A new escalation of the anti-communist offensive in the European Union is underway, this time with the Czech government preparing an operation to further criminalize the dissemination, support and defense of communist ideology — and the EU proving yet again its hypocrisy and tolerance for such reactionary measures.
For Papadakis and the KKE, the stance of the Commission is a clear political signal. Instead of taking action to abolish the anti-communist laws that already exist in many EU member-states — laws which persecute communists, forbid communist symbols, and distort the historical truth — the EU effectively supports the continuation and strengthening of this dangerous campaign. The “rule of law” that Brussels constantly invokes applies only when it serves the interests of the system. When governments target the ideology and action of communists, when they attempt to wipe out the memory of the workers’ struggles and the socialist achievements of the 20th century, the EU makes sure to look the other way.
The KKE MEP denounced these maneuvers and stressed that this anti-communist operation — which is more and more aggressively unfolding within the EU — goes hand in hand with the general escalation of repression, anti-people policies, and the involvement of the EU in imperialist plans. He called for the immediate abolition of all anti-communist legislation and for the strengthening of the struggle against the attempt to criminalize communist ideology and action. The peoples, he underlined, must draw conclusions about who the EU truly serves and intensify their fight, defending their rights and their historical truth.
The alarming developments were raised in the European Parliament by Kostas Papadakis, MEP of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), who exposed the Czech authorities’ plan to equate communist ideas with so-called “totalitarianism” and to apply harsh criminal sanctions.
As 902 portal reports, in response to Papadakis’ question, EU Commissioner McGrath openly confirmed that, according to the European Commission, such legislation is considered a “national competence.” With this position, the Commission leaves the field wide open for the Czech state to promote new laws targeting communist ideology, so long as they are merely presented as being compatible with EU primary law under Articles 2 and 10 of the European Union Treaty. The Commission thus avoids any substantive condemnation of anti-communist persecution, limiting itself to vague and abstract references to “European values.”
For Papadakis and the KKE, the stance of the Commission is a clear political signal. Instead of taking action to abolish the anti-communist laws that already exist in many EU member-states — laws which persecute communists, forbid communist symbols, and distort the historical truth — the EU effectively supports the continuation and strengthening of this dangerous campaign. The “rule of law” that Brussels constantly invokes applies only when it serves the interests of the system. When governments target the ideology and action of communists, when they attempt to wipe out the memory of the workers’ struggles and the socialist achievements of the 20th century, the EU makes sure to look the other way.
The KKE MEP denounced these maneuvers and stressed that this anti-communist operation — which is more and more aggressively unfolding within the EU — goes hand in hand with the general escalation of repression, anti-people policies, and the involvement of the EU in imperialist plans. He called for the immediate abolition of all anti-communist legislation and for the strengthening of the struggle against the attempt to criminalize communist ideology and action. The peoples, he underlined, must draw conclusions about who the EU truly serves and intensify their fight, defending their rights and their historical truth.
