Translated "Avante!" article by Pedro Guerreiro, member of the CC and of the PCP International Department

The capitalism systemic crisis aggravation, along with its consequences and dynamic - marked by contradictions, partial conflict of interests and mistrust, but equally by the search of compromise among the main capitalist powers - as well as the dramatization which intents to create conditions for the imposing and acceptance of leading on measures against the workers and in favour of the great capital, marked the European Council and the European Union Euro Zone recent summits.

Before the imposed measures’ consequences unto the Greek workers and people, the financial capital proceeds to a new stage, the Greek “ debt restructuring”( involving amounts, terms and rates). “ Restructuring” brings about the assumption that, under the current conditions, the debt is unplayable and it is necessary to assume “losses”.
“Losses” which will be, in great measure, supported by public financing, through the handing over of increased public financial means to the financial capital. Therefore, “losses” which will have bigger or smaller impacts in each country, considering the exposure of its financial sector to the Greek debt and its own economic situation. At the same time, the European Union demands the carrying on of the putting into practise of extortion mechanisms and the social regression measures unto the Greek workers, as well as the settling of the announced assault against this country’s economy strategic sectors.

In the same way, the European Union tunes up the mechanisms which intentionally will “protect” Italy and Spain ( the third and fourth Euro Zone stronger economies), or even better, their creditors - once again, through the mobilization of colossal public treasury financial means -, demanding, as it is its nature, the putting into practise of the so-called “ deficit control and public indebtedness” and “ structural reforms”, which do not aim but to actually carry on the attack to life conditions, rights and to the historical workers’ achievements.

Synthesizing, the current European Union “round-about”, aimed to create the conditions to carry on the financial capital refinancing - namely Germany’s and France’s - within a reconfiguration framework of the Euro Zone and the European Union financial sector ( with the continuation of bankruptcies, acquisitions and mergers) and capital concentration, where, beyond the authentically passing on of the “hot potato” and the more or less partnership of both costs and risks, it is outstanding the German great capital carries on seeing and striving to manage this crisis as an opportunity to reinforce its economic and political domain within the European Union.

Therefore, it is pointed out as an objective the taking place of one more alteration of the treaties, falsely named as “limited” and, basically, directed unto the countries which integrate the Euro Zone, to make it become more “acceptable” and “executable” - with the announced objective of, for example, allow, in a default situation of increased and reinforced European Union impositions, the total alienation of a people’s sovereign rights on what regards its budget and tax policies or the annulment of their rights along the taking of position in the European Union institutions.

Obviously, at this stage, the notion of the risk exists on “ eventual alterations to the Lisbon Treaty , a too heavy a risk to face”, when workers and peoples of different countries gain conscience that the European Union is an instrument which promotes the exploitation and social regression increase, as well as economic dependence of some and the economic domain of others. A real sign is the petition of more than 100 thousand signatures delivered to the British parliament ( and thenceforth refused) in favour of the taking place of a referendum of Great Britain’s status maintenance as a member, the abandon or a renegotiation of the permanency terms within the EU. However, the great capital voraciousness will not stop by itself…