ABSTRACT

With these words, the activists participating in the Assembly of the Movements of the European Social Forum (ESF) in Athens presented themselves, remembering ‘years of common experiences’. The ESF in Athens is the fourth social forum held on a European scale, with the aim of providing a space for the encounter of thousands of social movement organizations and tens of thousands of activists. In their document, the activists claim to have been part of a successful fight against neoliberalism: ‘This year’ – they state – ‘has been significant in that a number of social struggles and campaigns have been successful in stopping neoliberal projects such as the proposed European Constitution Treaty, the EU Ports Directive, and the CPE in France’ (ibid.). The targets of this struggle are identified in a number of international governmental organizations (IGOs), including the EU:

Movements of opposition to neoliberalism are growing and are clashing against the power of trans-national corporations, the G8 and organizations such as the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank, as well the neoliberal policies of the States and the European Union.