Europe Follow

Whether it’s the attack on pensions and schools in this country, Italian students protesting against education "reforms", or the Irish Ferries seafarers occupying their vessels, there is a common theme to many of the stories in this week’s Socialist Worker.

Workers at Irish Ferries occupied two ships last week to prevent the company’s attempt to sack 550 staff and replace them with agency workers from Eastern Europe working an 84-hour week for £2.40 an hour.

The events in France over the last three weeks are more than a riot — they are an urban uprising on a scale not seen in Western Europe since the Second World War.

Several hundred people gathered in Athens last weekend for the second Congress of the European Left Party. This unites a number of socialist and communist parties — including Respect — which oppose the European Union’s neo-liberal agenda and support participation in the broad movements that have gathered strength in recent years.

Downing Street more and more resembles a mad hatter’s tea party these days. Not content with lecturing European Union leaders on the joys of neo-liberalism Tony Blair let it be known that he regarded minister for work and pensions David Blunkett as being too soft in his proposals to force those on disability benefit back to work.

Oil exploitation 1795-1925 Monarchy rules Iran in alliance with Shia Muslim clerics, but both are weakened under a modernisation drive led by European-educated intellectuals.

A 50,000 strong demonstration took place in Rome on Sunday of last week to protest against the Bolkestein directive, a proposal by the European Commission to privatise public services and attack workers’ rights.

The European Union is currently debating a series of proposals that would mean widespread deregulation of public services, attacks on rights at work, and the destruction of the powers of local councils.

The formation of a "grand coalition" government of the social democrats and Tories in Germany is a sign of the crisis gripping Europe’s elites.

The popular perception of the crusades is of wars fought by christian Europeans against Muslims who inhabited the holy land. But the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) was fought by Europeans against Europeans in the south of France. It was not about a "clash of civilisations" — rather it was a clash of feudal power, fought by nobles and the church.

‘The German elections give a big new impetus to the Party of the European Left. The Left Party successfully accomplished an unprecedented achievement in the history of post-war Germany — mass support given to a party which places itself to the left of the the continent’s biggest social democracy.

Workers at Europe’s biggest supermarket meat supplier struck on Friday of last week to defend their pensions.