On April 11th, 2018, Kostas Papadakis, MEP of the KKE, non-attached European Parliament member,, organized in Brussels the European Communist Meeting themed: “The struggle of the working-class oriented movement against the EU, for the overthrow of capitalism and the building of socialism”. In the Meeting, 32 speakers took part representing 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Britain, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

The introductory speech in the Meeting was delivered by the MEP of KKE.

On behalf of the KKE in the Meeting spoke, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, SG of the CC of the KKE.

The participants that took the floor had the possibility to exchange experiences and information on the situation in their countries and on the intervention of the communists in the working-class trade-union movement. The situation of the working-class and of its movement, the struggle for the unity of the working-class, the ideological-political influences on its conscience, the content and the orientation of its struggle, the difficulties and possibilities for the regrouping of the working-class movement in an anti-capitalist anti-monopoly line were in the focus of the attention of the speakers.

The majority of the representatives that took the floor noted that in front of the projections of the bourgeois institutions regarding the passing to a phase of capitalist recuperation, the EU, the capital and their governments promote new harsh measures for the reinforcement of competitiveness, with even more “flexibility” and “mobility”; between these measures are the abolition of Collective Job Treaties and the effort to abolish the right of strike. The conclusions drawn by many speakers were that the capital does not wish to, neither will return all those that it snatched out of the workers during the times of crisis. The capitalist recuperation not only will not lead to a recuperation of the great losses of the popular strata in the period of crisis, but will actually continue the worsening of the peoples’ situation.

In the Meeting it was also expressed, in particular, the concern of many of the participants for the escalation of the dangerous competitions between the imperialist centers aimed at controlling the energy resources by their monopolies, for the dangerous role of the EU and of NATO in their antagonisms with China and Russia, for the responsibilities of the bourgeois governments in their implication in imperialist plans that increase the possibility of a more generalized imperialist military showdown and of a massacre against the peoples.

Many of the representatives participating in the European Communist Meeting particularly highlighted that the defeat of the line of class collaboration, the defeat of bosses-governmental trade-unionism, of the reformist, opportunist current, of the new and old social-democracy is a prerequisite for the reinforcement of the anti-capitalist – anti-monopoly line.

With their speeches many of the participants noted the need for the communists to achieve the capability of all-around ideological-political-organizational consolidation, having a revolutionary strategy; to achieve solid foundations in enterprises and sectors of strategical importance; to intervene decisively in the working class’ and people’s movement.

Finally, the participants saluted the struggles that are being developed in many countries, where the CP’s are in the first line of struggle for the overthrow of anti-people's measures, for recuperating the great losses, highlighting the necessity of decisive reinforcement of the struggle of the millions of the exploited, of the working class and its allies, in every country against the EU and NATO, for the overthrow of the rotten capitalist system, transforming the people to the owner of the wealth that the people produces.

Opening remarks from Kostas Papadakis, MEP of the KKE

Text of the speech at the meeting of Dimitris Koutsoumpas, GS of the CC of the the CP of Greece