Western Europe

European Trotskyists mark 70th anniversary of World War II

A battle for empire rooted in profound contradictions of capitalism

By Julie Hyland, October 31, 2009

The following is a contribution by WSWS Editorial Board member Julie Hyland to an October 11 meeting convened by the European sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International to con...

Britain: Three days of post strikes under way

By our reporters, October 30, 2009

Yesterday saw the start of three more days of postal strikes after days of talks failed to broker a deal.

Opel’s future once again up for grabs

By Dietmar Henning, October 30, 2009

Although the new German government has barely taken office, all the deals struck between the trade unions, General Motors and the consortium from the Canadian-Austrian automotive supplier Magna and th...

Britain: Deepening recession fuels concern over corporate bonuses and bailouts

By Julie Hyland, October 30, 2009

Disagreements over the Brown government’s policy on the global economic crisis have become more vocal after figures showed that the UK economy shrank by 0.4 percent from July to September.

Wrangling continues over Iranian nuclear deal

By Peter Symonds, October 30, 2009

An international agreement on Iran’s low-enriched uranium is yet to be finalised. An initial Iranian response handed yesterday to the IAEA reportedly contains caveats that are not likely to be accep...

Ukrainian economy suffers sharp fall in 2009

By Niall Green, October 29, 2009

Five years after the “Orange Revolution,” the Ukrainian economy is in the deepest crisis since the post-Soviet economic and social implosion of the 1990s.

Seventy years since the outbreak of World War II: Causes, Consequences and Lessons

By David North, October 29, 2009

The following is adapted from a lecture given by SEP National Chairman and WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to meetings held in October in California and Michigan.

Britain: Protests and political campaigning redefined as “domestic extremism”

By Robert Stevens, October 29, 2009

A central feature of the assault on democratic rights in Britain, carried out by the Labour government in the name of the “war on terror,” is its effort to criminalise political activity.

Education spending targeted by all parties in Germany

By Johannes Stern, October 29, 2009

The new German government coalition’s attack on education draws on the devastating work already carried out by the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Left Party.

Germany: A government of social confrontation

By Ulrich Rippert, October 28, 2009

All of the parties represented in the new German coalition government are agreed that the burden of the economic crisis and the ballooning state debt is to be placed upon the backs of the general popu...

US formally requests extradition of filmmaker Roman Polanski

By Hiram Lee, October 27, 2009

The United States has formally requested that filmmaker Roman Polanski be extradited from Switzerland. New details of the Swiss government’s role in Polanski’s arrest have now come to light.

German building cleaners strike against wage cutting

By Ludwig Weller, October 26, 2009

On Thursday of last week 96.7 percent of union members active in the building cleaning branch voted in favor of the first national strike in the history of the industry. The response of the union, how...