Dear comrades, this meeting means a new step in the developments of the important exchange of ideas of communist and workers parties that started in Athens nearly one decade ago.
This time we thank the Portuguese Communist Party for their hospitality.

Nearly ten years have been past since the start of the meetings. We became stronger, because we survived in a hostile and dangerous world and were growing but also we became clearer of our weaknesses. The title of this years meeting is very challenging. This on one hand of course is necessary because we are internationalists and have to find answers on all existing questions. On the other hand we need concrete answers on concrete questions on an operational level. In other words: The NCPN is calling for concrete common activities, as we have decided last year in Athens.

We appreciate much the analyse made in the 'Appeal against militarism and war, for freedom, democracy, peace and social progress'. We do recognize this outline very much in our country, the Netherlands, one of the countries in Europe that has developed, implemented and introduced the neoliberal Lissabon-agenda of 2000 most of all European countries. If you look for our country you will see what our enemies want to realize. After November 22, the day of the parliamentarian elections in our country the situation will worsen, very quick if the existing government get the possibility to continue, less quick, but anyhow steady, if the social-democrates will be involved in the new government. All political parties in the Dutch parliament, recently also the so called Socialist Party, identify themselves, some more, some less, with the existing, capitalist society. They set limits to fighting the capitalist system and go for marginal improvements. But under capitalist conditions no structural benefits for the people are possible. The left opposition therefore, 'mops with the tap open'.

Comrades, the NCPN have been set up in 1992, after the liquidation of the former CPN, with the aim of rebuilding a communist party in the Netherlands, based on the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin, and aimed to establish socialism. Exactly because of these goals the party distinguishes itself from the other parties. The NCPN is anti-capitalist of character. Real improvements in life conditions and conservation of achievements, for which many generations have fought, today only can be fight for or kept if placed in the perspective of socialism. That is not conservative, such as the dominating power wants the people to believe, but progressive and necessary. We do not want a jungle in which the right of the fittest and the individual apply.

The 'global' character of the social developments and problems in ones own country cannot be understood without placing them within an international en regional framework. The stage of transnational monopoly capital has given class antagonisms a global character. This requires the internationalisation of the struggle of communist and workers parties and of the fight of the trade unions against destruction of life conditions and for improvement of labour agreements worldwide. The working people must not believe the fairy tales of the capitalists as if the fight for improvement of labour agreements in one country will be at cost of improvement of labour agreements elsewhere in the world.  
According to the NCPN international unity, cooperation on an operational scale and solidarity between national progressive movements are necessary and are of a high priority. How effective these social movements are stands or falls with a strong communist world movement. Because the large multinational enterprises has deeply nested themselves in all the international institutions, often founded and controlled by themselves.

More then half of the legislation, achieved by Dutch governments, is dictated by 'Brussels' or by international institutions. The current legislation, which increasingly restricts the privacy of Dutch citizens, is almost entirely inspired by the fear for terrorists, prompted by the US. There is need for an adequate and strong progressive ideological answer to this frightening and to the canonisation of making profit, behaving like entrepreneurs and being rich.

According to the NCPN the struggle of the so-called anti-globalists for a 'different world' has to develop into an anti-imperialist struggle, aimed at a socialist future. If not then this movement also will remain a phenomenon of marginal importance and even worse: a movement that causes confusion on the grass root level. The Dutch peace movement has to put the role of NATO back in the middle and has to reject the participation in imperialist expeditions, in the name of so called 'peace missions'. Peace cannot be enforced by imperialistic force of arms.

Communists, for their ideas, are not very popular among the ruling class. The real people in power, the bosses of economy, the oppressors of people, the robbers of raw materials, those who are loaded with money or want to be loaded, do not like communists very much. They want to exterminate completely everything that even smells like communism and socialism. History teaches us that they actually do it, if they see their chance or if they are forced to do so, if they are driven into a corner. Though socialism has been declared officially death, one decade ago, the hatred campaigns against communists and communism did not lose anything of their power, just as the attempts tot prohibit our organisations. Day in day out lies and distortions are being poured out over the people. The fear for communists is proportional to the level of propaganda for the justification of the capitalistic system and the 'free market'.
 
In order to survive as a social and economic system capitalism more and more has to intensify the exploitation of the working people. Therefore capitalism has little more to offer to the working people on earth than working longer, faster and more flexible, actually for continually decreasing wages and worse labour agreements. To increase the exploitation capitalists need to dismantle social services and social security. Under the mask of 'necessary deregulation' and 'less bureaucracy' actually large amounts of public financial resources are transferred to banks and companies. The neo liberal politics are aiming at a capitalism that 'freely and undisturbed' can go its pace, not troubled by social legislation and binding agreements between employers and worker. The demolition of achievements, fought for in more then 150 years of struggle by working people, stands high on their political agenda.

Comrades, the ruling class is in the offensive. In 2000, in Lissabon, the leaders of the EU have, on proposal of European entrepreneurs and with approval of the top leaders of the unions, decided to carry out a social economic policy that would make the European economy competitive with those of the US and Asia, in 10 years time. The core of this policy, packed in terms such as 'knowledge economy' and 'flexible life course', is the demolition of social achievements, as there are: permanent jobs, career prospects, restriction of working hours (per day, per week as well as per life), no ongoing time table on the job unless there is a technical reason (process industry, 24 hours services etc.), protection against dismissal, etc. etc. 

Communist parties, weakened by and confused about the falling apart of socialist countries, have suffered dramatic damage by the capitalistic offensive or have been thrown back at national politics. But the communists are not defeated. Slowly a regrouping and growing of self confidence becomes visible. Everywhere in the world communists don not give up and are working on reinforcing their organisation, sometimes illegal and under life threatening circumstances, or legally as in our country. In the interest of those people who necessarily need an organisation of struggle, to defend their rights and achievements and to improve their conditions of life. Especially young people, who enter the 'labour market' as newcomers, experience an increasing uncertainty of subsistence, due to the replacement of steady jobs by temporary, flexible contracts and appointment based on 'general employability' in stead of based on a specific function.

Comrades, shamelessly displayed wealth on the one hand and shaming poverty on the other hand are the characteristics of the decline and hollowing out of the 'welfare state', in which under pressure of the labour movement there was eye for the weak and in which solidarity was not an empty word. Demolition of social rights and securities and the privileges of the rich become more and more visible and at the same time justified. In order to make this decline 'acceptable' the ideological struggle of the ruling class is intensified. In an extensive brainwashing campaign the existing capitalist reality is defended as the only possible social system. Doubts are being dealt with as if they are illusions and critics of this all devouring and destroying system are being depicted as 'old fashioned' or even as 'terrorist'. The worsening of labour agreements on the other hand is presented as 'modern' and 'liberating'. The NCPN has no faith in the occasional stories by the government about more jobs. The NCPN wants structural employment, no staple jobs. The NCPN is against the return of the day labourer, despite the beautiful picture that is presented about this type of employment.

But comrades, the ruling class in many countries is forced into the defensive. According to the NCPN the seemingly supreme capitalism, that has the major part of the world in its clutch, is in serious trouble. As a result of worldwide competition between capital groups, contrasts are growing, due to the fact that there is no common enemy anymore   the block of socialist countries - and by the rise and growing self confidence of countries who demand their share in the world politics, for instance: China, India, Venezuela, Brazil, etc.

The NCPN is seeing better possibilities for socialism because of these growing antagonisms between capital groups, but recognises at the same time that for a large part of the working population socialism still not is a perspective at the moment. THE NCPN consider it for this reason as its task in the Netherlands, together with parts of the working class, to develop socialist perspectives. But that will be not a simple task. Because socialism is 'not done' at the moment in our country.
Comrades, the recent history shows a lot of examples of direct involvement of the capitalist power system at attacks against democracy. The NCPN is standing against involvement of the Netherlands and Dutch troops in so called 'peace operations', that means military occupation to enforce imperialistic aims. Both negative for the working population in the Netherlands and in the neo-colonies. The NCPN requires immediate release of all Dutch troops and calls for initiatives of the government to end participation in NATO.

Comrades, only more and more effective communist influence can stop the dismantling of social achievements. Only an international treaty of powerful communist parties with more influence can bring about a positive development. Only for communists the ruling class really is frightened. The recent attacks on communism and the theory of Class Struggle are the prove of this. International Communism itself still is in to weak, still too small, with still too little influence. But that must and will change. The worldwide communist movement, seeing the disastrous development of the warlike imperialism has to be reinforced with new groups from the society.
Comrades, the most important challenge today is however to learn to cooperate internationally more effective and more concrete. We have to learn better to work together. This lesson we learned by working together in a small part of Europe. The NCPN took the initiative to study and fight -together with the German Communist Party (DKP), the Communist Party of Luxemburg (KPL) and the Workers Party of Belgium - the implementation of the Lissabon-agenda in our countries. By doing so we discovered that there are many political and practical problems to overcome, if parties will work together on a longer during period. But we also learned there are many possibilities to overcome this barriers by cooperating in such a way. So, the first lesson is real unity takes time and energy, but without this type of real cooperation there will be no successes. Workers of all countries unite!