Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam fought Commission – and won
In a little-noticed procedural manoeuvre, in October 2020 the commission was forced to withdraw a so-called ‘Services Notification Procedure’ – which would have given it advance veto power over new laws by regional and local governments, and could have further limited local democratic initiatives in…
Taking back control: The future of public services
From Barcelona to Grenoble, towns, cities and regions are reclaiming democratic control over vital services like water and healthcare. We spoke to Transnational Institute researcher Lavinia Steinfort about how, contrary to decades of received wisdom, reversing privatisation results in more accessible, accountable and cost-effective public…
Cities versus multinationals: who will win our post-COVID future?
The importance of care and collective services and its often poorly treated workers has been visible to all during the confinement periods. The virus has often struck harder in poorer neighbourhoods, where living conditions in cramped apartments did not allow for social distancing, and where…
Cities for a social and solidarity way out of the crisis caused by COVID-19
Concerned by the transition their cities out of the crisis caused by COVID-19 looking for a social and solidarity way out, the mayors of Amsterdam, Milan, Barcelona and Paris speak out and share their considerations with the European institutions. Photo: Jp Valery
How EU rules are getting in the way of progressive public policy – and how cities are fighting back
Over recent years there’s been a surge in European cities that, via public tendering, are using their spending power far more pro-actively and strategically to promote social justice and environmental goals. Leading this trend are city governments that define themselves as municipalist and are committed…
Cities versus Multinationals
This confrontation between cities and multinationals is a reflection of the increased pressures on local authorities and urban spaces since the 2008 financial crisis, including austerity and budget cuts, the financialisation of housing, overtourism that negatively impacting locals, and the targeting of cities by Big…
Europe’s cities are leading the fight against xenophobia and the climate crisis
Today, the politics of hate and xenophobia are the main threats to the values that the EU once espoused. We need to avert their spread and build societies that are fair, inclusive and diverse. The municipal movements in cities across Europe are already building networks…
Southern cities: a democratic renaissance
Anti-austerity protesters across Southern Europe — many who had never been involved with politics before — have decided to try and turn their protests into a democratic alternative to the status quo. Photo: Clem Onojeghuo
The nation state must be overcome
The tension between right-wing tenets and progressive policies is raising across Europe. If victorious in the 2019 European elections, the right-wing forces would undermine the transnationalist basis of the Union, thus jeopardizing the whole EU project. Overcoming the nation-state approach, both downwards (internally) and upwards…