Published Friday, July 4, 2008 at 10:05
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (34 views and 0 comments)
Vienna receives this weekend the first PES activists Forum. “Vienna 2008 – a strong voice for European social democracy” gathers together leading politicians from PES member parties, activists and experts to discuss the outcome of the manifesto2009 campaign. They will draw-up their ideas for a strong campaign for the next European elections.
The opening session of the Forum is scheduled for this afternoon. Tomorrow, four parallel sessions will take place on both “Manifesto” and “Campaigning” themes.
During the day, participants will discuss not only the four consultation themes – “Save our World, “New Social Europe”, “Europe in the World” and “European democracy and diversity” – but also other transversal issues such as “Experience in Europe – Cross-border campaign exchanges”, “Strike back on ultraconservative speech”, “Social networking over Internet or “A European dimension in European election campaigns”.
The Forum, organised together with the SPÖ, the Renner Institute and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), will close the PES manifesto consultation.
read morePublished Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 09:39
by
negrescuvictor 
in European democracy & diversity (116 views and 2 comments)
Most of European
countries confront themselves with the problem of bringing
youngsters to vote at the different elections. Regarding European
elections the stats are similar to the other elections even knowing
Europe normally speaks more about the future of our societies.
Involving youngsters in the European project and inside the socialist parties is becoming a more and more difficult task even know many of the PES member parties have chosen to promote younger leaders or building special information campaigns. The question is to find a way in interesting youngsters in politics and in the European project.
PES activists Romania has participated at a debate in Bucharest on this issue and came to a general conclusion: the need of appealing and the necessity of offering new solutions to the next generation of social problems. It become clear to us that European themes have to been translated in a language understandable for everyone and this is a task that the PES has to assume.
There are social groups excluded by European politics because of its high level of specialization or simply by the lack of time and this is a task socialists have to complete. On the other hand we have to create new topics for our societies and mainly youngsters and attract the public opinion’s attention on them. We have to stop waiting...
read morePublished Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:47
by
negrescuvictor
in In the spotlight (221 views and 2 comments)
While reading the
contributions submitted by several PES member parties or by
different NGOs I have noticed something that I thought has
disappeared. What is that exactly? The desire to
change the world, to ask ourselves what is wrong and, thus, to
think about improving the current situation.
We are far away from living in a perfect world and sometimes it can be difficult to imagine that thousands or millions of people are starving, getting incurable diseases, people who don’t have access to the basic survival needs, not to talk about the lack of education.
Europe is far from having resolved its own problems but the power of our political (social and economic) Union resides in the value of solidarity. Countries and regions have been reconstructed based on this solidarity, people have known prosperity and wealth, the living conditions have improved and no one can say otherwise. People from countries like Ireland, Greece, Spain, and Portugal know what I’m talking about… Solidarity is difficult when this means giving a bite of your wealth but you always have to remember that this is what EU is all about: mutual help when you are facing a bad economic situation.
The current economic situation that is getting generally worst is...
read morePublished Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:29
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (169 views and 0 comments)
The European
Network of Social Democratic Foundations (ENSoF) became very
involved in the PES Manifesto consultation, coordinating research
with their 16 member organizations. They started in January 2008
with a preparatory workshop in Vienna and since then successively
held four further workshops in Sofia, Athens, Paris and Rome – one on each of the
core themes. Debating the draft papers with MEPs and other experts
in Brussels on May 29, ENSoF finally delivered a very comprehensive
booklet as their contribution to the PES
Manifesto consultation.
The scientific yet political approach of the foundations to the most important issues on the European agenda undoubtedly represents a unique enrichment to the consultation process. Having done extensive analytical research, ENSoF also presented a number of concrete proposals on “Europe in the world”, “European Democracy and Diversity”, “Save our Planet” and “New Social Europe”. Here is just a small selection:
Published Monday, June 23, 2008 at 18:26
by
chourka
in European democracy & diversity (354 views and 12 comments)
Plusieurs
contributions (Brussels PES working group, Contribution du PS 67,
contribution de la Fédération de Paris) mettent en avant la
nécessité pour les partis européens à commencer par le PSE
d'offrir aux électeurs un choix clairs entre la droite et la
gauche.
Toutes soulignent également qu'un mode de scrutin uniforme pour l'élection des députés européens est un objectif de plus en plus urgent de réaliser.
