transform! europe supports the European Forum 2020 – a dialogue between left-wing, green and progressive groups, from political parties to trade unions and community campaigns, bringing together people from around Europe, and beyond. This year’s Forum will be held completely online between 8 and 28 November.
The Covid-19 pandemic hit Europe full force. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans have died. This crisis has revealed major flaws in our public health systems undermined for years by austerity policies. Millions of workers are now facing poverty and unemployment.
Europe’s reaction to the crisis was uncoordinated and lacked solidarity. The European Union’s current model of ever-deepening competition has shown to be woefully inadequate in tackling the pandemic, its economic impact and the climate crisis. Short-term profits can no longer take priority over the future of people and planet.
The Covid-19 pandemic demands that we change course. We need a Europe committed to sustainable social and environmental development; a Europe focused on improving life for the majority, saving the climate and protecting biodiversity.
What started as a health crisis has now become a global economic downturn—underpinned by the failure of the EU to mount a radical response. That failure makes it all the more urgent for Europe’s progressives to come together and chart an alternative way forward.
Together, we will oppose the same old remedies of cuts, austerity and war. The people of Europe will not be made to pay, once again, for a crisis we did not cause. By coming together, sharing our struggles and building new alliances we can change Europe’s direction towards a fairer, greener economy and more equitable and more just society.
transform! europe organises the following workshops and seminars:
The Radical Left in a Pandemic World: Perspectives from Europe,
14 November, 10:00 – 19:00
Christian-Marxist Dialogue on Achieving Ecological Ecumenism,
20 November, 16:00 – 18:00
How is security debated within Europe’s left and progressive forces? Considerations for a new left concept of security,
25 November, 18:00 – 20:00
How can we drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the EU and eradicate poverty?,
27 November, 17:00 – 19:00
Programme
Update: 23 November
8 November 16:00 – 18:30
OPENING OF THE EUROPEAN FORUM
Alberto Garzón, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Spain
Alexis Tsipras, former Prime Minister, Greece, TBC
Aurélie Maréchal, Political Director of Green European Foundation
Catarina Martins, Coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda and MP, Portugal, TBC
Heinz Bierbaum, President of the Party of the European Left
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, MP La France Insoumise, TBC
John Mc Donnell, Labour, ex Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK
Maite Mola, Vice-President of the Party of the European Left
Manon Aubry, Co-Chair of the GUE/NGL
Marga Ferré, Co-President of transform! europe
Maria Svart, Executive Director of Democratic Socialists of America, DSA, USA
Mary Lou McDonald, President of the Sinn Féin, Ireland
Thierry Bodson, President of the FGTB, Belgium
Tibor Szanyi, IGEN, Hungary
Uwe Optenhögel, Vice-President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, FEPS
Video messages from Guillermo Teillier, President of the Communist Party of Chile; Gleisi Hoffmann, President of the Workers’ Party, Brazil; Segundina Flores, MAS, Bolivia
Moderation: Pierre Laurent, Vice-President of the Party of the European Left
10 November 10:00 – 12:00 – GUE/NGL seminar
EU migration policies: inhumanity in law and in practice vs alternatives
Anila Noor, Global Refugee-led Network and founder of the New Women Connectors
Bernd Drueke, Coordinator of Seebrücke Mainz
David Conlan Smyth, Senior Counsel, CCBE/European Lawyers in Lesvos
Helena Maleno, Human rights defender in Caminando Fronteras
Iñigo Mijangos, President of Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario – Aita Mari
Milena Zajovic, President of Are You Syrious / Head of Advocacy, Border Violence Monitoring Network
Moderation: Sara Prestianni, EuroMed Rights, Asylum and migration programme officer
11 November 18:00 – 20:00: THEMATIC FORUM
News from the frontline: fighting racism and the far-right during the pandemic
Diane Abbott, MP, Former British shadow Home Secretary, UK
Fabian Figueiredo, Bloco de Esquerda, Portugal
Maria Spiliotopoulou, Syriza, Greece
Rafael Morales Dominguez, La Desbanda, Spain
Ulrich Schneider, VVN-BDA, Germany
Urszula Kuczyńska, Fundacja Naprzód, Poland
Moderation: Kate Hudson, Left Unity, UK
12 November 18:00 – 20:00: THEMATIC FORUM
The experience of the Covid-19 crisis: the future of health in Europe
Enrique Ubieta, Cuban Doctors Brigade
Joan Benach, Professor at University of Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, Spain
Karystinaki Fotini, Greek nurse, Board of the workers’ union in Evangelismos Hospital
Loïc Pen, emergency doctor, France
Saila Ruuth, State Secretary for the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Finland
Sofie Merckx, federal MP of PTB, Workers’ Party of Belgium, doctor at Medicine for the People, Belgium
Tugdual Le Lay, responsable Europe of Génération.s, France
Vittorio Agnoletto, Truth and justice, Italy
Moderation: Francine Mestrum, Global Justice
13 November 12:00 – 14:00: Workshop, Women Assembly
Physical violence
13 November, 15:00 – 17:00 – GUE/NGL seminar
Climate Justice versus climate barbarism: the struggle for a just green transition
Dr. Ilan Kelman, Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London and Professor II, University of Agder, Norway
Katie Treadwell, WWF European Policy Office
Leia Achampong, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer – Climate Finance
Lynn Boylan, Sinn Fein Senator, Ireland
Marie Toussaint, Europe Ecologie – Greens MEP, France
Moderation: Petros Kokkalis, SYRIZA – GUE/NGL MEP, Greece
14 November 10:00 – 19:00: Workshop, transform! europe
The Radical Left in a Pandemic World: Perspectives from Europe
To register, click here.
