Introduction speech of the Secretariat to the first plenary of the Parties of the European Communist Action

Dear comrades,

About a year ago, on 18 November, 2023, the European Communist Action was founded in Athens through a persistent collective effort, as a mature fruit of the essential cooperation among our 12 Communist Parties in the joint struggle against capitalist exploitation and imperialist war, for the interests of the working class and the peoples, for the rights of the youth.

The foundation of the ECA took place in conditions of intense ideological–political conflict with parties that took the part of an imperialist camp in the war in Ukraine, violated the rules of formation and the positions of the European Communist Initiative, and are responsible for its dissolution.

The decision to found the European Communist Action was necessary and the agreement on crucial ideological–political issues was reflected in the Founding Declaration, which is the basis for the development of the joint struggle of our parties.

The key issues included in the Founding Declaration, among others, are the following:

• The ECA is based on the principles of scientific socialism and struggles for a society without the exploitation of man by man, without poverty, social injustice and imperialist wars.
• Our era is the era of revolutionary passage from capitalism to socialism. Based on this, we reject any support for or participation in bourgeois governments, struggling against both liberal and social democratic parties, against all kinds of bourgeois governments that serve the interests of the monopolies.
• Imperialism is not just an aggressive policy. It is monopoly capitalism, capitalism in its most reactionary era, that is, in its highest stage.
• The Parties participating in the European Communist Action recognize the timeliness and necessity of socialism–communism as the only alternative for the peoples and defend the contribution of the October Socialist Revolution and the first socialist state, the USSR. At the same time, they study the causes of its overthrow as regards the issues of the economy, the political superstructure and the strategy of the International Communist Movement.
• Socialism is governed by principles and scientific laws, i.e. workers’ power, the socialization of the means of production and central scientific planning. Based on this, positions such as that a market socialism can be built by maintaining capitalist enterprises and mechanisms, by maintaining wage labour by owners of means of production and land, by treating labour power as a commodity and by capital’s exploitation of wage labour are rejected.
• The European Union is the European imperialist centre, supports aggressive plans against the peoples, is aligned with the USA and NATO, promotes measures in favour of the monopolies, the concentration and centralization of capital. It is strengthening its characteristics as an imperialist economic, political and military bloc opposed to the interests of the working class, the popular strata. It intensifies armaments, authoritarianism, state repression, limiting sovereign rights.
• We consider that there is another development path for the peoples. The perspective of another Europe, the prosperity of the peoples, social progress, democratic rights, equal cooperation, peace, and socialism are highlighted through the workers’ struggles. We believe in the right of every people to choose their own sovereign path of development, including the right to disengage from the EU and NATO. We struggle against capitalist exploitation, for the construction of socialism.
• The ideological, political and organizational regroupment of the International Communist Movement cannot be realized without an unwavering struggle against any kind of bourgeois management of the exploitative system, liberal or social-democratic; against opportunism, which expresses the influence of bourgeois ideology on the labour movement.
• We oppose both nationalism and cosmopolitanism of capital, racism and fascism. We reject the false “anti-fascism” and the various “anti-fascist fronts” used by bourgeois and opportunist political forces to entrap workers’–people’s forces into bourgeois management, to align them behind imperialist centres, detaching fascism from the capitalist system that gives rise to it and uses it when needed.
• We struggle with all our might for the meeting of the contemporary workers’– people’s needs, through the regroupment and strengthening of the labour–trade union movement and the other popular movements, in a direction of struggle against the monopolies and capitalism.

The decision we have taken to establish the ECA is a step forward and contributes to the ongoing efforts to regroup the communist movement in the conditions of the deep crisis it is facing.

We hail the completion of one year of life of the European Communist Action, being aware of the responsibility we have taken on, believing that our parties have the strength and can fulfil the important tasks ahead of us, fighting militantly against the difficulties, conquering a higher level of unified perception in today’s complex international developments, in the great challenges of the class struggle.

Of course, the Founding Declaration is the compass in the struggle of the ECA, which we will preserve and consult constantly. We will discuss different approaches that arise and use the principle of criticism in a communist spirit that will give impetus to the work of the ECA.

The aim of today’s plenary meeting of the parties of the European Communist Action is to collectively review the report of action of the first year and to formulate the Action Plan for the next 6 months, taking the necessary measures to address the weaknesses and shortcomings in order to strengthen the intervention of the European Communist Action against the imperialist war, the USA, NATO and the EU and all imperialist alliances; against the attack of capital, the anti-people policy of the bourgeois governments and parties, whether liberal, social-democratic or far-right; to strengthen the struggle against the opportunist forces and to fight from a better position, at the forefront of the struggles of the working class and the peoples for their rights and needs, in the direction of the conflict against and the overthrow of the exploitative system, for the new socialist–communist society.

In the report on the first year of the ECA, we stress in particular the following:

The contribution of the European Communist Action and the parties fighting through its ranks against the imperialist war in the Middle East, the firm condemnation of the barbarity of the occupying state of Israel and the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, with the support of its allies, the USA and the EU, leading to more than 43,000 dead since 7 October 2023, the vast majority of them civilians.

