Giving voice to the struggle for the right to housing and the demand for immediate measures to ensure it, which led tens of thousands of people to take to the streets, all over the country, last Saturday, as well as all those who are affected in their rights and living conditions by the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), João Pimenta Lopes, PCP’s MP in the European Parliament (EP) proposed today, at the beginning of the plenary session, the scheduling of a debate to be held on Tuesday, October 3, on the serious consequences of increases in reference interest rates.

It should be remembered that, at the initiative of PCP’s MPs in the EP, the European Parliament already held a debate on May 10, on the impact of the increase in interest rates on the day-to-day lives of workers and populations.

In a context of recognised deterioration in the economic and social situation, given the downward revision of economic growth projections already in 2023, which foresee economic stagnation and recession, the ECB persists in increasing interest rates, deciding on its 10th. consecutive increase on September 14, and not ruling out new increases, pointing to the maintenance of interest rate increases for a long period.

This path, as PCP’s MPs in the EP have stated several times, does not tackle the root causes of inflation, favouring the banks, big financial capital, and reveals great insensitivity to the difficulties felt by workers, families, small and medium-sized companies and by countries, such as Portugal.

As we denounced before, the payment of interest on mortgage loan instalments represents, on average, more than 50% of that instalment, in the case of credits with a variable rate, which is the case for around 1 million and 370 thousand families, and this amount will tend to worsen with the long-term effects of the increase in interest rates.

The despair of thousands of families and small and medium-sized companies occurs while banks show obscene profits, and we are faced with a gigantic process – sponsored by the ECB – of transfer of wealth from workers and their families to big financial capital.

At the same time, the ECB and the European Commission are pressuring to end support for families and companies and to further tighten budgetary restrictions. Not a word about taxing the colossal profits of economic groups – from banking, energy, or large retail –, fighting speculation, increasing wages, ensuring the right to housing.

It should be noted that it was the struggle for the right to housing and the demand for immediate measures to ensure it, which led tens of thousands of people to take to the streets, all over the country, last Saturday.

PCP’s MPs in the EP consider it imperative that the rise in interest rates be reversed and that, immediately, it is the banks, and not families, who should bear the impact of the increases already decided.

The current situation also confirms the need and justice of the objective of the country to recover instruments of monetary and economic sovereignty, including public control of banking.