Gathered in Budapest on Friday 15 ^th and Saturday 16 ^th , the Party of the European Left debated the exceptional crisis situation that world is experiencing today. The authority of the financial markets, the social attacks at a European and international level and the brutal and military answers in Libya and Ivory Coast among other countries were remembered in the opening speech of EL President, Pierre Laurent.

Precariousness and the situation of a profound crisis were equally highlighted by Attila Vajnai, President of Hungary workers Party 2006: “Unemployment increased dramatically in the country, the life conditions are extremely difficult for a very poor population, and the situation for parties left in Hungary is very sad as they are vanished from the Parliament whilst the right wing parties try now to change the constitution in a very anti democratic way, ending social and human benefits as the women’s right to abortion that was achieved years ago”.

The situation in Portugal, Greece, Ireland, and Iceland is very serious as it is making workers pay for the unprecedented crisis: « it is a war machine against workers and the popular sovereignty at a national level”, EL President declared. However people are expressing together their disagreement with the attacks to social and political rights, in Budapest 5000 people from several countries got united with trade unions to show to the leaders that they are against the austerity measures imposition process, Pierre Laurent added.

“The constant attacks and the one year memorandum, spreading further the eurozone, show that the current mechanisms are not a bailout, they’re mechanisms of punishment for people and European countries, producing a domino effect, and evidencing that there is a structural crisis based in architecture of the euro, and today it is not enough to look to small changes, but we need re-foundation of the EU in a more concrete way”, Alexis Tsipras, President of Synaspismos said when parties started to debate the economic and social situation in Europe, and particularly the recent developments in Greece, Portugal and in Finland. “IMF is in Greece without peoples agreement, Portugal is going to elections, but the country government puts people under a bailout, we don’t have dictatorships in Europe but the decisions are not taken by people, it is very important to hold referendums and to listen people”, A. Tsipras defended.

In this context, the EL initiative was pointed as possible way to face the current situation and to allow the discussion of possible alternatives to the austerity measures, citizens are being consulted and it is necessary to intensify the process even more; “there is a necessity of a counter-offensive against social regression, against the attacks to protection and public services; an answer against the war machine that is threatening and that would bring solidarity between peoples”, J. F. Gau from the Citizens Initiative animation group explained.

The EL Executive Board also discussed the situation in Japan and the nuclear energy problem. Facing this extremely grave situation that is happening now in Fukushima, the Party members expressed deep solidarity with Japanese people and agreed that nuclear energy should be replaced in a progressive and possible way. The nationalization of the energy sources should also happen as soon as possible as the best way to exert a proper control of its functioning. The European Left also decided to support the 26 ^th April as the European day against nuclear action.

The Executive Board invited Mamdouh Habashi, from the Arab and African Research Center, to explain the situation of Egypt during the North Africa debate. M. Habashi explained that the situation is nothing stable and that is good because Egypt “had chronicle stability for a long time and it was not a good sign; now we face a situation of a big movement that started without leadership, many groups and people were collected because of what they did not want, the people won the first battle and we had to accept everyone including the army even if we know that it is part of regime. But people from Egypt has from the rest of Arab countries are not giving up, they know this is a process that will take a long time, there are movements of independent unions and confederations on the front line and the fight for civil state is our objective, Mamdouh Habashi said.

The Party of the European Left also adopted a resolution on Libya, asking for the immediate ceasefire and a peaceful solution of the conflict.

During the weekend, the President of the European Left, Pierre Laurent has still participated in a conference on Roma community integration policy that took place on Saturday morning.

Read the approved resolutions on the Executive Board meeting 17 ^th April, in Budapest: Declaration "Pact for the Euro (EN) , Statement on Lybia (EN) , Resolution Anti-Nuclear (EN)