Enfin, la proposition formulée par Jacques Delors de faire du chef de file du parti arrivé en tête lors des Européennes, le Président de la Commission, est littéralement plébiscitée. Se pose alors pour les partis politiques européens la question de l'organisation concrête de cette désignation.
Pour un courant de pensée démocratique comme le socialisme, il n'est pas concevable que cela se fasse dans un conclave fermé à huis clos entre leaders des formations composant le PSE. Cela ne peut nécessairement se faire qu'à travers une consultation de l'ensemble des adhérents par un vote de désignation. A dire vrai, en tant que socialistes, nous avons une longueur d'avance par rapport aux Conservateurs et autres...
read morePublished Monday, June 16, 2008 at 19:01
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (180 views and 0 comments)
Supporters of the PES manifesto2009 of the French Partie Socialiste gathered for the presentation of the contribution of the Strasbourg Federation. During the meeting, held at the capital of the Alsace region, Patrick Dollat, Europe Secretary-General of the Federation, emphasized the transnational framework of next European elections to be hold in June 2009.
“We should do a European campaign rather than a national or a campaign based in Brussels. Citizens should be our priority and we should be right next to them”, he said.
Philip Cordery, PES Secretary-General, and Mathieu Cahn, First Secretary of the Strasbourg Federation, also participated on the meeting.
According to Philip Cordery, the PES manifesto can be an important step to fill the gap between Europe and its citizens as it is offering grassroots the possibility to actively define a common campaigning agenda.
In its contribution, the Strasbourg Federation outlines that the social Europe should be structured through the exercise of political rights by EU citizens outside the framework of national States. One of the solutions to achieve it is through a truly European party, the PES, with the participation of both its leaders and its supporters.
read morePublished Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 15:17
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (162 views and 0 comments)
The PES has released its Report on
"The EU on the
international scene: Promoting sustainable peace". Presented to
the PES Council in Sofia on 22-23 November 2007, this report has
been written by Jean Asselborn, André Flahaut, Heidemarie
Wieczorek-Zeul, Carin Jämtin, Espen Barth Eide, Alain Richard and
Luciano Vecchi.
read more
Published Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 14:25
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (205 views and 0 comments)
Members of the Romanian Social Democratic Party met to debate the PES manifesto2009 and the future of the European left.
The first day the Romanian social democratic foundation ‘Ovidiu Sincai’ invited for a debate at their headquarters in Bucharest. Around 30 students, intellectuals and party members took part in the meeting and shared their ideas for the future of social democracy in Europe. Among the speakers was the Director of Ovidiu Sincai Anne Juganaru, MEP Titus Corlatean and PES Secretary-General Philip Cordery.
On the second day the discussions moved to Brasov for a seminar for Romanian PES activists. Even though the event took place short time before the local elections, around 100 Romanian activists showed up to discuss the PES manifesto on ‘Europe Day’, 9 May. The PES Secretary-General insisted on the link between local problems and European solutions and expressed on this occasion support to PSD local candidate in Brasov.
Another hot topic was the free movement of workers and how mobility can be a threat to social and workers’ rights. The Romanian activists concluded that free movement and social rights should not be seen as opposites, but instead go hand in...
read morePublished Monday, June 9, 2008 at 15:35
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (158 views and 0 comments)
The PES Group in the Committee of the Regions (CoR) has delivered its contribution for the manifesto2009 adding to it an extra document on gender equality to complement the four defined themes.
Mercedes Bresso, President of the Group, stresses the dimension of local authorities when it comes to create policies aimed at tackling issues falling under the four themes on discussion.
“Given that the local and regional dimension is key for the design and elaboration of policies falling under the four themes identified by the PES as the most relevant for the PES Manifesto, the PES Group in the CoR, as the institutional representative of locally and regionally elected Socialists and Social Democrats, successfully mobilised its members to consult their own constituencies and fellow citizens at grassroots level”, she says.
The PES Group in the CoR had held two meetings to draft and collect expertise for the contribution. One took place in Brusselsand the other in Turin. The President of the Group says that “those events were a unique opportunity for a frank exchange of views amongst PES Group members, high level...
read morePublished Friday, June 6, 2008 at 18:50
by
chourka
in In the spotlight (233 views and 0 comments)
Avec cette contribution
pour le Manifeste 2009, la Fédération de Paris du PS, souhaite,
comme elle l’a fait à chaque étape du développement du rôle et de
la place des militants du PSE, prendre résolument sa part au
travail mené par le PSE en vue des Européennes de juin 2009.
