Joint Statement of the ECA:The class struggle against the EU, governments and the anti-labour directives that impose a working jungle must be intensified

The European Union (EU) aligns with the interests of capital, promoting measures that favour monopolies, capital concentration, and centralization. It is the union of European capital. The EU is an imperialist economic, political, and military bloc, contrary to the interests of the working class and the popular strata. It serves the capitalist system that leads to poverty, unemployment, imperialist wars like the one in Ukraine, atrocities like that of the occupation state of Israel against the Palestinians, waves of refugees.

Although the EU managed to conceal its genuinely anti-people nature behind a facade of expectations of prosperity for a significant period, the past decades have undeniably exposed the reality. The so-called "prosperity" and apparent benefits for the workers were essentially bait, luring them into a trap that intensified attacks on their rights, especially after 1990 across the entire EU.

In the current context, the Stability Pact is reintroduced with strict budgetary discipline in order to make the working people pay through heavy direct and indirect taxation; cuts to social services and their commercialization are promoted, in order to raise capital through budget surpluses for the investments of the big business groups.  A series of EU and government directives promote the abolition of collective labour agreements, the erosion of stable daily working hours with inhuman working hours, widespread unemployment with punitive measures that deprive the unemployed even of unemployment benefits, underemployment and increased flexibility, teleworking, meager pensions and privatized social security systems. All the above leads to deprivation, combination of two or more poorly paid jobs, raising of the retirement age and work beyond that age, the disintegration of public health systems and rising costs for the working class and the popular strata who are suffering from skyrocketing prices, energy poverty, savage taxation, high rents,  foreclosures of their houses, especially after repeated interest rate increases by the European Central Bank (ECB). At the same time, intimidation by employers is intensifying, while laws that penalize and ban strikes and trade union activity are being enacted throughout Europe.  Big employers utilize the tool of employer-led trade unionism to pass their plans to achieve a cheap, flexible workforce in order to worsen the already dire working conditions and intensify exploitation.  

We believe in an alternative trajectory for the people, in the vision of another Europe  of  well-being  and social advancement for the populace, for the working class that produces the wealth. A Europe of Cooperation, Peace and Socialism. This goal illuminates the struggle for work with full rights and collective labour agreements,  democratic and trade union  freedoms, the right to strike, for the satisfaction of the workers’ contemporary needs. 

It is extremely important and promising that despite the negative correlation of forces in the workers'-trade union movement, workers in a number of countries are organizing struggles and strikes and getting co-ordinated. The parties of the ECA are putting all their energy into the development and success of these mobilisations.

We believe in the need of a resolute fight against any form of bourgeois administration within the exploitative system, whether liberal or social-democratic. This endeavor necessitates a steadfast opposition to opportunism and reformism in the workers’ - trade union movement, which manifests as the influence of bourgeois ideology on the labour movement. It cannot be achieved without actively opposing, resisting, and disobeying in a class-oriented way the reactionary capitalist EU and challenging all the anti-popular directions, regulations and directives of the European Commission. Our fight is directed against capitalist exploitation, aiming for the establishment of socialism-communism. Ultimately the main internationalist task of every Communist Party consists of serious and persistent work in its own country as a contribution to the international, worldwide struggle.

We are dedicated to addressing the current needs of workers and the popular strata by uniting in a class-oriented, militant  direction and  coordinating the action of the labour and trade union movement, with other popular movements. Our focus is on directing these efforts towards a collective struggle against monopolies, capitalism, as well as the EU and NATO.

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Declaración de la ACE: «Intensifiquemos la lucha de clases contra la UE, los gobiernos y las directivas antiobreras que imponen la ley de la selva en el trabajo»

 

Creemos que la Unión Europea (UE) se alinea con los intereses del capital, promoviendo medidas que favorecen los monopolios, la concentración de capital y la centralización. Es la unión del capital europeo. La UE es un bloque económico, político y militar imperialista, contrario a los intereses de la clase trabajadora y de las capas populares.

Refuerza características como el militarismo, el autoritarismo y la represión estatal, al tiempo que limita los derechos soberanos. Nuestra valoración identifica a la UE como el centro imperialista europeo, apoyando planes agresivos contra los pueblos y alineándose con EEUU y la OTAN.

Aunque la UE consiguió ocultar su naturaleza genuinamente antipopular tras una fachada de prosperidad durante un período significativo, las últimas décadas han puesto innegablemente al descubierto la realidad. La llamada «prosperidad» y los aparentes beneficios para los trabajadores y las masas eran esencialmente un cebo, que los atraía a una trampa que intensificó los ataques contra sus derechos, especialmente después de 1990 en toda la UE.

En el contexto actual, ¿qué significa «prosperidad»? Se traduce en la erosión de los horarios laborales diarios estables, el desempleo generalizado, el subempleo y el aumento de la flexibilidad, unas pensiones exiguas que conducen a privaciones, a la desintegración de los sistemas públicos de salud y al aumento de los costes para la clase trabajadora y las capas populares.

La credibilidad del «proyecto europeo» se ve socavada por las crisis económicas, la mala gestión de la pandemia del coronavirus, así como el aumento del coste de la vida por culpa de políticos ineptos. ¡Afirmamos que la lucha de clases contra la UE, los gobiernos y las directivas antiobreras que imponen la ley de la selva en el trabajo debe intensificarse bajo estos desarrollos!

Un euroescepticismo simplificado que puede llevar a ilusiones y desembocar en nacionalismo y soberanismo no es la solución para la clase obrera. La única salida para la clase obrera es el socialismo-comunismo. Creemos en un camino alternativo para el pueblo. La visión de una Europa diferente, que haga hincapié en el bienestar de la población, el progreso social, las libertades democráticas, la colaboración justa, la paz y el socialismo, está iluminada por las luchas actuales de la clase obrera.

Creemos en la necesidad de una lucha decidida contra cualquier forma de administración burguesa dentro del sistema de explotación, ya sea liberal o socialdemócrata. Este esfuerzo requiere una oposición firme al oportunismo, que se manifiesta como la influencia de la ideología burguesa en el movimiento obrero. No puede lograrse sin oponerse activamente, resistir y desobedecer la estructura capitalista reaccionaria de la UE y desafiar todas las directivas antipopulares de la Comisión Europea. Nuestra lucha se dirige contra la explotación capitalista, con el objetivo de instaurar el socialismo-comunismo. En última instancia, la principal tarea internacionalista de todo Partido Comunista consiste en un trabajo serio y persistente en su propio país como contribución a la lucha internacional, mundial.

Nos dedicamos a atender las necesidades actuales de los trabajadores y las capas populares uniendo y fortaleciendo los movimientos obreros y sindicales, junto con otros movimientos populares. Nuestro objetivo es dirigir estos esfuerzos hacia una lucha colectiva contra los monopolios, el capitalismo, así como contra la UE y la OTAN.