Either Europe will be reinvented as a radically new political space, or it will perish, argues Etienne Balibar in these theses

‘We won’t pay for your crisis’ is a frequent refrain of protest throughout the continent. The reality is we will all pay for the crisis in one way or another: we must make sure that the crisis leads to a more just, equal and democratic society. As the crisis is being dealt with at a transnational European level, alternative propositions must be made at this level.

Interview with Samir Amin, whose latest book riasserts the necessity to resort to a critical utopia in order to understand the world and find alternatives to overcome capitalism.

Over the last 18 months the EU has seen many growing pressures on its social services provision. The unemployment rate in the EU has been rising steadily since April 2008. What can the EU do?

The financial crisis gives an opportunity to define a new society in Europe. Antonio Gramsci once said a crisis is when the old is dead, but the new not yet born. A new European socialism will be based on freedom, economic security, equality and democracy. By Stefan Collignon

A column in Le Monde, written by Laurence Boone and Raoul Salomon, complains about the lack of coordination at the European level during the crisis and warns against worrying divergences in managing the after-crisis, notably in matters regarding public funds.

Icelandic foreign minister argues that Iceland’s request to access to the EU is the result of a long process as “Europe” has been the most debated topic in Iceland over the last decade. Also, the country has understood the difficulty in maintaining an independent currency in a globalised world.

With a simple and rather modest understanding of how things are supposed to work when acknowledging the inseparable link that exist between political decision-making and the economy and vice versa, recent orientations of decisions having been made in different member states of the EU are worrying, and rightly so.

Michel Rocard explains how within the three last decades, capitalism transformed itself and underwent an internal revolution, which became apparent in banking by an overweening greed explaining the spread of derivative products …

Ana Carbajosa analyses an increasingly widespread feeling throughout Europe: fear. Globalisation, terrorism, immigration, social insecurity, climate change and the current economic crisis are making Europeans more and more fearful: “Europeans are frightened” and distrustful of a little promising future.