EUROPE FOR THE PEOPLE EVENT
LEFT PARTIES FROM ACROSS EUROPE GATHER IN BRUSSELS IN THE MEETING EUROPE FOR THE PEOPLE
The Party of the European Left co-organised yesterday, together with PTB-PVDA (Belgium), AKEL (Cyprus) and Levica (Slovenia) the meeting Europe for the People, a gathering of over 25 left forces in Europe, as well as trade unionists and other social activists, to exchange opinions and concrete experiences on social, peace and climate issues.
The meeting, presented by Alison Stoecker, was introduced by Marc Botenga, Belgian MEP of the Left in the European Parliament for PTB-PVDA, who commented that, with the current European Commission out of touch with reality, the left forces represents hope in the European Union.
The meeting consisted of three different sessions. The first, introduced by Pernando Barrena (EH Bildu, Basque Country) dealt with the topics of cost of living, austerity and socio-economic rights, with the video-message by KPO‘s mayor of Graz (Austria), Elke Kahr, and the presence of Fatima Aguado (CCOO-Spain) and Valentina Skafar, head of international relations of Levica (Slovenia).
The second session, presented by Stefanos Stefanou (AKEL, Cyprus), addressed the topics of peace, security and international law, with Jeremy Corbyn, Maha Abdallah, Tokozile Xasa and Florian Eblenkamp.
The third panel, introduced by Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein), discussed climate and energy transition, with Anuna de Wever, Tea Jarc and Jeremy Corbyn.
The meeting concluded with the remarks of Walter Baier, president of the Party of the European Left, who thanked all forces and people in the event, highlighting that the meeting was about the demands for the people, from the cost of living to affordable housing. Considering the just transition a necessity, Baier considered that there won’t be social justice without a feminist approach and peace. “In times of rise of the far right, we need broad social alliances with social movements and trade unions to address the demands of the people. A strong united left in the next European elections is necessary to change Europe”, he concluded.