It is time for the EU institutions to tackle the really pressing issues and make a social, environmental and democratic change. Only then can it succeed that the extreme right will not win the European elections in the coming year and perhaps take over the commission. One suggestion would be to combine the European elections with a referendum on a European minimum wage. Independently fit composition of the European Parliament, it would be bound by the vote of the European citizens.

The President of the European Left, Gregor Gysi declares: We are at a crucial point in Germany and Europe. Half a year before the European elections and 80 years after the Crystal night, nationalist and racist parties have far-reaching electoral successes. They are already in governments in many European countries, including Austria, Finland, Italy and Hungary, and have gained considerable strength in other countries as well.

Joint statement of the: President of the European Left Party (EL), Gregor Gysi, Chairman of the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), Mirko Messner, Chairman of the Slovenian Levica (The Left), Luka Mesec

Stop the wars and not the refugees! Declaration of the International Meeting Against Foreign Military Bases, June 29^th, 2018, Kaiserslautern Germany. Participants from Germany, Netherlands, France, UK, South Korea, Spain, Italy, USA, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Switzerland agree to the following.

The Congress of the Democratic Party of the People (HDP) took place on Sunday the 11^th of February 2018 in Ankara (Turkey). The Party of the European Left (EL) was represented by its Vice-President Pierre Laurent. The HDP organized its Congress in a Sports Park. Despite a security perimeter of 500 meters all around the park, closed streets as well as strip searching and identity checks by the police and the military, 32 000 people came to hear the message of HDP. It was then a «display of power on the part of HDP, at the heart of a police state», according to Pierre Laurent.

The conclusions of the Marseille European Forum, who took place on 10-11 November 2017, were presented on the 30th of January 2018 to MEPs at the European Parliament, in Brussels. The need for a thorough debate on the experience of this first forum -trying to bring together progressive forces from the Left, the social-democracy and the ecological forces- was expressed from all the participants.

The Party of the European Left (EL) would like to express its strongest rejection to the newest attack of the Spanish state on freedom of expression, following its threat to illegalize the activities of Askapena. Furthermore, we are denouncing the judicial proceeding against Askapena and 5 of its militants, which – according to the established report – annuls personal rights like the freedom of association as well as the lack of guarantees which had been and are given in the process, and we are rejecting the possible “preventive incarcerations” of the five companions.