The 4th Congress of the European Left Party (EL) in Madrid December 13-15 gathered 300 delegates coming from every corner in Europe, from countries making or not part of the European Union. They have decided that the EL must become a major player of the political struggle in Europe against austerity policies and democratic regression, building a European social and political front.
This front will give to social, political, cultural and intellectual forces in our continent the opportunity to create a strong left wing alternative in Europe.
This front will also open the way for unity and hope of the European peoples so that they can set up a re-founded regional structure of sovereign free peoples associated for a regional program of social, democratic, economic and ecological progress, for peace, based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and for the cultural, political and social patrimony.
All the parties making part of the European Left Party are committed to the success of the three main initiatives approved by the Congress: 1- A large campaign of awareness and action to stop the TAFTA project (Transatlantic Free Trade Area); 2 – A summit on the debt to be held in Brussels next March; 3 – A yearly “European Forum for Alternatives”, a new political space open to all the political, social and trade union forces that are ready to work with us, whose first edition might take place in the Autumn of 2014.
The new collegial Presidency who will be leading the EL for the next three years has also been elected. Its members are Pierre Laurent (PCF, Fance), who has been reelected as President, Alexis Tsipras (Syriza, Greece), Marisa Mattias (Left Block, Portugal), Maite Mola (PCE, Spain), Margarita Mileva (Bulgarian Left, Bulgary) and the Treasurer Diether Dehm (Die Linke, Germany). Their collective work in the last three years has led to the reinforcement of the unity and the action of the EL.
The Congress has voted Alexis Tsipras, (President of Syriza, member of the Greek Parliament and vicepresident of the EL), as the common candidate to the Presidency of the European Commission.
Alexis Tsipras will represent the voice of resistance and hope from the Left in the European elections that will be held in the Spring of 2014.
According to the EL- press release 15.12.2013 Further information at the website of the EL Find the speech of Walter Baier on the right at Documentation