Fund Lobby Admits to Masquerade

In Front of a Statoil petrol station (Nobelvägan near corner Lönngatan) the traffic was stopped and waiters and waitresses serving organic food talked to the drivers. They had to choose between fuelling their car, or access to food for themselves and other people. There was understanding and sympathy for the alternative, although nobody decided to leave the car at the spot. Luckily the police was occupied by their preparations for the big ESF demonstration. It took them 30 minutes to find out about the action. Just when the activists decided to move on to the next stop, three vans arrived.

The European Parliament approved last week the final deal on the European Citizens Initiative (ECI), which obliges the European Commission to consider proposals supported by the signatures of one million Europeans. The final deal is a compromise between the Commission and Council, who insisted on administrative hurdles that would have made it very difficult to collect the signatures needed, and MEPs who wanted fewer obstacles. But how much of a boost is this new instrument for democracy and citizens’ power?

On 27 March, the Budget committee voted on an excellent report by MEP Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE, Romania), proposing to postpone the approval of the 2010 budget of the European Food Safety Authority. Macovei stated that "conflicts of interest could .. have a negative impact on the impartiality of the decision-making process and also on the citizens' trust in the institutions". The vote in Plenary is scheduled on 10 May 2012. 

Corporate Europe Observatory will join the Agrofools Action Group at a petrol station in Malmo to highlight the issue of agrofuels - curretnyl being discussed at the European Social Forum.

The European push for agrofuels will have many social and environmental implications, including rising food prices, jeopardising people's food sovereignty and access to food.

Swedish car drivers will be invited to choose from a menu: fueling their car with agrofuel, or having access to food for themselves and other people. About 100 people will participate in the action.

Η απάντηση της ΕΕ στην κρίση του Ευρώ και του χρηματοπιστωτικού συστήματος αναδεικνύει περισσότερο από ποτέ τον καταστροφικό χαρακτήρα της κυρίαρχης νεοφιλελεύθερης ιδεολογίας. Πωρωμένοι με τη δημοσιονομική πειθαρχεία, οι αρμόδιοι της ΕΕ επιβάλουν εξοντωτική λιτότητα, ιδιωτικοποίηση των δημοσίων υπηρεσιών και διάλυση της κοινωνικής πρόνοιας. Τα λόμπι των πολυεθνικών βλέπουν χρόνια αιτήματά τους να γίνονται πραγματικότητα μονομιάς, ενώ το βιοτικό επίπεδο εκατομμυρίων ανθρώπων και οι οικονομίες πολλών χωρών καταρρακώνονται.