05/29/05

On the outcome of the referendum in France on the EU Constitutional Treaty, the deputy to the European Parliament, elected on the list of the PDS, Tobias Pflüger, declared:

"I welcome with extraordinary joy the outcome of the vote on the referendum. It sets a clear signal against a further development of the neoliberal and militaristic orientation of the European Union.

The high voter participation is a sign that this result, after month-long intensive debates in the population, is not an accident. The more informed the debate became, the stronger the refusal of this Treaty grew as well.

Now the social, democratic and civil Europe should finally be put on the agenda. “Plan B” means to no longer act here against the will of the majority of the populations. The political class, which has been putting on the road one liberal project after the other for the last years, has received a clear message.

In the wake of the elections to the Bundestag, this result shows that the Left now has to unify in order to use its chance. The vote also shows, what a Left that looks for an alliance with the new social movements, is capable of. Now it is necessary to use this atmosphere of new departure.

This was the first success, on June 1st, we expect the second victory in the Netherlands. I want to simply thank the French women and men, they voted “No” for the European left."