We never got back the 4.5 trillion euros Europeans paid in bank bailouts. We deserve compensation! Ask your Finance Minister to help make banks pay back.
Petition text
For three years you have been negotiating the implementation of a financial transaction tax as part of a group of ten EU Member States. The tax would be a historic breakthrough. Finally speculators would have to contribute to the costs for the bank bailouts.
Do not allow an agreement so close to its conclusion to fail. Clarify publicly that you fully support the ongoing negotiations. Pull out all the stops to enforce the financial transaction tax.
Why is this important?
The banks never gave us back all the 4.5 trillion euros we paid them in aid following the financial crisis that hit Europe in 2010 [1]. What an irony that the people had to rescue the bankers and speculators responsible for the devastation of our economies and welfare.
Our collective sacrifice to bail bankers out came at an extremely high human cost. Hospital budgets – slashed. School budgets – slashed. Social benefits – slashed. And ultimately a steep rise in poverty and inequality across Europe.
Soon 10 key EU Finance Ministers will meet to discuss an agreement to clamp down on harmful speculation by applying a tax on dangerous financial transactions. The tax would raise money for public expenditure while discouraging the kind of speculation that helped lead to the economic collapse.
Even though these 10 countries have chosen to cooperate over the past three years and are very close to concluding this agreement, there is still risk it might not happen. If only one of the participating countries withdraws from the initiative, or imposes conditions for their own interests, we could lose our opportunity to make banks pay for the devastation they caused.
It’s in our hands to raise our voice loud enough to make our collective outcry unmissable. And we play with advantage because our community is made of tens of thousands in many European countries – we have the power to mobilise simultaneously and make sure each minister hears from its electorate! Let’s use our power before their meeting.
[1] http://ec.europa.eu/competition/recovery/financial_sector.html
