Europe beyond Europe: three days of ideas, reflections and future strategies

Translation by Debora Rinaldi

On the 24th and 25th of May 2013, the city of Venice was the venue of the transnational forum “Europe beyond Europe ” an event born out of a collaboration between European Alternatives and the Global Project. The aim of this initiative was to come up with propositions and ideas to face the current economic crisis and reshape Europe in the light of political and social changes: a Europe which is not constructed around a table by political powers  but is aware of its citizens’ rights, focused on economic integration but nevertheless respectful of democracy and of the grassroots constituent process.

The Forum was structured in three sessions, each one characterised by a specific topic and location.
On May the 24th at the Venice University Institute of Architecture (IUAV) discussions focused on possible alternatives to austerity measures, the financial crisis and the Troika governance.
The second debate took place on May the 25th at the elegant Municipal Town Hall of Venice. The assembly’s hot topic was the crisis of European institutions and the future of democracy within the current context of political and economic integration conducted from above.

The third and final debate took place in the Warehouse of the  S.a.L.E. docks, where social movements and constituents for the creation of a new Europe were the focus of debates and an opportunity for final reflections on the future strategies necessary for the realisation of the political and social shift indispensable for a solution to the current crisis.

In detail:

Session 1-  economic and financial crisis, austerity measures and Troika governance: possible alternatives.

The first session by analising Europe’s  dominant strategies in dealing with the economic and social crisis focused on the concept of a ‘revolution from above ‘ revealing the structural changes that the new European governance is applying to the continental political and economic dinamics and to the concept of European democracy itself. On these premises the focus of analysis were: viable alternative proposals for transnational convergence; a strategic direction and perspective to shape  recent requests to ‘rebuild Europe from the bottom upwards’.

Introduction by Wilma Mazza Globalproject and Lorenzo Marsili European Alternatives.

Argiris Panagopoulos – reporter for Avgi, Epohi, Kokkino Grecia

Pablo Elorduy – Diagonal Spagnai

Iulia Popovici  – CriticAtac, Romania

Claudio Gnesutta – Economist, University of La Sapienza, Rome Italiy

Francesco Raparelli – LUM and Dinamopress, Rome, Italy

Leo Specht  -Juror and lecturer Universities of Turin and Vienna, Austria

Srecko Horvat – Subversive Festival, Croatia

Marco Bascetta – Il Manifesto, Italy

Raffaella Bolini – Arci Altersummit, Italy

Giuseppe Caccia – Globalproject, Italy

Session 2- crisis of community institutions, economic and social integration from above: the future of democracy in Europe.

In the second session, opened by Ugo Mattei, through interventions it was possible to investigate, on the one hand, the crisis and transformation of European political institutions and, on the other, to reflect on the relationship between political forces and social movements.

Ugo Mattei- jurist at the University of Turin, Italy.

Theano Fotiou – Member of Parliament from Syriza, Grecia

Niccolò Rinaldi – Member of European Parliament, ALDE group

Roberto Musacchio – Altramente

Francesco Martone – Internazional director SEL

Gianfranco Bettin – Councillor of the Municipality of Venice, Italy.

Omeya Seddik, Tunisia

Lorenzo Marsili – European Alternatives

At the conclusion of the first round of interventions there have been contributions and answers.

Leo Specht

Answers by Theano Fotiou, Francesco Martone and Niccolò Rinaldi.

Video forum of Venice- 3/3

Session 3- social conflicts and constituent movements for the possibility of a new Europe

The confrontation between movements involved in social debate was rich and complex. A discussion which, starting from the outcome of the many protests that marked the opposition to austerity measures in the last two years, faced up to the upcoming deadlines, starting with Blockypy and Altersummit, and most importantly posed the question of how to devise a constituent process from the bottom up capable of connecting the struggles within a new political geography that looks towards the euro-mediterranean.

Introductory intervention by Marco Baravalle – Sale Docks,  Coalizione italiana berso BlockupyFrankfu’rt 2013, Venezia, Italia

Giamarco De Pieri – Tpo Bologna, Coalizione italiana berso Blockupy Frankfurt 2013, Bologna Italy

Alessandro Valera – European Alternatives, Italy

Omeya Seddik – Tunisia

Luca Tornatore – CDC Trieste, Coalizione italiana berso Blockupy Frankfurt 2013, Italiai

Roberto Morea- Transform! Italy– Altersummit

Karin Zennig – Blockupy Frankfurt, Germany

Eduardo Rubino and Miguel Ardanuy – Juventud sin Futuro, Spain

Giulia Macao- Milan, Italy

Daniel Seco – 15M Reforma Electoral, Barcelona, Spain

Tommaso Cacciari – Morion laboratory in  Venice, Coalizione italiana berso Blockupy Frankfurt 2013, Italia

Lorenzo Zamponi – Voglio Restare, Italy

Shandy Vela – Dinamo Press, Rome, Italy

Christos Giovanopoulos – Solidarity for All /Dikaioma, Greece

Elena Dalibot – European Alternatives, France

Ilias Chronopoulos – Secretary of youth from Syriza, Greece

Final conclusions

Berardo Teatro Valle – Rome, Italy