Dear comrades,

Twenty-six communist and workers’ parties have now signed the joint appeal issued by the Communist Party of Greece and the Communist Party of Ireland. We would like to extend our thanks to all those parties that signed and to request other parties that may not yet have signed it to consider doing so.

The statement will be issued to the press and published on Solidnet today. We consider the fact that twenty-six parties have signed the appeal a major expression of solidarity with the Irish people and their struggle to defend the democratic No vote that they gave in June 2008.

The struggle for a second No vote is now at a crucial stage, as the Irish ruling class, supported by the EU Commission, has been engaged in unprecedented bullying of the people to make them vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty. The EU Commission has interfered in the democratic process, using threats as well as promises of money if the people vote Yes.

This expression of solidarity by representatives from throughout Europe, beyond the narrow parameters of the European Union, is a true reflection of internationalism and working-class solidarity.

Eugene McCartan
General Secretary
Communist Party of Ireland


Joint Appeal of the Communist and Workers’ Parties in Europe on the new Irish Referendum

Solidarity with the Irish NO Vote

The rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish people in the referendum that was held last year, as well as the previous rejection of EU Treaties and the EU Constitution by other peoples in several EU member-states, has created great difficulties for the governments and a series of political forces that serve monopolies as well as the EU, this interstate imperialist union that has the interests of great capital as its driving force.

For that reason, refusing to accept the result of the vote of the people, Brussels, with the support of the bourgeois political parties in Ireland, are obliging the Irish people to vote again, hoping that they can be frightened and bullied into changing their decision.

The Lisbon Treaty, like the Maastricht and Nice treaties before it, consolidates and reinforces the EU imperialist strategy in favour of the interests of monopoly capital.

This treaty in particular:

* Reinforces the militaristic character of the EU, enhances the powers of the High Representative for Foreign Policy, and establishes a closer collaboration with NATO and the US.
* Limits the sovereign rights of member-states and recognizes the supremacy of EU law over national law.
* Elaborates new policies for the exploitation of workers and the demolition of labour and social rights, following on from the judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in the Vaxholm, Laval, Ruffert and Luxemburg cases based as they were provisions on previous treaty.
* Abolishes the veto in 50 sectors for the benefit of the powerful countries in the EU, also increasing the relative voting strength of the bigger states.
* Decisively reinforces police and repressive powers at central level and in each member-state separately, in the direction for the creation of a single European policy of internal order and security.
* Strongly restricts and hits individual and people’s political rights and liberties and includes the combat against “radical” ideologies to the existing “anti-terror” package of the EU.
* Reinforces the rapacious and threatening international role of the EU in its dealings with developing countries, dictating terms of trade and economic policy, and opening up their resources to exploitation by European multinational corporations.
* Further undermines the ability of member states to take sovereign independent action on key social, economic and political issues and, hence, any reference of the traditional “Irish policy of neutrality” would be devoid of any practical significance.

The worker’s and people’s forces are now more aware of the fact that the EU has nothing to do with the interests of the peoples. It is a union of unemployment and underemployment, of the abolition of labour and social insurance rights, of the wage and pensions freezes, of the commercialisation of health, social welfare, education and culture. The peoples of Europe have accumulated experience since it has been proved in practice that the EU and its treaties not only constitute any shield against capitalist crisis, but on the contrary, they reinforce the profits of the capital that causes the crisis.

The communist and workers parties of Europe express our solidarity with the Irish people and we urge them once more, to decisively oppose the anti-democratic and anti labour class direction inherent in the EU, to reject EU militarism and the threat to peace and people’s rights it represents. We urge them to defy the EU ultimatums; not to believe the promises for regulations, improvements and “protocols on the respect of rights beyond the treaty” that do not change the reactionary character of the treaty.

We call upon workers across the member states of the EU:

* To show their active solidarity with the Irish people.
* To support them through messages of solidarity and any other form, as this is a common struggle and its result will have an impact upon workers across the EU.

Europe of multinationals has rallied behind the forces of the “yes” vote; we, the communist and workers parties call upon workers to rally and stand in solidarity with the Irish working class and the other popular forces of the country.

We call upon the Irish people to hold their nerve and vote “NO” once more and give the decisive blow that will signal the rejection of the reactionary treaty. This result will pose new obstacles to the attack of EU imperialists and will give a new impetus to the struggles of the working class and the poor popular strata throughout Europe.

The Parties

Communist Party of Belarus
Workers’ Party of Belgium
Communist Workers’ Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Communist Party of Britain
New Communist Party of Britain
Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia
Communist Party in Denmark
Communist Party of Denmark
Communist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Finland
Communist Party of Greece
Hungarian Communist Workers’ Party
Communist Party Ireland
Workers’ Party of Ireland
Socialist Party of Latvia
Communist Party of Luxembourg
New Communist Party of the Netherlands
Communist Party of Norway
Communist Party of Poland
Portuguese Communist Party
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists
Communist Party of Slovakia
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain
Communist Party of Sweden
Communist Party of Turkey