Dear comrades from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, Welcome to Vienna! Welcome to Linking Alternatives 2! „LINKING ALTERNATIVES 2” HAS BEING ORGANISED AS A MA-JOR SOCIAL ENCOUNTER IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA ON THE OCCASION OF THE FOURTH SUMMIT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERN-MENT. IT CARRIES THE THEME: „SOCIAL ALTERNATIVES IN A NEW ERA OF EUROPE-LATIN AMERICA RELATIONS”.
DURING THIS 4-DAY EVENT, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS FROM ACROSS EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) WILL SEND A MESSAGE TO THE HEADS OF STATES AND GOVERNMENTS SUMMIT TO STOP PROMOTING A BI-REGIONAL FREE TRADE AGENDA. THIS SOCIAL ENCOUNTER HAS BEEN BUILT AROUND FIVE KEY THEMES: THE EFFECTS OF NEO-LIBERAL GLOBALISATION; EU-LAC DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION; MILITARISATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS; EU-LA POLITICAL DIALOGUE; AND ALTERNATIVE REGIONAL INTEGRATION STRATEGIES. THIS EVENT WILL HIGHLIGHT THE ANALYSIS OF TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE AND LAC; ASSESS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELATIONS BETWEEN BOTH REGIONS IN THE CURRENT NEO-LI-BERAL GLOBAL CONTEXT; ADDRESS THE EU TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE REGION AS WELL AS THE POLITICAL ROLE OF EU TNCS IN BOTH EUROPE AND LAC AND SHOWCASE PEOPLE‘S ALTERNATIVES IN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND PROPOSALS. AT THE CORE OF THE ENCOUNTER, THE BIRREGIONAL NETWORK TOGETHER WITH THE PERMANENT PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL (PPT) WILL HOLD THE FIRST SESSION OF A TRIBUNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC) PERPETRATED BY EU-BASED TNCS AND THEIR SUBSIDIARIES AND TO DENOUNCE THE CORPORATE SYSTEM IN BOTH THE EU AND LAC. LINKING ALTERNATIVES 2 HAS BEEN ORGANISED BY THE LAC-EU BIRREGIONAL NETWORK. A NETWORK WHICH INCLUDES SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS, SOLIDARITY GROUPS, ANTI-GLO-BALISATION MOVEMENTS, ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATIONS, TRADE UNIONS AND UNEMPLOYED GROUPS, THE RURAL LANDLESS WORKERS MOVEMENT, POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS, ENVIRON-MENTALISTS, FARMERS, STUDENTS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, MIGRANT AND REFUGEE ORGANISATIONS, ARTISTS, INTELLECTUAL WOMEN AND MEN FROM BOTH CONTINENTS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EU-LAC BIRREGIONAL NETWORK, WHICH TODAY INCLUDES MORE THAN 200 ORGANISATIONS FROM BOTH REGIONS, OPENED A NEW CHAPTER IN PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE RELATIONS BETWEEN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA-CARIBBEAN AND EUROPE