Throughout this period, the European Communist Action has fought militantly with principled positions on the side of the Palestinian people and their just struggle, expressing its full solidarity and dedicating its forces to the struggle to end the genocide and the Israeli occupation, for an independent Palestinian state on the borders prior to 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Our parties fought against the propaganda attack of the Israeli state, the USA, NATO and the EU, the bourgeois governments and parties, which tried to slander the struggle of the Palestinian people by characterizing it as terrorism and using the 7 October Hamas attack as a pretext. We have proved in a well-documented way that the source of evil is the long-lasting Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the aggressive plans of the bourgeoisie and the occupying state of Israel to control the Middle East and the wider region, as can be seen from the attack on Lebanon, the criminal bombing and the third invasion on the Lebanese territory with thousands of dead, the attacks on Syria, Yemen and Iran.

The European Communist Action also opposed with principled positions the imperialist war in Ukraine, between the USA-NATO-EU and capitalist Russia, whose victims are the Ukrainian and Russian people, with thousands of dead and wounded. It took a clear stand on its imperialist character on both sides, fighting the corrosive perception of the opportunist forces that have come under a “foreign flag” and support the aims of the bourgeois classes, one or the other imperialist centre, grouping or bloc, for example the forces of the so-called World Anti-Imperialist Platform, which provocatively attacks the ECA parties and intends to manipulate the peoples.

We take into account that the imperialist competition will intensify, the rivalry between the USA and China for supremacy in the capitalist system will continue, which will affect both the developments in the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East and triggers other hotbeds of tension.

We oppose any false expectations raised by the result of the US presidential elections and the election of Trump, as well as the attempt of the social-democratic and opportunist forces to entrap workers’–people’s forces by obscuring the true role of the Democratic Party. Both the Republicans and the Democrats represent the interests of the monopolies against the peoples of the US and the other countries, and both blocs of the bourgeoisie are responsible for the imperialist wars in many parts of the world.

The European Communist Action is moving forward. It defends the interests of the working class, the peoples and their joint struggle, the independent struggle to eradicate the causes that lead to imperialist wars, exploitation, poverty and refugees.

The developments have set the task to strengthen the struggle for the overthrow of capitalism, for socialism. In this regard, we intensify the effort to make our parties strong, to establish firm ties with the working class and to throw themselves into the class struggle with all their might in every country.

We open a concerted front against the “War Economy”, a strategic decision of the EU for the exploitation of the accumulated capital as an antidote to the recession and the new imminent capitalist crisis, in preparation for a generalized imperialist war, with grave consequences for the working class and the peoples in all aspects of their lives.

In the face of the danger of a conflagration in the Middle East and the generalization of the war in Ukraine, we are preparing ourselves in many ways against the involvement of the bourgeois classes and the governments of our countries. This is a crucial task and we, the communists, are at the forefront organizing the people’s struggle with the slogan “Out of the slaughterhouse of war”, against the NATO military bases and infrastructure, the support of the Israeli state, the sending of arms, ammunition and military forces to the Ukrainian front.

We are in a state of readiness and under the responsibility of the Secretariat, with the contribution of all parties, we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our action.

We have opened up important issues:

Regarding the intervention of the European Communist Action against the imperialist war, the hybrid (in-person and online) meeting on the “Two years since the imperialist war in Ukraine: The experience and conclusions of the communists”, which was held in Istanbul under the responsibility of the Communist Party of Turkey, and was followed by the related statement, stands out. In the wide range of interventions of the European Communist Action, the interventions of solidarity and support for the struggle of the Palestinian people also stand out.

In the in-person meeting on “The situation of workers’ rights in Europe and the experiences of the communists’ struggle”, which was held in Athens under the responsibility of the KKE, we condemned capitalist exploitation, studied the experience in our countries and examined the intensification of the struggle and the leading role of the communists in the labour and trade union movement and in the workers’ struggles.

In the in-person meeting in Madrid held under the responsibility of the CP of the Workers of Spain on the theme “Historical conclusions from the tactics of the anti-fascist fronts. The contemporary struggle of communists against fascism” and in the related statement prepared by the New Communist Party of the Netherlands on the 79^th anniversary of the Great Anti-Fascist Victory of the Peoples, we raised important questions about the relationship between capitalism and fascism and the ideological–political struggle with the bourgeois forces and opportunism. We condemned anti-communism, slander and the unhistorical trivialization of the decisive role of the Soviet Union and the Red Army in the victory over Nazism in the imperialist Second World War. We condemned the dirty “two extremes” policy of the EU, which tries to equate fascist atrocities with socialism, the future of the peoples.

In the teleconference on the issues of “green growth”, held under the responsibility of the KKE, we exposed the anti-people strategy of the EU in the service of the monopolies and the hypocrisy about environmental protection. We condemned the grave consequences of “green growth” and energy liberalization for the working class and the popular strata, the soaring prices of electricity and basic consumer goods, and we defined a framework for action. A document of conclusions was published, prepared by the CP of the Workers of Spain, with the theme “Reject the parties of the EU, capital and ‘green’ exploitation. The hope for saving the environment is red”.

In the teleconference “On the work of the ECA parties within the youth”, organized by the CP of the Workers of Spain, we examined the experience of our parties on this crucial issue and exchanged views on how to make the struggle among the youth and the strengthening of the Communist Youth Organizations more substantial and effective.

In the teleconference “The Communists of Europe against the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum”, organized by the New Communist Party of the Netherlands, we expressed the solidarity of the communists with the refugees and migrants uprooted by the unbearable poverty and imperialist wars that characterize the capitalist system. We condemned the anti-immigration policies of the EU and its new Pact on Migration and Asylum, of the bourgeois governments and parties, of the extreme right and fascist forces, as well as racism and xenophobia, and we defined the objectives of our struggle.

Finally, we collectively elaborated and presented in Athens the Declaration of Communist and Workers’ Parties of Europe on the European elections of June 2024 and, in the framework of mutual support of our parties, a video was prepared on the theme “For a Europe of Prosperity, Peace, Socialism”.

In addition, during this period, the ECA collectively prepared and issued statements on important issues, such as the following:

• “On the centenary of the death of V.I. Lenin”, prepared by the Union of Communists of Ukraine, highlighting the historical contribution of the great revolutionary in the development of the worldview of scientific communism and his leading role in the victory of the October Socialist Revolution, the timeliness of Leninism.
• In the teleconference under the theme “We strengthen the struggle for women’s emancipation, against the EU, the system of capitalist exploitation, imperialist wars”, organized by the KKE, we talked about the deeper class causes of inequality, the importance of the struggle for women’s rights and the strengthening of the radical women’s movement.
• “On the 65^th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution”, one of the many interventions of our parties that have consistently expressed their full solidarity with the Communist Party of Cuba, Cuba and its people, we demanded an end to the criminal blockade imposed by US imperialism and its allies and the removal of Cuba from the unacceptable list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Statements were also issued on the following issues:

- “The class struggle against the EU, the governments and the anti-labour directives that impose a working jungle must be intensified”, prepared by the Party of Labour of Austria.

- “The ECA stands by the side of the struggling farmers in Europe”, an urgent statement prepared by the KKE in support of the mass farmers’ struggles against the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy.

- “On International Women’s Day”, prepared by the Workers Party of Ireland.

- “On 1^st of May”, highlighting its class significance, the struggles of the working class and its historic mission, prepared by the CP of Sweden.

- “On the right of the working class and the popular strata to rest, vacations and recreation”, prepared by the Communist Front, Italy.

- “On the side of students and their struggles in the new school year”, prepared by the Party of Labour of Austria.

- “In solidarity with the CP of Venezuela”, prepared by the Communist Front, Italy.

During this year of functioning of the European Communist Action we have also taken the first steps to advance the communicative work of the ECA. Thus, the ECA website has been opened where all the joint resolutions as well as the contributions of each meeting/videocall are published. The first steps have also been taken to provide content for the ECA's X profile, as well as the newsletter. Finally, an open poster competition was held on the theme of NATO's anniversary.

 

Dear comrades,

Based on the above, we can see that in the first year of the ECA’s existence, common positions have been formulated on several essential and burning issues which affect the lives of workers in Europe and the rest of the capitalist world and which have many complex ideological and political aspects. This is how we should proceed in the future and we believe that these already published materials of the ECA should henceforth be taken into account in future attempts to formulate common positions, in the light of current developments and experiences from the struggle of our parties, which will enrich them.

An important effort has been made, and with the experience we have gained we can continue and improve it, with more care, so that the texts we prepare are more meaningful and to the point, shorter and more useful in the daily struggle.

We seek to strengthen the in-person meetings with the responsibility of more parties, in more countries, in an effort to give the meetings a more mass character. Of course, taking into account the financial and other difficulties for the ECA parties to attend all the in-person meetings, it is advisable to provide for a hybrid format, so that delegates from parties who cannot attend in person have the opportunity to participate online.

On this basis, we can also examine the combination of the meetings of the ECA parties with topical issues, with mass events/discussions, with the participation of popular forces and youth, or even visits to workplaces, places of education, as well as historical sites of the workers’ and communist movement in each country. We can also consider the form of a “European Day of Action” or even an “International Day of Action”, together with the CPs with which the ECA cooperates, on serious issues, with multifaceted interventions/events, in many countries, depending on the capabilities of each CP.

Today, we are going to discuss the Action Plan of the ECA for the first semester of 2025, with the constant aim of continuing the struggle against the imperialist war, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people under the slogan “Freedom for Palestine”, expressing solidarity with the Lebanese people by organizing mobilizations and events in our countries, continuing the action against the imperialist blockade imposed on Cuba and for its removal from the unacceptable list of state sponsors of terrorism.

 

The action plan of the ECA in the coming months will include important initiatives of the ECA on solidarity with the peoples of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, the struggles of the workers in Europe, the 80 th anniversary of the Great Anti-Fascist Victory of the Peoples, the Workers’ May Day, against imperialist wars and interventions, etc.