DiEM25: Six Years On

In February 2016, a group of activists, thinkers, and agitators gathered together in Berlin’s Volksbühne theatre and vowed to shake Europe. Nothing had been scripted — it was a simple, beautiful idea that brought together people from all corners of the continent.

Six years on, our movement boasts more than 130,000 members and 190 Spontaneous Collectives (DSCs) worldwide. This year, the main adjectives our members used to describe us are ‘hopeful’, ‘necessary’, ‘innovative’ and ‘democratic’. And despite the pandemic we had 19,000 new members.

The pandemic has shed a renewed light on the core issues plaguing Europe: draconian austerity measures, socialism for the rich and capitalism for the many, and a lack of political vision that can actually tackle the pressing social, economic, health and environmental crises we are facing, combined with a deadly democratic deficit — one which we predicted may indeed cost Europe its Union before the year 2025.

DiEM25’s international groups and local collectives are continuing to tackle important issues and campaign on the ground to address Europe’s crisis of democracy. Our many members have engaged in campaigns across Europe; such as the Green New Deal for Europe or Rentvolution!, tackling housing insecurity.

Many doubt us. The establishment fears us. But in the course of five years, we have shown that the people of Europe, and beyond, can come together to forge a meaningful future — one which sees a just and sustainable transition take place in Europe, which acknowledges the plight of refugees and migrants, which approaches international policy with solidarity, and so much more.

The struggle for democracy is more important than ever as we build together the World After Coronavirus!

Timeline

December

DiEM25 condemns arrest of Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez

Yanis Varoufakis, Noam Chomsky and Ann Pettifor on a green future beyond capitalism

DiEM25 launches new political party in Germany: MERA25 — with Julijana Zita and Yanis Varoufakis

Julian’s extradition marks a dark day for British justice

DiEM TV Christmas Special feat. Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, No Tech for Apartheid and much more!

A new day in Chile: DiEM25 congratulates Gabriel Boric and the Chilean people on a historic victory

End of year (2021) message from Yanis Varoufakis

November

More than 100 actors, musicians and authors sign statement against Israel’s attack on Palestinian organisations

Help DiEM25 and mέta help you fight Zuckerberg and his dystopic Meta

Remembering Rosemary Bechler: “What a wonderful life it is!”

Launch of #BlackFriday #MakeAmazonPay campaign

DiEM25 supports the #NoTechForApartheid campaign

October

DiEM25 members in Turkey gather in Bolu to organise activities for the coming months

Announcement of COP OFF: DiEM25’s Alternative Climate Conference

Announcement of MERA25 party launch: ‘A New, Rebellious Left for Germany, with Yanis Varoufakis and Julijana Zita

Campaign Accelerator programme candidacies open

MERA25 MP brutally assaulted by riot police during peaceful demonstration

Varoufakis on Merkel: What he said and how Bild distorted it

September

Assessment of policy programmes of German political parties

DiEM25 calls for a peace-centric international policy from the EU and a halt to its blind support for US-led belligerence globally.

August

Statement on wildfires in Greece

New Coordinating Collective begins mandate

July

Opening of candidacies for DiEM25’s Coordinating Collective

100+ artists and thinkers sign open letter in support of Brussels’ hunger strikers

DiEM25 local groups took to the streets on July 3 to demand Assange’s freedom

June

ΜERΑ25 Congress: A Celebration of Democracy

DiEM25 members vote for the movement’s official position on Israel-Palestine

“Anything to Say” art exhibition inaugurated in Geneva in support of Julian Assange

DiEM25 welcomes the Zapatistas in Europe

DiEM25 takes to the streets on Julian Assange’s 50th birthday

 

May

Meta Launch Event: DiEM25’s Centre for Post-Capitalist Civilisation

Launch of Tell us Your Story campaign

Yanis Varoufakis interviews Omar Barghoutti, co-founder of the BDS movement

Yanis Varoufakis talks with Ilan Pappé

Debate with members about Israel-Palestine to help decide DiEM25’s official position

April

DiEM TV interview with James K. Galbraith and David Adler about the Green New Deal

Launch of ‘What Europe Must Now Do’ — our Progressive European Policy Agenda for the 2020s

DiEM25’s Alternative Security Conference: Security for whom?

