Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 17:25
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (324 views and 0 comments)
“How to improve the European project while taking into account the interests of people and countries?” This was the departure point of the input for the PES consultation given by Jean-Louis Bianco, member of parliament and president of the French Alpes-de-Haute-Provence district, and Nicolas Cadène.
“For the last years, euro-scepticism strengthened itself due to both political and economic reasons”, Bianco and Cadène say, adding that “we should “think European” as only the EU can balance the negative effects of globalisation, such as the lack of democratization in some regions of the world.
Thus, two approaches are proposed. One is to forge a European cultural model through three vectors: education, a wider use of the media's capabilities to disseminate a common identity and the reinforcement of European symbols.
“Along the French presidency of the EU, the French PS – together with its European counterparts – should materialize a common European collective conscience, needed for a political Europe”, stresses Bianco and Cadène.
The second approach relates... » read more ...
Tags: citizens, EU, transparency
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 16:21
by
jose reis santos 
in European democracy & diversity (259 views and 0 comments)
What can we do to change this? It is important to keep on the track of the idea expressed on the «European Democracy and Diversity» paper that suggests that the PES should present a candidate for the European Commission Presidency selected amongst all the PES national parties.
The European campaign caravan idea should also be encouraged. This campaign would be lead by the PES candidate for the European Commission Presidency and by several candidates to the EP coming from different European countries. The caravan should have a political rally in all the countries holding elections so local candidates would join it and campaign together. Another interesting idea is the one that recommends a more intense political miscegenation between PES parties.
Advantages are evident: the concept would be appealing to media and it would be much easier to present a Portuguese candidate to the Italian electorate.
We want to create an... » read more ...
Tags: blogger of the week, democracy, diversity, EU, political parties
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 16:09
by
Editor
in Save our planet (533 views and 1 comments)
Claudio Martini,
member of the PES Group in the CoR (Committee of the Regions) and
President of the Tuscany Region in Italy, put forward his
priorities for the PES manifesto! For him climate change is the
most challenging topic to be addressed.
Which of the sessions of the PES Group meeting are you looking most forward to?
Claudio Martini (CM): In my opinion climate change is the biggest challenge for government right now and that’s why I am particularly interested in the debate on Save our planet. There is no doubt that we will face very serious problems in the future. I think it is highly important that we not only focus on the environmental problems caused by climate change, but also on the social, economic and geopolitical issues which will follow. Often environmental questions are seen as separate from other political areas, when they are really not. For every policy we need an environmental dimension.
What is the most important thing local government can do to improve the environment?
CM: Local and regional governments play an important role when it comes to solving... » read more ...
Tags: climate change, environment
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 14:36
by
lewismsyp
in New Social Europe (223 views and 0 comments)
(I'm Lewis Miller,
16 year old, a member of various organisations involving young
people politically in Scotland such as the Scottish Youth
Parliament and I enjoy trying to enthuse young peple in politics)
As a very politically aware young person in Scotland it seems to me like the our society losing sight of what it means to be a person and what it means to be a human being.
I think, and many others amoungst me think, that our society needs to uphold the values we were tought at a young age, we need to look at achieving goals that sound simple and yet are very rewarding. What a lot of young people (particualrly on the left) want is a society where people are cared for, we want to see Europe become a place where countires can support each other and where the poorest people can be helped. When we are only bairns we are told to share our food, we are told to look after each otehr, and so many of us forget that this is what society expects of us, and I think that the older politicians ought to remember seeing the world this way and never forget what society really stands for.
"But what should be our priorities for 2009-14?" Was the first question asked by the website. I think we should have a simple goal, to work towards creating a more... » read more ...
Tags: elderly, public services, youth
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 14:20
by
pamela.derosa
In the spotlight (298 views and 1 comments)
According to Pamela
de Rosa, it is a matter of fact that Italy is increasingly
lagging behind in competitiveness, research and innovation
compared to other European countries. In the education sector,
the ever worse quality of public schools is pushing citizens to
choose private education. The church is claiming financial
support from State for catholic school. This will be in contrast
with the Italian Constitution, since a common agreement between
the Church and the State establish that only public schools can
be granted State funds. Pamela de Rosa considers that Italy
threatens to turn back to old mentality and to be more and more
subject to the intrusion of the Church, putting at stake values
of what should be a laic and progressive society.
Which path should we follow?
Credo che l'Italia stia attraversando un momento particolarmente delicato per l'esistenza stessa del valore di uno Stato libero, come l'Italia dovrebbe essere. Libero da cosa? Dalle ingerenze del "capo" della chiesa cattolica, papa Benedetto XVI? O dalla mentalità ottusa che sta caratterizzando l'italiano medio? Una piccola risposta me la sono data da sola: l'Italia sta diventando uno Stato governato da un partito (PDL) che cerca il... » read more ...
Tags: education
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 12:20
by
jose reis santos
in Save our planet (392 views and 0 comments)
The consultation process is close to an end and PES Portuguese activists will hold two meetings on the “Save our Planet” and “Democracy and Diversity” themes this weekend!
Paulo Pisco (PS International department) presented some of his ideas on climate change in Sofia, Bulgaria. Check them here!
Published Friday, May 30, 2008 at 10:05
by
jose reis santos
in New Social Europe (276 views and 1 comments)
I would like to
share with you some of the ideas that Manuela Augusto, leader of
the Socialist Women Department of the Portuguese Socialist Party,
presented during a conference in Faro on the “New Social Europe”
theme (check the videos here: part
1 and part 2). She kindly accepted my invitation to
write a few lines on the issue which you can read here:
Contributions for the manifesto2009
Bring together personal and professional life affects both men and women. Nevertheless, women are strongly penalized, sometimes even more than men.
This situation results in a higher female unemployment rate, carer progress difficulties and lower incomes, just to mention a few examples.
Let’s look, for instance, at one of the EU reports dating back of 2007. Women account for only 24% of the total number of deputies in the 27 national parliaments. At national government level, 76% of all the... » read more ...
Tags: blogger of the week, equality, women
Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 13:45
by
jose reis santos
in New Social Europe (239 views and 0 comments)
Today I would like to focus my attention on two women committed to the “New Social Europe” and representing different levels of participation - PES at the EP (European Parliament) and PS (Socialist Party) Portugal. I am talking about Zita Gurmai and Edite Estrela.
I propose you to watch Zita Gurmai’s interview during our Faro session on the «New Social Europe» theme (you can see Zita’s intervention here – part 1, part 2 and part 3).
» read more ...Tags: blogger of the week, health, manifesto, PES
Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 12:25
by
bverdeyen
in European democracy & diversity (183 views and 0 comments)
The answers, let’s say in Portugal, would be quite different from those you’d get in, let’s say, Germany. The identity of one European Union today is hardly existent. Even worse, due to (mis)communication of more locally oriented political groups, the EU is sometimes even seen as meddlesome and negative.
Democracy begins with citizenship, but if your citizens don’t feel like a part of ‘the European Nation’, it is no wonder that referenda are treated with a resolute ‘no!’ So perhaps Europe needs to turn its’ attention towards itself again and develop it’s image within the member states.
Better information, a stronger presence within education and clear visibility of the use in people’s everyday lives. A strong democracy and a social Europe also starts within the people’s minds and hearts.
Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 11:50
by
denis_indract
in European democracy & diversity (200 views and 0 comments)
L’Union européenne intervient dans de nombreux domaines qui touchent concrètement le quotidien de ses citoyens. Nombreux projets, travaux, rencontres, échanges, etc. sont directement ou indirectement soutenus par les fonds européens ou les réponses aux appels à proposition. Or, les citoyens n’ont pas conscience de cette réalité.
Actuellement, et même si des efforts remarquables ont été initiés par la commissaire actuelle, force est de constater que l’accumulation de logos divers et variés joue un rôle important dans cette incompréhension.
Première proposition, il conviendrait notamment de n’utiliser qu’un seul logo pour toutes les aides apportées par l’Union Européenne et ce, quelque soit la direction concernée : le drapeau européen avec, pourquoi pas, le nom de la direction pour signifier le domaine de compétence européen engagé.