Cette contribution n’est pas exhaustive. Volontairement, elle
n’aborde que certaines questions sur lesquelles les militants
parisiens du PSE ont voulu mettre particulièrement l’accent.
Elle est le résultat d’un travail collectif approfondi qui a
démarré avec la venue de Poul Nyrup Rasmussen le 15 avril à
Paris. De nombreuses réunions de travail se sont tenues : au sein
des sections parisiennes du PS, au sein de groupes de travail
constitués sur la base des notes de cadrage diffusées par le PSE,
à l’occasion de la tenue de quatre ateliers fédéraux sur les
quatre thèmes retenus et enfin lors d’une réunion de synthèse
générale qui s’est déroulée le mercredi 28 mai.
Ce sont au total plusieurs centaines de militants parisiens du
PSE qui se sont...
Published Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 16:45
by
timclapham
in In the spotlight (315 views and 2 comments)
Editor’s note: The
manifesto2009 hit the classroom! The initiative was discussed
during a lecture at Poland’s School of Public Administration and
you can read it here…Tags: EU, manifesto, PES
File:
Time for a new language.doc
Published Monday, June 2, 2008 at 18:20
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (283 views and 0 comments)
Contributions for the PES manifesto keep flowing! We received over 30 contributions, 12 of which coming from NGOs and civil society organizations. Consult the contributions and give us your opinion on those you consider as the most relevant for you!
So far we received the following contributions from
organizations:
- Caritas Europe
- Africa-Europe Faith and Justice Network
- AGE - European Older People's Platform
- Business Europe
- Euro Coop - European Community of Consumer
Cooperatives
- Eurodad
- European Anti-Poverty Network - Social reality
stocktaking
- European Federation of Journalists - New Social
Europe
- European Women's Lobby ,
Published Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 22:40
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (167 views and 0 comments)
Good news! Many
contributions for the manifesto are coming from all sectors. Not
only the PES activists and parties members are having their say on
the consultation process but also MEPs, members of the Committee of
the Regions and NGOs are giving their input!Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 at 13:45
by
jose reis santos
in New Social Europe (233 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).
Edite Estrela,
read morePublished Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 13:44
by
ccarnero
in In the spotlight (279 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!
read morePublished Friday, May 9, 2008 at 11:36
by
Editor
in European democracy & diversity (365 views and 1 comments)
In a PES statement for Europe Day, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said the real debate was not for or against Europe but what sort of European Union do we want. Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women underlined the PES commitment to develop a new agenda for Europe for the next European elections in June 2009 that recognises citizens’ aspirations and concerns for the future.
Read the press release here
read morePublished Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 17:00
by
eromerof
in European democracy & diversity (435 views and 0 comments)
Today, European Union is an economic reality but not a political one because the weight of European Institutions in the international scene is very frail. This situation is not very good for the people who believe that economic liberalism is too strong in the whole world thanks to the globalization phenomenon. Social globalization is not so strong as the economical one and this is a real problem for the “socialist family” since the values of socialism are based on a social way of thinking.
That is the reason because the European Socialists should work to build a very strong Party of European Socialists. We have to compensate for the excessive power of economic liberalism with a new model of social protection. European Union should take enough power to become one of the main international players (such as the United States, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Japan, etc.) with real capacity of influence in the “international social agenda”. Today, decisions should be taken in a global way; socialists should bring together all their resources to push for a change in the European Institutions, and ways of acting of the European Union. Socialism must become global, as global as liberalism, otherwise our main institution (welfare state) will disappear.
