The Italian Forum of Water Movements writes, “(We) think it’s about time we launched together a European network where all movements, unions, associations and civil society groups can join to share their work for water as a commons. The network should represent a ‘common platform’ which can define some shared core points for a common action and project; campaigns and instruments to be adopted should then be defined step by step, as for the European Citizens’ Initiative (which enables one million European Union citizens to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legislative act).”
“If European social subjects working for water as a commons manage to coordinate their action and elaborate a common platform before Marseille 2012 (the World Water Forum), they will give a very important and decisive support to (the counter-forum) FAME (Forum Alternatif Mondial de L’eau). We will all be there together with water activists from all over the world to face the offensive of big water corporative interests.”
The message, sent widely on various global water justice list serves, then adds, “We are therefore proposing to undertake a course that will lead us to the elaboration of a common European platform, timing and methods of which we will decide together. We are asking you to join us in this initiative and to take part in the important meeting in Naples on the 10th and 11th of December. The new government of this Italian city has begun remunicipalising water services and is striving to become, like Paris, a symbol and visible example that remunicipalisation is possible, now.”
The Council of Canadians/ Blue Planet Project is supportive of the formation of a European Network for Water as a Commons. We recognize the importance of alliances, we believe water must be recognized as a part of the commons, we want the strongest possible intervention against the World Water Forum this coming March, and, given our campaign against the Canada-European Union free trade deal, are supportive of this objective noted by the Italian Forum: “Changing European Commission’s course and stopping ongoing privatisation processes in our continent can be the core of ‘another Europe’, based on rights and universal access to commons instead of on markets and profits.”