CECOP is one among the 270+ organisations and academics that have signed the manifesto for a green, just and democratic European economy. It asks EU finance ministers meeting on March 15, 2022 in Brussels to upgrade the EU's economic policy, so that it prioritizes and delivers decent jobs, rights and a just transition. The EU needs reformed fiscal rules that are consistent with agreed EU social, climate and environmental goals, as well as considerably increased public investment and a turn away from austerity.

By virtue of their business model – which is based on such principles as worker ownership, democratic governance, reinvestment of profits, democratic governance, education and training, and a strong link with their communities – worker and social cooperatives in industry and services contribute to more inclusive, just and sustainable economic growth which leaves nobody behind.

You can read the full manifesto below; translations into French, German, Spanish, Polish and Greek are also available.

Sign the manifesto here

 

Manifesto for a Green, Just and Democratic European Economy

FR: Version française ici
DE: Deutsche Fassung hier
ES: Versión en español aquí
PL: Wersja polska tutaj
EL: Ελληνική έκδοση εδώ

We are civil society organisations, think tanks, trade unions and employers supported by academics from across the European Union.

We have come together to call for fundamental reform of the EU’s fiscal rules.

The aim of economic policy across Europe must not be to simply reduce debt. The economy needs to serve the reduction of socio-economic, intergenerational and gender inequalities, the realisation of social rights and the protection of climate and environment. The EU’s fiscal framework should fully support just transitions and a systemic transformation of our economies and societies to keep global warming below 1.5°C.

The Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992, and legislative changes following the global financial crisis, created strict fiscal limits that cap member states’ public debt and deficits. While coordinating fiscal policies is necessary in a monetary union, these rules, with new challenges facing Europe, are no longer fit for purpose.

First, they impose persistent constraints on public spending, depressing employment and investment. In many countries unemployment rates, especially youth unemployment rates, are still at unacceptable levels.

Second, they fall short of ensuring we can adapt to and mitigate climate change through a just transition. The annual green investment gap was recently assessed by the European Commission at 520 billion euros. To fill the gap, substantial public funding will be needed. The imposition of arbitrary fiscal limits make this target unreachable.

A return to the EU fiscal rules - suspended during the Covid-19 crisis  - would translate into severe cuts in public spending in a majority of EU member states.

New austerity would jeopardise the recovery from the socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and annihilate progress made thanks to the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It would deepen social inequalities and erode the citizens’ trust in the EU. And it would leave many people and governments without sufficient resources to engage in the green and just transition, affecting cohesion and convergence between member states.

We therefore call for deep reform of the EU economic governance framework, to make sure reformed fiscal rules will be consistent with agreed EU social, climate and environmental goals. Spending quality is of the essence: citizens’ money must be well-spent and serve democratically-defined objectives.

We call for a socio-economic transformation of our economic model, a change of paradigm, emphasising the need for considerably increased public investment as well as a strong social dimension of the economic governance, supported by the European Pillar of Social Rights.

We also call for a new approach to ensuring member states’ debt sustainability. Reforms must take into account national contexts, the need to avoid self-defeating austerity, the convergence of European economies, and the building up of fiscal risks.

Climate-related fiscal risks – i.e. the impact that underinvesting in climate change mitigation and adaptation will have on public budgets – need to be part of the country-specific debt sustainability analyses.

Regulatory and administrative measures, taxation as well as additional funding also have a role to play to trigger and orient private investments.

Most importantly, governments have the responsibility to steer the way to operate a socially just green transition. The European Union cannot afford to take any other path.

Ends.

 

Signatories:

  1. Finance Watch, Belgium
  2. The European Trade Union Confederation, Belgium
  3. SGI Europe, Belgium
  4. The European Environmental Bureau, Belgium
  5. Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Belgium
  6. Greenpeace EU, Belgium
  7. The European Youth Forum, Belgium
  8. Sustainable Finance Lab, Netherlands
  9. New Economics Foundation, UK
  10. Greentervention, France
  11. Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme, France
  12. Union Network International-Europa (UNI Europa), Belgium
  13. European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU), Belgium
  14. IndustriAll European Trade Union, Belgium
  15. Fédération Européenne des Retraités et Personnes Âgées, Belgium
  16. Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB), Germany
  17. Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Italy
  18. Federazione Italiana Reti dei Servizi del Terziario (FIRST CISL), Italy
  19. UIL Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
  20. The Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK), Cyprus
  21. Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia (UATUC-SSSH), Croatia
  22. Unión Sindical Obrera USO, Spain
  23. Confederation of Christian Trade Unions Belgium (ACV-CSC), Belgium
  24. Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT), France
  25. The Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK), Finland
  26. International Union of Tenants (IUT), Sweden
  27. Naturefriends International, Austria
  28. Naturfreunde, Switzerland
  29. eco-union, Spain
  30. Clean Air Action Group, Hungary
  31. Legambiente, Italy
  32. CEEweb for Biodiversity, Hungary
  33. France Nature Environnement, France
  34. National Youth Council of Ireland, Ireland
  35. CNCD-11.11.11, Belgium
  36. ZERO - Association for the Sustainability of the Earth System, Portugal
  37. Naturefriends Greece, Greece
  38. Association Justice and Environment, EU
  39. Seas At Risk, Belgium
  40. Youth Express Network , France
  41. Zaļā brīvība, Latvia
  42. Federazione Gruppo Italiano Amici Della Natura, Italia
  43. Lifelong Learning Platform, Belgium
  44. Portuguese National Youth Council, Portugal
  45. MEDASSET - Mediterranean Association to save the Sea Turtles, Greece
  46. SOLIDAR, Belgium
  47. Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India
  48. Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Belgium
  49. Etopia, Belgium
  50. International Young Naturefriends, Austria
  51. ASUFIN, Spain
  52. TDM 2000 International ETS, Italy
  53. vetoNu, Sweden
  54. Crash Course Economics, Netherlands
  55. Feasta: the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability, Ireland
  56. Social Platform, Belgium
  57. Deutscher Naturschutzring (DNR), Germany
  58. Green Foundation Ireland, Ireland
  59. Women Engaged for a Common Future International, Netherlands
  60. ATTAC, Spain
  61. NaturFreunde Deutschlands e.V., Germany
  62. Polish Zero Waste Association, Poland
  63. Reset.Vlaanderen, Belgium
  64. Climate Strategy, Spain
  65. Asociación Canarias Archipiélago Sostenible, Spain
  66. Focus Eco Center, Romania
  67. Positive Money Europe, Belgium
  68. Let's Do It Foundation, Estonia
  69. Eurodiaconia, Belgium
  70. MVO Nederland, Netherlands
  71. The Other Economy, France
  72. Mensa Cívica, Spain
  73. 11 maart beweging, Belgium
  74. The National Youth Council of Latvia, Latvia
  75. 350.org, Europe
  76. Germanwatch e.V., Germany
  77. Lifelong Learning Platform, Belgium
  78. Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos [MedINA], Greece
