Published Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 14:25
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (989 views and 0 comments)
A number of UK blogs have picked up the Yourspace vibe: Compass Youth, Dirty
Leftie and Peter Kenyon. Thanks for mentioning the manifesto2009 consultation!
Tags: blogosphere, citizens, manifesto
Published Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 14:08
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (744 views and 0 comments)
The new SPD program,
adopted at the party’s congress in Hamburg this weekend, defines
essential elements of European democracy in a sharp and clear
way. For German social democrats European democracy means
government based on responsible and accountable parliamentary
procedures.
For the SPD this implies that the European Parliament must stand on equal footing with the European Council. The Parliament should at the same time control the other European institution: for the SPD it has to be the European Parliament which elects the President of the European Commission.
A strong parliamentary democracy needs parties: the SPD wants to develop the PES into a real member party based on a long term program and the capacity to act effectively. At the elections for the European Parliament the SPD proposes one top social democratic candidate.
The SPD proposes structured cooperation of those member states which want to go further down the road towards a more democratic Europe. Such cooperation, however, needs to be open for all other member states.... » read more ...
Tags: citizens, democracy, EU, political parties
Published Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 11:18
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (763 views and 1 comments)
What is going on in
Brussels? Who is deciding what?Tags: citizens, democracy, EU, transparency
Published Friday, October 26, 2007 at 16:50
by
PESactivist 
in European democracy & diversity (960 views and 3 comments)
The birth, development and maturity of the European Union has frequently been marked by the periods of ups and downs, occasional shortfalls and crises in political, economic and social spheres, yet Europe remained “TöGEthe® since 1957!”
Truth be told, Europe was divided and apart since 2005 when it went into doldrums over the Constitutional Treaty and it took two years of collective effort from politicians to put Europe back on track, and it will take even more time to repair the damage inflicted on the social approval of Europe, solidarity and public interest in the Union.
Nevertheless, the Lisbon Summit earlier last week marks the beginning of the end of the recent crisis. Neither British nor Polish opt-outs from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, or Poland's insistence to include 'Ioannina clause' making it possible to delay decisions in the Council, or even the number of "red lines" from the UK on cooperation in justice and home affairs will loosen the bounds among EU-27.
» read more ...Published Friday, October 26, 2007 at 11:08
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (770 views and 2 comments)
One of the PES activists, Chourka, has been interviewing socialists from Paris about the PES manifesto. The video below is with Rose from the French organization of young socialists, Mouvement des Jeunes Socialistes. She speaks about youth in Europe and what she would like to see in the PES manifesto.
How do the views of Parisian socialists compare to the opinion in
your town?
Find more interviews with Parisians in the PES manifesto2009 group at YouTube. Feel free
to add your own interviews and videos to the group. We would love
to bring them on Yourspace!
Tags: citizens, democracy, diversity, political parties
Published Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 17:47
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (857 views and 0 comments)
Portuguese bloggers are active writing and informing their readers about the PES consultation process. These are good news for portuguese speaking-readers, as they will now be able to read in Camões' language what is going on!
Some suggestions: visit Luís Novaes Tito's blog, have a look at Carlos Manuel Castro's space, don't miss Celso Guedes' articles and read about the manifesto echos in loja de ideias.
Obrigada pela colaboração :)
Tags: blogosphere, citizens, manifesto
Published Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 09:56
by
noelhatch
in European democracy & diversity (804 views and 0 comments)
We have a duty to invite,
inspire and involve all Social Democrats into shaping our
narrative, especially those excluded from political and civic
participation.
It needs to be worthwhile for them and make a difference in a way which is accessible. It needs to instil a sense of enthusiasm and hope, that by working with others towards this common endeavour, they can contribute to emancipating others by emancipating themselves.
European Social Democratic political parties are ideally placed
to build this consensus by:
* enabling everyone to shape a cross-European manifesto for the
good society so we can better connect with the public and
campaign in the political and social arena
* reaching out to those who share our values but not membership
of a political party into the progressive coalition
* devolving power to our party members so their everyday
experiences and connections into communities can inform our
parties and policies
* provide a flexible and accountable approach to European Social
Democratic renewal at all levels
* engaging people in a way which reconciles the tensions between
their interest in social issues and distrust of party politics
and enabling them to better experience democracy
Tags: activists, citizens, democracy, PES, political parties
Published Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 11:37
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (563 views and 0 comments)
More equality, fighting climate change and childcare for every child – these are some of the issues that the Socialist Group of the Committee of the Regions suggests should be in the PES manifesto.
The Committee of the Regions is an assembly that gathers representatives of local and regional governments in Europe. 111 of its members belong to the PES group.
Tags: EU, political parties
Published Monday, October 22, 2007 at 11:32
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (1025 views and 0 comments)
Joel Le Deroff from
Rainbow Rose, the LGBT network of PES, was one of
many grassroots taking part in last week’s PES activist gathering
in Brussels. We asked him what he thought should be in the PES
manifesto:
"We know that the EU will not, alone, change national regulations on for example same-sex marriage or adoption rights - but we would like to ensure that gays, lesbians, transgender persons, and their families, can keep the rights they have in their home countries, when moving to other EU countries. This is a way of provoking changes in more member states and something which I would like to see mentioned in the PES manifesto."
