The European United Left/Nordic Green Left in the European Parliament condemns in the strongest possible terms attempts to use the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War as an excuse for political point scoring and historical revisionism.

Through a proposed resolution under the title ‘The importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe’, an asymmetrical coalition of political groups in the European Parliament wants to whitewash historical facts and undermine EU solidarity by equating the murderous Nazi regime with socialist and communist ideals of equality and justice.

The text of the proposed resolution justifies the undemocratic bans against Communist parties in some member states and, by extension, legitimises the repression against left-wing organisations and resistance across Europe in support of socially progressive causes and against the real threat of the far-right.

This represents an attempt to detract from the real and urgent issues facing our citizens: the rise of the far-right, the social crisis, the climate emergency and the continuously devastating legacy left by the EU neoliberal policy of austerity.

By selectively and deliberately misrepresenting historical facts, this new asymmetrical coalition has once again retreated back to its obsession on ideology and undemocratic governance by falsely equating communism with the evils of fascism.

We reject this dangerous and unacceptable resolution and vote. It represents yet another insult to our common European historical memory and has real consequences on repression of EU citizens exercising their democratic rights.

Photo courtesy of the European Parliament on Flickr