a. 10.00 – 13.00 Introduction to the debate and discussion: the pandemic as an accelerator of capitalist developments and the consequences for European Integration
Anna Mikkola, Vice-President of the EL – Vasemmistoliitto, Finland
Catarina Martins, Coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda and MP, Portugal, TBC
Georgios Katrougalos, Professor of Public Law & MP of SYRIZA, Greece
Heinz Bierbaum, President of the Party of the European Left
Juan Carlos Monedero, President of Instituto25m, Spain
Maria Karamesini, Professor of Labour Economics and Social Policy
Walter Baier, Member of the Board of transform! europe
Moderator : Angelina Giannopoulou, Facilitator of transform! europe
b. 14.00 – 16.00 ‘Optimism of the will’: Building hope for and by the Left
Danai Koltsida, Director of Nicos Poulantzas Institute, Greece
Hugo Monteiro, Professor of Philosophy & Member of the Board of transform! europe
Marga Ferré, Co-President of transform! europe
Martin Schirdewan, Co-President of GUE/NGL in the EP, TBC
Paolo Ferrero, Vice-President EL – Rifondazione Comunista
Yann Le Lann, President of Espaces Marx, France
Moderator: Haris Golemis, Scientific and Strategic Advisor of transform! europe
c. 17.00 – 19.00 The intervention point: Collective initiatives for the left in Europe
David Pestieau, Deputy Chairman of PTB, Belgium
Deborah James, Director of International Programs, Center for Economic and Policy Research & Coordinator of ‘Our World Is Not for Sale‘
Javier Moreno, Assistant Professor of Communication & Project Manager in Fundación por la Europa de los Ciudadanos (FEC), Spain
Katalin Gennburg, Member of the Berlin Parliament for Die Linke
Patrice Leclercq, Mayor of Gennevilliers with PCF, France, TBC
Sophie Binet, Co-Secretary – CGT executives, France, TBC
Moderator: Cornelia Hildebrandt, Co-President of transform! europe, Germany
17 November 17:00 – 19:00: THEMATIC FORUM
International trade between climate change and pandemic: what solutions facing free trade? Which safeguards in a digital world?
Léa Auffret, The European Consummer Organisation, BEUC
Dr. Christine Riefa, Brunel University London
Emmanuel Maurel, MEP, Gauche Républicaine et Socialiste
Helmut Scholz, MEP, Die Linke
Moderation: Albert Klein, Progressive Caucus
18 November – time TBC: GUE/NGL seminar
Multiannual Financial Framework, MFF and Next Generation EU, NGEU: Social, green and digital challenges
Rasmus Andresen, GREENS/EFA, Germany
Costas Mavrides, MEP S&D, Cyprus
Luca Visentini, General Secretary of European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC
Moderator: Dimítrios Papadimoúlis, MEP, Syriza
19 November 18:00 – 20:00: THEMATIC FORUM
Global Warming: what priorities for a fair and inclusive ecological transition?
Asbjørn Wahl, Trade-Unionist, Norway
Cristiana Cerri Gambarelli, Project Manager, Federation of Young European Greens
David Cid, MP Catalunya en Comu
Inger V. Johansen, Red-Green Alliance, Denmark
Jens Holm, MP of the Left Party, Sweden
Lorenz Gösta Beutin, MP Die Linke, Germany, TBC
Marisa Matias, MEP Bloco de Esquerda, Portugal
Thomas Waitz, Co-Chair of the European Green Party
20 November 16:00 – 18:00: transform! europe WORKSHOP
Christian-Marxist Dialogue on Achieving Ecological Ecumenism
Cornelia Hildebrandt, Co-President of transform! europe, Germany
Walter Baier, Member of the Board of transform! europe, Austria
Raul Buffo, PhD Candidate and lecturer at Sophia University Institute, Italy
Federico Rovea, PhD Candidate and lecturer at Sophia University Institute, Italy
Moderation: Angelina Giannopoulou, Facilitator of transform! europe, Greece
21 November 11:00 – 12:30
The importance of sovereignty and municipalism in the fight against Covid-19 and its consequences: Local experiences on healthcare in the Basque Country and Catalonia
Aizpea Otaegi, Mayor of the city of Renteria
Miquel Pueyo, Mayor of the city of Lleida
Mireia Ingla, Mayor of the city of Sant Cugat (TBC)
Rapporteur: Meritxell Serret
21 November 17:00 – 20:00
CULTURE ASSEMBLY – No Europe without Culture
- Intermittent artists and cultural workers are full-fledged workers: quickly a status that gives them the same rights as other workers!
