The 15^th IMCWP was held in Lisbon on 8-10 of November 2013 with as its theme: “The deepening crisis of capitalism, the role of the working class and the Communists' tasks in the struggle for workers' and peoples' rights. Imperialism's offensive, the realignment of forces on the international level, the national question, class emancipation and the struggle for socialism”.

75 Parties from 63 countries participated in the meeting. In addition 14 parties which for various reasons were not able to attend sent messages. The participants honoured the 100 years since the birth of Alvaro Cunhal, General Secretary of the Portuguese CP and a significant figure in the International Communist Movement. They saluted the struggles of the workers all over the world, the paths that have been opened for the promotion of the alliance of the working class with the popular strata against the monopolies, for the struggle against capitalism, for socialism. They confirmed their internationalist solidarity with the peoples of Palestine, Syria and the wider region, with the people of Socialist Cuba, with all the peoples that find themselves face to face with imperialist aggressiveness, war, blackmail and interventions. They expressed their support for the communist and workers’ parties that operate in conditions of illegality, face state repression, anticommunist persecution and restrictions.

At the meeting there was an exchange of experience and views in relation to the development of the capitalist crisis, the realignments in the international imperialist system and the sharpening of the inter-imperialist contradictions and the dangers of wider imperialist wars and interventions, the course of the class struggle and the tasks which flow from this for the communists.

The meeting analysed basic aspects of the international developments against the background of the crisis of capitalism which continues to manifest itself in a very sharp way for the 6^th year in a row and is deepening. The KKE and other parties assessed that this a crisis of over-production and over-accumulation of capital, which expresses the intensity of capitalism’s contradictions, particularly the basic contradiction between the social character of production and its private appropriation, and underline the historically outdated and inhuman character of the capitalist system.

At the same time the realignments in the international imperialist system are intensifying, with as their basic feature the retreat of the USA, EU and Japan in favour of the emerging capitalist powers, a fact that is leading to a great sharpening of the competition and contradictions especially in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, the Africa and the regions of the southern Pacific.

Different opinions were expressed during the International Meeting about the nature of the contradictions between the established and emerging capitalist powers. Certain parties consider that these contradictions operate in favour of the peoples and their struggle. The KKE and other parties assess that these are contradictions between countries with a strong monopoly base, where the capitalist relations of production are predominant and that the working class can not take the side of any bourgeois class in the rivalries taking place amongst them.

There were also diverging views about the nature of the developments in Latin America. The KKE and other parties assess that the capitalist development is anti-people in this region as well, that bourgeois governments and indeed of strong capitalist powers, which take part in the G20, can not lend impetus to the anti-imperialist struggle. This discussion is also extended in regards to the stance towards the various inter-state capitalist unions – it has its roots in different views concerning the concept of imperialism. The KKE and other parties noted that imperialism according to the Leninist theory is the final and highest stage of capitalism and is not merely limited to the aggressive foreign policy carried out by strong capitalist states. We note that the detaching of politics from the economy leads to mistaken conclusions and we underline that the characteristics of imperialism flow from its nature as monopoly capitalism, as capitalism which is decaying. The controversy is developing around the various versions of bourgeois management in order to distribute the losses from the devaluation and destruction of capital. However, regardless of the form of bourgeois management, there remains the goal to increase the amount of profit through the intensification of the rate of exploitation of the working class and the greater concentration and centralization of capital at the expense of the urban and rural small-scale producers, at the expense of the popular strata. The depth of the crisis and the difficulties in the management of the crisis intensify the aggressiveness of capital and its political representatives. Authoritarianism is strengthening, as well as state repression and anti-communism. Democratic and sovereign rights are being struck against.  The bourgeois political systems as a whole are becoming more reactionary, the attempts to buttress and reform them are being reinforced. In this framework and while the labour and revolutionary movement has not passed into the counterattack, fascist forces are re-emerging and being strengthened, as well as other obscurantist tendencies.

There are diverging views on the issue reform or revolution and on the issue of reforms on the terrain of capitalism. The KKE and other parties noted that specific anti-monopoly anti-capitalist goals of struggle of the labour movement can not be mixed together with a reformist strategy that will allegedly “democratize” and transform capitalism and will pave the way for socialism. We assess that working class-people’s power is a necessary precondition for the overthrow of the dominance of the monopolies and the capitalist relations of production.

The KKE and other parties noted the need to confront social-democracy and stressed that without a struggle also against opportunism the struggle against imperialism is an “empty phrase”.

In addition, they highlighted the laws of the socialist revolution and construction and noted that historically serious dangers regarding the distancing from the principles of our worldview were concealed behind the “national models” and the “variety of paths to socialism”.

The KKE and other parties underlined the necessity of strengthening the communist and workers’ parties, the reinforcement of the class-oriented labour movement. They stressed the necessity and timeliness of Socialism, which constitutes the only true alternative way out for the peoples.

In addition, the unity of the International Communist Movement can not be achieved on the basis of the lowest common denominator amongst the parties, but on the basis of what is dictated by the sharpening of the class struggle for socialism, the defense of Marxism-Leninism and the contribution of Socialism, by the need to form a unified revolutionary strategy against capitalism.

The 15^th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ parties finalized a framework of Joint Actions, which the CPs together can develop, while certain motions were submitted on various issues.

The expansion of the Working Group was also decided on with other parties, which will engage with the preparation of these International Meetings, which is now comprised of the following parties:

WORKERS’ PARTY OF BELGIUM, COMMUNIST PARTY OF BRAZIL, COMMUNIST PARTY OF CUBA, COMMUNIST PARTY OF BOHEMIA-MORAVIA, COMMUNIST PARTY OF ECUADOR, COMMUNIST PARTY OF GREECE, COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA, COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MARXIST), LEBANESE COMMUNIST PARTY, PORTUGUESE COMMUNIST PARTY, COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, RUSSIAN COMMUNIST AND WORKERS’ PARTY, SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY, COMMUNIST PARTY OF SPAIN, COMMUNIST PARTY OF TURKEY, COMMUNIST PARTY OF UKRAINE

 International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE