Dear Comrades,

We would like to thank the Communist Party of Cuba for organising and hosting the first International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties in Presence since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic. We honour the decades-long struggle of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban people against the criminal blockade of US imperialism. We demand an end to the blockade and interference in Cuba's internal affairs.

Imperialism, as the highest and last stage of capitalism, is today the greatest threat to the working class and peoples. Whereas in Lenin's time there were a handful of imperialist robbers who divided the world among themselves, today imperialism is a complex world system of dependence and domination. The importance and role of a state within this imperialist world system depends on its economic, military and political potency.

 Why it would be wrong today to speak of a handful of robbers or even US imperialism as the only robber is very clearly shown in Austria. Austrian imperialism plays no role globally. Even within Europe it is the case that Austrian imperialism plays a subordinate role. However, it cannot be denied that there is an Austrian monopoly bourgeoisie and Austrian finance capital. The CESEE region (Central, Eastern, South-Eastern Europe) is particularly important for Austrian finance capital. According to the figures of the Austrian National Bank, in 2021 about one third of all direct investments of Austrian corporations in subsidiaries abroad flowed into the CESEE region. One of the largest Austrian banks holds about a quarter of the market share in standardised retail banking in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Serbia, the same bank holds about 5 to 15% of the market shares.

The influence of Austrian imperialism in parts of the CESEE region is also reflected at the political level. In 2015, Austria hosted a Western Balkans conference attended only by the EU states of Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria, as well as Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia from the Western Balkan states. Bypassing the European Union, border closures were agreed upon at the conference. Most recently, a few months ago, the Austrian Chancellor Nehammer organised a conference to which only Hungary and Serbia were invited.

In Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the subsidiary of another Austrian bank was able to secure preferential business interests, and other parts of Austrian capital also have business relations in these countries. The imperialist conflict in Ukraine since the coup, supported by the EU and the USA, also affects Austrian monopoly and finance capital. The receivables of Austrian banks in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have declined since 2013. In an international comparison, however, Austrian banks are still among the largest lenders in the three countries. The business of those parts of Austrian monopoly and finance capital with business relations to and in Russia are also affected by the sanctions. This finds expression in the political landscape, in the fact that one of the largest Austrian opposition parties has been speaking out against the policy of the USA and the EU towards Russia since the beginning of the conflict. Recently, a discussion about the sanctions has also flared up in one of the two governing parties. It has been an open secret for decades that this ruling party and the bank whose business in Russia is most affected by the sanctions are closely intertwined.

The increase in the economic potency of Austrian imperialism since the counter-revolution in the socialist countries has been accompanied by an increase in military potency. In 1995, Austria joined the NATO Partnership for Peace and the European Union. The Austrian Armed Forces have been involved in the KFOR mission in Kosovo since July 1999 with up to 500 soldiers. In addition, the Austrian Armed Forces at times had the supreme command over the logistics of the multinational occupation mission. In Bosnia, the Austrian Armed Forces are in the framework of Operation Althea, a military operation of the European Union. The Austrian Armed Forces are also involved in numerous European Union military operations abroad, from Georgia to Mozambique and Mali.

Dear Comrades,

We draw the following conclusions from this analysis. First, the main enemy of the Austrian working class and popular strata is its own bourgeoisie. It is the task of communists to organise and lead the working class and its struggles independently of one or the other faction of the bourgeoisie. There is therefore a need to build a strong communist party. A communist party with a revolutionary programme and strong links with the working class, capable of gathering and mobilising the forces of the workers and the people against capitalism and the monopolies, so that the people's struggle becomes effective and shows the way of socialism.

Secondly, the struggle of the Austrian communists is also directed against Austria's membership and entanglements in various imperialist alliances, such as NATO and the EU, agreements and plans. The Party of Labour of Austria rejects the support of NATO and the EU for Ukraine and the escalation of the imperialist war in Ukraine. The Party of Labour of Austria also opposes the policy of sanctions and the economic war against Russia, which is supported and carried by Austria. We demand Austria's withdrawal from the NATO Partnership for Peace and the EU.

Thirdly, it is the task of communists to establish and defend the autonomy and independence of the struggle of the working class from entanglements or appropriation by different capital factions, regional or international powers. In the struggle against the sanctions and the economic war of the EU, even that bourgeois party which also opposes them cannot be an ally. Its intention is not to prevent the Austrian working class and popular strata from paying for the ever further entanglement in the imperialist confrontation. It is only concerned with defending the business of certain fractions of capital. Similarly, the influence of social democracy and opportunism in the workers' and popular movement must be pushed back.

Fourthly, we can state that again and again, states with capitalist relations of production and a much greater economic, political and military potency are tried to be accused of being anti-imperialist. We reject this analysis. It serves to dissolve the autonomy and independence of the struggles of the working class, it promotes the influence of certain fractions of capital, regional and international powers. Even worse, it leads to the fact that the struggles of the working class in certain countries have been and are being denied any legitimacy. We saw this in all clarity at the beginning of this year with the uprising of the Kazakh working class. This was defamed by many whose "anti-imperialism" is limited to a mere anti-Americanism as a colour revolution controlled by imperialism and even worse some supported the military suppression of the protests through the intervention of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

In short, it is the task of the communists to expose the demagogy of the bourgeois parties and fractions. To expose the attacks on the social and political rights of the working class and the people and to organise the struggle against them. It is the task of the communists to show the only way out, socialism and communism.