<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Örsan Şenalp</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:orsan1234@gmail.com">orsan1234@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 2:17 AM<br>Subject: [Networkedlabour] Blockupy International Invites Movements, Networks, Organisations to an Open Assembly in Brussels. September 26-27<br>To: squares <<a href="mailto:squares@lists.takethesquare.net">squares@lists.takethesquare.net</a>>, "<a href="mailto:networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org">networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org</a>" <<a href="mailto:networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org">networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org</a>>, "<a href="mailto:transcollab@lists.so36.net">transcollab@lists.so36.net</a>" <<a href="mailto:transcollab@lists.so36.net">transcollab@lists.so36.net</a>><br>
<br><br>Call for building together a transnational space of initiative for a<br>
Europe from below, through, against and beyond current Europe<br>
<br>
We, as Blockupy international coordinating group, met in Berlin on<br>
June 21st, to discuss the outcomes of the May of Solidarity and the<br>
future perspectives. During the days of mobilization actions were<br>
various and rich, and we valued positively that many have been<br>
organized from outside the May of Solidarity process. We also agreed<br>
that, though the Blockupy process is focused on mobilizing towards the<br>
opening of the new ECB building in Frankfurt (now scheduled for early<br>
2015), an autonomous political initiative cannot be simply bounded to<br>
the dates established by the institutional agenda: we need a larger<br>
social and political perspective. The postponing of Turin EU summit on<br>
“youth employment”, on the other hand, has left many without a common<br>
space to gather, act and discuss. The message of May of Solidarity<br>
across Europe – “Solidarity beyond borders, building democracy from<br>
below!” – found much resonance, but a strong transnational movement is<br>
still to come and we know that no one, beginning with us, could<br>
consider themselves to be sufficient.<br>
<br>
We also know we are not alone in our attempts to link struggles across<br>
borders and to create a transnational resistance. We openly<br>
acknowledge our limits, and we recognize that different networks<br>
across the European space are facing that similar limits and<br>
contradictions. We do think it is time to turn this situation into a<br>
political opportunity. We therefore propose an open meeting to<br>
collectively examine the current phase and to strategically discuss<br>
our practices and our proposals to build a transnational space of<br>
initiative for a Europe from below, through, against and beyond<br>
current Europe.<br>
<br>
The Europe of the ruling classes might be itself in crisis again and<br>
again; it might be in continuous reorganization. However, what were<br>
before more nationally disparate austerity and saving programmes are<br>
being consolidated into the new status quo of the EU. This is the<br>
reality behind the rhetoric of the European governments claiming that<br>
the moment to go beyond austerity has come. Of course,<br>
“post-austerity” does not mean “benefits for all” or real changes for<br>
the better! Moreover, as a governing logic it is not “new”: austerity<br>
and privatization have been reality in Eastern Europe for<br>
twenty-something years now. Rather, we are facing a new phase<br>
characterized by the attempt to stabilize the social effects of<br>
austerity policies with transnational policy based on creating and<br>
exploiting different spaces. This is the logic of new processes of<br>
precarization and re-organization of exploitation taking place on a<br>
transnational scale, exemplified not least in the “Youth Guarantee”<br>
programme of labour governance, which are linked to the positioning of<br>
the EU within global value chains and to financial flows that go<br>
beyond the institutional borders of the European Union.<br>
<br>
In this way, Europe is becoming a space of transit and accumulation<br>
crisscrossed by differences, unbalances, regional and zonal dynamics.<br>
Mobility inside and across these spaces is thus becoming a crucial<br>
element, as the governments of Europe are managing welfare policies<br>
and the Schengen regime in order to exploit those movements practiced<br>
by people both with and without European passports who together make<br>
up the living labour force.<br>
<br>
These novelties are the political problem we have to face together in<br>
order to understand what to do next, how, and especially with whom to<br>
make Europe a space for transnational politics of radical change, also<br>
in so far as today the national space is more than ever too narrow. As<br>
the outcomes of the recent European elections show, it is not only<br>
that the national space is functional to racist and right wing<br>
solutions to the crisis, it is also that within the national space it<br>
is impossible to counter the power of global capitalism.<br>
<br>
In every respect a strong transnational movement is still to come. Of<br>