- What culture to give Europe its progressive identity?
- Faced with the migration policy crisis and the growing influence of the far right, why is culture essential?
Enke Fezollari, theatre director and actor, Albania
Jose Manuel Beltran, Director of the Documentary Film Festival in Donostia/San Sebastian, Basque Country
Margarita Syngeniotou, lyric artist and opera singer
Omiros Poulakis, actor and member of Syriza, Greece
Serge Regourd, emeritus professor at Université de Toulouse 1
22 November 17:00 (TBC)
YOUTH ASSEMBLY – The far-right virus and the virus of a precarious life for youth in jobs, higher education, mental health and social freedoms
23 November 18:00 – 20:00: THEMATIC FORUM
What global security for European solidarity and world peace?
Giorgos Katrougalos, MP SYRIZA, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Greece
Mina Tolu, Co-spokesperson of Federation of Young European Greens
Neoklis Sylikiotis, Akel, Cyprus
Oguz Turkyilmaz, International policies working group of Sol (Left) Party, Turkey
Petro Symonenko, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine
Reiner Braun, Co President International Peace Bureau, Germany
Moderation: Katerina Anastasiou, transform! europe and Axel Ruppert, Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation
24 November 16:00 – 18:00
TRADE UNIONISTS ASSEMBLY: The coronacrisis and its effects on trade unions
- Overview
- Labour conditions and labour rights
- Collective bargaining – wages and working time
Esther Lynch, Deputy Secretary General, ETUC
Heinz Bierbaum, President of the European Left
Yota Lazaropoulou, General Secretary of National Bank Employees – former Ethnodata, Greece
Moderator: Enrique Carmona, Head of Brussels Office, CCOO – Comisiones Obreras, Spain
24 November 18:30 – 21:00
WOMEN ASSEMBLY
Angeliki Visviki, Syriza, Greece
Annie Raja, Vice-President of the Asian region of the Women’s International Democratic Federation, FDIM, National Federation of Indian Women, India
Eunice Iipinge, Vice-President of the African region of the FDIM, SWAPO Party, Namibia, TBC
Helène Bidard, Deputy mayor of Paris in charge of gender equality
Lizz Toledo, USA, Women in Struggle, TBC
Lorena Peña, World President of the FDIM, Salvador
Nina Ostatnina, State Duma MP, Russia
Noelia Vera, State Secretariat of the Ministry of Equality, Spain
Moderation: Charlotte Balavoine, French Communist Party, GUE/NGL and Cristina Simo, Communist Party of Spain
25 November 18:00 – 20:00: WORKSHOPS, transform! europe and Rosa-Luxembourg-Foundation
How is security debated within Europe’s left and progressive forces? Considerations for a new left concept of security
Angelika Adensamer, Vienna Centre for Societal Security
David Perejil Bricio, Podemos International secretariat
Heidi Meinzolt, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom
Sarah Reader, Agir pour la paix, TBC
Walter Baier, Transform Europe
Moderation: Katerina Anastasiou, transform! europe and Axel Ruppert, RLF Brussels
26 November 18:00 – 20:00: THEMATIC FORUM
What new model for production and work facing the explosion of unemployment?
Edouard Martin, ex MEP S&D, France, TBC
Fabien Roussel, National Secretary of the French Communist Party
Gianni Rinaldini, ex-General Secretary of FIOM, Italy
Károly György, International Secretary of Hungarian Alliance of Trade Unions
Kim van Sparrentak, MEP Greens/EFA, GroenLinks, Netherlands
Luc Triangle, General Secretary of industriAll
Victoria Velásquez, MP of the Red-Green Alliance, Denmark, TBC
Yolanda Diaz, Spanish Minister of Labour
Moderation: Marilisa Xenogiannakopoulou, MP of Syriza, Greece
27 November 17:00 – 19:00 – Seminar of transform!europe, the Green European Foundation (GEF) and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS)
How can we drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the EU and eradicate poverty?
Aurélie Maréchal, Political Director, Green European Foundation GEF
Cornelia Hildebrandt, Co-President transform! europe
Jonathan Essex, Green House Think Tank, United Kingdom
Manuela Kropp, Project Manager Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Brussels
Saïd El Khadraoui, Special Adviser FEPS, Belgium
Uwe Optenhögel, Vice-President Foundation for European Progressive Studies, FEPS
28 November – CLOSING OF THE FORUM
Presentations of the conclusions of the debates and presentation of the final declaration
Dimítrios Papadimoúlis, MEP Syriza, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Greece, TBC
Ernest Urtasun, MEP, Vice-President of the Greens/EFA group, Spain, TBC
Jose Luis Centella, President of the PCE, Spain
Julie Steendam, Citizen committee of the Right2Cure campaign, Belgium
Martin Schirdewan, Co-Chairs of the GUE/NGL
Monica Valente, Forum de São Paulo
Pierre Laurent, Vice-President of the Party of the European Left