Find a
read morePublished Friday, April 4, 2008 at 11:58
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (716 views and 1 comments)
This week
communication experts from Europe’s socialist and social democratic
parties met in Brussels to debate the campaign for the 2009
European elections. 50 dedicated campaigners met to share ideas on
how to campaign together as one political family.Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 10:13
by
Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen
in European democracy & diversity (488 views and 0 comments)
I would really take
this point about decent conditions for migration and integration of
migrants as one of the most important ones for the
future work of the PES. With the Lisbon Treaty, European
cooperation on migration will be reinforced and at the next meeting
of the PES Presidency we will have a debate on
migration and integration.Published Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 15:08
by
Poul_Nyrup_Rasmussen
in European democracy & diversity (654 views and 3 comments)
How can we spark a
greater interest in EU politics? Lolomodrego asked this question some time ago and it
is a good one.Published Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 10:06
by
yoan.abiven
in New Social Europe (586 views and 1 comments)
In these
present times of total and globalised capitalism, what socialists
really strive for is to equate prosperity and solidarity anew. In
former times, in XIXth century France, this was called
“solidarisme”. It was only through the Republic and socialism that
France was able to consolidate and give a human face to this new
individualistic order and come up with the first social insurance
systems. It seems to me that we are undergoing a similar transition
today. True, the present context is totally different: we are in
post-modern times where Nation States are fading and we are asking
ourselves the eternal question of the relationship between
individuals and society. To what regulations, what authority could
these free individuals legitimately be accountable? This question
is relevant at all levels: in the family structure, in the company,
in the streets, at university, when paying taxes, etc. As for the
workplace, there is a social-democratic response, namely
flexicurity and this response is based on a clear awareness of the
conditions of the knowledge economy. Is this enough? I am committed
to two things: Europe on the one hand and France on the other. Here
is why.Published Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 23:58
by
rikkeindenmark
in European democracy & diversity (591 views and 1 comments)
Among this morning’s
activities at the Danish PES manifesto conference was a workshop about
campaigns and cooperation in Europe – the participants discussed
how Europe’s social democrats can work together on common
campaign initiatives in the next European elections. There were
plenty of ideas – to mention a few:
Published Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 18:32
by
rikkeindenmark
in New Social Europe (630 views and 0 comments)
The afternoon of the Danish conference on the PES manifesto ended with a plenary where the four work groups presented a ‘top 3’ of priorities for their manifesto theme. Here are, from my view, some of the most interesting ideas brought forward:
Published Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 10:35
by
mariope
in European democracy & diversity (691 views and 3 comments)
Today, economic
globalization is an obviously true. Social globalization is not so
obvious. The reason is that economic liberalism is based in
“laissez fair-laissez passer” so, they don’t need any institution
to make it happen, the
invisible hand of Adam Smith does their work very efficiently.
The capitals move freely everywhere and they go where they get more
profits, normally they go to the countries where social rights are
not so strong because the welfare state requires a lot of money in
taxes. From my point of view, the only way to avoid this situation
is to build a strong European Socialist Party. European Union must
to take enough power to became one of the main international
subjects (USA, IMF, MB, Japan…) with real capacity of influence in
the international scene. Today, decisions must to be taken in a
global way, socialists must to put together all their resources to
push for a change in the institutions, and ways of acting of the
European Union. Socialism must to became global, as global as
liberalism, other way our main institution will disappear.
read more
Published Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 15:55
by
Eric
in Save our planet (932 views and 3 comments)
Hey!
It’s my third day as your guest blogger, and today I would like
to present some specific policy proposals. And I will start with
a political issue very close to my heart: the environment.
None of my parents (Bo and
Gunnel) were members of a political party when I
grew up. However, my dad Bo was very interested in politics in
general, and environmental issues in particular. He started
working with green issues already in the early 1960s, when
Rachel Carson’s book ”Silent Spring” served as one
of the first alarm bells. At the time, my dad did some research
into why some birds’ eggs were too shallow and broke before the
new little bird was born. The reason was that the birds were fed
with foodstuffs containing mercury.
Ever since 1960s, we have gradually become better at ensuring
that growth must be ecologically and socially sustainable. If
growth means that birds are fed mercury, our society will not be
sustainable in the long run. The EU has been good at slowly
transforming societies in the right direction in this way, and
Mark Leonard wrote a fantastic little book about
how the EU's ”soft power” is so much more efficient than the...
Published Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 13:24
by
Eric
in European democracy & diversity (696 views and 2 comments)
Hello again folks,
As your guest blogger this week, I have decided to bring up
serious questions, but I also want to bring personal stories into
it. I hope this will facilitate things and make the posts more
interesting when you follow my train of thoughts. So here goes
again:
In 2002-2003 I had one of the best experiences of my life. I was
working as a ”research fellow” at a Democratic think tank in
Washington DC. The think tank can be traced back to Bill
Clinton’s renewal of the Democratic party, but also his
great interest in policy. Both Clintons are real policy wonks, if
you didn’t know.
