The European Union (EU) is in a lingering crisis since the Great Recession following the collapse of the Lehman Brothers and, unlike the USA, has failed to find the path back to growth. On account of this, EU institutions, particularly the European Commission, are continually devising new plans for reform.
In order to cast a critical eye over some of these reforms, the Brussels office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is organising this public seminar with three discussion panels addressing various EU proposals.
The first panel looks at one of the cardinal reforms of 2016. This concerns the finance sector with legislative proposals for a Capital Markets and Banking Union that will, inter alia, further promote the establishment of highly controversial securitisation rights.
In the second panel we will discuss plans for a “Eurozone budget” and analyse various assumptions from a critical perspective.
In the third panel we will address the as yet unclarified, though anti-employee in approach, proposals for national “Competitiveness Authorities/Boards”.
Programme:
12:00 Registration and sandwiches
13:00 Welcome and introduction to the topic
Martin Schirdewan, Head of Office, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels Office
Roland Kulke, Project Manager, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels Office
13:30 Capital Markets and Banking Union – what has the EU learnt from the crisis?
Introduction by Fabio de Masi (Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs)
Peter Wahl, Chairman of Weed (World Economy, Ecology & Development), founding member of ATTAC Germany
Marina Hübner, Doctoral Researcher, IMPRS-SPCE, Cologne
Frédéric Hache, Head of Policy Analysis
14:30 Coffee break
14:45 The “Eurozone budget” – an aid to tackle the next crisis or EU self-empowerment?
Introduction by Fabio de Masi (Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs)
Catherine Mathieu, senior economist, OFCE, Paris
Jorge Uxó, Associate Professor of Economic Theory, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
15:45 Coffee break
16:00 Competitiveness Authorities – a necessary component of a currency area or an attack on trade union rights?
Introduction by Thomas Händel (Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs)
Veronica Nilsson, Deputy General Secretary, ETUC, Brussels
Stefan Gran, Head of EU Liaison Office, German Trade Union Federation, Brussels
7:15 Closing discussion
The event is taking place at:
Maison des Associations Internationales (MAI)
Rue Washington/Washingtonstraat 40
1050 Brussels
Participation is open to everyone and free of charge.
Language: English
Please register by sending an e-mail. Contact and registration: Roland Kulke, roland.kulke@rosalux.org.