[03-04.03.2006, Lisbon, Portugal] "Europe and the European Union, realities, experiences of struggle and new opportunities for change"

"Europe and the European Union, realities, experiences of struggle and new opportunities for change"


Dear comrades,

At first, I would like to convey the warm comradely greetings of the CC of the KKE on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the PCP’s foundation, of the foundation of the party of the working class and of all the Portuguese working people, which has identified itself with the struggle against fascism, has put its seal on the revolutionary transformations of April and nowadays plays an important role in the country’s political life and in the international revolutionary movement.

Today’s initiative is taking place in a period that the working people are faced with a universal attack by the capital in all spheres. The restructures that the EU and the governments jointly promote, express a single imperialist strategy. These are measures that the capitalistic system absolutely needs, in order to face its difficulty to reproduce its social capital. The approach and coincidence of the liberal parties with the social-democratic (a recent characteristic example is the Bolkestein directive) is a further strong proof that the so-called neoliberal policy, is not simply a political choice but an intrinsic need of the capitalist system.

The main aspects of the restructures concern:

• The depression of the price of the labor force, the rise of the degree of exploitation, the inversion of any stability of the employment, the hyper-exploitation of immigrants, women and young people, the increase in retirement age, etc.
• The intensification of the policy of privatizations and of the “liberalization” of the markets (energy, transports, telecommunications, etc.)
• The complete commercialization of all necessary for the reproduction of the labor force sectors like Education, Health care, Social Insurance.
• This policy requires more and more reactionary measures at the political level. Behind the cloak of the “European Institutions” is revealed the dictatorship of the monopolies in all its greatness, that nowadays expands the so-called “war on terror” into a war “against violent/radical extremism”.
• The mechanisms of repression of popular movements are strengthened all over Europe. The “Hague programme” is already implemented, as it is the “antiterrorist” doctrines in cooperation with the US.
• The recent disclosure in Greece of the “illegal” tapping of tens of mobile telephones, including cellular of governmental and public figures, has brought into surface the enormous issue of the thousands “legal” interceptions and the sophisticated policing systems.
• The imperialist aggressiveness against peoples and countries and the militarization escalate. The “European Army” is strengthened by creating rapid intervention forces and by promoting the mercenary armies at European level.
  
• Anticommunism is intensified, along with the threats for open criminalization and persecutions against the communist parties which do not renounce their ideology and their class mission. Instructive examples are the anticommunist motion at the PACE, the threats against the Communist Youth Union of Czech Republic, while the persecutions and the prohibitions continue against the communists and their parties in several EU countries. The attacks against Cuba in the European Parliament multiply - unfortunately with the tolerance of GUE/NGL forces.
  
• The EU interventions for the adaptation of the political systems and for the direct control of the parties by the state mechanisms are intensified. A basic tool of intervention is the creation of EU parties, "European Parties" which in principle will legitimize the European capitalist unification.

In front of such an attack, the denunciations are not enough. It is of fundamental importance to organise the counter-attack of peoples with the class labour movement being its core.

The big European campaign and action against the anticommunist motion at PACE demonstrate that the communist movement is in position to undertake successful coordinated initiatives, to inspire and to set in motion broader anti-imperialist, popular, progressive forces, to the extent that we resolutely defend our History, the communist identity, the Socialist perspective. The imperialists' objective for the launching of a new form of a global anticommunist hysteria will not stop. On the contrary, in the name of "anti-Stalinism" the attack is intensifying also in the frame of the EU and its institutions.

At the same time we witness peoples’ resistance growing all around Europe. Significant strikes break out, struggles against EU policies take on a broader scope as it was the case with the demonstrations against Bolkestein directive, as well as the anti-imperialist anti-war mobilisations and movements. In our country, recently, big strike struggles erupted against the EU and governmental policies, against the employers’ provocations who pursue to deliver the "final blow" to social rights and collective contracts.

Of particular importance is the recent heroic long Pan-Hellenic strike struggle of the seamen. A massive struggle that took place in tough conditions, in which the PAME, the communists and the class-oriented trade union movement played the leading role, with unprecedented solidarity and support by the whole working class and the popular strata. The seamen victoriously faced blackmails, pressures and strike-breaker mechanisms. They defied and broke the state's terrorism and revoked in practice the political mobilization, the back-to-work order issued by the ND government on Feb. 21st. The shameful decision of the ND government to recruit with back-to-work mobilisation the strikers has also been a common practice for by the PASOK governments in the past.