course the development of such movement will depend on the struggles<br>
taking place in daily life rooted in the social dimension, but they<br>
also depend on our ways to develop a common space – for strategizing<br>
and for finding common spaces of struggles. While an increase of<br>
networking has taken place in the past years, we still have not found<br>
the practices to translate separate struggles into a transnational<br>
movement. Our proposal to meet comes from a genuine desire to openly<br>
discuss together, in a practical way, how to turn the variety of<br>
networks and present agendas into a political opportunity for social<br>
movements to fight together and to build counter narratives,<br>
cooperation and lively shared practices of struggle.<br>
<br>
As Blockupy International coalition, we will mobilize towards the<br>
opening of the new ECB building – symbolically experiencing a common<br>
transnational space of struggle in the streets and in a very real way<br>
blocking production and circulation in Frankfurt, the financial<br>
capital of continental Europe. However, we have to ask ourselves<br>
whether we are able to re-organize and diffusely tackle the heart of<br>
the new regime of exploitation, which was built on the austerity<br>
policies in the last years.<br>
<br>
Therefore we propose to take that new phase of European post-austerity<br>
policy seriously. To fight against it, we have much to learn from each<br>
other. We know the current social relationships are based on debt and<br>
competitiveness on the one hand; precarity and working poor as the<br>
general condition of labour, institutional racism and a<br>
re-nationalization of citizenship on the other hand. It is also<br>
characterized by the attack on wages and incomes, on commons and<br>
welfare systems and the consequent restriction of the spaces for<br>
democracy. We know we must learn from experiences in places where<br>
austerity has long been the way of life, and thus we especially extend<br>
this invitation to our friends in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.<br>
<br>
Starting from here, we propose to meet up and discuss about what we<br>
can do in order to produce an autonomous initiative at the<br>
transnational level, which tackles this relevant issue of<br>
post-austerity Europe posing few questions:<br>
<br>
How can we frame our heterogeneous struggles within and against the<br>
newly consolidated governmental regime based on the status quo of<br>
austerity and its enforcing institutions?<br>
Starting from the conditions of precarity of living and working, the<br>
issue of mobility, of Europe as space of transit and accumulation, how<br>
we can set our own agenda of mobilization for the upcoming months?<br>
How can we think of powerful, transnational social and political<br>
practices to address the new conditions of labour and life, building<br>
the possibilities to powerfully organize inside of them and to<br>
effectively strike against them?<br>
In which ways we can connect the different activities, practices,<br>
meeting points in and as a common process that could become an<br>
orienting shared “road map”?<br>
<br>
We believe it’s time to develop a powerful practical perspective, time<br>
to think about how to act together and how to build the strength we<br>
need to overturn the table. We also think that we must approach<br>
together the political problem of a transnational, Europe-wide strike<br>
around these different issues, how to organize it and how to really<br>
hurt the new exploitation regime.<br>
<br>
For these reasons, we invite all groups interested in a radical change<br>
perspective to meet in the evening of the 26th and have meeting all<br>
day on 27th September in Brussels for an open discussion which,<br>
starting from these inputs, can lead us to one or more days of common<br>
action and to build together a larger moment of analysis, exchange and<br>
political proposals towards a transnational space of movement, towards<br>
an autumn of struggles and some shared medium-term perspectives – in<br>
solidarity beyond borders.<br>
<br>
Feel free to forward this invitation to other networks, groups,<br>
organisations. Technical details will follow, please write to<br>
<a href="mailto:international@blockupy-frankfurt.org">international@blockupy-frankfurt.org</a> for info and if you interested in<br>
coming to Brussels.<br>
<br>
Dieser Post ist auch verfügbar auf: German<br>
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</div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div><b>Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..</b></div><div><br></div>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
<br><a href="http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation" target="_blank"></a>Updates: <a href="http://twitter.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens</a><br>
<br>#82 on the (En)Rich list: <a href="http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/" target="_blank">http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/</a> <br></div>
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