EPP Declarations remain on the same philosophy

  

Statement of Costas Christodoulides, Head of the International and European Affiars Department of AKEL

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 8th March 2014, Nicosia

 

AKEL considers the inclusion of a paragraph on Cyprus in the Programme of the European Peoples Party as positive. However, apart from declarations, the question is whether these positions are implemented in practice by the EPP within the EU’s institutional bodies. For example, why is there, inter alia, in the last Report on Turkey, whose Rapporteur is an EPP MEP, a call for the opening of the chapters on energy, as well as other chapters, when Turkey has not even shown any progress with regards its position on the Cyprus problem.

Furthermore, we would like to point out the following:

1. The workers trade unions in Irleand have called the Congress of the European Right in Dublin as a meeting of the “Aristocrats of Austerity”. Indeed, the leaders of the Right have been at the forefront of the efforts to impose policies against the people and their interests in the European Union, however much the President of the governing Democratic Rally party DISY Averof Neofytou has avoided taking a stand on this fact. The reason is simple: we are approaching European elections.

2. In the declaration of the European Peoples Party for the 2014-2019 Action Programme, the devotion of the Right to open and deregulated in essence markets is stressed. We are talking about the same prescription of deregulation of labour relations to the benefit of the rich and employers, the abolition of social and labour rights and vital public utility sectors.

3. In addition, the EPP, underlines that it is the biggest political group in the EU. This is true. This is the reason why they are chiefly to blame for the poverty, unemployment and social situation which are all deteriorating as a result of their policies being enforced in the European Union.

AKEL is struggling against this philosophy which our people has experienced mainly through the Anastasiades-Eurogroup decisions, the implementation of the anti-peoples Memorandum and the so-called solidarity of the EU  .