The working group – called European Economists for an Alternative Economic Policy in Europe (EuroMemo Group) – started as an informal network of progressive European economists. Both the idea for a yearly report under the name of “EuroMemorandum” and the formation of the group go back to an initiative by the noted German political economist Jörg Huffschmid: Inspired by the German Memo-Group (Arbeitsgruppe Alternative Wirtschaftspolitik), which Huffschmid had co-founded in 1975, in September 1995 he invited economists of the – at that time – ten EU member states to a workshop in Strasbourg to critically question the direction of the EU’s economic and fiscal policy and to analyze its consequences. This was the hour of birth of the EuroMemo Group.
Other early members, who together with Jörg Huffschmid were to play leading roles in the years to come included Miren Etxezarreta (Barcelona), Trevor Evans (Berlin), Marica Frangakis (Athens), John Grahl (London), Jacques Mazier (Paris), Dominique Plihon (Paris) and Wlodimierz Dymarski (Poznan).
Founding members, from left to right: Miren Etxezarreta, Trevor Evans, Jacques Mazier, Marica Frangakis, John Grahl, Dominique Plihon, Wlodimierz Dymarski
The focus of the initial discussions was on the cut-backs of the social welfare state, the deregulation of labour markets, the destruction of the environment and the steady rise of unemployment. On the basis of these debates, the group collectively wrote the first EuroMemorandum report in Brussels in September 1996, bearing the title “Full Employment, Social Cohesion and Equity for Europe – Alternatives to Competitive Austerity”. Together with a list of more than 250 supporters, the report was published immediately before the Amsterdam Summit in May 1997 where the Stability and Growth Pact was agreed. The EuroMemo Group clearly argued against the deflationary bias of the Pact.
The second EuroMemorandum followed in 1998, to continue until the present day, one of the longest lasting initiatives countering mainstream economic thought and policy, Since 2000 the EuroMemorandum has been published annually in several European languages: A printed English edition was published in cooperation with transform! Europe (until 2020), a printed French edition in cooperation with Espaces Marx (until 2017), a printed German edition in cooperation with Zeitschrift Sozialismus, a printed Greek edition in cooperation with the Nicos Poulantzas Institute, and a printed Italian edition in cooperation with the network Sbilanciamoci!.
Since the launch of the EuroMemo, regular presentations have been organized in various European capitals, including in Brussels, Budapest, Ljubljana, Paris, Athens, Rome and Vienna.
The project provided a comprehensive critique of macroeconomic, social and structural policies in the EU. It put forward proposals for a democratic European social model based on the objectives of full employment, welfare, social equity and ecological sustainability. Major results were published in a volume edited by Jörg Huffschmid under the title “Economic Policy for a Social Europe – A Critique of Neoliberalism and Proposals for Alternatives” (2005, Palgrave Macmillan). A second publication edited by Janusz J. Tomidajewicz (Poznan University) focused on privatization in Poland (2009, published by The Poznan Society for Advancement of Arts and Sciences (PTPN)).
The project Privatisation and the European Social Model critically assessed the liberalization and privatization of public services in the EU. The main results were published in the edited volume “Privatisation against the European Social Model – A Critique of European Policies and Proposals for Alternatives” (2010, Palgrave Macmillan.
Together with progressive European civil society and trade unions, the EuroMemo Group co-organized three big conferences in April 2006 (Vienna), April 2007 (Berlin) and April 2008 (Ljubljana), that scrutinized the democratic deficits of European Integration and called for a fundamental reform of EU governance.
Edited by EuroMemo Group founding member John Grahl and assembling a distinguished group of Euromemo Group experts on finance (incl Trevor Evans, Jörg Huffschmid, Marica Frangakis, Dominique Plihon, Jan Toporowski), the book “Global Finance and Social Europe” (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009) provides a full account of the EU’s financial integration strategy, together with a critical assessment arguing the case for social control over global finance.
After many years in which the conference had taken place at the International Trade Union House in Brussels, the 2009 conference was hosted by the Institute for International Political Economy at the Berlin School of Economics in Berlin. This marks the beginning of a new model, in which the conference is hosted in cooperation with a local partner in a different EU country each year.
The EuroMemo Group would not have existed without the initiative and persistence of Jörg Huffschmid. From an early stage he proposed broadening the coordination of the network by establishing a Steering Committee. The work of the Steering Committee was coordinated by Jörg with the support of an administrative assistant, initially Jacqueline Runje and subsequently Diana Wehlau. After Jörg Huffschmid’s premature death, Trevor Evans took on the role as coordinator of the group, and shortly after Stefanie Reinwarth took on the task of administrative assistant.
To commemorate both the academic work and the social activism of Jörg Huffschmid, the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, attac Germany, the German Memo Group and the EuroMemo Group initiate the Jörg Huffschmid Prize in 2011. The prize is awarded for dissertations and master theses in the field of political economy. As of September 2023, nine prizes have been awarded. Recipients include Nicola Liebert (2011), Ingo Stützle and Florian Butollo (2013), Etienne Schneider and Ulaş Şener (2017), Felix Gnisa and Gábor Scheiring (2019), as well as Patrick Kaczmarczyk and Moritz Kuhles (2023).
This volume, edited by Włodzimierz Dymarski, Marica Frangakis and Jeremy Leaman, addressed the severe economic crisis which hit the European Union in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007/08. It exposed the deeply flawed logic of austerity-based EU policy responses imposed on EU countries, and provided alternative economic policies to ensure a sustainable exit from the ongoing crisis and lay the foundations of a socially and ecologically just Europe.
Intended to open up discussions on currently relevant economic, political and social issues in the European Union that are subject to controversial debate within the left, the series is intended to promote broader debate amongst political activists and academic researchers, , including young scholars and students.
Coordinated by EuroMemo member Marica Frangakis and Aimilia Koukuma (Nicos Poulantzes Institute), the e-book “Ten years into the Global Financial Crisis The Current State of Finance in the EU: Prospects and Alternatives” contributed to the debate over the state of the European financial system after the 2007/2008 global financial crisis, by bringing out the adjustment process that has taken place, its future prospects and the alternatives that may be proposed from a left perspective.
After many years in which the EuroMemo Group operated as an informal pan-European network thanks to organizational support provided by befriended organizations (in particular the German Memo Group), the establishment of a legal association became an urgent necessity. In the absence of an appropriate legal form in EU law, the EuroMemo Group was legally incorporated as a non-profit association under Austrian law in November 2019. The competent bodies of the legal association are the General Assembly and an Executive Committee, which is responsible for the daily management. Elected officials for 2019-2021 included Werner Raza (Chairperson), Marica Frangakis (1st Vice-Chair), Peter Hermann (2nd Vice-Chair) and Laura Horn (Treasurer).
In 2020, and also in 2021, the annual conference was organized as an online event due to the Corona pandemic.
According to the statutes of the legal association, the General Assembly in September 2021 appointed a new Steering Committee for the period 2021-2023. Elected officials include Werner Raza (Chairperson), Magnus Ryner (1st Vice Chair), Heikki Patomäki (2nd Vice Chair) and Mahmoud Meskoub (Treasurer).
After some 13 years in operation, the relaunch of the website became an urgent necessity. The new website went online in September 2023, featuring state-of-the-art graphic design and new technical features, including online conference registration and payment transactions.