  79. Grands-Parents pour le Climat (Belgique francophone), Belgique
  80. Association Green Istria (Udruga Zelena Istra), Croatia
  81. Priatelia Zeme-CEPA, Slovakia
  82. CEE Bankwatch Network, Czech Republic
  83. Studenten voor Morgen, Netherlands
  84. European Environmental Bureau, Belgium
  85. Nyt Europa, Denmark
  86. Netzwerk Gute Wirtschaft, Deutschland
  87. EU Umweltbüro, Austria
  88. National Alliance of Student Organisations in Romania (ANOSR), Romania
  89. CONCORD Europe, Belgium
  90. Fingo - Finnish Development NGOs, Finland
  91. Natuur & Milieu, The Netherlands
  92. Nederlandse Vereniging Duurzame Energie, Netherlands
  93. Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Belgium
  94. Milieudefensie - FoE Netherlands, Netherlands
  95. Environmental Association Za Zemiata - FoE Bulgaria, Bulgaria
  96. PowerShift e.V., Germany
  97. Mouvement Ecologique, Luxembourg
  98. European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities, Belgium
  99. Oikopolis, Greece
  100. CALLISTO Wildlife and Nature Conservation Society, Greece
  101. Grüne Wirtschaft, Austria
  102. Aplinkosaugos koalicija (Lithuanian Environmental Coalition), Lithuania
  103. European Students Union, Belgium
  104. Klimaatcoalitie - Coalition Climat BE, België
  105. Citizen's Climate Europe, Netherlands
  106. SDG Watch Europe, Europe
  107. transform! europe, Belgium
  108. EuroNatur, Germany
  109. Inter Environnement Wallonie, Belgium
  110. Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), Belgium
  111. vzw Climaxi, Belgium
  112. Portuguese National Youth Council, Portugal
  113. Pasaules Dabas Fonds, Latvia
  114. Institut Veblen, France
  115. Eurochild, Belgium
  116. European Sustainable Business Federation, Belgium
  117. Friends of the Earth Europe, Belgium
  118. monneta gGmbH, Germany
  119. Regios eG, Deutschland
  120. AGE Platform Europe, Belgium
  121. Climate Express, Belgium
  122. FiscalFuture e.V., Germany
  123. SÜDWIND, Germany
  124. ActionAid Denmark, Denmark
  125. European Confederation of Cooperatives in Industry and Services, Belgium
  126. Réseau Action Climat, France
  127. OIKOS - Cooperação e Desenvolvimento, Portugal
  128. Observatori del Deute en la Globalitzacio, Spain
  129. Financial Justice Ireland, Ireland
  130. Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), UK
  131. Make Mothers Matter (MMM), France
  132. Malta National Youth Council (KNŻ), Malta
  133. VšĮ "Žiedinė ekonomika", Lithuania
  134. National Youth Council of Slovenia, Slovenia
  135. Friends of the Earth Malta, Malta
  136. AK Europa, Austria
  137. Institut Rousseau, France
  138. Veblen Institute for Economic Reforms, France
  139. Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), Belgium
  140. Les Econologistes, Belgium
  141. Association pour le Développement des Études Keynésiennes (ADEK), France
  142. The Nevin Economic Research Institute NERI, Ireland
  143. Arbeitsgruppe Alternative Wirtschaftspolitik e.V., Germany
  144. Forum pour la Transition, Belgium
  145. ECCO Think Thank, Italy
  146. Dezernat Zukunft, Germany
  147. Instrat Foundation, Poland
  148. Our New Economy, Netherlands
  149. Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
  150. Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft e.V., Germany
  151. FleXibles - Association for the investigation of a new economy-system, Switzerland
  152. Climate & Company, Germany
  153. Scientists for Future Germany, Germany
  154. Rada mládeže Slovenska, Slovakia

