Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

We will discuss the issue with some of the signatories.

The public debt of Member States is a major political issue for the whole European Union.
The current pandemic has made it all the more acute.
What will happen if, in a few months’ time, Maastricht criteria are restored in a logic of neoliberal and monetarist extremism?
An economic and social catastrophe is looming on the horizon.

Last February, 150 economists from several European countries looked at the problem and issued a joint manifesto in which they propose to cancel the debt due to the ECB ECB
European Central Bank The European Central Bank is a European institution based in Frankfurt, founded in 1998, to which the countries of the Eurozone have transferred their monetary powers. Its official role is to ensure price stability by combating inflation within that Zone. Its three decision-making organs (the Executive Board, the Governing Council and the General Council) are composed of governors of the central banks of the member states and/or recognized specialists. According to its statutes, it is politically ‘independent’ but it is directly influenced by the world of finance.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/html/index.en.html . It is about government bonds held by the ECB.

In other words, it is about the debt Member States’ citizens, as owners of the ECB, owe themselves. This proposal should be disseminated and supported by civil society, and it should lie at the heart of social movements’ struggles.

WE WILL DISCUSS THE ISSUE WITH SOME OF THE SIGNATORIES: (interpretation will be provided for all speeches in both Italian and English)

• Eric Toussaint, University of Liège and Paris VIII, Spokesperson of the Committee for the Abolition of illegitimate debts (CADTM)
• Michael Tellmann, former member of the Board of Directors of a German public development bank, and member of the National Board of Attac Germany
• Guido Ortona, professor University of Eastern Piedmont

Monday 5 July 18:00-19:30
Zoom link: https://bit.ly/3A1bbP4
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/976218566540286

This Webinar, organised by “La Società della Cura 1” and CADTM Italy as a means of civic self-education, aims to raise awareness on the themes of the appeal. As “La Società della Cura” suggested, its objectives should be shared by a wide range of social movements.
This initiative is also part of the activities organised on the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of Genoa 2001.
www.lasocietadellacuratorino.wordpress.com | www.cadtm.org