Europe in Crisis · Global Voices

‘Sad Euro walrus’ emoticon
This special coverage aims to give a voice to ordinary people living with the social, political and financial consequences of Europe's financial bailouts. We look to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and other European countries affected by the banking crisis and Euro crisis.
The democratic deficit is growing in countries making bailout agreements, and citizens are voicing their pent-up frustrations with protests and new people's movements. Protests and so-called “revolutions” across Europe in 2011 are evidence of widespread discontent with the handling of economic crisis.
But this series will not just be about protest – we hope to capture the breadth of reflection and debate provoked by the European bailouts, featuring new ideas and alternative responses. From the hyperlocal to the artistic, we hope to feature a range of citizen media about the crisis from across Europe.
This special coverage has its own Twitter account – for updates, please follow @GVEuropeCrisis. Or you can subscribe to our RSS Feed.
For a summary of 2011 citizen media coverage of the crisis, see here.
“EU in Crisis” is the first production of our new Global Voices Books project and includes the best material from social conversation, participation and mobilization boosted by citizens going through the tough times of austerity in the old continent and beyond.
We hand-picked and assembled the best posts, from our special coverage on Europe in Crisis launched in Spring 2011, and written by our team of dedicated international citizen-reporters.
The e-book is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License and is available for downloading in three different formats:
- PDF (3,2 MB)
– ePub (3,2 MB)
– Mobipocket (2,8 MB)
Please contact Janet Gunter if you have story ideas or links for this page. We seek bloggers from Iceland and Ireland to write for Global Voices!
What we do: Global Voices bloggers report on how citizens use the Internet and social media to make their voices heard, often translating from and to different languages.
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Tens of thousands of Spaniards rally in Madrid to protest against government austerity measures and the role of banks. Photo by Nathalie Paco, © Demotix (15/05/2011).