 

Academics

  1. Olivier Blanchard, MIT, emerite Robert Solow Professor, USA
  2. Steven Keen, University College of London, UK
  3. Siobhan Airey, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
  4. Philipp Heimberger, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Austria
  5. Hielke Van Doorslaer, Ghent University, Belgium
  6. Guillaume Sacriste, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, France
  7. Antoine Vauchez, Université Paris 1 CNRS, France
  8. Thomas Lagoarde-Segot, KEDGE BS, France
  9. David Cayla, Université d'Angers, France
  10. Ramaux Christophe, Université Paris 1, Economistes atterrés, France
  11. Laurence Scialom, University Paris Nanterre, France
  12. Michel Dévoluy, Michel Dévoluy, Professeur honoraire des universités, France
  13. Dominique Plihon, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
  14. Léo Charles, Université Rennes 2, France
  15. Jeremy Leaman, Loughborough University, United Kingdom
  16. Pascal Glémain, Université Rennes 2, France
  17. Roland Pérez, Université Montpellier MRM, France
  18. Werner Raza, EuroMemo Group - European Economists for an Alternative Economic Policy in Europe, Austria
  19. Jorge Uxó, Universidad de Castilla, La Mancha y MacroAFE, Spain
  20. Vivien Schmidt, Boston University, USA
  21. Marek Hudon, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
  22. Marc-Olivier Leclerq, KEDGE Business School, Belgium
  23. Iván H. Ayala, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain
  24. Seraina Grünewald, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
  25. David Bokhorst, European University Institute, Netherlands
  26. Marija Bartl, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  27. Candida Leone, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  28. Irene van Staveren, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
  29. Hans Schenk, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  30. Karen Maas, Impact Centre Erasmus Rotterdam, Netherlands
  31. Luis Reyes Ortiz, KEDGE Business School, France
  32. Herman Wijffels, Utrecht University, Netherlands
  33. Luis Reyes Ortiz, KEDGE Business School, France
  34. Stefano Lucarelli, Università di Bergamo, Italy
  35. Andrea Fumagalli, University of Pavia, Italy
  36. Prof Tim Jackson, University of Surrey, UK
  37. Dirk Ehnts, Fachhochschule Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany
  38. Oriol Roca-Sagalés, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain
  39. Javier Asensio, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
  40. Gracjan R. Bachurewicz, University of Warsaw, Poland
  41. Daniela Cialfi, University of Studies Gabriele d'Annunzioo Chieti-Pescara, Italy
  42. Andrew Denis, City, University of London, United Kingdom
  43. Jörg Bibow, Skidmore College, United States
  44. Eckhard Hein, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
  45. Richard Murphy, Sheffield University Management School, United Kingdom
  46. Michel Dévoluy, Université de Strasbourg, France
  47. Marie-Annick Barthe, Université de Paris , France
  48. Felix FitzRoy, University of St. Andrews, UK
  49. Martina Metzger, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
  50. Dany Lang, Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
  51. Radhouan Ben Chalbia, Université de Sousse, Tunisie
  52. Jan Priewe, HTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  53. Sergio Rossi, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, Switzerland
  54. Milka Kazandziska, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
  55. Luiss Roma, Luiss Roma, Italy
  56. Rosaria Rita Canale, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy
  57. Pier Giorgio Ardeni, University of Bologna, Dept. of Economics, Italy
  58. Roberto Veneziani, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
  59. Johannes Schmidt, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  60. Constantin Gurdgiev, Monfort College of Business, University of Northern Colorado, United States
  61. Abderrahim Taamouti, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
  62. Muhammad Ali Nasir, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  63. Habib Ahmed, Durham University, United Kingdom
  64. Marcus Miller, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
  65. Dario Guarascio, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  66. Hansjörg Herr, HWR Berlin (Berlin School of Economics and Law), Germany
  67. Mark Blyth, Brown University, United States
  68. Mario Morroni, University of Pisa, Italy
  69. Jesus Ferreiro, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, Spain
  70. Rick van der Ploeg, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  71. Emanuele Leonardi, University of Bologna, Italy
  72. José A. Pérez Montiel, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain
  73. Pompeo Della Posta, Università di Pisa, Italy
  74. Eugenio Caverzasi, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Italy
  75. Christina Teipen, HWR Berlin (Berlin School of Economics and Law), Germany
  76. Jacek Schindler, University of Wroclaw, Poland
  77. Yannis Dafermos, SOAS University of London, UK
  78. Jakob Hafele, University of Linz, Germany
  79. Gustav A. Horn, Universität Duisburg Essen, Germany
  80. Deepa Govindarajan Driver, University and College Union, United Kingdom
  81. Thorvald Grung Moe, Levy Economics Institute, Norway
  82. Michael Roos, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
  83. Maria Nikolaidi, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom
  84. Antonio Rodriguez Gil, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  85. Rainer Geiger, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, France
  86. Marc Lavoie, University Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
  87. Michel Santi, HEC Paris, Switzerland
  88. Wimar Bolhuis, Leiden University, Netherlands
  89. Malcolm Sawyer, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  90. Francesco Martucci, Francesco Martucci, France
  91. Mauricio Rezende Dias, Lisbon University, Portugal
  92. Philippe Quirion, CNRS, France
  93. Jacques Généreux, Sciences Po-Paris, France
  94. Daniel Mügge, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  95. David Barkhausen, Institute for Political Science, Heidelberg University, Germany
  96. Jens van 't Klooster, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  97. Nikolaos Karagiannis, Winston-Salem State University, United States
  98. Servaas Storm, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
  99. David F Hendry, Nuffield College, Oxford University, United Kingdom
  100. Kate Raworth, University of Oxford, UK
  101. Thierry Mertens, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
  102. Miquel-Àngel Garcia-López, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
  103. Grégoire Wallenbornn, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
  104. Ozlem Onaran , University of Greenwich , UK
  105. Francesco Corti, University of Milan, Italy
  106. Florian Ranft, Queen Mary University of London, Germany
  107. Annamaria Simonazzi, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini, Italy
  108. Olga Mikheeva, University College London, UK
  109. Michael Jacobs , Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, University of Sheffield, UK
  110. Lisa Herzog, University of Groningen, Netherlands
  111. Dominique Meda, Universite Paris Dauphine, France
  112. Same, Isabelle Ferreras , Belgium
  113. Rogier Claessen, Utrecht University, Netherlands
  114. Hielke Vandoorslaer, Ghent University, Belgium
  115. David Rinaldi, David Rinaldi, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
  116. Daniela Gabor, University of West England, Bristol, UK
  117. Nik de Boer, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  118. Mike Doak, University of Cumbria , United Kingdom
  119. Amandine Crespy, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium