Translated "Avante!" article by Pedro Guerreiro, Member of the Secretariat of the CC
What the European Union actually stands for, and before the rejection and interests’ conscience increase, the ideological offensive has intensified, by “hammering” unto exhaustion, the “inevitably” false idea of the European capitalist integration process - the European Union - and its greater strengthening.
Within this framework, one of the most intensely fought and eluded aspects is the national sovereignty importance, namely, as an essential condition for the rupture towards the European Union ( wealth exploitation and concentration, unemployment and poverty, inequalities, disparities and divergences, domain and subservience, interference and war) along with the building of a democratic, progressive and peace alternative, within Europe.
More and more, the offensive, carried out against each country, against workers’ and peoples rights and labour and social achievements, has the European Union as one of its major instruments, performers and support. An offensive which, to become effective, necessarily questions national sovereignty , in other words, a people’s right to exercise and decide its present and future, and resist to interference and aggression.
Treaty upon treaty - from Rome up to the “budget Treaty (and its immediate predecessors, the so-called agreement memorandum”) -, what is on the table is a so-called “process” or “construction” in Europe which aims to impose supranational institutions and rules, which coming from the public domain - ought to place national sovereignty - and allow the economic domain of some over others, the great powers and financial and economic groups, in other words, over the European Union different countries’ workers and peoples, namely on its “periphery”. And therefore, a major deepening of this “integration” will signify, inevitably, to widen the instruments for a huger domain.
Alias, as the European capitalist integration evolution proves and the current reality demonstrates, the more the attempt of conditioning the national sovereignty exercise limitation, further the aggression unto people’s rights and social achievements.
The alternative to the European Union great powers, financial and economic groups is necessarily the rupture with all the central axis on what its based on, that is, federalism, neo-liberalism and militarism.
It is a misconception to invoke the rejection and appeal to the struggle against the European Union neo-liberal ( and militarist) policies, without jeopardizing and cut with the instruments and supranational institutional proceedings, through which, the latter have been implemented and imposed.
The affirmation of a democratic and development project which, promoting each country’s potentialities, give an answer to each country’s needs and aspirations, necessarily demands its full expression and national sovereignty exercise and, consequently, the rejection of the European Union’s federalist, neo-liberal and militarist policies.
A Europe ( a continent) where democracy is to be respected is only possible within the framework of sovereignty and national independence safeguard of its different states, its mutual favourable cooperation and rights equality. This other Europe will only become possible upon the rupture towards the European federalist, neo-liberal and militarist integration process - the European Union.