Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 13:52
by
eromerof
in European democracy & diversity (178 views and 1 comments)
But all this would be just another subjective comment if women were not constantly forced to prove themselves and if they were not there merely out of a simple strategy of political marketing. In addition, women must also prove their worth and show that they are not just puppets. In our society, in most cases, women must adjust...
read morePublished Monday, April 28, 2008 at 14:45
by
eromerof
in New Social Europe (244 views and 2 comments)
Nowadays, the panorama of the left in Europe does not seem to be very tempting. Only 7 out of 27 countries belonging to EU are ruled by socialist parties. These are: United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Cyprus. We could argue that there is a lack of real political leadership, a leadership that in other decades was embodied by politicians such as Francois Mitterrand.
The political victory of Zapatero in Spain last march gives the Spanish socialism a great opportunity to implement and develop politics that can be seen as an example for other European countries. It generates a new opportunity to take the initiative in the European context. Whereas the majority of countries in South America are governed by left parties, sometimes with a strong and questionable populist sense, and whereas United States are given an opportunity to give the power again to the Democratic party, regardless of whether Clinton or Obama wins, the European left movement needs to reshape its political agenda, taking the initiative and dismantling the demagogic and populist discourse of conservative countries, too much focused on very sensitive and easy to be manipulated issues such as security, migration, taxes...
From a Spanish perspective, I would like to introduce some of the main points for a socialist agenda. An...
read morePublished Friday, April 11, 2008 at 16:35
by
martina
in New Social Europe (465 views and 6 comments)
According to Eurostat a woman in Europe earns, in average, 15
percent less than her male colleague. With 22 percent difference
Germany takes a sad lead when it comes to pay inequality – on the
management level it is even worse (33 percent). Only a few
countries have taken action against this inequity.
The purpose of the international action day for equal
opportunities and equal pay, which has already taken place in the
US and Belgium, is to create awareness of this problem – and soon
there will also be actions in Germany. The German Network of
Business and Professional Women has taken the initiative for the
Equal Pay
Day on 15 April 2008 where the network, together with many
other women’s organizations, will organize numerous actions.
One of the activities of the German Equal Pay Day will be
‘Red Bag’
– which was already put into practice last summer in connection
with the European year of equal opportunities. At that time the
initiative went rather unnoticed by the general public - I don’t
remember having heard about it before now.
Every woman can take part in the ‘Red Bag’ action...
Tags: blogger of the week, equality, women, workers
File:
Equal Pay Day_DE.pdf
Published Friday, April 11, 2008 at 15:31
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (269 views and 0 comments)
Published Friday, April 11, 2008 at 10:31
by
noelhatch
in New Social Europe (227 views and 0 comments)
However, the economic layers of governance have been eroded by
globalisation. There is an increased pressure on costs. If we
debate the reform of the European social model, we need to debate
the reform of globalisation. Economic globalisation increases
within and between countries.
How can we develop a politics of international
redistribution?
Henning proposed that we needed a politics of national and
international redistribution - we need to explore a global social
politics. This includes:
Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:42
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (219 views and 0 comments)
Yes, but… a revision
needs to be done. The social dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and
perspectives for post 2010 EU strategy were key issues on the
agenda of the seminar on the New Social Europe of the
PES Group
in the Committee of Regions on 7 April 2008. The seminar is
part of the group’s contribution to the PES manifesto
consultation.Published Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 12:00
by
noelhatch
in New Social Europe (174 views and 0 comments)
Published Monday, March 31, 2008 at 09:36
by
cafeneaua.politica
in European democracy & diversity (427 views and 4 comments)
In the last time I have participated in some interesting left
civil society and social democrat debates, under the PES
Activists auspices at Oradea and Cluj-Napoca in Romania. The
quality of the subjects and on the other hand of the speakers and
listeners prove again that “the left” has a very good future in
Romania and probably in Europe.
1. The Oradea debate subject:
”Parliamentary bureau - The feed-back connection with
citizens”
2. The Cluj-Napoca debate subjects:
”Is the Romania a success example for different cultures
joining?”
Published Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 12:35
by
ania_skrzypek
in New Social Europe (388 views and 3 comments)
Thinking about the
next post of the blog – I was actually trying to remind myself what
is that people enjoy reading. Coming from the political school of
manifesto: ‘others want to see true intentions that inspired you at
the first place, to be also inspired’, I decided to use one of my
very peculiar interests while traveling;… women magazines. From
cover to cover – scanning all the pictures, trying to get empathy
for the authors of ‘letters to editor’, looking at some clothes
that are not only strange but absolutely unaffordable for a regular
employee… But above all the most exciting and the most interesting
is what the knowledge these colorful pages give; the portrait of a
woman of today. The last time I did that reading I discovered
something absolutely disturbing; women of my own age (around 30)
are the group with the highest risk of the heart attacks. Even more
terrible, most of us had already some mini-version ones without
noticing that even!Published Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 16:33
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (273 views and 0 comments)
Here is the last of
four reports from the manifesto debate in Denmark:
The manifesto theme 'New Social Europe' was one of the topics of
discussion when PES activists from Denmark, Sweden and Norway met
in Jørlunde, Denmark on March 1st and 2nd 2008. Here are the
conclusions from this dedicated discussion group:
Ole Christensen, MEP, introduced the workshop by speaking about
labour market policy in a new social Europe. One of the main
focuses was the role of Court of Justice in connection to the
Vaxholm case regarding the labour market models in the Nordic
countries.
The case was seen in connection to the increased mobility, out
posting of labour and the terms offered the employees as well as
the competition between foreign and domestic labour in relation
to collective bargaining.
The focus was also on the Danish labour market model and
flexicurity, the role of the parties within the labour market,
the social dialogue, rights and duties.
These great social democratic challenges were highlighted during
the discussion:
Published Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 11:03
by
phoenix999
in New Social Europe (401 views and 12 comments)
Hello,
A few months ago I had to change my cell phone and I purchased a Nokia phone. After that, I learned that Nokia was leaving Germany with the money of the Germans, leaving Germany for Romania because salaries and wages there were, in euros, FOUR times lower. "What a social Europe !" I said to myself then. If I had known that piece of news earlier, I would have joined the Germans in the Nokia boycott. Anyway I signed the German petition FOR the boycott. But things are changing and Europe is not just a huge market place, not yet : the Romanian automobile workers have decided to go on strike because their wages were too LOW whereas the auto company was making a huge profit with their low standard cars. There, we have two choices left, yes WE, us, Europeans, have one alternative:
- Either we choose to follow the media and think : Let's keep these poor fellas underpaid, because there will be a big competition with Morocco or India or whatever, and there, they pay even lower salaries (when and where, in the World, does it end ?);
- Or, we decide to make a political DECISION : We agree on a decent minimum wage across the whole European Union and we, Europeans, TAX importations from the poor countries where they pay their salaried slaves literally nothing and exploit women and small children. This is our last chance if we want a social Europe and there, as an exception to the rule, I'll quote George W Bush : ' Our living standards are...
read morePublished Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 14:22
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (332 views and 0 comments)
The Swedish social
democrats discussed the future of EU when the Swedish Social
Democratic Party met in the Swedish Parliament on March 7th. The
keynote speakers were Mona Sahlin, party leader and chair of the
PES group Save our planet, Margot Wallström, Vice-president of
the EU Commission, Jan Eliasson, former Minister for foreign
affairs, and Wanja Lundby-Wedin, President of the Swedish LO and ETUC. Around 250 persons
attended the conference.Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 14:21
by
Duncan Anderson
in European democracy & diversity (262 views and 4 comments)
As part of our Human Rights the last vestiges of discrimination must be banned. Each individual must be judged on Merit.
In Britain this would include Working Men's Clubs, Freemasons, the Labour Party's All Women Selection and some areas of sport.
read morePublished Monday, March 10, 2008 at 14:56
by
heisbo
in New Social Europe (395 views and 5 comments)
Last week Finnish
Minister of Labour introduced a motion that parental leave should
be divided in three: one part for mother, one part for father and
one part to share however the family wants to. In Iceland they
have already implemented this model. I have been demanding it to
be implemented in Finland as well and therefore I've been forced
to answer following questions. Aren't parents capable to decide
what's best for their child and family? Is it really necessary
that society gets involved in family life by telling parents how
to share the parenthood? I think it is. Motherhood is
unfortunately one of the main reasons for inequality on the
labour market. That's why the change begins inside the family. If
we are demanding equal pay, permanent contracts and equal
pension, we need to demand shared parenthood.
Of course the Icelandic model is not the only way to reach the goal. In Sweden it has been introduced a model where family gets tax relieves if they decide to share the parental leave in half. One way is to share costs of parenthood between all employers. The question is not only about equality in the labour market, but also in families. Father should have an equal right to parenthood as mother has. I think it's a win-win situation if fathers would also stay home with their children. As a result we would have more equal...
read morePublished Monday, March 10, 2008 at 09:41
by
joelld
in New Social Europe (236 views and 0 comments)
From Tuesday, March
4th to Thursday, March 6th, the NGOs federation ILGA-Europe has
organized a conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) families in Europe. The conference took place in Ljubljana,
Slovenia, in order to deliver a message on the EU agenda during the
Slovenia’s Presidency of the EU. ILGA-Europe and its national
members pointed out the juridical and social insecurity which is
still a very concrete threat for millions of European families and
children.Published Friday, March 7, 2008 at 09:30
by
Zita_Gurmai
in New Social Europe (555 views and 4 comments)
Why is it that women in Europe are 52% of population & 59% of
university graduates but only 33% of managers, and 23% of
national Members of Parliament and earn 15% less than men? Women
of Europe – we’re all in it together. We should have the same
rights as men. Women should also enjoy the same rights in all EU
countries. I say “the same rights, the same fights”.
