The European Union is planning the TTIP treaty (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) with the United States, in order to enable the economic elite to accumulate more capital, and make off with public assets. As for education, they aim to go on privatising public education, and set it aside for commercial interests. In addition to this treaty, the TISA treaty (Trade in Services Agreement) must be mentioned, which pursues the same goals.

The interests that motivated these treaties seek to further fill the pockets of the economic elite, while young people and students are ever more condemned to an existence of social and employment insecurity. The neoliberal reforms within the European educational framework have not ended and, though each member state of the European Union has its own way to apply them, it’s evident that every university seems to be on the same track. For that reason, we predict that they will carry similar consequences.

The Spanish State, as a member of the European Union, obeys the neoliberal interests ordered by the EU, so it is not exempt from the thirst for power of big businesses and their will to deregulate the market. Thus, Spain is planning to carry out the “Estrategia Universitaria 2015” (University strategy 2015), with the pretext of “modernising universities to contribute to the socio-economic progress in Spain”. Nevertheless, students from the nations oppressed by the Spanish State are aware that, once again, the political and economic elite of the state are making important decisions for our future. We believe that the social reality of each one of our nations is being ignored, and that the framework for decision is being moved away from our local realities.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CONVERGENCE

In order to invite the youth or student organisations from Europe, students oppressed by the Spanish State have established some basic principles, which we suppose each organisation interested in participating will take on. Establishing these principles we understand that if we really strive for a revolution of the European university model, it is inevitable to agree upon these points which we believe are fundamental in order to achieve a public and democratic university for the people.

1)

THE WILL TO BREAK WITH THE NEOLIBERAL POLICIES THAT COME FROM THE EU

As we explained before, we understand that the EU is carrying out policies that encourage the privatisation of public services, by signing the TISA and TTIP treaties, for instance. The will to break with those policies does not imply the will to leave the EU, but the demand of a radical change in socioeconomic policies, and especially, in the EU’s educational policies.

2)

THE RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

We understand self-determination integrally, i.e, self determination for the people to choose their own university model and, at the same time, self- determination to define if a nation will have its own State to manage its own realities and social needs. Hence, we deem essential that the decision framework is as close as possible to the local realities.

3)

THE DEMAND FOR EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE OF ALL GENDERS

Given the systematic privatisation of European public universities, we understand that the new workers who join the professional world are less and less qualified, and therefore, are resigned to accept ever-poorer working conditions. In this situation, we see that young women are the ones who suffer this precariousness the most, and that is why we demand, not only, an improvement of the university quality for everybody, but also, the facilitation for women to join the professional world.

 

PROPOSAL

Under that threat, students from the nations oppressed by the Spanish State see the need to make an urgent call to the students of Europe and to organise a student forum. We are sure that, in working together, we will be able to go much further in our struggle against the neoliberal reforms arriving from the EU.

For that reason, we would like to invite the European student organisations to come to the Basque Country on the 26th, 27th and 28th February 2016, with a view to setting up some common ground in order to stand up to the new reforms, to question the current university model, and to reclaim the university model that we stand for. Once these bases are set up, each one of the organisations will be responsible for spreading the conclusions of this Forum on their own lands. Thus, we believe that each organisation will enrich the Forum with their presence, as they will give a wider dimension; on the other hand, the Forum will enrich each organisation’s activity, as it will give international support and legitimacy to their own struggles. That means international struggles have their basis in local realities, and local realities are nourished by international struggles.

 

MAIN OBJECTIVES

When all the organisations come to the Basque Country, our main objective will be to discuss and coordinate our current struggles against neoliberal policy attacks. We will discuss what is happening in Europe, like the austere measures affecting the life and study conditions of the youth that are leading us towards a dark future of unemployment and precariousness. We will construct a common anti-capitalist discourse questioning the university model imposed by many reforms.

Furthermore, we will also try to reach an agreement on constructive struggles, that is to say, we will see the need to having our own educational models, to be able to build alternatives, and to find ideas and solutions that will steer us away from this economical, political and social crisis. Therefore, we will also define the features of the university model we require and for which we fight every day.

That is to say, rather than simply setting up a network of international solidarity, we will see what the key factors are in order to act together: both against the upcoming reforms and treaties, as well as future ones, as we can foresee that attacks against public education will not stop.

 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

The 50th anniversary of the May of 1968 will soon arrive, an emblematic date when it comes to the student struggle. With regards to the particular context we will encounter over the next decade, we think there are real possibilities for European students to be the spearhead of the social and student demands.

The European student Forum that we will organize on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of February of 2016 can become the cornerstone of the actions we carry out together from this moment on. Additionally, we predict that, beyond establishing an international solidarity network, this framework can achieve more steadiness and stability with the organisation of further student Forums, and even with the signing of a new European student manifesto.

 

www.forumtofight.org