Documents Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung 11 results

"30,000 lobbyists…and counting. The sheer number of corporate lobbyists that influence EU policy-making, and the financial firepower available to them, constitute a challenge to democracy, social rights, peace and the planet. In this book, lobbying researcher and campaigner Kenneth Haar explores how corporate representatives have shaped the institutional foundations of the EU. He examines how they inscribed their vision into its fundamental principles, constructing a “European competition state,” marginalising concern for the common good, and generating an enormous democratic deficit.
The author brings a wealth of material and his long-standing expertise to bear on a range of policy areas, from trade to big tech, from patents to weapons deals, from the European Monetary Union to climate, and more. To tackle the core elements of the EU's democratic deficit, “A Europe of Capital” calls for a change that reflects contemporary political and class struggles, and a shift towards a systemic alternative to the competition model currently in place – one that puts democracy, sustainability and prosperity for “the many” at the centre.
“A Europe of Capital” is a rich resource for everyone looking to understand the workings of corporate interest representation in the EU, both in general and in a range of policy areas. It provides a comprehensive, clear-eyed and unflattering assessment of what has become of the EU, where it is headed, and how to guide it in a direction that prioritises people over profit."

"Americans and Europeans are negotiating a free trade agreement called TTIP. But why? Trade is already flourishing. Meanwhile, the real barrier to trade is not being addressed: currency speculation, which leads to extreme currency fluctuations and ad hoc price increases for export goods. If we are to understand the political obsession with free trade, we must look far back in history, beyond the current negotiations. An examination of the past 250 years shows how industrialised countries have become rich and why developing countries remain poor – and why free trade only benefits rich countries. Free trade is an ideology of the powerful and can be a very effective means of engaging in lobbying. Critics are right to seek to prevent TTIP. However, some of the keywords they use to mobilise activists are wrong. The infamous “chlorinated chicken? that many consumers are afraid of will never come. The strategy employed by the corporations is far more perfidious: lobbyists trying to push through certain consultation procedures that would give them substantial influence – on two continents, and thus worldwide. TTIP is an exciting topic: As if under a magnifying glass, it shows how capitalism works – and the power that still remains with politics."

"Since the 2008-2009 global financial and economic crisis, the division within the European Union and the eurozone has deepened. Crisis-hit countries such as Greece and Spain have experienced five years of economic contraction, unemployment rates continue in some cases to top the 25% mark, and the majority of their populations are living on the brink. This situation stands in stark contrast with those countries which – for now at least – have emerged as winners from the crisis. Germany in particular is seen as a model pupil. But is the “German job miracle” really a suitable model for the rest of Europe? Klaus Dörre has his doubts. Based on his own research, he takes a critical look behind the appealing facade of the “German model”. He describes a society of full but precarious employment, in which people in insecure jobs and the socially excluded pay the price for an export model that is exacerbating inequalities in Europe and so destroying the foundations of its own success."

"When the first edition of this booklet was published in spring 2014, few people could have predicted that TTIP would soon become one of the hottest political topics in Europe. TTIP has become a key political issue in many countries, with growing media interest feeding off public fear at the substantial dangers that the agreement will bring. That is why we updated our publication on TTIP by John Hilary. The concerns detailed in the first edition of our booklet remain as valid today as when it was first published, given that the central design of TTIP itself remains unchanged. For this reason, the original text is reproduced in this updated version exactly as before. Yet there have also been political developments over the past year which add to our understanding of the full meaning of TTIP and its likely impacts on society and the environment. The new preface outlines those developments, with references to primary sources, so that readers will have the full range of materials available in assessing the threat that TTIP represents."

"For more than three years, including over 100 days on strike, Amazon's employees in Germany have been fighting for a collective agreement. Although they haven't won yet, their struggle is emblematic of low-wage workers taking on a global corporation. The conflict at Amazon has become a “laboratory of resistance,” where important lessons have been learned, not only with respect to resistance against low wages and precarious employment in Germany, but also for workers who are fighting back at Amazon's other sites in Europe.
Everywhere in Europe, Amazon takes an extremely anti-union stance, but trade union resistance is forming across the continent–in Poland, France, the UK, Spain, and elsewhere. Transnational networking of employees and dialogue about experiences in various countries are a vital precondition for a successful, cross-border fight.
This study is the result of intensive research by the journalists Jörn Boewe and Johannes Schulten on Amazon's corporate structures and about both the experiences of trade union resistance in Germany and the prospects for cross-border industrial action by Amazon employees. This research is based on, among other things, a series of interviews with Amazon strike activists and participation in a number of trade union meetings. ..."

"The largest corporations in the history of the world – Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft – are seeking to use ‘trade' rules to rig the rules of the global (digital) economy to enable them to collect more data, exercise more control over our lives and their workers, and amass ever more profit. More than 80 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are currently negotiating a new agreement on digital trade based on these proposals. This paper seeks to explain how these corporations operate in order to achieve their goals; what the potential impacts of the rules would be on workers, citizens, communities, developing countries, public services, safety and security, and democracy itself; what the alternatives are; and what we can do to stop this mass corporate takeover.
This paper was written towards the end of 2019. Today, in 2020, the world seems a different place, as we collectively experience the coronavirus crisis and new awareness about issues of racism and policy brutality. The crises have brought about new, and highlighted existing, urgent problems – often exacerbated by Big Tech's iron grip on our economic and social lives.
Emerging challenges in 2020
The WTO itself is in serious crisis. The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference was due to be held in June 2020, but has been postponed – possibly for another year. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has said he will step down on 31 August 2020, a year before the completion of his term of office. The United States is still blocking the appointment of new Appellate Body Members to the WTO, which means the judicial function is not operational."

"In Europe today, more people than ever before are convinced that climate change is a pressing political issue. This is not a win by default. People anxious about ecological catastrophe are vulnerable to racist, xenophobic and even fascist methods of addressing the climate crisis, especially as far right and populist actors are occupying more and more positions of power across Europe, emboldening racist violence in the streets.
Left and progressive movements must be more skilled in messaging, more precise in forging political alliances, and more articulate in positioning justice as a centerpiece of the climate struggle. The stakes are simply too high. This booklet represents a toolkit in that project: a roadmap for identifying what we must reject, how to counteract approaches adopted by the right, and how to keep climate change a progressive issue."

"The Green New Deals are among the few specific proposals setting out how the transition to an environmentally friendly society could happen within a relatively short period without this transformation hitting the most vulnerable members of our society. While they do have their weaknesses and blind spots, they have succeeded in one thing: over the past two years, they have managed to create a new narrative which, beyond all the warnings of disaster, preserves hope based on opportunities for action – a narrative of what a positive future that is worth living could look like, and what steps would be possible and necessary on the way there.

Today, such visions of the future and the potential they can unleash are more necessary than ever. For this reason alone, it is worth taking a closer look at the various proposals for Green New Deals, their arguments, their history, the opportunities they offer and their inherent limitations. That is the aim of this publication.

If a Green New Deal policy is to actually be successful and cut global emissions quickly, the global level must therefore play a far greater role in Green New Deal proposals than has been the case up to now."

"In this study, the obstacles and potential associated with a transformation of the automotive industry and the development of an ecological mobility industry are discussed in dozens of interviews with trade unionists, climate activists and representatives of the automotive industry from Brazil, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Spain, France and Italy. There is a particular focus on positioning in the international value chain, the impact of foreign direct investment, the structure of the local labour market and the bargaining power of local trade unions.

The study also examines how local actors assess the potential for building an ecological mobility industry.
Since the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the global automotive industry has had to contend with a decline in employment, with 150,000 jobs lost in the European Union (EU) by February 2021. Nissan, Renault, Daimler, Continental, Bosch, ZF and many other manufacturers have had to lay off staff and cut jobs, and it is not only the carmakers themselves that have been affected: the vital supplier industry has been hit too. In Brazil, 50 percent of automotive production capacity has been idle during the pandemic, and Ford has ceased production in the country entirely.

On the other hand, share owners benefited from dividends and asset growth. Global car production has been characterised by overcapacity and recurring sales crises for years, and only the increasing demand for vehicles on the Chinese market and various measures to create purchase incentives have been able to shore up demand in recent years. The billions in support from some governments during the COVID-19 pandemic were, of course, a welcome boon for the automotive industry.

When it comes to a left Green New Deal, therefore, the focus must be more on developing alternatives: e-mobility needs to be discussed in a broader context, including above all the production of electrically-powered rail vehicles and public transport vehicles. Local and long-distance public transport must be comprehensive and affordable, guaranteeing the "right to mobility" all over the world. The mobility transition is a key conflict and a central "starter project" of a global left Green New Deal.

The development of alternative production could create hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide. Not only that but the massive expansion of rail and public transport has the potential to generate local jobs that would not be threatened by industrial relocation. The stark contrast between labour and capital was highlighted once again during the pandemic, as many companies in the automotive industry took advantage of the situation to put pressure on workers, downgrade working and employment conditions, cut wages, lay off staff and move production to cheaper locations.

A conversion of the automotive industry into an ecologically-oriented mobility industry can only succeed if it is underpinned by extensive social participation: public involvement would have to be combined with a greater say for workers, trade unions, environmental associations and the wider population, for example in the form of regional councils. It is also important to build on workers' knowledge and expertise, and the pride they have in themselves as producers and in their product and its usefulness.

A "just transition" is needed for the automotive industry in order to be able to cope with the upcoming challenges of structural change through e-mobility and the development of an ecological mobility industry. We need a green revolution in the industry while also protecting workers."