The Asia Europe People's Forum (AEPF) began in 1996 in Bangkok, in parallel, and in response to the first ASEM summit which pushed for stronger regional blocs and the promotion of corporate power. AEPF is grounded in the common desire of people’s organisations and social justice networks across Asia and Europe to open up new venues for dialogue, solidarity and action.
AEPF provides a space for citizens to share, strengthen struggles and develop recommendations, campaigns and alternatives for both regions. AEPF has actively engaged with ASEM, lobbying for the integration of people’s rights into ASEM. AEPF has contributed to building stronger networks at national and regional levels and has implemented cross regional initiatives on peace and security, economic and social justice, democratisation and human rights.
In 2006, the European Union (EU) adopted a new trade strategy called Global Europe - competing in the world. This strategy is explicitly designed to benefit European companies and includes plans to further deregulate financial markets, to open up public services to private sector companies and to provide European corporations with access to lucrative government contracts. It also includes Free Trade Agreements and Economic Partnership Agreements. Global Europe’s agenda marks an aggressive push to access raw materials and new markets in an increasingly competitive world economy.
Asian governments – either individually or working together through regional groupings such as ASEAN – are pursuing deregulation, liberalisation and privatisation agendas that directly parallel the Global Europe project and that are advancing the global agenda of competitiveness through corporate power. Public services are underfunded or being privatised, companies are being given huge concessions, workers’ rights are threatened and massive job cuts continue.
The role of Asian corporations in aggressively pursuing new markets is central to the emerging Asia-Europe economic relationship, with Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian capital at the forefront of this push. As the late, Giovanni Arrighi puts it; the real story of the 21st century will be “Adam Smith in Beijing.”
In both Europe and Asia the political consequences of this dominance and reassertion of corporate power are clear. At best there has been a hollowing out of democratic accountability as elites make decisions and implement policies with little or no scrutiny from citizens. At worst, this economic development model further embeds authoritarian regimes that treat citizens’ rights with impunity and devastate the environment. It is this profound democratic deficit, combined with increasing poverty and inequality that creates the conditions for growing social unrest and resistance.
The AEPF represents a growing interregional movement for economic, social, political and environmental justice, and continues to recommend alternative systems to replace failed free market ideology and practices. Current crises must be seen as an opportunity to develop policies based on principles of sustainable public benefit and democracy rather than greed, profit and corporate control. Unfettered control of trade, finance, capital and natural resources by companies must be replaced by policies that meet the real needs of people, underpinned by full democratic accountability.
A new European parliament was elected in 2009 and the EU will embark on a major review of its trade policy as part of its post-2010 Lisbon Strategy. The ASEM summit in Brussels is an historic opportunity to challenge decision makers and to propose substantive and realistic alternatives.
AEPF8, 2-5 October 2010
A series of events will be held in Brussels on 2-5 October 2010. Events will focus on the relation of corporate power to: trade/investment, food sovereignty, climate change, decent work (including social protection) and peace and security. The AEPF will be a series of interlinked dialogues, workshops, actions, tribunals and policy debates with the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament. Events are being co-ordinated by Belgium organisations, Brussels-based European networks and the AEPF International Organising Committee.
Join us in October 2010 to build a more just and equal Asia-Europe.
Participate in actions and events during AEPF8, Co-organise events and national activities in the run up to, and during AEPF8, Contribute resources and time to ensure AEPF8 is a success.
For more details please contact:
Co-ordinator of the National Organising Committee - Arnaud Ghys, CNCD-11.11.11.
Brussels:
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Europe Coordinator, International Organising Committee - Pietje Vervest, Transnational Institute:
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Asia Coordinator, International Organising Committee - Tina Ebro, Institute for Popular Democracy:
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Other members of the International Organising Committee include: Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation (Malaysia), Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation, Indonesian Partnerships for Local Governance Initiatives, Focus on the Global South, Forum Asia, Asienhaus (Germany), One World Action (UK), Developpement et Civilisations Lebret-Irfed (France), and the Finnish AEPF Committee.
In close cooperation with AEPF (2012)-National Organising Committee for India and AEPF-South Asia Working Group.
Link: http://www.aepf.info/concept.html