International Women’s Day – it’s as important as it has ever
been. It’s a good day to reflect on how we can make progress for
women in Europe through the PES manifesto for the 2009 European
elections.
There have been a lot of posts and good debate so far on
Yourspace relevant to women – below are just a few of my
favorites
How do we shut the gender pay
gap?
European politics is still a
man’s world
EU must say no to
prostitution!
For the emanicipation of women
AND for the economy, stupid!
What can the PES do to promote
women's health?
Dads, what about staying at home
with the children?
What do you think is the best thing we can put in our manifesto
to achieve more equality between women and men? Is there one
commitment we can make that would...
Published Monday, February 18, 2008 at 15:20
by
maj1991
in New Social Europe (478 views and 3 comments)
Within the borders of
EU thousands of women each day sell their bodies for sexual
pleasures. For some it’s a choice of their own or a last way, but
for 700.000 to 2 million women and children it’s not. They are
victims of trafficking. When it comes to trafficking the message
from EU is very clear: we will not tolerate this!Published Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 21:20
by
Eric
in New Social Europe (475 views and 1 comments)
Published Friday, January 18, 2008 at 12:30
by
joelld
in EU in the world (579 views and 0 comments)
Tags: equality, fundamental rights, gay, human rights, LGBT, peace, solidarity, women
File:
Yogyakarta_principles.pdf
Published Friday, December 7, 2007 at 14:06
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (881 views and 9 comments)
‘Maternity leave’ is usually the way that we describe the
period of absence that workers are entitled to when they have a
child. But who says that it has to be the mother who takes the
entire leave?
In many European countries parental leave is a ‘woman’s business’. Maternity leave easily becomes a trap for women – in her new role as mother the woman is gradually moved away from the workplace and the labour market. Problems such as women’s lower wages and the fact that women advance less can easily be traced back to maternity leave and being absent from the workplace for many months – in some cases even years!
One of the smaller European countries, Iceland, has taken an active approach to dealing with the ‘dark side’ of maternity leave. By law Icelandic men are obliged to take a part of the leave, giving women the chance to return to their jobs more quickly. At the same time the law ensures fathers the right to spend time and have a closer relationship with their children.
What do you think the PES manifesto should say about parental leave – if anything at all? Should men be forced into taking up and sharing more family responsibilities - or? read morePublished Thursday, December 6, 2007 at 09:45
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (517 views and 0 comments)
At the recent
PES Council in
Sofia politicians and activists met and discussed what a
common manifesto for Europe’s socialists and social democrats
should look like. Another of the roundtables on the first day of the Council
addressed the manifesto theme ‘New Social
Europe’.
PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen gave his ideas for priorities
in this theme:
Published Friday, November 23, 2007 at 16:54
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (620 views and 0 comments)
Published Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 17:32
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (573 views and 0 comments)
There are plenty of examples of the negative impact on society of certain kinds of hedge and private equity funds. These funds, many financed with investments from pension funds, are on a hunt for short-term profit – something which too often is at the expense of worker’s rights and the long-term development of the company invested in. Many hedge and private equity funds also pay very little tax and, because they finance company buy outs with huge accumulated debts, they pose a threat to financial stability.
This type of ‘unhealthy investment’ was the topic of today’s second plenary at the PES Council. There was broad agreement among the speakers at the podium that the unregulated behaviour of hedge and private equity funds are a serious problem which urgently needs to be dealt with – for the sake of both workers and companies.
One of the speakers, Democratic Congressman Barney Frank (Chairman of the US House Committee on Financial Services), had taken the trip during the American thanksgiving holiday, across the Atlantic to urge collaboration between the US and Europe.
"If the US and Europe do not coordinate our efforts we will never be able to tackle the problem of hedge and private equity funds. The funds will then move and the problem is the same."
The...
read morePublished Friday, November 16, 2007 at 10:07
by
joelld
in New Social Europe (639 views and 0 comments)
As an observer
organisation, Rainbow Rose will be present at the PES Council. This year, Rodrigo Martin Galan, from
the "Grupo LGTB del PSOE" (Spain), will be our delegate. Other
Rainbow Rose activists coming from the Netherlands, Estonia and
France will be present in Sofia. PES activists, MEPs, and party
leaders will be welcome at our stand.
Rainbow Rose will use this opportunity to communicate on our contribution to the consultation on the PES 2009 Manifesto. To this day, the contribution has already received the support of several MEPs. We will also explain our networking activities and our political positions at a fringe meeting on Friday, November 23. We believe it's important to convince all socialists that equality, diversity and secularism, as they have always been at the heart of the social-democratic movements, justify total commitment from our national and European parties.