DiEM25 stands in solidarity with the working people of Albania

New DiEM Voice website

 

March

Launch of People’s Gatherings project

Celebration of International Women’s Day

MERA25 in Greece statement about escalation of police brutality in Greece

Green New Deal for Europe Tweetstorm to the European Parliament

Campaign Accelerator campaign to help save Portugal’s natural beauty from private interests

February

DiEM25’s Peace and International Policy Collective publishes statement on the global failure to address nuclear disarmament

DiEM25 launches second round of Campaign Accelerator

Progressive International election observer mission lands in Ecuador

DiEM25’s Tech Sovereignty Collective publishes statement on breaking the power of big tech

Premiere of Not Just Another Party documentary about our movement

First DiEM TV episode on arts and culture

Launch of online exhibition Raise Your Voice for Assange

Yanis Varoufakis writes about how capitalism has turned into techno-feudalism

Yanis Varoufakis tackles the EU Recovery Fund

2021

January

DiEM25 calls for a stop to the war in Yemen

The Progressive International received confirmation to send an observer delegation to Ecuador

DiEM25 welcomes the Zapatistas in Europe

2020

December

Launch of the People’s Gatherings

The Campaign Accelerator supports grassroots initiatives to block the construction of Yet Another Mall in Porto, anda push to stop arms companies running schools in a region in the UK

The Progressive International launches The Internationalist

Read more about the last few years!

2019

December

DiEM25 launches in Turkey

DiEM25 members vote to support The Labour Party in the UK General Election

November

More than 300 DiEM25 activists gather in Prague to define DiEM25’s strategy to take on the EU Establishment

August

Launch of “We Are Millions” exhibition in support of Julian Assange

July

Nine MPs from MeRA25 enter the Greek Parliament

May

The European Spring gathers more than 1.4 million votes across Europe in the European elections

2018

February

DiEM25 members across Europe overwhelmingly voted in favour of launching MeRA25

July

Announced the European Spring Green New Deal policy programme

September

DiEM25 Academy brings together over 100 activists from across Europe

November

DiEM25 teams up with The Sanders Institute to work on the Progressive International

December

DiEM25’s local collective from North Staffordshire launch “Take a break from Brexit” campaign

January

European Spring Council approved the final draft of the New Deal for Europe programme

2017

February

Announced DiEM25’s first political party in Greece, MeRA25

January

DiEM25 starts bid to build a transnational political party to compete in the European Elections

December

Launch of a campaign for the Bundestag to “Go European”, outlining 13 concrete demands for the German parliament

November

Activated the electoral wings after an all-members vote to bring our European New Deal to ballots across the Union

March

Presented our European New Deal, our proposal for saving Europe from itself

2016

December

DiEM25 amasses 40,000 members in 56 countries

November

Drew up our first Validating Council, a team to vote on behalf of members whenever a decision has to be made very quickly

Held a membership-wide vote to decide our position on the UK’s Brexit process

October

Announced the Coordinating Collective and Advisory Panel

September

Embarked on a major collaborative process to build our Progressive Agenda for Europe, our antidote to the EU’s ‘There Is No Alternative’

Voted in our Organising Principles, after a wide-ranging democratic process to develop them

Unveiled our newly-developed online voting platform, to give a voice to every DiEM25 member

June

Joined the global call to free Julian Assange, on the fourth anniversary of his political asylum

March

Launch of “Transparency in Europe Now” campaign calling for EU institutions to open their decision-making processes

February

Published our manifesto for democratising Europe, in 19 languages

Launched our movement at the historic Volksbühne theatre in Berlin to a crowd of 1,200

