The economic crisis is harshly beating capitalism and its institutions. This is a moment when the peoples of Europe witness clearly how the European Union means misery, unemployment, destruction of the public services and repression, and the Communist and Workers’ Parties of Europe have to advance to denounce this imperialist inter-state alliance and all those organizations that defend and promote it, in order to deepen the ideological battle against opportunism, the characteristic example of which in Europe is the European Left Party.

The ELP was founded in 2004 and held its first congress in Athens in 2005. From its inception, forces participate in the ELP that have taken openly pro-imperialist positions. Through their platforms and practices, the leading forces in the ELP have demonstrated that they can not and do not want to break with the EU, calling for the EU to play an enhanced role in global affairs.

The ELP promotes the disorienting belief that the EU can emerge as a progressive political space. It speaks vaguely of the “need to transform the existing tools into tools for collaboration at the service of the people” and for a “transformation of the euro zone through a radical change of the architecture of the euro and European cooperation”. Recently Die Linke deleted a passage from its manifesto which originally had described the EU as a “neo-liberal, militaristic and largely undemocratic power”. Consequently rather than identifying the EU as an inter-state capitalist union the leading forces in the ELP, despite all the evidence to the contrary, view the EU as a potential “force for stability and peace”.

The ELP has adopted the institutional framework of the EU, advocating the meaningless demand for a “Europe of Rights”. They have entered into the process of compromise firmly rejecting the need for rupture. They have failed to recognise that based on a set of highly complex institutional arrangements which serve the interests of the monopolies the EU is incapable of reform. The ELP has even nominated a candidate for the President of the European Commission, a basic anti-people apparatus. The ELP conceals the reality and tries to prevent a substantial analysis about the character of the EU.

The ELP has also facilitated and engaged in a distortion of the history of the communist movement and the socialist countries. The positions adopted by the European Left Party present workers with the false perspective that there is some middle way between capitalism and socialism. The ELP distorts the real nature of capitalism and the capitalist crisis.

The EU serves the interests of the monopolies; reinforces the bankers and other sections of capital against the workers. It collaborates with the US and NATO against the peoples, through interventions and wars, in pursuit of the interests of the monopolies.
Parties like the ELP are integrated in this strategy and foster illusions about the management of the system. Social-democracy and opportunism are opposed to the class struggle and the socialist revolution.

The parties in the core of the ELP support so-called “left governments” that manage the capitalist system, the interests of capital and impede the radicalization of the working class.

In these conditions, what is required is the strengthening of the communist parties that struggle decisively against the imperialist union, for socialism and the abolition of exploitation.