Conference on the Future of Europe: political accountability is the necessary condition for concretely achieving social justices and international solidarityToday, on Europe Day, the inaugural event to launch the Conference on the Future of Europe took place.What we really need in Europe is to expand bottom-up participation in political processes, revitalizing the connection with citizens, social movements and NGOs.

In other words, ensure that citizens’ voices will be heard after decades of neoliberal policies.The European Left reaffirms its position: political accountability is the basis for achieving social justice and international solidarity.What people deserve, and what we want from the European Union after the disastrous management of the vaccination strategy, is a plan to ensure their safety and health.It is crucial to fight for ambitious goals if we want to make a change. We are paying the social and economic cost of austerity: the Covid-19 pandemic and the current crisis show that today only a democratic control over investment plans can ensure a real change towards a more equal and greener Europe.We need to reset Europe and protect people’s lives. The European Left took the task of proposing an alternative model for this Europe, and we will be vigilant and demand a real break with the past, against any attempt to hide decades of bad politics.The pandemic showed the failure of the neoliberal governance and policies. These have to be abandoned in favour of an active and democratically controlled process to invest in social services and for a social-ecological transformation of industry.Heinz Bierbaum – President of the European Left