between 10.9 and 18.6 percent.

Twenty years after the reestablishment of capitalism, the Eastern European member states in the European Union (EU) have entered an advanced stage of economic and political collapse.

Although official statistics invariably underestimate the real extent of the situation, the available figures make clear the catastrophic extent of the social decline. Rapidly rising unemployment, increasing misery and the pauperisation of whole regions are an indictment of the antisocial policies of the European Union and its respective national states.

None of the official parties dares to address the problems afflicting millions of EU citizens. Instead their election campaigns have concentrated on a bombastic hymn of praise for the EU institutions in Brussels. Against this background the broad antipathy for the European elections is hardly surprising. It is anexpression of increasing opposition in the population and augurs major class struggles.

The election campaign of the Socialist Equality Party (Partei für Soziale Gleichheit, PSG) is based on a conscientious analysis of economic, social and political conditions in Europe, and fights on this basis for a socialist perspective.

Mass unemployment and poverty

Official unemployment rates have risen considerably across Europe. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European community, unemployment in the member countries of the EU in March 2009 totalled over 20 million. This represents an increase of 4 million compared to March 2008.

These official figures do not accurately reflect the real situation. First of all, no current figures are available for some countries and, secondly, all governments use various statistical tricks to exclude many millions of unemployed persons.

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