This strike got into the centre of the political and ideological juxtaposition, even several days after its end, it leads to more general conclusions. What was mainly at stake during this battle was the defence of the right of strike, the working class's right to choose the forms of its struggle, in order to oppose the barbarous offensive of the capital and its political representatives, but also in order to respond to its historic role, that is the abolition of the exploitation of man by man. It brought into surface the right of the working class to defend the preponderance of its rights over the capital's "legality". It confirmed the need to change the correlation of forces as fast as possible, to weaken the forces which promote the "social dialogue" and the class collaboration, the submission to the rationale of the supposedly feasibility, of what is supposedly realistic; the need to build a unified framework of demands which will correspond to the workers' modern needs and will contribute to the change of the correlation of forces. KKE supports the activity of PAME and the efforts that it has undertaken jointly with other class forces at international level for the regrouping and reinforcement of the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Certainly, there are encouraging signs of "recovery" in the fights and the popular movements, as are also the facts that the legitimacy of the European Union declines in the eyes of peoples, that the so-called "European vision" fades and that the EU meets more and more difficulties. The inter-imperialist contradictions are sharpening, and already the “war for oil” has been transferred in Europe. A tendency towards more intense social and political conflicts is in the offing.

In this background, it is important that the struggles acquire aiming and orientation towards radical changes in the direction of Socialism; that the ideological front is sharpened so that the stream of indiscipline, disobedience and rupture with the EU and NATO strengthens, and certain delusions are refuted, like:

• that the EU of the capital and the war, built on the basis of exploitation and interventions, can be transformed into a supposedly "Social Europe",
• that nowadays a better redistribution of wealth is possible in the frame of this capitalist unification, without touching the monopolies’ dominance over the means of production and the capital's power.
• that solutions or positive developments for the people may result from the participation of communist and radical parties in centre-left governments.

KKE considers that the attitude towards the EU constitutes a fundamental criterion for each party's character. The alignment with the rationale of the "one-way road of the EU" objectively cancels every declaration of policies in favour of the people.

That is applies characteristically to those forces which play a leading role in the organisation of the so-called "European Social Forum" in May in Athens. In fact, this is an effort to whitewash the extreme neo-liberal policy of PASOK, the President of which was recently elected President of the Socialist International, in order to promote centre-left scenarios, to manipulate the hemming of people's dissatisfaction, and to beautify the reactionary face of the EU and of the "European Idea".

Nowadays, several fables are seriously diluted. For instance, the myth that the EU will lead to the reduction of the disparity and to the convergence between the countries, that it will upgrade the life standards and the democratic rights, in particular in the new member states; or even the claims that the EU constitutes an objectively progressive tendency, or even worse a reality that we must accept, and that its future will be a smooth course to unhindered and continuous enlargement.

On the contrary, the sharpening of the inter-imperialist contradictions, both inside the Union, as well as in its relations and competition with other imperialist centres and forces, makes more visible the prospect and the possibility of rupture within this imperialistic organisation, the possibility of disengagement and of detachment from it of countries that will select a different path of development.

Today, the anti-imperialist struggle is more organically integrated in the struggle for the overthrow of capitalism. The future of Europe is inseparably linked up to the future of the anti-imperialist movement and the organization of the anti-imperialist struggle in each member-state. The more the anti-imperialistic movement will strengthen, the more the EU's political power will weaken and the possibility of a shift at the level of power will increase. In this movement, several forces holding different opinions on the forms of the conflict and rupture with the EU, on the perspective of Socialism etc, may and must meet provided that they are willing to fight energetically

• against the interests of the monopolies and of imperialism, against EU, NATO and their further enlargement and expansion.
• against the foreign bases, the imperialist interventions and occupation, recognizing the peoples' right to decide for their own future and to fight by all means for that, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all troops from foreign countries.
• for the defence of Socialist Cuba' defence; against the blackmails and the threats to D.P.R. Korea, Syria, Iran; for solidarity with the peoples of Venezuela, of Palestine, of Cyprus.
• against the Lisbon Strategy, the Bolkestein directive, the "data retention" by the EU, the anticommunism and the restriction of the democratic liberties.