EU in crisis - the conference

http://www.corporateeurope.org/eu-crisis-conference

Some 300 people joined CEO and TNI for the two day conference at the start of May on the EU in Crisis: analysis, resistances and alternatives to corporate Europe. The conference triggered the launch of a new pan-European network to fight EU austerity; there was a joint statement from the conference; and links were built to support a range of different campaigns. Watch online footage from the conference, read feedback from participants and find out more about what went on.

A new pan-European network to fight against the EU's austerity policies and support a fairer, greener, more democratic Europe has been launched in Brussels, following two days of discussion and debate at CEO's joint conference with TNI on the EU in Crisis.

Read the statement supported by the conference here.

Activist and writer, Susan George emphasised the anti-democratic nature of the austerity agenda, which has been imposed without debate or electoral support. See Susan George's speech here.

Spanish activist and economist Miren Etxezarreta told the conference that although the situation in Spain was very bleak, she was optimistic, because she saw people taking the power into their own hands, and working together to create new ways of doing things at a local level. See an interview with Miren here.

There were calls to support the No campaign in the Irish Referendum on the Austerity Treaty - scheduled to take place on 31 May 2012.

A new campaign to challenge the push for the privatisation of water services was launched, including support for the campaign for a European Citizens' Initiative stating that Water and sanitation are human rights! Water is a public good, not a commodity. Find out more here.

And there were also calls to support the occupation of the European Central Bank on the 16-19 May and the global day of action on 12 May.

Walden Bello was hoping to speak at the conference on his perspective from the South, but was refused entry to Belgium. Read our statement on Walden Bello's denial to entry to Belgium.

You can watch all the speakers online here:

Read the wrap-up of day one

Read report backs and blogs from some of the participants who travelled to Brussels to attend the conference:

• Stepping Stones Christina Laskaridis (researcher at CorporateWatch)
• "Environment is a solution to the crisis" Tomas Tomilinas (Campaigner from Lithuania)
• Face aux politiques d'austérités, inventer une alternative juste et soutenable Maxime Combes (member  of Attac France  and Aitec)
• “The EU crisis is a governance issue” Virginia Lopez (activist with Occupy London)
• The greenest jobs of all Ewa Charkiewicz (Feminist Think Tank, Poland)
• Continuing campaigning on the European Union Gisela Dütting
• Let's beat the bastards! Diego Naranjo (activist with Grupo 17 de Marzo in Spain)
• El germen de un movimiento social paneuropeo Santi Quiñones (contributor to Periodismo Humano)