The European Integration and the Left – Between National Orientation and European Cooperation

Due to the success of last year’s experience in terms of both content and participation, a second workshop will be held in Berlin shortly before the EL Summer University.

The year 2015 started with new social and political dynamics in Europe. They point towards changing power relations, new and difficult challenges, but indicate also new chances for the European left. This includes the escalating conflict in Ukraine. This refers to struggles concerning the openness of European societies, immigration and asylum policy. Finally yet importantly, this relates to the election victory of SYRIZA – with the essential question if the left in Europe will be able in supporting the new Greek government to fight effectively in each country the austerity policies and open a new window in the fight against the neoliberal vacuum in Europe. This is also important in view of the upcoming elections in Spain and other countries affected by the crisis.

The aim of the three-day seminar is to commonly analyse basic development tendencies in Europe and the deriving political challenges for the left-wing party family. The participants will discuss:

• The shifting power relations and new social cleavages in Europe;
• The national struggles of the left in the different European regions;
• The potentials and chances of European struggles, new forms of cooperation, and the development of common European projects.

Participants

The second edition of the Berlin Seminar – which first took place in summer 2014 – will again gather left-wing representatives of political parties, activists, and academics from all over Europe. This approach guarantees critical and high quality political discussion and provides participants with the opportunity to learn about different methodologies in the study of left-wing politics in Europe.

Structure of the seminar

The seminar will start with a historical analysis of Rosa Luxemburg’s approach to the “national question”, building a bridge to the current revival of the difficult question of political sovereignty in Europe.

On the second day, a Member of European Parliament (MEP) will give insight into the challenges for the left in Europe one year after the European elections and the constitution of the new GUE/NGL group. With the GUE/NGL being the broadest coalition of left-wing parties in Europe this input will mark the starting point for the following discussions.

The following Part 1 will then focus on the power relations in Europe, analysed through the lens of the European party families.

Part 2 will focus on the regional development of left-wing parties, giving examples from Western Europe (Spain and Portugal before the Parliamentary elections), the Balkans (presenting a new left-wing project from Serbia), and Eastern Europe (giving a left-wing analysis presented by a Russian activist).

Part 3 will discuss the strategies of transnational cooperation on the left, from Blockupy and AlterSummit via the transatlantic mobilisation against TTIP, the fight against austerity in Europe together with the SYRIZA government in Greece to the future of European Left Party (EL). The seminar will end with a critical reflection and an outlook on upcoming challenges and problems.

Contact: Cornelia Hildebrandt, hildebrandt@rosalux.de