On the occasion of the European Council meeting dedicated to the « Pact for the euro », EL President and vice Presidents met in Brussels to denounce the authoritarian power abuse against European Peoples.

In a press conference held in the European Parliament,  the Presidency of the Party condemn the accord of a pact with the financial markets while the global crisis has revealed the deadlock of the neoliberal policies, and while peoples – everywhere in Europe – demonstrate their clear rejection of the austerity policies.

Since 2010, the European Union tries to convince citizens that the austerity is imposed because certain members didn’t know how to control their debt and there is no alternative to combat the crisis. However, the austerity was a “common” decision of some members: the European Commission's annual growth the competitiveness pact was proposed by Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy presenting proposals that put in risk salaries and social rights of workers in general.

Under the leadership of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, a step further is being taken in the social regression policies, without consulting neither peoples nor national and European parliamentarians.

Most Member States went under cruel and insensitive austerity policies, trough severe cuts in public spending namely wages and pensions, incessant destruction of social protection and the welfare state built during the last 40 years, the increase of privatisation of public services, raising taxes, the retirement age and workers contributions to social security. Portuguese Prime Minister has just presented the resignation in the sequence of the rejection by the Parliament of the 4th Stability and Growth Pact imposed in twelve months.

The new agreement on a comprehensive package of economic measures is now called Euro Plus Pact and it is “sold” as a decision to ensure economic stability within the European Union and to provide a new quality of economic coordination but it is not taking into consideration the people’s will and rights once more and the respect of the democracy. The “Pact for the euro” is a widespread and violent attack against European peoples’ social and political rights. It aims to organize the total control of financial markets on peoples and states and besides this it only mentions a plan for 2013. European citizens are suffering the cuts in their salaries and pensions since months and have the right to ask, what will happen here and now.

Yesterday Mr. Von Rompuy announced that the Covenant for the Euro was adopted by the Heads of States of the euro area and by six other EU member states.

The ELP is firmly convinced that there is an alternative that can be reached trough different means, introducing financial transaction taxes to crack down on speculation and create a social development and solidarity fund that can provide a real and fair European recovery plan, based on the economic, social and ecologic policies.

The ELP expresses its solidarity with movements that grow everywhere in Europe, and supports the mobilisation of the Trade Unions on Thursday, 24 March in Brussels, and on London, Spain, France and Germany between 22 and 26 March, as well as the euro-demonstration scheduled for the 9^th of April, in Budapest.

ELP president and vice-presidents call European citizens to form resistance fronts against the Pact for the euro, and to present their exit alternatives from the crisis and for the formation of another Europe.