Contribution to the meeting of GUE/NGL party leaders by Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary CC AKEL

Brussels 6 – 7 November, 2018

Dear Gabi, dear members of the GUE/NGL,

Dear Comrades and Friends representing the different Parties that make up the GUE/NGL,

I would first of all like to thank the President, the Presidium and Bureau of GUE/NGL for the invitation.  Our aim is to discuss the serious challenges we have to face in view of the European elections and developments in the EU, and at the same time consider the way ahead in order to safeguard the confederal character of our Group. We in AKEL consider this meeting to be an important part of our common work; one that can strengthen the foundations of our cooperation within the framework of the European Parliament, and enhance the mutual understanding and respect both between our Parties and at the level of the Group. In that sense, I believe that such meetings should become regular, offering a platform for substantive exchanges.

The main challenges we currently face in the European Union, are mostly common for our Parties in the member-states. Of course there are peculiarities and specificities in each one of our countries. Probably the most overarching challenge is the EU course towards federalism by putting together the different building blocks (EMU, Bank Union, CFSP) – and the different approaches that our parties have towards this. Our Party is critical towards this construction. I will refer to the challenges where there is more agreement.

Undoubtedly, the rise of extreme-right wing, xenophobic, racist and populist forces across the European continent as a whole, as well as the USA and South America – the latest being the election result in Brazil, is a growing threat for our societies, at all levels.  Learning from the past tragic experience, and in the face of these developments, we need to build around principles a united front of the broadest possible left and progressive forces. We should address every democratic citizen who reacts to EU policies and convince her/him by deeds that the Left is the only alternative.

The EU neoliberal economic and social policies that have intensified during the global economic capitalist crisis, ushered in austerity and the dismantling of the social state. Social and labour rights, collective agreements, laws regulating the labour market, were abolished, leading to labour conditions reminiscent of Medieval times. Both conservative and social-democratic parties have pursued or supported these detrimental policies. Coupled by the refugee crisis of unprecedented dimensions and met with the incapability or rather reluctance of the EU and its member-states to face it, these policies allowed the extreme-right to exert influence on the most vulnerable strata of our societies. In this respect our work with the trade unions is vital.

By pursuing these foreign and defence policies the EU is far from being the “force of peace”, which it claims to be.  There is a clear shift in investment towards the arms industry, presented as a “job generating industry”. Arms trade with authoritarian regimes is promoted that fuels armed conflicts.  The alignment with NATO, as required by the Lisbon Treaty, and the deepening of this relation alongside the establishment of PESCO, are developing the EU as a military Union. If viewed combined, the external and internal security of the EU result in a dangerous mixture for peace as well as for citizens’ democratic rights and freedoms. Hence, the need to work intensively in the peace movements and organizations. It is urgent to build again a strong anti-war, anti-nuclear movement in Europe and the Mediterranean.

The democratic deficit in the EU functioning, lack of transparency of its institutions, the issue of substantial equality of member states within its structure stem from the fact that the EU, as it is constructed, has a class character.  It serves the interests of the elites and powerful interests to the detriment of the peoples, citizens, trade unions and movements.

Finally, the enormous environmental challenges for the future of life on our planet, should not be ignored, but rather prioritised, in the line our Group has been doing.

What kind of alternatives can we provide as the left at the level of the European Parliament? Taking into account that the composition of the European Parliament which will emerge from the 2019 elections will, most likely, be further to the right, including an extreme-right group built around Le Pen and Salvini, we should act decisively. We should put forward our well-grounded criticism to the EU policies as well as our proposals.  We do not have the luxury of leaving a vacuum as extreme-right forces will fill it in with their populist proposals, adopting even our discourse and proposals.

When AKEL became an associate member of GUE/NGL back in 1996, we saw in the group the political space that offered a broad platform for communist and left forces, from different traditions ad backgrounds, to come together and work in defence of social, economic and political rights, for solidarity both within and outside its boundaries. Experience has taught us that there are a lot of issues where we can find a common denominator. The Group’s confederal character, whenever needed, has guaranteed our freedom of decision in accordance to our national priorities and sensitivities, some emerging due to Cyprus’ geographical position. For us this character has to be preserved.

In 2014 GUE/NGL was broadened with newcomers to the EP. This was not an easy process, but we believe that despite the difficulties we found the way to proceed, for example via the collective Presidium. Any further steps of broadening should be done with care as to preserve the Group’s left political characteristics.

We are in the leadership of political parties.  We know how crucial it is to be consistent in the policies we pursue on a national and a European level; so much more that decisions and policies taken at EU level are then implemented on national level.  We, therefore, consider that it is vital to act with mutual respect for each party’s positions, not aiming to impose decisions or domineer.

The GUE/NGL members of the European Parliament are elected having the responsibility to represent the working people of their respective countries. To be the voice of the trade unions, the mass organizations of women and the youth, environmental NGOs, different vulnerable groups of the population. This should be guiding us. The channel of communication with them has to be permanently open in both ways.  We believe this keeps our connection with the society in our countries and strengthens us in the European Parliament, in spite of the fact that our group is not one of the bigger ones.

We as AKEL and Cypriots, have enjoyed over the years the solidarity of GUE/NGL concerning the unresolved Cyprus problem and Turkey’s threats for partition. This solidarity has been many times of paramount importance for our cause; it has also proved the importance of GUE/NGL to be disproportionally larger in comparison to its size.  I want to thank you all for your support. At the same time, we consider important all that the Group has been doing in rendering solidarity to peoples outside the EU, for example the Palestinian and Cuban peoples.

GUE/NGL is a political group, composed of MEPs elected by political parties or organizations. As such, we consider that it should remain political in its functioning, and not be converted to a bureaucratic instrument. We are conscious of the fact that technocratic knowledge is increasingly necessary to support the duties of the MEPs but this should not be to the detriment of political knowledge and understanding.

Finally, an issue that we should consider is the cooperation of our Group with other political groups in the European Parliament.  There where cooperation can exist without altering our fundamental positions, and where this can be beneficial for the people we serve in our countries, then we should seek this cooperation.

To conclude, I reiterate that as we move towards the elections for the European Parliament we stand ready to work in order to face the common challenges and secure the continuation of our confederal group GUE/NGL.