Last, but not least, Rainbow Rose aims at maintaining a contact with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists in Europe. That's the reason why intend to meet, on the one hand, with members of the ruling Bulgarian socialist...
read moreTags: council, diversity, equality, gay, LGBT, PES
File:
R.ROSE_CONTRIBUTION_2009_MANIFESTO.pdf
Published Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 16:10
by
joelld
in New Social Europe (758 views and 5 comments)
The PES discussion paper on "New Social Europe" presents a comprehensive
approach to social policy in Europe. We social democrats are
convinced that all the answers to all the problems of European
citizens in their work life and their social life are part of the
same social policy concept. For this reason, Rainbow
Rose, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network of
the PES, is glad to see that inequalities among workers are
mentioned in the discussion papers, as well as "the social
security rights of employees, the self-employed and their
families." We believe that addressing these problems is
necessary to build the inclusive society we want, with equal
rights and duties for all.
That's why, at the side of gender inequality, which is explicitly and rightly mentioned, we would like to make sure that all other grounds for discriminations are also addressed by the PES manifesto. We would like to see homophobia and transphobia mentioned explicitly. We think it is important that the manifesto stresses that gays, lesbians and transgender should have the same rights as all other citizens to be protected against discrimination at work and in the access to all public and...
read moreTags: discrimination, diversity, equality, gay, LGBT, public services, welfare
File:
PES Group statement on the outcome of the conference on the year of equal opportunities.pdf
Published Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 14:27
by
anqa
in New Social Europe (599 views and 0 comments)
Another visit to the office of Marek Siwiec, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of SLD in Poland. Among other things he raises the question of how we can make the vision of New Social Europe a reality in all EU countries.
How do you think we can assure high social standards in both new and old member states?
read morePublished Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 09:47
by
carl0s
in European democracy & diversity (528 views and 0 comments)
Obviously we can't bracket together every new member of the EU from the former Eastern Bloc. But the problems with democratic stability and forming a new equitable economic balance are consistent from state to state. Every country has issues with the far-right either growing in influence or forming new organisations. Whilst these remain marginal, in many cases these influence the debate, even to the point where a member party of the PES, in Slovakia, feels obliged to join a coalition with extreme right elements.
The problems seem to often stem from the political economy which has replaced the monolithic state system. Politicians have generally failed to explain the challenge of converting to a market economy, and the huge changes to the social geography that this has entailed. Worse still, there is a risk that the new economies are becoming distorted into mirror images of developing countries, with huge inequalities between rich and poor, and failing public services. That the new industries will be simply dirty, primary industries, exploiting natural resources and a cowed workforce. This is not good enough for the EU. We still need to monitor how the new EU countries are performing across a variety of criteria - not just the Maastricht budgetary restrictions!
Whilst the countries which previously comprised the Austro-Hungarian empire have a cosmopolitan and varied history, the virtual isolation of previous fifty years have reduced the public's toleranceof...
read morePublished Monday, November 12, 2007 at 15:27
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (495 views and 0 comments)
Published Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 10:39
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (483 views and 0 comments)
Published Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 12:20
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (467 views and 0 comments)
Here is another interview from last week's conference about Decent Work. This time we have talked to Josep Borrell, former president of the European Parliament and president of the Global Progressive Forum.
What do you think socialists and social democrats should do to ensure decent working conditions - both for people in Europe and in the rest of the world?
Find more interviews from the conference at our YouTube channel, among others we have talked to Guy Ryder from the International Trade Union Confederation and Maria João Rodrigues, adviser for the Portuguese EU Presidency.
read morePublished Monday, November 5, 2007 at 14:23
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (453 views and 0 comments)
We talked to José Vieira da Silva, Minister of Labour in Portugal, at last week's conference about Decent Work in Lisbon.
read more
Published Monday, November 5, 2007 at 11:29
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (693 views and 1 comments)
Thanks to Labour MEPs Richard
Corbett and Linda McAvan for dedicating an hour of their
Yorkshire Regional Policy Forum to a discussion on the PES
manifesto.
Workers rights, a stronger commitment to a fair living wage, and
equality in the workplace were among the issues raised by the
audience alongside many questions about how the PES manifesto2009
consultation would work.
The consultation was welcomed by former MEP David Bowe who
suggested that the consultation should have add a new theme of
‘making Europe work’ (i.e. implementing all EU rules properly in
all countries). Rounding off the discussion was MP and former
Europe Minister Dennis McShane who told the meeting that Europe
was a ‘wedge’ issue between Labour and the increasingly
isolationist conservatives.
The meeting, which took place on November 3rd in Sheffield, also
featured a workshop on ‘An Environmental Union: the EU and
climate change’.
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