» read more ...Tags: EU
Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 11:45
by
yanlep
in EU in the world (232 views and 0 comments)
L'union européenne doit être un tremplin pour tous les citoyens européens. Mais les problèmes auxquels les citoyens de l'UE sont confrontés, notamment le chômage, ne se résoudront pas seulement en Europe. En Europe, il faut imposer des droits sociaux de base, un salaire minimum européen. Mais il faut que les citoyens du monde aient les mêmes droits sociaux et démocratiques.
Le PSE doit mener des combats dans tous les pays du monde en y pratiquant une politique visant à informer les citoyens du monde de la possibilité de s'unir pour acquérir des droits. Tous les moyens sont possibles: internet, journaux... Il faudra peut-être passer par la clandestinité dans des pays où les droits ne sont pas respectés (Chine...) mais le problème du chômage se règlera dans les pays où les droits sociaux ne sont pas respectés. L'ingérence est une obligation. Pensez-y à chaque lever du soleil. Dîtes-vous, que puis-je faire pour ces citoyens dont les droits sont bafoués. Les informer qu'une autre vie est possible. De là naîtra la contestation...
En Europe, tous les pays ne sont pas logés à la même enseigne. ll faut absolument que le PSE ait un programme visant... » read more ...
Tags: EU, Multilareralism, rights
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 15:40
by
Editor
in Save our planet (369 views and 0 comments)
As we mentioned in one of our last posts, the theme “Save our Planet” of the PES manifesto was discussed in Stockholm, Sweden, with an extremely positive outcome! The purpose, obviously, was to add input to the manifesto2009 for the European Elections of June next year
Fighting climate change with the right
attitude
The seminar on “Leading the fight against climate change: a new
European green growth agenda” was held on the 23 May at the
headquarters of the SAP, the Swedish social-democratic party.
Mona Sahlin, SAP party leader and PES manifesto theme leader on “Save Our Planet”, opened the seminar by saying that “problems in our society don’t disappear only wanting to, but taking... » read more ...
Tags: climate change, transport
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 13:44
by
ccarnero
In the spotlight (284 views and 1 comments)
A very important
meeting to prepare the PSOE's general contribution to the PES manifesto2009
was held this Tuesday in Madrid. The meeting took place under the
patronage of Elena Valenciano, responsible for PSOE’s
International Relations, and Diego López Garrido, EU Secretary of
State.
Elena Valenciano stressed that “Zapatero’s policies are nowadays a reference. Therefore successful politics in Spain can also be successful in Europe”.
To read the complete report on the meeting visit this link!
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 09:50
by
jose reis santos
in European democracy & diversity (324 views and 2 comments)
In one of my last
posts I gave some general thoughts on the
manifesto2009 and the PES activists. Today I want to tell you our
idea for the development of both in Portugal and in the Portuguese
Socialist Party.
I am involved with the PES activists since the Oporto PES Congress late 2006 because I believe that the time has come to start building a truly European Socialist Party. It will be a long process, as I said, but it will be worthwhile, I’m sure. This building process has to happen in a three way dimension: firstly, the international one, secondly the domestic and, finally, the internal one.
A triptych project
The international dimension concerns your connections with other PES activists at an European level and I have to say that we have witnessed this last year important measures in that way. The Sofia Council was an important landmark as the activists took part as full members of the PES family. Following this, the Vienna meeting on the manifesto2009 will be another important milestone, to consolidate the Activists dynamism.
On the domestic... » read more ...
Tags: Activism, blogger of the week, PES Activists
Published Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 16:50
by
Editor
In the spotlight (232 views and 0 comments)
The manifesto2009 is on the frontpage of the last number of the newsletter issued by Comission Féderale Europe, the Paris PES activists magazine.
On this third number you will find an article regarding the aims
of the manifesto2009 but also many others reports on the
immigrants rights or elections in several european countries,
just to mention a few examples.
More information on the activities, European policies and many other subjects - both from Paris and abroad - for you to read here!
Tags: activists
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