Europe. Meeting the challenge of Continental Unity

Many on the left view Europe, the European Union and the euro with trepidation. For them, joining the euro zone will mean the end of Britain’s sovereignty and the rule of an unaccountable European Central Bank. If the euro replaces the pound, working class strength will be severely reduced – some say to a vanishing point. This outlook owes more to nationalism than internationalism. There is another tradition. That of Karl Marx, Fredrick Engels, Karl Kautsky, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg. They viewed the voluntary union of peoples, and especially the working class, into the largest state units as progressive. At the urging of Trotsky, the Communist International called for a United Socialist States of Europe against the Balkanisation imposed upon the ruined continent after World War I. Organisation at the highest level and unity in action are vital. An important step in the direction of a Communist Party of the European Union would be a European Socialist Alliance.