2013
9 Apr – Portugal's Constitutional Court Blocks Bailout Measures
1 Mar – Portugal Gets the Giggles Ahead of Austerity Protests
27 Feb – Weary of Austerity, Portugal Sings a Song of Revolution
2 Feb – Portugal: Authorities Bring Charges Against Women Activists
11 Jan – Rethinking Public Service: Portuguese Bloggers Translate IMF Report
2012
20 Nov – Social Pressure Halts Evictions Temporarily in Spain
16 Nov – Night Clashes Overshadow Portugal's Largely Peaceful General Strike
15 Nov – Strike Across Southern Europe
14 Oct- Greece: Police Post Photos of Youth Detained at General Strike
13 Oct – Spain: Government Insults Judge for Exonerating Protesters
17 Oct – Siege of Portuguese Parliament: “This is not our budget”
28 Sep – Spain: Creative Alternatives to an Economy in Crisis
18 Sep – Italy: Workers Occupy Sardinian Coal Mine
17 Sep – Portugal: Massive Protest Against Troika Sparks Momentum
15 Sep – Portugal Protesting: “We Want Our Lives”
11 Sep – Spain: Storming the Streets (and Web) on Catalonia's National Day
06 Sep – Portugal: Public Television on the Way to Being Privatised
04 Sep – Greek Anarchists’ Anti-Racism Demonstration in Photos
04 Sep – Germany: Criticism of ‘Ich Will Europa’ Campaign
23 Aug – Portugal: The Dark Side of the National Dam Program
20 Aug – Spain: “Health Disobedience” in the Face of Massive Cuts
11 Aug – Spain: Expropriation of Food for the Most Needy
23 Jul – Spain: King's Controversial Son-in-law Gets Salary in Millions
23 Jul – Spain: Street Protests are Unstoppable
13 Jul – Spain: Supporting the Miners: “Yes, Yes, They Do Represent Us!”
29 Jun – Spain: Miners on Strike Bring Struggle to the Net
16 Jun – Spain: 15M Presents Legal Complaint Against Bankia
07 Jun – Greece: Inspiration Behind the Shocking ‘Modern Maenad’ Photo
06 Jun – Spain: “Occupying” the Banks on the Street and the Net
01 Jun – Spain: “Wanted: The Ones Responsible for the Crisis”
21 May – Germany: #Blockupy Protests Against Pan-European Austerity
14 May – Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring
14 May – Spain: “Neighbor, Wake Up, Foreclosures at Your Doorstep!”
07 May – Spain: Barcelona Sieged During European Central Bank Meeting
30 Apr – Portugal: Eviction Prior to Freedom Day Awakens Squatting Movement
21 Apr – Portugal: ‘You Cannot Evict an Idea’ Without Borders
11 Apr – Spain: Images of Police Brutality During General Strike
04 Apr – Greece: Public Suicide of 77 Year Old Man in Athens Square
30 Mar – Spain: General Strike Across Cities and Neighborhoods
29 Mar – Spain: General Strike After Only 100 Days of Government
22 Mar – Portugal: Subversive Priest's “Homily” to General Strike on YouTube
19 Feb – Spain: Police Violence Against Students in Valencia
09 Feb – Spain: The Rebel Grandparents of the 15M
07 Feb – Italy: More Protests Against Austerity and Information Deficit
12 Jan – Greece: Criticism of Politicians During Theophany Celebrations
02 Jan – Spain: The #15M Celebrate Christmas With Outrage
2011
23 Dec – Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home
08 Dec – Greece: “Giving Birth is Not a Privilege of the Rich!”
19 Nov – Spain: Creative Counter-Campaign Spreads on the Net
16 Nov – Greece: Send Your Tale of the Financial Crisis
02 Nov – Greece: Anti-Austerity Protests Disrupt Ochi Day Parades
28 Oct – Greek Financial Crisis and Anti-Austerity Protests: The Story So Far
22 Oct – Spain: The October 15 Protests and Mass Media Coverage
19 Oct – Italy: October 15 Protest Turns Violent in Rome
17 Oct – Portugal: Photos and Videos of October 15 Protests
13 Oct – Portugal: Democracy Takes to the Streets on October 15
26 Sep – Spain: Police “Welcome” 15M Protesters in Paris
22 Aug – Spain: Pope's Visit Leaves a Violent Trace in Madrid
06 Aug – Spain: Journalist Arrested and Demonstrations Restricted
21 Jul – Portugal: “Junk” National Debt Rating Provokes Online Demonstrations
11 Jul – Spain: More Information on tomalaplaza.net
09 Jul – Greece: Journalist suffers total hearing loss from police brutality
28 Jun – Spain: Police Violence Against Peaceful Demonstrators in Barcelona
27 Jun – Spain: Manuel Castells at #AcampadaBCN
21 Jun – Spain: Massive Demonstrations on June 19
11 Jun – Spain: Protests Evolve, but Tensions Continue
23 May – Greece: Is it time for the #GreekRevolution?
22 May – Spain: Website #tomalaplaza
20 May – Spain: “Yes We Camp,” Mobilizing on the Streets and the Internet
19 May – Spain: Photos of Protests
17 May – Spain: Thousands of People Take the Streets
12 Mar – Portugal: A protest generation: foolish and scraping by
2010
15 Oct – Greece: Teargas under the Acropolis
12 Mar – Greece: General strike rallies met with violence
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The Acropolis of Ancient Greece, where democracy had its formal origin. Image by Flickr user mgrenner57 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
2012
22 Oct – Portugal: Media Sector Struggling in Hard Times
12 Sep – Portugal: More Austerity, Why's the Revolution Taking So Long?
01 Aug – Spain: How Many Advisors Are Really Necessary?
06 Jul – Portugal: Citizens Audit of Public Debt Still Without Answers
10 May – Spain: #NoMoreEuros for Bankia
10 May – Europe: Economic Crisis Fuels Rise in Anti-Immigration Politics
07 May – Switzerland: An Initiative to Establish Basic Income for All
19 Apr – Spain: The King and the Elephants
26 Jan – Greece: “I Signed the IMF Memorandum Without Having Read It”
2011
10 Dec – Spain: Interview with Arreglamicalle.com
24 Nov – Spain: Controversies in the General Elections
15 Nov – Eurozone Crisis: Where Will the Economy Go?
15 Nov – Italy: End of the Road for Berlusconi
02 Nov – Greece: Vote of Confidence and the Future Referendum
01 Nov – Greece: Polarized Reactions to the Debt “Haircut” Deal
23 Sep – Spain: Crowdsourcing Democracy
10 Sep – Spain: Intense Political and Social Debate on the Constitutional Reform
04 Jul – Greece: “We Gave Birth to Democracy, and We Killed It!”
20 May – Portugal: Uncovering Transparency in Parliament
15 May – Spain: Real Democracy Now!
06 May – Greece: Documentary Film “Debtocracy” Available in English
03 May – Portugal: Adrift, with a bailout in the works
24 Mar – Portugal: Is there still Government?
13 Mar – Portugal: Scraping By But Making Noise
2010
26 Feb – Greece, Germany and the middle finger of Venus de Milo
24 Feb – Greece: Bloggers respond fiercely to financial crisis
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Europe. Source: CC BY-SA from Wikimedia Commons
2012
19 Apr – Spain: The King and the Elephants
2011
09 Sep – Portugal: Citizens Ask Icelanders About Democracy
23 Jun – Europe: “Greek Drama Doesn't Transcend Hellenic Borders”
01 Jun – Hungary: A Picnic for Democracy
27 May – Spain: From Spanish Revolution to World Revolution
2010
15 Sep – Slovakia: No Money for Greece
15 May – Reactions to the Greek Financial Crisis and the IMF from the Africansphere
10 May – Hungary, Greece: Shadow Economies
09 May – Macedonia: Can the Country Go Bankrupt?
21 Mar – E.U.: Debate Over the Euro
20 Feb – EU, Greece: Greek PM Parody
24 Jan – Greece: Fiscal Deficit
2009
18 Mar – Global: Bubbles, Bailouts and Stimulus Plans
2008
16 Oct – Central & Eastern Europe: Financial Crisis
14 Oct – Russia: Blog Roundup; Bailout of Iceland
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(Unless otherwise indicated, websites are in English).
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@boomerangomics (João Moura) has one of the best Twitter lists called “PIIGS and Bailout Business“.
Hashtags: #eurocrisis | #eurochat | #eurozone | #spanishrevolution | #15O
Graphic by Juan Hervas shared by #SpanishRevolutionBlog
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