Electoral Politics: MeRA25 and our other parties in Europe

Following an All Member Vote in March 2018, DiEM25 decided to establish an electoral wing in Greece. Thus, MeRA25 was created upon the three pillars of European Internationalism, Economic Rationalism and Social Liberation. In the general election that took place only 16 months later, the party entered parliament with 9 MPs. Ever since, it has left a distinctive mark on Greek politics in more ways than one. With more female than male MPs and part of its Central Committee selected by sortition, MeRA25 is in a league of its own among Greek parties in terms of gender equality and internal democracy. MeRA25 is the only party openly acknowledging that the national debt is unsustainable and that recovering economic sovereignty by objecting to Brussels-imposed austerity is a sine qua non for Greece’s economic recovery. It has tabled and their bold actions to concrete, immediately applicable proposals to that effect. Informed by its participation in DiEM25 and the Progressive International, MeRA25 has practiced national politics with a broad perspective, with Europeanism and Internationalism at heart. This year, we celebrated the first full year in parliament! Our electoral wings in Italy, France and Germany are preparing their own entrance into electoral politics.

Green New Deal for Europe

Green New Deal for Europe is DiEM25’s campaign for a swift, just, and democratic transition to a sustainable Europe. In the previous years we’ve written a comprehensive and analytical policy for the Green New Deal for Europe called A Blueprint for Europe’s Just Transition. It has been presented to the broader public as the radical and only workers-friendly solution for the critical period. In 2021, the GNDE will build on our grassroots activism to focus on local issues with the fight in the parliaments across Europe, we can build a better future for humans, animals and the Earth itself. In 2021, we are combining different means, ranging from civil disobedience to engaging in electoral politics, in order to confront the climate, environmental and social crisis.

The Progressive International

The Progressive International, co-founded by DiEM25, launched in May 2020. This global initiative has already begun uniting progressive struggles across the world by supporting workers’ strikes, observing elections, and connecting progressive activists, politicians and thinkers from around the world. In just seven months, the coalition has grown to include unions, parties, and movements representing millions of people around the world. In its first couple of months, the PI has already: mobilised members to protect democratic institutions in Ecuador, dispatched a delegation of parliamentarians from around the world to observe Bolivia’s first election since the coup of November 2019, and campaigned with Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and representatives around the world for total debt forgiveness and an emergency injection of finances to the Global South.

People’s Gatherings

DiEM25 has been forged through many gatherings between Europeans who felt galvanised by the mission to democratise Europe. Throughout the movement’s history, DiEM25 members have met up across Europe to discuss, debate, campaign and more! This year, we launched the People’s Gatherings to reach even further to the many communities of Europe and work together with our grassroots members in building Political Programmes for each country.

EuroLeaks

During 2015 Yanis Varoufakis participated in thirteen Eurogroup meetings. After the first three Eurogroup meetings it became clear that no minutes were being taken! This kind of intransparent action by an unelected group of politicians who influence our lives is unacceptable. That is why DiEM25 released the recordings of the meetings of the Eurogroup from 2015. The leaked recordings were accompanied by thorough transcriptions and made available on our site.

Pandemic initiatives: Campaign Accelerator, DiEM TV, DiEM Voice and more!

DiEM25 has used our time in intermittent quarantines throughout 2020 — and now 2021 — to not only create radical policies to tackle the pandemic and its socioeconomic impact, but also to develop interesting projects to understand the times we live in. DiEM25 developed a 3-Point Plan for dealing with COVID-19 depression, as well as a Vaccine Policy Proposal. DiEM TV emerged as a radically hopeful and constructive Television programme, bringing the voices of public figures such as Shoshana Zuboff and Noam Chomsky to the public on YouTube — reaching over 2 million viewers. We also launched the Campaign Accelerator — a new project where we support individual DiEM25 members to design and run targeted campaigns on local issues they feel strongly about. DiEM Voice is now launching in 2021 as our art and culture platform, set to open up new spaces and ways through which to think the world anew.

We also have many other grassroots stories to tell you!