Being a ”research fellow” meant that I wrote a few rather serious
papers and articles, but most notably it gave me a chance just to
hang around at a think tank in Washington DC. I had the
opportunity to just be there and learn how the political world
works up on Capitol Hill. Hanging out also included a beer or two
at the classic über-political hangout ”Hawk and
Dove”, as well as a fantastic meeting with senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota (who tragically died in
a plane crash in the autumn of 2002). I was also by far the worst
soft ball-player on the team the think tank had, but it was fun
to play against other think tanks and...
Published Monday, February 11, 2008 at 11:54
by
Eric
in European democracy & diversity (851 views and 4 comments)
Y’all,
As your specially invited blogger this week, I must first say
that I am very honored. And since I try to keep two blogs as it
is (in English here and in Swedish here), I have learnt that
the best blog posts are not too long. But since I have your
attention now, we must be serious to start with.
In the autumn of 1993, I attended my first seminar at university
level. I had registered for a course in economic history at
Stockholm University, a decision I had started to regret right
before the course started. The summer of 1993 had been great. I
was in love with music (rock’n’roll, that is),
literature (Jack Kerouac, that summer) and
politics (social democracy, of course. But with
a more radical socialist twist, in those days).
When autumn arrived, I didn’t want to study economic history. It
sounded too... serious. I tried to swap for literature, but
thanks to the rigid rules at Stockholm University, I had to stick
to the original plan.
At the first seminar in economic history, our very old and
brilliant professor (who taught his last semester that year),
rose from his chair and wrote on word on the chalkboard:
Interdependence.
I had never heard of ”globalization”...
Published Friday, February 8, 2008 at 16:40
by
Editor
in EU in the world (666 views and 0 comments)
The PES delegation in
the US have found strong agreement with Democrats on the need to do
something about international financial markets, especially hedge
and private equity funds.Published Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 14:50
by
Editor
in EU in the world (547 views and 0 comments)
A new
Democrat President – Clinton or Obama – might take office at
about the same time as the first-ever President of the EU and the
new High EU High Representative for Foreign and Security
Policy.
You could almost say that President Clinton or Obama will
have (what Americans have famously complained about there not
being) one telephone number for the EU – at least as far as EU
foreign policy is concerned.
A Democrat President would be much committed than Bush – or
McCain – to working with America’s allies – including in
Europe.
But while diplomacy will get a new emphasis there will be many
differences to deal with. Some Americans accuse Europe of getting
a ‘free ride’ on costly and difficult military interventions –
such as the international force in Afghanistan. At the same time
other Americans admit that Europe could make a big contribution
in peace-keeping, state-building and support for civilian
populations where American forces lack experience and
capacity.
An America ready to re-engage with its allies in global affairs
could be good news for the UN. Global action on climate change
and the Millennium Development Goals could receive a big boost.
PES President Poul Nyrup...
Published Monday, February 4, 2008 at 17:11
by
Editor
in EU in the world (716 views and 1 comments)
America is gripped
by SuperTuesday. And so they should be.
Two years ago it would have been impossible to imagine that the
main contenders for the President of the USA would be a woman and
a black man. Today all America is talking about Clinton versus
Obama.
The Republican race is simply not stirring the same excitement,
although the fact that many conservatives are saying that McCain
is not conservative enough is evidence that American politics is
moving back to the centre. Polls suggest that John McCain may be
confirmed as the Republican candidate after SuperTuesday. No such
likelihood for the Democrats....
Both Clinton and Obama represent huge change from the Bush era.
And this is what excites European socialists too. But the focus
State-side is not really on policy - both Democratic candidates
agree on ending the war in Iraq, extending health care to the
millions who go without, and getting America's act together on
climate change. The thrill is in the narrowing gap between the
two contenders, the fact that Obama is an almost total newcomer
to national politics, and the fact that Hillary is a Clinton -
with everything that people love or hate about Bill and Hillary
herself. It's a fascinating race that fills progressives with
hope.
In the next few days Yourspace will be...
Published Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 15:35
by
Editor
in EU in the world (809 views and 4 comments)
From Monday February 4
to Friday February 8 PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen leads a
European Socialist delegation to Washington and New York to meet
leading US Democrats.Published Friday, December 21, 2007 at 10:39
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (859 views and 0 comments)
Here are more video statements from PES activists. They explain why Europe's socialists and social democrats need a common manifesto for the 2009 European elections.
loading...