From March 31 to April 2 the Party of the European Left (EL) will make Benalmádena (Malaga) a meeting place for debate and reflection of left and progressive political parties in the countries south and north of the Mediterranean. These parties share concerns because of the political, economic and social situation that affects us, as neo-liberalism is attacking the peoples on both shores of the Mediterranean, while our governments consent to and / or execute the diktats of the European Union and multinational capital.

Inger Johansen, coordinator of the EL Middle East working group – which is the group at the origin of this conference- declares: “Whereas imperialist powers and reactionary forces aim to create divisions between people, between the south and the north of the Mediterranean, we wish to underline the unity of our goals and struggles. The spirit of solidarity and internationalism among the Left forces are important pillars of strength to build on for our continuing cooperation in the future.”

It is the aim of the conference to unify and strengthen the efforts of the left and progressive forces of our regions to build in more concrete ways an alternative to war, conflicts, poverty, repression, right-wing extremism and fundamentalism: our aim is to build peace, democracy, social justice and socialism.

In a context where the European Union is playing a decisive and persistent role in inhuman migration policies, in which people are commodified and deprived of rights, and where the EU is supporting autocratic regimes, the European Left will hold its Third Mediterranean Conference, where a large number of Arabic, Mediterranean and European left parties have been invited.

The central idea is to bring together a broad spectrum of political forces and movements from the North and South of the Mediterranean continuing the open debate already launched in the last conferences.  

The debate will focus on such important issues as geo-strategic conflicts, social struggles against the neoliberal agenda, peace, migration and refugees, religion and politics.

As expressed by Maite Mola, Vice-President of the EL and responsible of international affairs, “the Conference of the Mediterranean was born because it is necessary for the Left to face the situation of wars, hunger and the exodus of people looking for alternatives, and the alternatives are common on both sides of the sea, because the enemy is one, such as capitalism and imperialism, its highest stage”.