We, the participants of ParlaCon 2015 in Helsinki, send greetings and solidarity to all the citizens and initiatives, Trade Unionists and activists who are demonstrating this week from Berlin on October 10 till Brussels today in the context of the International Days of Action against austerity and TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, between the US and EU).
We stress: These days it is more important than ever to campaign against the orientation on austerity, with initiatives in our parliaments, but also outside -parliamentary actions. Privatisations, budget cuts, and deregulation of the labour market are the wrong measures: They do not help against the crisis but rather deepen it. The governments in the EU 28 and European economic elites, in the name of profit and competitiveness, destroy social justice, democracy and the climate. They blackmail those who dare to resist; they rule by fear and play with growing racist stereotypes and claim that there are no alternatives. On the contrary, we are fighting for another Europe. In our view, economic policy needs a peaceful, sustainable, social- ecological economic development, employment and social security. The Left in Europe is involved in founding and strengthening anti-austerity alliances.
We parliamentarians from different European countries advocate a politics which is not just an alternative to neoliberal austerity politics, but also a clear rejection of the nationalist and racist policies of the political right wing. The ground stone of our politics is solidarity.
Together we want to send out a loud and clear signal against TTIP, CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, between the EU and Canada) TiSA and Co. These foreseen new kinds of trade agreements have much less to do in fact with trade and Investments but with the setting of regulatory frames, standards and rules of the neoliberal shaped markets of today and tomorrow. This will have a deep impact on the daily way of life of all people and in particular threaten our democratically decided social, health, environmental and consumer protection standards. Financial powers and multinationals are put above the benefit of the people.
We welcome and join the growing resistance against the neoliberal deconstruction of the international trading system through these kinds of agreements. Indeed, we are part of this movement. The Party of the European Left supported the successful self-organized European Citizens' Initiative, with 3,2 million signatures and we demand: Commission and Council have to recognize and to listen to this broadest ever opinion of citizens in the EU 28 against the TTIP. This is a question of democracy and of overcoming the distrust of citizens into politics, the growing gap between them. On the parliamentary level we will develop initiatives to stop the ratification of CETA as well as to end the negotiation-processes on TISA and TTIP.
Our priority is to enlarge the European alliance against austerity through energetic political initiatives, which will call upon wider progressive forces to take a clear stance against the implementation of neoliberal policies. We attach great importance to parliamentary networking and cooperation. It is crucial to exchange experiences, pursue and intensify collaboration of European, national, regional and local elected representatives from our various parties in order to develop common proposals and strategies and to deepen the debates about social, democratic and peace perspectives of European Future.
