Alan Thornett and SIX HUNDRED people, over half of them unemployed, drawn from 16 participating countries attended an exciting conference in Brussels on the weekend of February 22-23 to launch the next stage of the Euro-marches. Eleven main marches are now confirmed and the first stages will start on April The conference noted that the delegation from France was smaller than it might otherwise have been due to the huge anti-racist demonstration taking place at the same time in Paris to protest the new racist laws being introduced as well as to mark their concern at the recent electoral success of the Front NaRepresentatives of the Liverpool dockers spoke in the opening plenary stressing the need for an international struggle against employers who were increasingly organised at an international level with a globalised economy. They received warm applause.
Christophe Agiton from the European ( Secretariat of the campaign and from AC! in France explained that we were fighting for a 'Europe of full employment' in which everyone who wants to work is able to do so. If we only mobilise within our own countries any gains will be more short lived i an international campaign has more strength.
He argued that we had to respect the ideological differences between the different strands present which meant focusing on broad demands that allowed unity to be maintained.
The importance of this approach was demonstrated throughout the weekend as discussions developed and it became clearer the diverse traditions which were participaring. In itself this is already a major achievement The task of concentrating on our common objectives, of fighting the issue of unemployment and the myriad different forms of exclusion must not be undermined by trying to introduce issues that go beyond this already broad sweep.
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It was too carly to discuss precisely what should happen after the final demonstration but there is a clear intention of ongoing coordination. The project will strengthen existing organisations and begin to put in place a network that can link them together.
Other speakers spoke of the unity that had developed in France between the organisations of the unemployed and trade unionists in struggle during the massive battles of late 1995.
Two million people in France have no income at all, and we were told of the important victory of the unemployed through the campaign strengthen our hands in fighting cur Christophe Agiton of occupations of job centres at the close of last year.
A speaker from "Droit & Lodgement (Right to Housing) in France described the current struggles of the homeless and the continuity and differences with battles throughout the century.
He argued that an important focus of the campaign was the revival of use of a law introduced by De Gaulle which allows the repossession of empey buildings for use as housing. Later discussion in the housing workshop explained that similar laws existed in other European countries.
A delegation of 60 attended the conference from Britain, including Liverpool dockers, Magnet strikers and representatives of unemployed centres from across the north of England and from Scotland.
women's movement raised the deOn the same warelength: 600 delegates from 16 countries managed to make themselves understood Others attended from trades councils and union bodies and acnivists from campaigns delending the welfare state, for the rights of asylum seckers and in opposition to the JSA.
Most delegates could find work⢠shops which dealt with their special interests and involvements from anti-racism, housing, the welfare state, unemployment and the effects of European integration on The British delegation organised a successful workshop on flexibility and the unions and ine unem played.
The conference confirmed that support for the marches is building rapidly across Europe and sessions on the practical organisation took it all a step further.
An impressive report was given on the Mid-June events in Amster. dam itself. Current estimates of the final demonstration are 30,000.
The French campaign expects to take 5,000, for example, and the Dutch campaisn has pledged to match the numbers which come from abroad.
This is no mean promise in d country where support for the Europcan Union has traditionally been very strong - but of late cracks are beginning to open, and the campaign is beginning to gather signifi.
cant support.
The 'Committee for a Feminist Europe', part of the 'Coalition for a Different Europe', the organisers of the counter-summit, are calling for women attending the demonstration to wear white as a sign of the continuing discrimination against The counter summit itself is becoming a major event which will run from June 12 until June 16. Each day it will take as a theme a major issue involved in European integration: racism, unemploy. ment, homelessness, an ecological Europe, women in Europe and culCUTS Both those on the marches and those travelling to Amsterdam for the demonstration are invited to attend these events.
The conference heard that the European TUC had been pressured into calling a continent-wide day of action on May 28. Several speakers argued that it was vital that our campaign reached out to this initiative which will give us access to a broader layer of trade unionists.
There a debate over the weekend (in a commission open to all delegations) on a new Euromarch manifesto submitted by the organisers which would go alongside the original Florence declaration.
In the end only part of it was agreed as an addition to Florence, the rest was submitted for further discussion by the campaigns in the various countries. The new texts will oe avantoic suordy