Last weekend 300 activists from across Europe gathered under the motto “How to save the EU and the planet?” in order to present and discuss their proposals for the future of the movement in a unique participatory process.
In just over three years, DiEM25 has achieved a great deal: a transnational movement has been established to tackle the various crises that are disintegrating the European Union. The European Spring was the first pan-European coalition to stand united behind a common progressive political programme in EU elections.
In the summer of 2019, nine members of the Greek electoral wing (ΜέΡΑ25) won seats in the Greek national parliament. In May 2019, shortly after the European elections, the campaign for a Green New Deal for Europe, a series of courageous and concrete measures to cope with the climate crisis and to transform our energy system, was developed with the help of scientists, experts and NGOS from all over Europe.
Given the problems still to be solved in Europe, this however cannot spell the end of the movement. DiEM25 has another five years to reach its goal, the full democratisation of Europe.
On Friday evening the tone for the event was set with a panel discussion of local organisations and scientists. The panelists were later available for interviews and questions:
- Daniela Platsch – Economist and Politician (Germany/Austria)
- Srećko Horvat – Philosopher, Activist and Cofounder of DiEM25 (Croatia)
- Alena Krempaská – Political Scientist, Institute of Human Rights (Slovakia)
- Paweł Wargan – Political analyst and Coordinator of the GNDE Campaign (Poland)
- Kate Wiseman – Extinction Rebellion Coordinator, (Czech Republic)
- Robin Maialeh – Economist (Czech Republic)
Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to the further development of the movement. Nine proposals in three different categories were presented and voted on in an extraordinary transnational and participatory process:
- Increasing our support
- Advancing an effective movement.
- Influencing and winning
The motions that received the most votes of the 300 eligible voters at the meeting will be submitted again to all those eligible to vote in an online All Members Vote (AMV).
The Coordinating Collective submitted a motion, to strengthen the pan-European vision of the movement. A vision to put the world’s first transnational political movement at the centre of the European political stage.
Yanis Varoufakis said:
DiEM 2.0 must plan for POST-CAPITALISM. We have been criticised, justly I think, of appearing to tinker at the edges of an unreformable, catastrophic, rentier-based, financialised capitalism. DiEM 2.0 must develop our program for overcoming capitalism. Our Green New Deal must be recognised as the first stepping stone to a better future. We must now inspire people with a vision of what follows capitalism and our Green New Deal: a proper democracy where no one can buy shares in a company in which they do not labour; where there are no private banks but, instead, the central bank provides free digital accounts to every citizen; a society that grants a trust fund to every baby born. Of course, this is not the time or the place to articulate DiEM’s POST-CAPITALISM pillar fully. Its seeds are already in our program and manifesto. DiEM 2.0 must water these seeds so that soon we can harvest a post-capitalist agenda around which young and old from across Europe, indeed for beyond Europe, can organise.
At the end of the two intensive working days in the beautiful Prague University, delegates had the opportunity to attend a private screening of the film adaptation by Costas Gavras of the book “Adults in the Room” by DiEM25 co-founder Yanis Varoufakis.
After the screening, there was a question and answer session on the topic of the goings on in the Eurogroup in 2015. The Q&A was moderated by Erik Edman, member of DiEM25’s Coordinating Collective, and counted with the participation of Michelle Ray-Gavras, the film’s producer, as well as Spiros Derveniotis, MeRA25 Communications Coordinator and Danae Stratou, visual and installation artist.
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Photo (C) Ian Cassidy and Honza Macháček
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