Tags: activists, discrimination, equality, gay, LGBT
Published Friday, October 19, 2007 at 15:05
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (922 views and 3 comments)
Improving democracy
in Europe – an issue brought up again and again during Wednesday’s
closing debate of the PES activist event in Brussels.Tags: activists, citizens, democracy, PES, transparency
Published Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 09:35
by
ccarnero
in European democracy & diversity (743 views and 1 comments)
The European Council is meeting
today in Lisbon to close the deal on the new Treaty of the
European Union. Without the Convention, there would not have been
a European Constitution and without a European Constitution, we
would not have a treaty to replace Nice and to strengthen a more
democratic and efficient Union.
I think European socialists have been and still are part and parcel of this new step forward. This new progress however is not a final step in the history of the European construction, since we still have to round it up with a political Union.
The preparation of our Manifesto will coincide with the ratification process of the new treaty. Let us use this opportunity to make the new treaty known and link our proposals for the future of Europe to this process.
We can do this by underpinning the most important matters: for instance, from the moment the new treaty is enforced, the Union’s institutions will be more transparent and the Charter of Fundamental Rights will be legally binding.
- Member of the European Parliament Carlos Carnero, Spain
Tags: EU, fundamental rights, political parties
File:
Carlos_Carnero_ES.pdf
Published Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 09:30
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (703 views and 0 comments)
Tonight Europe‘s
leaders will, hopefully, agree on a European Reform Treaty to
improve the EU’s decision-making. The new treaty is an important
step on the way to strengthening democracy in Europe. But what
will the new treaty mean for socialists and social democrats in
Europe – and for European party politics?
With the new treaty the European Parliament will elect the President of the European Commission in the future. This means that member states will have to take into account the results of the European elections when they nominate a candidate! The citizens will have a much greater influence on the political leadership of the European Union.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights is also incorporated into the treaty framework. The charter has existed since 2000, but with the new treaty Member States will be more committed to abide to it. How can the PES use the charter to promote a more social democratic Europe?
Tags: democracy, EU, fundamental rights, political parties, transparency
Published Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 15:52
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (1796 views and 0 comments)
PES is not just
about party leaders and parliamentary members, but certainly also
about its grassroots! This week PES welcomes its activists at the party’s headquarters in Brussels.
More than a hundred grassroots from Denmark, France, Lithuania,
Germany and Spain have traveled to Brussels to meet the PES and
give their input to the PES 2009 manifesto.
The activists arrived yesterday and had their first meeting with the PES in the late afternoon. They were invited to the Committee of the Regions - representatives from Europe’s local and regional governments from all over Europe – to discuss how socialists and social democrats can campaign together, with a common manifesto, in the next European elections.
One thing was clear from the panel debate: PES activists are eager to make European politics a lot more political! Almost all speakers – activists and politicians a like – stressed the need for progressive alternative to liberal politics: We need a ‘red’ Europe to counterweight ‘blue’ Europe and the fundamental difference between the political choices should be a lot more visible to the... » read more ...
Tags: activists, citizens, democracy, PES, political parties
Published Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 15:25
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (1228 views and 0 comments)
‘Together against
discrimination’ is the European Commission’s latest
initiative on fighting discrimination. They invite children and
teenagers from all over Europe to design posters that will teach
others to say ‘no’ to discrimination.
Today racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination are banned within the European Union. Equality before the law and non-discrimination is secured by national laws and also mentioned in article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Still, discrimination is not history in Europe. There is a need to inform citizens about their basic rights and to empower them when it comes to saying no to discrimination. The poster competition is such an initiative.
But campaigns and information are not enough. Do you see other ways in which the European Union can ensure fundamental rights are respected in Europe?
Tags: citizens, discrimination, diversity, equality, fundamental rights, multiculturalism
Published Monday, October 15, 2007 at 13:42
by
chourka
in European democracy & diversity (752 views and 2 comments)
The Paris activists are organising themselves so that the debate that will take place during the Brussels visit of Danish, Spanish and other European activists should be a sort of a unofficial 'launch'of the discussion on the electoral manifesto for the European elections in 2009.
Some 15 activists from Paris will come to Brussels. We have big expectations for this event... But then, the stakes are high: we want to make sure that this PES consultation is a success. For too long, the discussion on the future of the Union has remained in the hands of national politicians. Now activists want to have their say.
So that the meeting is productive, the summaries of the 4 topics of the manifesto (Save our planet, The New Social Europe, European democracy and diversity and The EU in the world) have been distributed.
In parallel to that, we are video-taping Parisians in the streets so that they have their say on the 4 topics, and more largely on the expectations of our fellow citizens about the ideal Europe.
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