefan Pfiefer, a German Economic and Industrial Adviser to the Labour Prime Minister of Nord Rhine-Westphalia, visited ERIS to discuss the question: German Political Parties and Their Response to the FarRight? As evidenced in the last European Election, anti-immigration, Euroscepticism, anti- Islamic and nationalist politics is on the rise and…read more →
