This morning it has been presented the Declaration of Barcelona, the result of "the Alliance forged to defeat the Troika" as emphasized Joan Herrera, national coordinator of ICV, a host political force of the I Forum of the South of Europe. One of the great pillars of this statement is the demand for a major European Conference for the restructuring of the debt; as he argued, “without that restructuring there will be no democracy”.

In fact, from Spain, Izquierda Unida, will submit a parliamentary initiative in supporting the conference as explained the national Deputy and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), José Luis Centella. He stressed the vocation of continuity that held this Forum that aims to build a joint speech, from the South, to fight the austerity.

From the party of the European Left (EL) it was its President, Pierre Laurent, who stressed the importance of this encounter which, along with the predictable victory of Syriza tomorrow Sunday 25th in Greece, announces a decisive year in Europe which will be the start of the change: "the time to start changing these policies of austerity, in which Europe has sunk, has arrived ".

Representatives of political parties, social movements, trade unions and other activists gathered in this Forum, committed themselves with determination, to continue to work together in order to combat the neoliberal strategy of austerity. The goal it to promote a collective and concrete alternative "for a progressive way to exit of the crisis", in the direction of a re-Foundation of Europe on the basis of democracy, solidarity and social and environmental sustainability.

A Green New Deal for Europe, policies to put an end to unemployment, and the change of role of the European Central Bank are among the 10 key measures developed in this Declaration of Barcelona presented this morning in Barcelona.

Without economic development it not possible to pay anything, nor move forward, as explained Cayo Lara, leader of the Izquierda Unida (Unified Left). For this reason, in addition to a reduction of the debt as performed with the German debt in 1953, Lara claimed a serious European investment plan of 2% of GDP for the development of social and sustainable policies, ensuring that this would enable the creation of 12 million jobs in two years in Europe.

Joan Josep Nuet, general coordinator of EUiA, highlighted the success of this forum which was attended by more than 400 people. "Never have gathered so many varied political and social forces for a joint project such as this". What is being developed here is a Mediterranean political and economic diet from the South of Europe, which will improve the whole Europe, from North to South and from East to West.

An example of such a union of forces was given by Konstantinos Loukeris, who asserted that that it is time to create alliances and that is why the Greens Greeks have made coalition to support Syriza.

And from the direction of Syriza, Natasa Theodorakopoulous, reminded that tomorrow it will be a historical day for all, not only for Greece. “It will be the first step for the whole Europe. The time to show that it is possible to make alternatives proposals from the left”. But after the elections will be a difficult period in which support of all the European left will be needed. And at that point she highlighted the importance of this initiative of the Forum that brings together all the forces struggling against austerity.

Monica Frassoni, co-president of the European Green Party, told that it is fundamental to impel the social exit to the recession and now the challenge is to add supports to this Declaration of Barcelona.

The reading of the statement by the Vice-president of the Party of the European Left, Maite Mola, along  with Natasa Theodorakopoulous and Lluís Camprubí, Coordinator of the Working Group of the Declaration, closed this I Forum of the South of Europe.