Dear all,

I flag up another ongoing process that is trying to build up a 
pan-European social movement - http://www.altersummit.eu - This process 
is willing to build an effective counter power that effectively resist 
the neoliberal agenda that is being impossed in Europe (which has also 
implication for the rest of the world).

The Alter Summit is being supported by 200 organizations from all over 
Europe. One of the outcomes of an open assembly held in Athens was the 
proposal to have a seminar to strategize together a campaign that is 
effective in rolling back the neoliberal agenda impossed in Europe. For 
this there we believe there is a need to deeply discuss how more 
traditional social  movements such as medium size progressive Trade 
Unions and civil society organizations (feminist, environmental groups) 
can work together with the new  movements that emerged since 2011 
(Indignados, Occupy, Blockupy, etc). A campaing that combines both 
direct action and constant debate in the public sphere.

After taking into consideration the busy agenda of fall (with hub 
meeting, Blockupy international meeting and Agora 99) we have decided to 
organize the strategy meeting 4-6 October in Amsterdam.

The process is open and far from finished.

At our latest call we decided to have a call in mid August to take this 
further.

To those interested: please tick the doodle to identify the time where 
most people can join:

http://www.doodle.com/dp6nxkippfybgvk9

To bring you up to speed, the minutes from the latest call are inserted 
below.

MINUTES, CONFERENCE CALL, 5. JULY

1. Introductions
Kenneth (CEO), Brid (TNI), Martin (CEO), Susan George, Isabel Ortiz 
(IPD, NY), Hernán Cortés (researcher in social movements), Iván Ayala 
(Econonuestra), Roland (rls), Stefan (attac de), Miriam (NL, SOMO).

2. Introduction to the process so far - who has worked on it and how
This process is a result of the alter summit - assembly on Economic 
Governance. Idea to have a European event in autumn. Open Process over 
some month to organize it. For more see proposal circulated. Proposal 
was presented at ATTAC-Europe meeting.

3. Comments for the proposal (see below).
- Include financial markets and reform
- denouncing the crimes of the banks
- show how corporate/banking interest is making the rules
- Denounce competitiveness
- Define Campaign objectives (for a defined period)

Points within the proposal will be prepared by the following person 
groups (so far)
point 4 (ATTAC) Group
Point 1 and 2 IPD
point 3: TNI and others

Please let us know if you want to participate in the preperation of any 
of the points (see proposal) until July 19th

4. Some next steps:
- Presentation of the proposal at the alter summit meeting July 8th
- Feedback in the coming weeks/month
- Next conference call: Mid August

Circulate a short letter to sign for the preparations
Encourage people to write written comments on the EUincrisis list to 
the proposal

Proposed date for the conference: 25. - 27.10.
in Amsterdam

*

Next steps on economic governance and the Troika

Draft proposal for a European strategy meeting in October

Why do we need to organise a European strategy meeting now?

It’s been 3 years now since the eurocrisis broke, and a little less 
since the Troika appeared and the rules on economic governance were 
imposed. While on national level in particular in those countries hit 
the hardest by austerity the level of struggle is impressive, there are 
still very few pan-European initiatives and hardly any genuine European 
struggle against the way neoliberalism is being forced on Europe.

Over the past year we’ve seen at least two forceful action days – the 
14th of November (Day actions and strikes of the trade unions) and the 
1st of June (Blockupy Frankfurt and actions in cities across Europe, 
called by Portuguese movements). To this, the actions in connection with 
the Spring Summit showed some good signs as well. This shows that in 
terms of actions, there are already platforms or initiatives capable of 
creating impact. What we do need is to evaluate these and other 
experiences to strengthen our capacity to launch the kind of struggles 
we can win, or where we can make new headway, by a coordinated effort on 
a regular basis.

What would be the key objectives of such a meeting?

To do that, we will need a closer coordination between social movements 
and other progressive actors on EU policies. So at the meeting we would 
mainly need to come up with two things: first, methodologies and 
infrastructure to maintain a more regular and closer dialogue on 
political developments at the European level that affect all of us, and 
second, some concrete campaigning projects – implemented either as 
actual European campaigns or adopted to local circumstances - in the 
near future that would allow the consolidation of a pan-European social 
movement.

What could the programme look like?

It could be divided in three parts:

1. Stock-taking: what has been adopted at the EU level and with what 
consequences

This part of the meeting would be to bring everyone up to speed. It 
would include a crash course in economic governance and the Troika.

2. Looking ahead: what do current developments in the EU look like? Are 
we on our way to new neoliberal grand projects, such as a 
Competitiveness Pact? Is a fiscal union still on the table, and what 
challenges does it pose? How is the discussion about the banking union 
going?

3. Successful campaigns: Which actions have been the most successful to 
effectively question the neoliberal doctrine and the Troika agenda? What 
are the actors with the greatest impact? What are the effective tactics 
to confront the current power structures? What media strategy (including 
alternative media?

4. Alternatives – demands: while the campaign should not necessarily be 
underpinned by a comprehensive alternative, some demands to show what an 
alternative approach to the crisis would look like is necessary.

5. Strategy: what initiatives do we need to take to strengthen the hand 
of social movements in Europe in our attempt to stop the wave of 
undemocratic, neoliberal laws and pave the way for alternatives? Are 
strikes from Trade Unions or occupations from new movements enough? How 
do we create a dialogue between movements with different perspectives on 
the crisis in order to strengthen resistance and avoid infighting? This 
will include identifying key moments, be it the launch of a 
Competitiveness Pact, a new series of demands from the Troika, or the 
European elections next year. Which communication strategy should we 
follow? What is our target audience?

Who?

Who would we like to see at the strategy meeting? Besides a good 
geographical coverage – both North, South and East are important to have 
there – we think of the meeting as an encounter of the social movements 
who are already working in the area, including ATTAC, plus progressive 
trade unions, plus “new movements” from Spain and other places, plus 
think tanks and NGOs of various sorts.

Where and when?

Amsterdam, 4-6 October

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

In solidarity,

Sol Trumbo Vila